Pragmatic Innovation
Principles that guide how I work with leaders and teams — combining rigorous problem-solving with respect for the people doing the work.
Guiding principles
People First
For the time being, the success of a company still depends on its people. I always seek to remember that people want respect and dignity at work. Start with those, and most people will work with you in good faith.
Seek first to understand
A career of diverse and challenging roles has taught me how to get to the heart of issues. I know when I've found the root cause of a problem, or if more digging is required.
One- or two-way doors
Decisions that are low risk and reversible should be made quickly. High-risk, irreversible decisions deserve care and consideration.
You win, or you learn
Handing over responsibility either improves productivity now, or teaches through experience, improving productivity later.
Ditch the Dogma
Take from Agile, PRINCE2, Kanban and other methods what fits your organisation — and leave behind what is unnecessary or counter-productive.
More principles
How I think about sustainable improvement when working with growth-stage teams.
Win-win
Changes that benefit one stakeholder but make life harder for another are not sustainable. It is worth finding solutions that genuinely improve work-life for everyone involved.
If it's worth doing twice, it's worth never doing again
One-off tasks can be done manually; work that will be repeated should be automated as much as possible.
Long-term solutions over short-term fixes
Quick fixes can create bigger issues later. Improvements should be robust and sustainable to ensure long-term value.
Ready to talk?
If these principles resonate with how you want your organisation to operate, I'd like to hear what you're working on.