Beyond the Black Stump

G’day this is Ken Simpson and welcome to Episode 30 of Beyond the Black Stump.

Over recent weeks I have been talking to a range of people about the need to build capability – not just produce documents. Even if those documents have “plan” in the title.

To be totally accurate, I have been having those conversations for the past 20 years, it has just been a feature of the podcasts for the past few weeks.

To some extent the current theme started with Rina Bhakta in Episode 25, then the first part of “Fit for Purpose” in #26, a significant feature of the thinking of Andy Osborne in show 27 and also with Karen Stephens in episodes 28 & especially episode 29.

This show is the second part of the “Fit for Purpose” story.

There has been a clear message from the various people I have spoken with on this subject over the years – capability comes from practice and rehearsal, not documents and procedures. Karen summed it up really well in the last show “firemen don't learn how to put out a fire by reading a plan.”

In part 1 of Fit for Purpose I drew on my experience as an elite basketball coach to make the same point. We had to build the skills of the individual players, they had to refine those skills in individual practice, then we had to learn on the practice court how to perform as a team. No different to the situation with BC, Crisis and Emergency teams in your organisation.

At the end of that show I talked about the role of BC Manager, before we worry about anybody else, perhaps we need to consider if the way we approach our practice is “fit for purpose”. Here is a recap;

The idea of coaching often reflects the position the BC practitioner finds themselves in. They don't generally have command and control authority over those who will need to execute plans. Coaches in professional sport often find themselves paid much less than their star players, and they also need to learn to manage the super-star egos.

In that context they learn to mound a team by collaboration and influence, rather than using the techniques of command and compliance.

Do you think acting like a coach might be better received by the senior players (aka your Executives)? Could a change in the way you perceive your role lead to better engagement going forward?

Links for this show

• "Fewer Bosses. More Coaches. Please." Paul Gonzales
• Getting their attention. Ken Simpson, Continuity Magazine
• The Innovators Dilemma, Clayton Christensen
• Stamford Prison Experiment
• Embedding culture into BCM, Ken Simpson
• CEO perspectives on organisational resilience [DOC ... - TISN

If you are motivated to discuss or comment on any of the issues in this show, come over the Black Stump group on LinkedIn. Would love to hear from you.

Until next time, stay safe on your journey.