Last month, the RFU announced some changes: tackle height in the amateur game is to be reduced to waist level for next season.
This will fundamentally change the game, leaving many people furious. Debate about the change aside, it’s the manner of the announcement that has also upset the entire rugby community.
The RFU did not feel the need to provide more than casual background information, insight into the decision, or any guidance around how to implement. This is the worst example I can remember of a top-down organisation which doesn’t seem to care for its members. Thankfully they have now rowed backwards and promise to engage at grass roots with any further changes.
The thing was, they announced fundamental change with no roadmap or thought process about adoption. In the BT Standard we advocate producing guidebooks & roadmaps before starting a journey.
Sometimes you do need to rip off the band-aid and make a big step, but when you are part of an already failing system (unfortunately rugby, the sport I love, is in decline), you simply can’t afford to make these adjustments in such a clumsy way.
In the news…
Everywhere you look, ChatGPT is in the news. Buzzfeed announced last month that 2023 would see “AI inspired content move from an R&D stage to part of our core business, enhancing the quiz experience, informing our brainstorming, and personalizing our content for our audience”.
Good idea? Bad idea? Creepy idea?
Your opinion of AI (specifically ChatGPT) is most likely based on how much knowledge you have of it, coupled with how likely it is to replace you at work in the not-too-distant future.
If you’re worrying about whether or not your bosses are thinking about replacing you with AI, there are a few key things to remember:
• Not everything can be replaced by tech. Yes, AI is smart, but it has its limitations – for instance, it can list information but it can’t evaluate it. It might be able to recreate a painting in a specific style, but it wouldn’t be able to create a style for others to copy
• AI lacks emotional intelligence. Similar to the point above, when you’re dealing with the client-facing side of your work, you need to be able to relate to people on a human level.
• AI is intended to complement human ability, not compete with it. The advantage of AI is that it can effectively and efficiently complete repetitive tasks requiring less intense reasoning, freeing up the humans to work their magic in other, more productive areas. Imagine what you could get done if you could hand over all your boring tasks to a computer!
Still not convinced? Here’s ChatGPT evaluated through the prism of Dunning-Kruger [source: hfsresearch.com]
Meanwhile, over at Xonetic…
This month we completed a Business Technology engagement for a very large Retailer based in central Europe. This retailer claims to be the fastest growing retailer in the world right now, and with 1000 new stores planned for this year they certainly have a point.
Xonetic was engaged to evaluate the “Business Partner” function, in the context of modern ways of working within Business Technology. The client wished to build a roadmap to move from “order taker” mode to strategic partner mode. Whilst this is not an easy task and certainly not one that can be taken in a single step, we have jointly produced a strategy and roadmap, aligned to BT, which will greatly improve the way business strategy and demand is translated to IT projects.
If you are interested in this, please contact Scott Rigler for more information.
Just for fun…
Do you ever stop to think why your organisation follows certain processes and practices?
There’s a famous (now-disproved) story about 5 monkeys placed in a cage as part of an experiment. In the middle of the cage was a ladder with bananas on the top rung. Every time a monkey tried to climb the ladder, all the monkeys were sprayed with water. Eventually, each time a monkey started to climb the ladder, the others pulled him off to avoid getting sprayed. Soon, the monkeys stopped trying to go up the ladder.
The experimenter then replaced one of the monkeys in the cage with a new monkey, who immediately tried to climb the ladder and get to the bananas. and was stopped by the original 4 monkeys. He never knew why they wouldn’t let him go for the bananas because he had never been sprayed with water, but he soon learned to stay away from the ladder.
One by one, each of the monkeys in the cage was replaced until none of the original monkeys remained. Every time a new monkey went for the bananas, the others made them stop.
By the end of the experiment, the 5 monkeys in the cage had learned that they shouldn’t go for the bananas, even though they’d never been sprayed with water. Effectively, they followed a rule ‘because that’s how it’s always been done’, without knowing the rationale behind it.
Whether it’s a real story or not, it’s a situation I’m sure resonates with a lot of people when it comes to their business: the tendency to do things the way they’ve always been done without question, even when the reason behind it is long gone.
Is it time for an audit of your processes, and are there any practises followed in your organisation that should be retired?
At Xonetic, we’ll help you implement change at a pace that suits you.
Xonetic
At its heart, digital modernisation is about improving your customer experience.
We define Digital Energy as the combination of highly digital and automated business applications and tools, combined with Industry leading ways of working, practices and techniques.
If you would like to understand more about our open-source best practice knowledge, training and IT advisory services then please drop in for a virtual coffee or register for a free seminar.
