Share this page!

Simon Wardley Profile picture
Twitter logo
4 Feb, 5 tweets, 1 min read
The Tao (the way, the purpose)
The Earth (the terrain, the landscape)
The Heaven (the seasons, the climate)
The Laws (the doctrine)
The General (the leadership)
I'd just like to make the point, that mapping the landscape is not a "technology" activity ... mapping is useful in any competitive space whether economics, nation state play, scientific knowledge or cultural systems.
So, when you tell me that you're on the "business" side, what you're actually telling me is "I'm in a business that doesn't understand or learn from our landscape".

I don't know if that is bravado or supposed to impress me because I just think you're muppets for the taking.
It took me £0.5M and 18 months to take Ubuntu from 3% of the operating system to 70% of cloud versus MSFT and RedHat. I did this with maps.

I know it's a "technology" space but they are real businesses, many of whose members have now learned how to map.
I really don't get this "well, that's about technology" attitude. If you're playing the game and you're not looking at the board ... well ... amateurs.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Simon Wardley

Simon Wardley Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @swardley

Simon Wardley Profile picture
6 Feb
One of these days we will finally get rid of the idea that the market knows best. It belongs in the dustbin of history alongside the trickle down effect. The market has contexts in which it works, in other cases nationalised services run better ->
X : Explain
Me : In mapping form ... Image
X : I don't understand maps. Can you explain this a bit more.
Me : Like a story?
X : Sure
Me : Hang on. Keeping it simplistic, there are about 1,500 permutations of components and concepts in that map, at 25 words each then about 90 pages of text. Hmmm, no.
Read 4 tweets
Simon Wardley Profile picture
5 Feb
I don't disagree but it's much deeper than this. The debate has been about the balance between "Me" and "We", between the ethics of care vs the ethics of choice, between the collective's control and the agency of the individual ... it's all about the balance of power.
In light of this, in light of the culture map, in light of the balance of power from "power over" the people versus "power to" the people ... I now realise that we are not and have never been ready for democracy. We should shift to a system of random selection for all leaders. Image
X : Demarchy?
Me : Yes, a system of sortition. A vote can be held at the end of their term of service but the question should be whether the person is offered a position within the civil service or is allowed freely to rejoin society or is ostracised.
Read 8 tweets
Simon Wardley Profile picture
5 Feb
X : Thoughts on China is coming due for a counterculture revolution ala the 60s here?
Me : If we think about the balance of "Me vs We" in a culture then ... Image
... I suspect we're in danger of applying the cultural norms of our collective to another collective and assuming it will react as our collective has reacted. We are probably being myopic ...
... as an alternative, China may well tackle issues of inequality whilst simultaneously growing a more vibrant and meritocratic economy. Rather than a counterculture in the East, a counterculture in the West (against the systemic inequality) seems to be something we're ignoring.
Read 5 tweets
Simon Wardley Profile picture
5 Feb
X : We want to be agile.
Me : Do you mean "We want to learn Agile methods such as XP" or "We want to increase the agility of our organisation"?
X : Is there a difference?
Me : Huge. Agile is a method whilst Agility comes from many things including applying appropriate methods. Image
X : Many things?
Me : Yes. Here's a handy table of universally useful patterns. Do all of these and you'll have more agility as an organisation.
X : That means Agile?
Me : You may well be using XP in some places and SCRUM etc. Image
X : Surely it's simpler to just use Agile everywhere?
Me : That won't bring you agility, it'll bring you frustration, inefficiency and a mess.
Read 30 tweets
Simon Wardley Profile picture
3 Feb
X : Are you an online troll?
Me : Five minutes ago I was a ghoul.
X : Nope, you've lost me.
Me : I was playing Dungeon & Dragons with the wee lad and my better half.
X : Console?
Me : Yep, it was a shock to the wife. Old paper version, great fun and even the wee lad loved it.
X : AD&D
Me : No, 1977 classic ... original set. It's not about the rules, it's about the atmosphere you create.
X : You have an original box set?
Me : Oh yes. Still love the game.
X : You're the dungeon master?
Me : Of course. It's like the theatre of Werewolf but more fun.
.... tunnels and trolls, traveller ... I've got a lot of old games. It's more fun than films or PC games - press button, press other button, fire, press button, bleep, bleep noise ... at least you can add humour with paper and a bit of imagination.
Read 7 tweets
Simon Wardley Profile picture
3 Feb
X : Thoughts on getting back into the office?
Me : Go buy a bunch of Double Robotics Teleprescence systems - doublerobotics.com - then people can "zoom" into the robot and you can all bump into each other around the board room.
X : That's ridiculous
Me : Ok ...
... make sure the CEO gets a gold plated one, so you can re-assert status in your virtual world hybrid.
X : Now, you're being silly.
Me : Ok, ask yourself "Why do we need an office?" and more importantly "Who is pushing for a return to the office and why?"
X : And?
Me : I mentioned this last year. A lot of the push to get back into the office comes from issues related to power - social prescence, status symbols - and not necessarily what is good for people or productivity. I'd focus on supporting people in this remote world.
Read 19 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @swardley has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @swardley!

Read all threads by @swardley