mondaydots

cuts! panic! value?

cuts! panic! value? on vimeo

The state of California is up against an interesting problem - How do you do more with less? I have always found the process of public policy decision making fascinating. The process is well modeled by Neal Mitchell's public policy triangle. It is simple: decision makers must decide which initiatives to fund in order to create the most value for their constituents. If you follow Steven Covey's example of starting with a defined end state: the goal is to achieve stasis through creating the most value for your constituents by funding the right initiatives, while keeping a balanced budget.

iraq pullout debate

vimeo version

One of the major advantages of dots is that you can use them to simplify complex situations. I am currently studying the Iraq situation in great detail and I wanted to see if I could model the situation for someone who knows nothing about the situation in under 6 minutes. This is a living model so if you have suggestions of feedback please let me know; my intention (as should be the aim of any good presentation) is to start a dialogue.

Transcript from "iraq pullout debate" mondaydots model:

In order to understand the instability in Iraq, you must first understand the different players, their motives, and location of the country. So let's meet the players. You have the Sunnis from the West and the ShIia from the South East. These two groups have not got along for over 1400 years because of fundamental religious differences. Then you have the Kurds from the north who don't get along with either  the Sunni or Shiia and the U.S. from halfway around the world trying to figure it all out! 

"the gamble" model

I was recently challenged by a friend of mine who used to teach at HBS to read "The Gamble” by Thomas Ricks and build a multi level organization model. The book is incredibly interesting (my favorite Ricks book so far) and really shines some light on the situation in Iraq.

Absolutely fascinated by the maco-level change General David Petraeus was able to impact as a micro-level force; I decided to use the phenomenon of stochastic resonance (most commonly used in examining neurodynamics) to explain how embracing the chaos between stable state organizations uniquely positioned Petraeus to make this change. Every attempt at describing the model in written form felt too much like a book report, so I decided to use Apple’s Keynote to build and animate the model.

As I built the model, my written description got better. As my written description got better, it forced me to improve my model.

I found great power in using simple dots to explain a complex model. Modeling forces you to think about getting from point A to point B, and doesn’t allow you to hide behind bullet points or a static two dimensional graphic/chart.

I will be updating this page with information on how I created this presentation; including a step by step break down of some of the elements. I am also going to use this blog to post other models of complex ideas, problems, and solutions I encounter.