ארכיון Strategy - Sigalit DTL

How can frustration with the education system be channeled?

Sigalit Sobel Savyon — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 11:46:10 +0000

What do we do with frustration about the education system? I’ll give you a hint here – impact. Think of lots of chunks of activity with a double bottom line. It will make an impact. Believe me.

What I write here has burned inside me for a long time. Having served in various positions within the Israeli Ministry of Education for over 20 years and now working within the Ed Tech ecosystem, I am well aware of the many frustrations paired with the many nice things about the education system as well as its many positive aspects. The most significant to me is the fundamental ability of everyone active in this ecosystem to make a change.

Why am I writing this right now? Among my other occupations, I am part of the leading team of the group “Tech4Ed.” This morning there was a discussion that brought out frustrations about the state of teaching, education, obsolescence, teachers’ behavior, and everything that exists in small or large dimensions. During the discussion, there was a turn from letting off steam (which is very critical) to pointing out solutions that already exist and are being implemented (not just technological ones) and suggestions for new options and connections to new people.

This is the solution! You shouldn’t be frustrated, but rather move on to doing (as much as I love doing, but that’s another post). The action I’m referring to is called impact investing. These are investments with a double bottom line: financial and social returns. Companies achieve a higher financial return thanks to their impact. It is worth mentioning that this is not just about technology companies. Naturally, technology companies and Ed Tech companies often lead the trend because they are fundamentally innovative. The others will join later as well.

To understand the ability to change through impact, I want to tell you about a constructive conversation I had a few months after I started working at the Ministry of Education. I came to the office with start-up experience and mentality. I was used to closing things with the CEO within a few minutes. Suddenly there is a hierarchy and a body that takes time to make decisions and implement them. At this point, I told myself that if I didn’t move things along soon, I would return to work for a small company. I shared my frustrations with Ranit Zexer (today, the legendary CTO of Matrix), and the metaphor she used helped me change my approach. She said that I arrived at an aircraft carrier and tried to turn her like aspeed boat. Simple. When I tried to understand how to apply the metaphor in practice, I realized that if I stick to the example, you can’t tell people to let’s turn north 30 degrees, but mark the turn north 30 degrees as the target and reach the target through gentle steering of one or two degrees consistently. It works. I made the method my trademark.

Now let’s go back to Impact and Ed Tech. Many Ed Tech companies offer solutions for education. These solutions don’t have to be radical; if they are innovative, they don’t have to be implemented simultaneously across the entire system.

Start small, show that it works, make adjustments as you proceed, listen to what the people who have been there for many years say (don’t dismiss them as old-fashioned!), and continue with determination. Imagine many teachers and companies that work this way (not just technologies), and you will see that change is possible. And if I enhance the metaphor of the aircraft carrier and the speed boat, I will add a sailing ship between them. This ship knows how to change direction with the wind and not only with a powerful engine. There will be significant changes as each solution moves the system in the right direction. Many solutions require our assistance to reach the right places.

So what do we do tomorrow morning (better now)?

If you are high-tech and/or education and/or ed-tech people or simply see the importance of education and impact, join an impact group (In Israel, we have a very active Tech4Ed group where we make great connections to realize ideas, and the impact takes place, but the discussion is in Hebrew).
If you are a teacher or parent trying to figure out how to change, start researching educational apps and software. Thinkabout what incorporated solutions in the coming year will fit the schools you belong to. There are many small solutions that will bring about significant change.

I would appreciate comments on the post, my email, WhatsApp, and other media. What brilliantly complements impact is crowd wisdom.

הפוסט How can frustration with the education system be channeled? הופיע לראשונה ב-Sigalit DTL.

I finally found a practical strategic theory

Sigalit Sobel Savyon — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 16:43:11 +0000

I was happy to be among the first to read Jeroen Kraaijenbrink’s book, The One-Hour Strategy. Its name is promising, and to not keep you in tension, I can tell you that he holds the promise.

We live in an era where the rate of change is tremendous, information is flooding us, and our attention span is short. This era also affects our ability as professionals to deal with professional literature and certainly involves the entire conduct of organizations. After reading the first few pages, you discover that it is a professional book that is fun to read, and that doesn’t happen often. While deepening the reading, we realize that the strategic concept presented here is relevant to our world and its directions.

The book is written as a simple plot about Martin, the new employee in the marketing department of “Water & Flows,” a company that manufactures industrial pumps. Martin’s first days in the company reveal innovative management and strategy concepts in a company that is considered low-tech. The way the employees Martin met with described the strategy made me want to work for this imaginary company. Although it is fictional, it can be the workplace of each of us.

The “One-Hour Strategy” concept becomes clear while reading the book. It is the answer to the irrelevance of strategic methods applied in organizations. It is also relevant to organizations operating in a constantly changing world, which is our reality today.

What is unique about the method?

It involves all employees in the organization on an ongoing basis. No more strategy meetings once a year, where everyone sits and reads emails. Strategy is a continuing process and not an event. It deals well with the gap between strategy and execution.

Engaged employees are the order of the day

I want to dwell on an essential point of employee involvement. I am a big believer in the participation of employees at all levels in what happens in the organization.
I got so attached to “One-Hour Strategy” because it involves everyone at its core.
Employee engagement has benefits that are more important now than ever. Organizations must be in a position where they are constantly incrementally updating their way of doing things.

A first advantage of employee involvement is that the more involved people are, the more tolerant and open they are to change. The resistance level decreases as they are part of the process that causes changes.

Another advantage is that engaged employees help the organization think in the right direction and adopt relevant changes. Employees must not feel they “do not count” and are only responsible for implementing their precise job requirements. Every company should remember what happened to Kodak ignoring the digital camera invented by its employee and remember that in today’s world, the risk of “Kodak 2” is much greater.

Implementation and internalization of a strategy while reading

The book is structured in a literary way, while the author puts thought into how the method is internalized.
At the end of each chapter, some questions connect the method and the place where the reader works. It makes the reader devote a few minutes of thought at the end of each chapter when the connection to the reality of each of us helps understanding and internalization.
Through the insights Martin records for himself during the meetings, the perception sharpens for us readers. Returning to the list of insights at the book’s end helps everything settle in your head much better.
In addition, during the description of the strategy by the people from the organization with whom Martin met, they showed him templates for implementing the strategy and even templates for managing meetings.

More than just a strategy

Beyond the excellent connection between strategy and the actual functioning of the organization, the book also has recommendations that are relevant to managers in general.
The recommendations appear between the lines, and you should pay attention to them.

Is everything perfect?

The book also refers to the weak points of the method, how to overcome them, and when it is suitable and when it is not.

In conclusion

The One-Hour Strategy is a must-book if you are in a management or strategy position.

I’m sure managers and strategists will recognize things they did out of a gut feeling to try to deal with strategic theories that are difficult to implement. The “One-Hour Strategy” method overcomes the shortcomings of the old approaches.
It is a contemporary approach that is easy to adopt, and the way it is structured and presented allows anyone to adjust to the reality of their organization.

הפוסט I finally found a practical strategic theory הופיע לראשונה ב-Sigalit DTL.