Episode 9: How to succeed in increasingly challenging situations with Chet Richards.

Hello and welcome back to week 9 of the 12-part podcast series. Thanks again for such a positive response. This week we have the second part of the podcast with Chet Richards, author of Certain to Win and long-term friend collaborator with philosopher, John Boyd. We continue reading Boyd backwards as this makes it easier to apply his ideas to normal levels of competition (i.e., non-violent but competitive).

So, if you have yet to listen to part one, I suggest you go there first. In this podcast we will be focusing on Organic Design for Command and Control, Patterns of Conflict, Destruction and Creation and we explore how Chet has applied these ideas in his life and we start with one final insight from his Strategic Game of Isolation and Integration.

I expect this to be the longest podcast in the series. However, I think it’s worth it – not for situations where you are stressed right now but worth it for a leadership team that is looking ahead and looking to create a more successful future. Next week, we will be back to an hour or so and the guest will blow your mind!

So, here’s what we cover in today’s podcast.

00.00 Welcome and set up.

02.45     Boyd’s Motherhood and Mismatch Strategy – how to attract others to your strategy and move them away from your opponent.

05.00     Lessons from Brexit and Dominic Cummings!

12.00     Lessons from Covid – how can you seek mismatches in your own ideas about what is actually happening.

17.30     Introducing Boyd’s Organic Design for Command and Control. What are the principles for running a successful organisation?

21.00     How can you get people to do the right thing for the organisation?

31.00     It’s not Command and Control but Appreciation and Leadership that makes the difference in dynamic situations.

34.00     How can a leader find out what’s really going on – Does the Queen really think that everywhere in the UK smells of fresh paint and new carpet?

47.00     Boyd and Alan Watt’s Tao: The Watercourse Way – how the relational and organic view fit together.

51.00     The importance of creating a shared view in your organisation.

54.00     Introducing Patterns of Conflict – what does history tell us about succeeding in the very toughest situations.

57.00     The Toyota Production System v G.E.’s approach.

1.10.00  Boyd’s summary slide for Vitality and Growth. Slide 185. Insight, Orientation, Harmony, Agility and Initiative.

1.21        Chuck Spinney’s Evolutionary Epistemology.

1.26        Linking new ideas with Destruction and Creation.

1.31        In what way has Boyd’s work contributed to your success?

1.36        Where were your ideas before working with Boyd?  Yoga and Asian philosophy.

1.47        Chet's final advice: Focus on building Snowmobiles.

1.48        Close.