This post is part of the working draft of the DriverlessCrocodile Toolkit (read more here). I’d love comments, links to resources related to the theme, and original contributions.
What goes in?
This is a working document reflecting the current plan for the contents of the DriverlessCrocodile Toolkit, in order:
0. Take Action (Do it now)
This is Chapter 0. I’m alternating between thinking it’s best to have Action as a first principle, or Foundations. I started this series with posts on Foundations, but I’m leaning back towards action first. When I revisited Seven Habits for this post I was surprised to rediscover that that’s how Stephen Covey did it too…
1. Build Foundations (How to be, and the change you seek)
A chapter covering values, vision and mission – the foundations of building an organisation.
2. Learn to See (How change happens)
A chapter about lenses you can use to improve your understanding of how change happens, with the aim of identifying the levers at your disposal for making change. This chapter starts with the reminder that almost everything we see around us was made by people like us and highlights some lessons about how innovation happens.
3. Find Friends (Share the story)
A chapter about the importance of allies, colleagues, partners and mentors, and some tools for building networks – including resources about communicating well through writing and presentation.
4. Grow a market (Starting up)
A chapter about the search for customers and a (charitable?) business model that enables you to serve them. Covering small beginnings and minimum viable products, iteration and customer-development… tied into marketing and applying skills and approaches from Chapter 3 to telling your story to customers.
5. Managing
The meaty, unglamorous work of actually executing on your ideas. Resources about getting things done, and on leading and managing organisations – including the managing money.
6. Hinterland (Seeing further)
A chapter that identifies useful lenses that I think are the most useful (and often overlooked until people start building things) for understanding how change happens, including: history, including economic history, technology and the digital revolution, systems thinking and network theory.
So that’s it for now. What do you think? What’s good, what’s missing, what’s in the wrong order or wrongly grouped?
Hi Stu, sorry late to the party. Still thinking about these but overall really good. I like the flow. Would be good to see what the actions are you’d start with to see how logical that would be but I like the idea. Also how similar is number 6 to number 2 – is that the way you want to finish off? I also wonder if chapter 5 will end up as more than one chapter but you can always wait and see. Some of this will likely become clearer as you write and as things take shape.
Worth probably doing the amazon thing and writing your press release and what you want this book to do and work from there as you advise? 🙂
Hi John, thanks a lot for this…
I agree on both fronts – the question of starting with action and the placement of chapter 6. As you say it might take writing them to see a bit more clearly (which is a point in favour of action first!).
Suspect you might be right on chapter 5, especially as I’m really hoping to keep my part of each chapter (the explanation) to about five minutes worth of material if it was presented.
And re chapter 6 – right again. It was originally part of “learn to see” and you’re probably right about not ending there…
You’ve definitely earned your place in the contributors list (and given me an idea for another bullet under the importance of 3: Find friend…
Press release, here I come!