In this #BACommunity Webinar we were joined by Curtis Michelson of Minds Alert for an interactive discussion on the pros an cons of assessments. The webinar was entitled “Assessments: When should we use them, when should we lose them?” and iit was recorded. You can watch the recording below.
References and Links
During the webinar, the following articles, concepts or resources were mentioned:
- Enterprise Design Associates INTERSection Framework
- Google’s Sprint Methodology
- Curtis’ Discovery Leadership Assessment
- SwarmVisions Innovator’s Assessment
- Cynefin framework : A video from Dave Snowden
Webinar Description
Us analytical types, we love to assess. It’s codified practice. Situational assessment is often step 1. But how smart are we about using assessment tools when we benchmark or try to establish where a system or an organisation is, and at what level they are against some entity’s definition of ‘good’? In other words, before we embark on building the case for a change or improvement or a problem solve, how often do we ask “which way of measuring or assessing this situation should I be using?”.
And there are no shortage of assessment tools to choose from. Some famous (or infamous) assessments we might have come across could include ITIL, CMMI, Practitioner Competency models, plus scores of other tools that aim to measure personal, team or organisational competencies around big money themes – agility, innovation, digital transformation readiness and the like.
And, to be honest, assessments are frankly our (consultants) tool of first choice, for good reason – they get a conversation started, kick-off a client relationship, introduce big buzzwords, look impressive (all those charts and graphs!) and we create the sense (perhaps inadvertently the illusion) of a clear path to someplace better than here.
In this wide ranging conversation, we take a frank look at assessments and their advantages, disadvantages and applicability.
About the Speaker
Curtis Michelson is the founder of Minds Alert, LLC as US-based consulting agency focused on organisational transformation. They provide consulting and design services to clients in media, publishing, education and member-driven nonprofits, to envision, test and deliver breakthrough products, services and business models. Curtis is a nerd for assessments of all kinds, especially psychometric profiles. His Enneagram Social Four relishes the upcoming conversation with Adrian at the same time dreading whether Curtis will live up to his own obnoxiously high standards, while his Myers-Briggs ENTP is already plotting a spin-off series of podcasts. Curtis promises to wear all the DeBono hats in this dialog, though he does really favor the green and the red quite a lot, though blue is cool too