Insights

3 secrets to turning ideas into action

One of the most satisfying things a leader or a team can do is come up with ideas. Brainstorming can be enormously productive when you’re grappling with a problem. Whether you’re spit-balling ideas, whiteboarding, or free-associating to come up with a solution, the act of producing those ideas feels like[…]

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3 tips to get what you need out of your next team meeting

One of the areas we work in is Organizational Design. There are many components to Organizational Design and sometimes the things that get the least amount of attention are the ones that hold organizations back the most. For example, are you responsible for the performance of a work team? Do[…]

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8 criteria for building organizational sustainability

Sustainability has become a bit of a buzzword for organizations and it’s a key part of the work that Siena Consulting does in the not-for-profit and public sectors. On its face, the meaning of the word sustainability seems obvious: to maintain or endure, as any good dictionary would tell you.[…]

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Tackling the world’s wicked problems one community at a time

The term “wicked problems” was coined in the 1960s and developed throughout the 1970s to encompass the host of difficult characteristics (and many more) we discussed a couple of posts ago. Historically, the term come into currency during a time that was strained politically, increasingly complex, and fraught with risks[…]

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What makes wicked problems so wicked?

Last post’s discussion of wicked problems brought up a ton of examples among our team. Seems all of us have grappled with one of these monsters at some point—a problem that’s close to unsolvable thanks to a constellation of tricky characteristics. For Siena, a particular project stands out. For several[…]

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Got a wicked problem?

Have you ever tackled a wicked problem? Maybe you’re involved with an environmental initiative, but you can’t get your stakeholders to have a dialogue. Maybe you’re working on building economic equity in your community, but your team can’t agree what that means. Or maybe you’re coping with a healthcare issue,[…]

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