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Dr David Schmidtchen
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Dr David Schmidtchen
Home
Profile
People & Work
Change & Reform
Leaders & Managers
Ways of Working
Innovation, Creativity & Imagination
Defence, Security & Cyber Culture
Integrity & Ethics
Careers & Learning
Artifical Intelligence
Short thoughts
Haiku Prose
UnBound Newsletter
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Folder: Reflections
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The Ancient Mariner: causation and consequence
Organisational Change, Reform, Leadership David Schmidtchen 20/11/25 Organisational Change, Reform, Leadership David Schmidtchen 20/11/25

The Ancient Mariner: causation and consequence

Change leadership remains unfinished until it clearly explains the cause and the consequences. Only then can the organisation understand what has occurred and why.

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The Ancient Mariner and the leadership of change
Organisational Change, Reform, Leadership David Schmidtchen 20/11/25 Organisational Change, Reform, Leadership David Schmidtchen 20/11/25

The Ancient Mariner and the leadership of change

Leaders must resist the managerial urge to control and instead foster the narrative of connection. Change, after all, is not something one “drives.”

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The Ancient Mariner and organisational change
Organisational Change, Reform, Leadership David Schmidtchen 17/11/25 Organisational Change, Reform, Leadership David Schmidtchen 17/11/25

The Ancient Mariner and organisational change

On the cost, tme, and memory of transformation in organisational life

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Rethinking institutional reform, part 1: When systems fail, who has the right to fix them, and what does it cost?
Organisational Change, Innovation, Reform, Culture, Leadership David Schmidtchen 19/9/25 Organisational Change, Innovation, Reform, Culture, Leadership David Schmidtchen 19/9/25

Rethinking institutional reform, part 1: When systems fail, who has the right to fix them, and what does it cost?

Defence says it wants evolution, not revolution. But is gradual reform enough in an era of rising strategic risk?

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Rethinking institutional reform, part 4: Organisational change norms, conformity, and dissent
Reform, Dissent, Organisational Change, Leadership David Schmidtchen 19/9/25 Reform, Dissent, Organisational Change, Leadership David Schmidtchen 19/9/25

Rethinking institutional reform, part 4: Organisational change norms, conformity, and dissent

Conformity rewards silence and punishes insight. In public institutions, clear-eyed dissent is often the first casualty.

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Organisational reform is a battle of ideologies
Culture, Reform, Transformation, Behaviour Change David Schmidtchen 29/7/23 Culture, Reform, Transformation, Behaviour Change David Schmidtchen 29/7/23

Organisational reform is a battle of ideologies

Culture is built into the systems of an organisation. It emerges from the traditions of practice and the stability of function. The 'way we do things around here' is the enemy of reform.

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