If any of these posts rings a bell, and you've missed them when they were posted, hit the link and add your comment.

  • USM Thought Of The Day [25]: People often ask for cases that demonstrate the improvements an organization can achieve with the USM Method. I’m reading @Dean Meyer’s book “How organizations should work”, and at page 2, I already found a great quote: “But please don’t ask who’s done all this. For leaders, the right question is, could I do this? That’s why we call them leaders!”. I’m going to adopt this great quote from now on, every time a traditional thinking manager asks for a demo case of USM.” Dean’s book is here.
  • USM Thought Of The Day [26]: Creating the 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 of your staff members is often done by HRM, without the required understanding of the nature of these profiles. E.g. a job advertisement for “𝑎 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝐼𝑇𝐼𝐿 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝐾𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑙𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑚 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡” is a typical example of a responsibility set that is discouraged in the USM Method. It's a combination of 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 and 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 that will run into the usual issues: a fundamental conflict between the 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 of the reactive and the proactive task elements.” See section 7.15.1 "Combining multiple profiles" of the USM study guide.
  • USM Thought Of The Day [27]: "It’s time for organizations to re-evaluate their approach to service management, to critically re-think the things they’ve learned before, and to move beyond practice-based frameworks like ITIL". This isn't a suggestion; it's a revolution! USM is calling us to a better future by breaking free from the tired old ways of doing things, and to stop going down the ITIL rabbit hole. It's time to unlearn what we've been taught and to embrace a new approach for a more efficient, effective, and sustainable way of managing our services. It takes some courage and persistence to go the USM way, but once you see the dot on the horizon, you’ll know why you want this. Check the USM Wiki to get an idea of this new thinking.
  • USM Thought Of The Day [28]: "𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. Navigating your job – or life - without a map is like trying to bake a cake without a recipe. Sure, you might end up with something edible, but it could also resemble a science experiment gone wrong. So, unless you fancy a culinary catastrophe, pick a direction and stick to it! This is exactly what USM gets you: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. Basic ingredients are also included, but you can expand these with 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬. The essence, however, is that dot." Read the USM Wiki to find out about the dot and the road towards it.
  • USM Thought Of The Day [29]: “Most organization have a management system but they are not really aware of it. As a consequence, they do not really know how to manage it. And if they know it – it rarely is a service management system, let alone an enterprise service management system. Yet, your enterprise service management system determines most of your performance as a whole, and your performance determines your survival.” If you want to learn – in a simple way – how to create that enterprise service management system, check the USM Wikifor free knowledge.
  • USM Thought Of The Day [30]: The term 'capability' only serves the theoretical analysis of the real world, but it doesn't do anything. But hey - when it's sexy and the consultants use it, they must have invented something important - so all (ignorant) customers will buy their time and the consultants can sell their next SNTTRH. Capabilities only specify the intended performance of organizations. But if you want to deliver that performance, you’ll always need the people, processes, and technology of your management system. Without that actual management system, capabilities are just thin air, describing the very same content as your daily routines already did, but now in abstract terms. USM explains how you can organize your real world performance in a smart but simple way, throughout your enterprise. @USMmethod https://usmwiki.com/index.php/USM%27s_Service_management_system
  • USM Thought Of The Day [31] "A fool with an ESM tool is still a fool". Ah, the eternal truth! You can give a chimp a spanner, but that doesn't make it an engineer. Similarly, throwing the latest ESM tool at a dysfunctional service management system is just going to create a more expensive, more complicated mess. Systems Thinking teaches us that an improvement to only one of the essential components of the management system will not deliver sustainable improvements. It’s not the tool; it’s the combined improvement of people, process and tooling that is required for that intended improvement. Replacing your tool with just another product will only cost more effort, time, and money. So, before you spend a fortune on shiny new software, perhaps you should check that you have your foundations in place.” The USMmethod explains that your service management only requires two functions. Check the USM Wiki to see what that is.
  • USM Thought Of The Day [32]: "𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐂-𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬? Why are 'vision papers' so abstract, clearly showing the lack of transformation from strategy to operations? The answer is: 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐂-𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. A meaningful C-level dashboard will not exist until C-level understands how to make the connection to Operations. The other way 'round is also a (rather logical) option, but that would require that the disconnect is repaired, 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 the translation from operational efforts to C-level goals can be expressed in measurable progress of dashboard items. And what causes this disconnect of C-level execs? A narrow view of strategy, perspective and focus, a communication gap, the idea that everything is data, culture, and 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐂-𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫: the actual service delivery of their organization." This is why the SURVUZ Foundation invests in free education for business schools and universities, so the managers of the future will have a better understanding of real life - with the knowledge of the USMmethod.
  • USM Thought Of The Day [33]: "For decades now, countless organizations have invested heavily in ITIL’s practice-based approach to service management... with improvements that quickly fade without constant maintenance and reinvestment". Ah, ITIL, that well-meaning, but rather high-maintenance friend we’ve all had. We pour time, money, and emotional energy into implementing it, only to watch the improvements fade away faster than a tan in November. It's like trying to keep a sandcastle from falling into the sea - you can keep piling more sand, but eventually the tide wins. The USMmethod says there’s a better way: focus on a sustainable model. Maybe it's time to embrace something more lasting than ITIL’s constant cycle of implement, maintain, and especially reinvest.”
  • USM Thought Of The Day [34]:” Never thought I'd live to see the day that #ServiceNow uses the term 'Unified Service Management'.... and yesterday, it just happened. But being able to support USM’s systematic approach to service management in a complexity-reduction strategy requires two main qualities: [1] a flexible workflow engine in a single database, and [2] an integrated register for your managed infrastructure. Normally tool suppliers will require a seat-based sales strategy, to be able to maintain that first requirement, avoiding the complexity, redundancy, and high cost of the popular module-based approach (as in ITIL). I don’t think ServiceNow will qualify. And I’m sure they don’t want to qualify – as it would ruin their business model.” For those of you who want to avoid the complexity, redundancy, and high cost of these popular tools, and really understanding the meaning of a Unified Service Management approach for an enterprise service management strategy: look at the USM Wiki to find a simple and affordable solution: most likely with your own tool.
  • USM Thought Of The Day [35]: "The core issue of 𝐈𝐓𝐒𝐌’𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 lies in the use of 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐓 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, using the 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑡𝑦 and 𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦 of practices rather than providing a simple, holistic, adaptable and methodical approach. ITIL, bless its heart, is like that friend who shows up with a suitcase full of tools when all you need is a screwdriver. Its complexity overwhelms and its lack of a clear system leaves organizations floundering.” This is where USM shines, offering 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡. Why use 34 (or more) practices and a hundred internal ‘processes’, when everything you need is a set of 𝟓 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟖 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 to cover everything you do? Check the USM Wiki for your next step in evolution and for your USM strategy.
  • USM Thought Of The Day [36]: “Risk Management is everyone's business, but not everyone is responsible. If you make everyone accountable, no one is accountable. Risks can be positive (innovations) and negative (threats), and they should all be handled in one integrated process: ÍMPROVE’ - not fragmented in dozens of practices, as in #ITIL. A manager can ask team members to submit risks as part of their daily function, but someone must be available and responsible to handle all those submitted risks. If you promote a culture of risk awareness throughout the organization and don't make someone responsible for doing something about it, all good intentions will go up in smoke and fall back into traditional firefighting mode. The USMmethod shows you how to manage risk in a proactive, continuous improvement organization.