Neil Goodwin
Neil Goodwin is a director of GoodwinHannah and visiting professor of leadership studies at Manchester Business School.
Recent activity
Blog Posts (11)
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Cooperatives: easier said than done
The proposal to introduce staff cooperatives to run services will work only if government remains focused on the vision and principle, and does not become distracted by the discussion of the detailed consequences.
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The importance of trust
If there’s one issue that will be the touchstone for success during 2010 it has to be trust.
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The reality of future challenges
A recent seminar with a group of non-executive directors to discuss dysfunctional boards and corporate failure demonstrated how grounded they are about future challenges facing the NHS and their organisations.
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Health system development plans
In my report on Lincolnshire I recommended that health system development plans should be introduced across the NHS. This is quite deliberately a recommendation about process because when dysfunctional organisations or health systems are examined the single biggest issue is a breakdown in relationships.
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Managers show their worth
I was taken recently by the findings of a study of careers of NHS managers with 25 or more years experience. The findings are especially interesting because the careers of many of the managers interviewed pre-date the introduction of general management into the NHS in the 1990s.
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Comments (6)
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Comment on: Investigation into NHS regulation announced
The literature on failing healthcare organisations is clear about the half dozen or so symptoms of corporate failure. In my experience of investigating a number of failing organisations, and when examining the circa 130 inquiry and investigation reports undertaken over the last forty years of the NHS, poor relationships invariably feature - within a board, with partners and/or between managers and clinical staff. These relationship issues are enormously distracting and often get in the way of people focusing on the discussions they should be having. So although understanding why failure occurs is not difficult, history shows it is much harder for boards and other teams to learn how to spot emerging symptons, assess their risk and take corrective action. The greatest challenge for the review will be in helping NHS organisations and regulators to develop this important skill.
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Comment on: The next NHS chief executive?
I think the more interesting observation is the appointment of someone of Jonathan Michael's age and experience to a senior CE post, especially to an organisation that appears to require considerable 'sorting out.' It's a credit to common sense recruitment and to Jonathan for taking on the role when most of his contemporaries are thinking of spending more time in the garden.
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Comment on: More Perspiration than Inspiration
Thanks for this, I entirely agree. I really like the phrase 'present approximation is better than deferred precision' - forgive me if I use it, with suitable acknowledegment of course!
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Comment on: More Perspiration than Inspiration
Thanks for the above comment. It is a matter of language. Without going into too much detail suffice it to say that there was too much professional pressure exerted to retain the status quo rather than the better quality option of merging the high-tech element of the service within a network that embraced rehabilitation and related services. I hope this explains?
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Comment on: Boards, micromanagement and failure
I understand the point 'anonymous' above is making. Of course it's down to the people round the board table and the way they work internally and externally, the information they choose to look at and the way it's presented to them. I've said before that boards are a bit like democracy: it's the best model we have, in this case for running organisations, until a better one comes along.
