Research
Research
If we know what it means to be unjust to a manual worker (e.g. sending them home with a crushed body) then what does it mean to be unjust to a knowledge worker?
1. When humans work together there are patterns in the ways we work and in the tools and processes we use to support our work.
2. There is a single driver for these patterns that occur and recur at every scale of enterprise. These patterns that show up in our work are observable and measurable.
By describing how and why this universal pattern works, we can skill individuals, teams and organisations in any arena to describe, diagnose and design interventions for their work.
David Jones, PhD, discovered, and is continuously developing applications for, the pattern (a strange attractor) that underlies all outcome-focused interactions.
There are structural patterns inherent in the conversational forms we use as we cooperate toward outcomes. Failure to articulate and observe those patterns results in reduced productivity and needless frustration and hurt. That notion fuelled the pursuit and discovery (and expression in an integrative model) of an underlying universal pattern beneath outcome-focused conversations: a structuring pattern inherent in productive outcome-focused conversations.
"David is quite sincerely one of the most powerful thinkers I have ever come across. A systems thinker par excellance, as well as a fabulous interpreter of large-scale interactions, David would provide input on projects that would create quantum leaps in our understanding of the situation. David's ability to name (and reframe) the systems at play in any seemingly chaotic situation immediately lent clarity to the group's thinking, and provided the conceptual crystalisation necessary to begin to map out a way forward.
Colleague.
"David is without a shadow of a doubt the smartest guy I have met. His ability to hover over a system, allow it to seep into his pores via osmosis and then diagnose the system constraints, break points and leverage points is without parallel in my working life.
I remember many conversations and workshops with David, where he will come up with a diagnosis or model and you will feel like it is left of centre or not even in the frame. Ultimately this has turned out to be completely accurate and it is simply a matter of allowing time to run its course. Sometimes this time can be a couple of days but more often than not it is months and years ahead of others insights and ability to understand. I have learnt through many robust and sometimes frustrating conversations to trust David’s instinct in this space.
CEO.
"David has a unique talent for asking powerful questions, and steering a conversation in directions that bring powerful answers. I have often had to pause and reflect before answering his questions, and always felt clear and empowered after a conversation with him. He cuts through the fog that clouds real issues and helps a path emerge clearly."
Client.
"Foundations for justice in knowledge work is the most unusual thesis I have graded or read. I confess to vacillating in my assessment between concluding that it was bonkers or a work of genius — and perhaps it is both."
PhD Thesis assessor.