Apple is having to phase out their chargers so that there is only one type for mobile phones.  This sounds like a great idea on paper: saves hassle, cheaper, saves on waste.

Apple, however, is having none of it.  They say that this move stifles innovation.  They argue that making everyone use the same thing will stop them creating better phones in the future. 

There’s a similar tension in a multi-academy trust.  It makes sense for all staff to use the same systems for things across all schools.  If everyone uses the same systems, it means greater interchangeability, and it’s easy for everyone to understand and be trained.  

The trouble is, how do you ever get improvement on services and ideas if there is no scope for change?  A small change to a way of doing something in one school could lead to a big improvement but for some MATs, this can never happen.

It’s a struggle to get this right and it's a problem we are acutely aware of.  It’s a difficult one to resolve and there are no easy solutions.  

If you think of some, though, you could always ring me.