Inspiring Others
Leadership is a difficult concept to 'bottle'. I have studied leadership theory and even contributed a little to it. Yet I would have trouble boiling the concept down to a couple of sentences - to go in
Heed the Lessons from other Sectors
It is amazing how so many sectors fail to observe, and adopt (or adapt) successful moves in other sectors. One of the most successful innovations (and productivity improvement moves) of my lifetime is the introduction of
Youn Need Soft Skills
I've spent a lot of my life helping individuals and organisations acquire the skills needed to help improve productivity. In doing so, I have observed that it is often HOW changes are implemented that determines their effectiveness
What Should You Be Doing?
Most people find, or think, they have too much to do. Naturally, they try and concentrate on those things that they consider to be the most important. However even this can be fraught with difficulty. If
Productivity is Not about Cost-CuttingMany people (even quite a lot of managers and directors) think that productivity improvement involves cutting costs. It can – and certainly cutting costs should improve productivity. However this should not form the basis of a productivity improvement strategy. Concentrating on cutting costs tends to lead to, at best, sub-optimal changes in the organisation and, at worst, a disastrous s loss of vital skills and expertise. Productivity improvement should not form part of an organisation’s strategy – it should BE the strategy. The aim should be to make revolutionary and/or incremental changes to what the organisation does – and how it does it – in pursuit of improved quality, resilience and overall excellence. Such changes should then drive improvements in revenue and lowering of costs (pro rata to output). So cost-cutting is the result of an effective productivity improvement strategy, not the basis of it.
Many people (even quite a lot of managers and directors) think that productivity improvement involves cutting costs. It can - and certainly cutting costs should improve productivity. However this should not form the basis of a productivity
Diagnosis can be confusing
I read a lot of papers and articles about productivity - or more usually, about the lack of productivity. Most Western nations have had little productivity growth over the last few years. Many of these
The debate continues on WFH
There has been much debate over the relative productivity effects of working from home (WFH) versus office-based versus hybrid working. Companies who sought to reduce property expenses by switching to WFH have generally been disappointed by
Its Not Better – or More – HRM you need
A recent article on the Gartner website suggested that with other approaches not producing effective results, what the business world needs is better human resource management to improve labour productivity. I couldn't agree less. I've
Bring People Together
We know that innovation often arises from an odd or unexpected coming together of people with disparate skills, different attitudes, different knowledge sets and perhaps different attitudes. There are even innovation approaches and techniques that aim
Doomed to be Disappointed
I was reading some research recently which suggested that managers and employees have quite different assessments of how much time might be saved by the introduction of AI to an organisation, with managers expecting significantly
Talk To Me!
Do you spend a lot of trime reading- and writing - emails? Are you an avid user of Slack or What's App? Many people do / are. Well, perhaps you need to rethink your approach to
Reflections
Now is the time to reflect on the last year. What went well? What went badly? What have you learned? What should you have learned? What new skills have you developed? If you are not
Making It Big!
It is often said- probably because it is true - that small businesses are the bedrock of a healthy economy. Business leaders know this; even leaders of large businesses, for their businesses were small once. One
I Give Up
I've been using AI systems for a while now. I mainly use Chat GPT but I have tried a few others to see how they compare. My executive summary is that particular systems may be better at
Like Me
There has been a tendency since forever for companies to hire new people that are like the existing people. This results partly from both conscious and unconscious bias but also from a 'reasoned' argument that like
In The Right Job
During the pandemic many people changed jobs - though some people also lost jobs. Quite a lot of the changes invalid a switch to a different ,location and/ or to a different industry as people
Think longer-term
In the UK (snd many other Western countries) companies find it difficult to plan further ahead than their next 3 month reporting period. If their reported performance drops, so does their share price - end
UK Workers Don’t Work Hard Enough
This is a statement you will often see in the UK press (and those in other countries will see similar statements with their country replacing the UK.) IBu is it true? Well, firstly the statement
Government stewaerdship of AI
AI has significant potential to help improve healthcare. It can (hopefully) save lives, improve the work and job satisfaction of health professionals’, and make health systems more people centred. It can help address some of
Be Wary About Transferring Your Ideas Across Continents
I have worked extensively in other countries than my own (UK). I have learned many valuable lessons - but perhaps the most important is that local solutions (to productivity problems) MUST be informed by local factors, local
Don’t Fix The Problem
A lot of people spend a lot of time fixing problems. Of course, you have to do something about a problem that has occurred - especially if it's one affecting our customers. Burt the real
Policy has driven inequality
I have the advantage and disadvantage of being old. I remember what I think were 'better times' (but all old people in most historic eras have felt the same. When I first worked in industry,
Our People Are Our Greatest Asset
How many times have you heard a CEO or senior exec trot out those words. It is a common phrase but a rare company that acts as if they believe it. I have railed before
Task Traceabiity
I worked for some time ii the seafood sector. Traceability was a major issue, as it is across the whole food sector. If there is an outbreak of something like salmonella, rthe authorities need to be able to