Productivity growth has been falling or stagnating for the last couple of decades. Everyone seems surprised. (Well pundits, journalists and politicians do!) I'm not! The growth referred to above was mostly in the manufacturing sector - where productivity growth is relatively easy to accomplish ... especially with the help of new technologies. But most developed nations
Though this post refers specifically to the UK, there are lessons for most nations … so don’t turn the page… read on! UK productivity stagnated some time ago and has been bouncing along the bottom of most nationality comparison charts for too long. Serval people far more important than me have tried to explain the
Technology has changed the role of a manager - by creating a situation where many managers do their own typing, their own diary management, their own meeting arrangements and so on - tasks which were once most often undertaken by a secretary or P.A. Now we have the much-vaunted rise of AI, which might take
Holding employees accountable for their behaviour and their work outcomes is important. But it needs to exist in a supportive and trusting culture so that those employees are performing whilst being, and feeling, supported. They need to be engaged with the organisation and its mission and feel that, when appropriate, their voice is heard. If he/she expects
How many organisations that adopt one of these tools have done so on the basis of a rigorous, systematic evaluation or assessment? How do they know they have selected an appropriate tool? Firstly, of course, you should be clear about the problem you are trying to solve or the opportunity you are trying to seize. You should
There is increasing evidence that high performonce and productivity comes from workers who are engaged with the organisation …. aware of, and preferably sharing, its value set; aware of, and preferably invested in, its longer-term mission. Engaged individuals are much more likely to contribute to formal and informal innovation processes, much more likely to be
We all know that to.be successful in our career, we have to plan ahead, in our job, we have to plan ahead' in our life, we have to plan ahead. Although we know this is true, we often forget to do it When should we do it? So, when do we do it. Forgetting about
We have all seen examples of business leaders focusing exclusively on productivity growth - and failing to develop the business. Elon Musk - and his (‘hard-nosed’) approach to managing Twitter (now ‘X’) is just one example. Does this mean that a very strong focus on productivity is wrong? As often is the case, the answer
Yes, you should. We all need a break from work occasionally to rid ourselves of accumulated stress, to refresh ourselves. But I've learned that there are things you can do to help maintain productivity whilst still having x complete break. Firstly - prepare for the vacation. One of the worst things about a vacation is
Your personal productivity depends on how well you know yourself. What interests you? What are you good at? What don't you like doing? In the past, when have you performed well - and what were the circumstances? Each of us is different. We have different interests, different motivations, different abilities, different skills. This means we