The US is imposing tariffs on a number of imports - notably steel and aluminium.  The aim is to protect US manufacturing by making foreign goods more expensive - thus making domestic products more competitive.  Now I haven't seen the details of the tariffs - but I do know that this is an area in

Sometimes, well-performing organisations move into 'coasting' mode - they know they are good, so they keep doing what they are doing, perhaps taking advantages of new technologies or 'obvious' improvements when they come along, but not actively striving for change and improvement. in such cases, the leaders of the organisation have to find some way

Business people who come from the product, manufacturing or engineering disciplines have a natural instinct to try to exercise process control to improve efficiency and profits. Those without such a background often aim at controlling costs. Some take one or other of these approaches to extremes. (Think Six Sigma.) The great advantage of the former

There is some debate about whether a concentration on productivity is bad for creativity.  However this is a fallacy. Over-concentration on quality - and especially compliance - can be bad for productivity, but productivity and creativity are natural bedfellows. So it depends on how broadly or narrowly you interpret productivity.  Rigid compliance to standard operating

Being able to do two things at once might seem like the epitome of efficiency - why waste time doing just one task when you can complete two simultaneously? However, famously there is a belief (myth?) that women can mulitask but men cannot - hampered by having a 'one track mind'. In the real world,

We give ourselves a metaphorical 'pat on the back' when we complete another item on our 'to do' list ... and we do the same with our employees. We congratulate them for completing a task or project. What we should congratulate them for is their achievement - or the impact they have made. A teacher,

McKinsey is suggesting that the recent sluggish productivity performance in the developed world might be coming to an end.  We might soon see productivity rises like we did before the economic downturn - of the order of 2% per year. Are they right? Only time will tell.  The time is right - but are the

The world of employment has been changing for some time - especially in developed nations.  More people work part-time, change jobs frequently and have multiple jobs and 'portfolio' careers. What are the implications for productivity? One obvious point is that it becomes more important to get people 'up to speed' very quickly - what is

Do motivated employees create good work and higher productivity?  Yes! But this is a 'What came first? Chicken or egg?' scenario. I would argue that giving employees good work motivates them and leads to higher productivity. An effective business leader creates good jobs - and engages employees with regard to their role in the organisation. 

Recently I was writing some course material on improving innovation and I suggested there that to make people more innovative, you need them engaged and you need to give them freedom to explore. Then I came across Gallup's new State of the Global Workplace report which suggests that only 15% of employees worldwide are engaged in their