Layers Can Keep You Warm
There has been a trend over recent years to strip out management layers - searching for the great productivity boom said to result from flattened organisations. Delayering is said to improve communications, increase transparency and lead
Employer and Employee in Health Harmony
Some lucky employees have healthcare benefits as part of their remuneration package. The rest of us have to juggle healthcare with our other priorities and are subject to the vagaries of the healthcare system and
What Can AI Do For Your Business?
Most business owners and managers are taking a keen interest in AI They have heard the hype and are now excited to learn the reality - to hear of the successful case studies of AI introduction
The Essential Business Quality
Is there one? One quality which is more valuable (and therefore more necessary) than others. Well, that is not a simple question. All businesses need a variety and a numb er of qualities to go successful
Just Work a Bit Harder
That’s what many of us think we have to do to make ourselves more productive, more effective. But it’s not true! I’ve repeated many times in this blog that you are not productive if you
A New Broom, Sweeping Changes
The UK has a new Primę Minister - allegedly a charismatic, left-leaning one. He is looking to change things - lots of things. He claims to be supportive of business but we will have to wait
A Gap for AI to fill?
Automation has long been championed as a driver of higher productivity in the manufacturing sector. It has been very successful in some areas - most often in high volume manufacturing operations such as automotive and
Too Hot?
Are you enjoying the period of hot weather we are in the middle of (in the UK)? Some people don't but most seem to like it. Of course it may depend on your work
The Golden Thread
There is a host of factors that determine the productivity of an organisation - operating at a number of different levels. For example, the productivity of an organisation that is making products that are
Is This Why Democracy Doesn’t Work
Most western democracies are going through turbulent economic times. Of course, recently we have had the various troubles relating, at least in part , to Donald Trump - tariffs that seem to change on a
Team Robots
In most organisations, outputs come not from the work of individuals but from the work of teams. In our new AI-powered and supported world, how do we build teams that include chatbots or robots. To
Not Necessarily Better
Those who have little experience of using AI tools, expect that, if they did, they would become more efficient, more productive and, in effect, smarter (or at least they would appear smarter to others). Yet how
Why AI might fail you
Lots of people, and organisations, are looking to AI to give them a productivity boost. Of course it might do so by improving the speed, accuracy or value of specific processes or transactions. However, those
Get Readt for the Future
The exhortation above is not meant for my 'normal' readers (assuming some of you are normal) but for the politicians who face some big choices and decisions over the next few years. We have heard
Try Harder
Many years ago when at business school, I studied a case study of Avis (the car rental company) and how they had grown rapidly to boom Number 2 in the business.The key to their success seemed
AI Can Lie
We've seen reports that AI systems can 'hallucinate' at times …. they throw up information which they have generated rather than reported, and sometimes the generation is a little strange. Now it may not surprise
Don’e Search for Excuses, Look for Solutions
Too many people, when asked about their performance - or lack of it - settle back on a range of excuses. "I don't have the right tools or equipment" "The stuff I get from my
An exercise in improving personal productivity
Many of use exercise on a fairly regular basis - perhaps weekly or even daily. We know this makes us feel better. What we have not perhaps understood until recent times is the improvement in mental
Will AI reduce the bureaucratic burden?
Over the last several decades society - and work - have become more complex, more complicated - with vast increases in rules, regulations and associated bureaucracy. This has created entire layers of employment focused on
What Are Your Employees Doing?
This question is easy to answer if you manage a factory or other work involving physical effort. You see items coming off the production line, being modified in some way. beingg painted or whatever. But
AI Improves Productivity – or Does It?
There seems to be two major views about the impact of the increasing use of AI on the productivity of organisations. One school of thought suggests that AI can streamline processes and systems, enhance knowledge
What Are We Missing?
We all know that productivity growth has slowed over the last decade. There have been numerous shocks to the global economy and trading system - the biggest being the financial crisis and the COVID epidemic
No More Typing
It always seemed odd to me when many managers lost their secretaries and took over their own typing - simply because word processing had been invented. Most also organised their own diaries, scheduled their own meetings
Its A Mess
Politicians in the UK have been going on about 'growth' for some time now. All major political parties have 'growth on their agenda and claim that they are the party that can deliver this growth.