I have spent much of my life urging companies to become more efficient - and helping them to do do. But, of course, I know that some do not go far enough. Becoming more efficient

Recruitment is perhaps the most important function you ever undertake If you don't recruit talented, skilled, flexible staff, you can't expect your staff to exhibit talent, skill and flexibility. But you also have to create

If you run an organisation - and run it well, how do you manage to keep it running well when you are not there.  This can certainly be a problem for small, startups and growing

Should we focus our improvement efforts on improving the quality of what we do ... or in improving the productivity It doesn't matter. Productivity and Quality are inextricably linked. Improving quality adds value to goods

Do you know how well your competitors are doing - not in terms of their results but operationally? They might have better results but be a worse performer because they are bigger than you. They

When running a race, an athlete has to be in peak condition, with no injuries. They also have to be aware of the capabilities of their opponents and set their tactics accordingly (especially for long

Remember ergonomics?  Not many people seem to. I often see products that look like the designer has no idea of the shape and size of a typical person.  They may have been designed for an

Some organisations treat  people badly as they pursue profit at all costs. Yet this is short-termism of the worst sort. As you travel around and visit various companies, you will invariably see a poster or

The Industrial Revolution was the greatest ever change to UK society, transforming the lives of millions of people. Yet, at the time, many people suffered from appalling work under dreadful conditions. Now the UK is

Politicians often bemoan the UK's poor productivity.  Yet, at the same time, over the last decade they seem to have systematically destroyed much of the further education sector with a policy of 'a thousand cuts'. 

We expect modern managers to be numerate and analytical. We educate and train them to be so. Yet when we look at entrepreneurs we see something else.  We see creativity and passion. Which of these are

I read a comment the other day suggesting that increased private investment in (private) education would improve its productivity. I think this is debatable. As in many other areas, it depends on how you define and

Toyota has had its fair share of problems recently - and has certainly been knocked off the plinth it has been on for some time... held up as a beacon of efficiency and productivity, So,

You will have often heard a phrase like ... Success is a marathon, not a sprint ... indicating that the activity in hand must be addressed with focus and concentration over the longer- term. Well,

Many organisations make some attempt to treat employees well - with recognition and reward systems, flexible approaches to leave, healthcare and so on.  The trouble with such 'benefits' is that they quickly get absorbed into

Certainly in the UK, drones have had a bad press recently - with the disruption caused at London's Gatwick airport. However, the sensible ones among us (and I do - perhaps rather arrogantly - include

My father, who unfortunately died early at the age of only 54, was, like me, a technophile. I often say on seeing or using some new piece of technology .. “My dad would have been

The top one per cent of UK firms grew on average by eight per cent each year between 2004 and 2014, while the lower 99 per cent experienced annual productivity growth of less than one

We are all under pressure to multitask - to deal with emails, messages and reminders whilst also doing our 'real job' Even when not under this avalanche of inputs, many of us choose to listen

On a recent business class flight, the guy next to me got out his laptop and worked on if for most of the flight. I ate the meal,  a drink, snoozed a little and did

I only recently cam across TRIZ - a (Russia-originated) problem solving and creativity guide for 'the rest of us' - those who are not creative by nature.  Part of its 'secret' is that it is

Every week there is commentary in  the US press about the productivity of football (NFL and/or college) teams or individual players. This is not productivity - it is about performance  ... but fails to use

Do you want an innovative organisation - a creative workforce? If so, think about when you last had an original (or half original) thought. Not recently? Well, if you can't think originally, why and how

I have recently been writing assessments for students on productivity-related courses.  This is one of the more difficult exercises in academic life - and, of course, exceedingly important ...both for the quality of the qualification