f your employees were fighting in factions, arguing among themselves and failing to do what you expect them to do, would you continue to pay them?  You might - but presumably you would also initiate

UK productivity in the first quarter of 2017 was the same as it was in 2007.  This  after relentless if sometimes slow growth over many years.So, not only have we not had the bounce i

The Office for National Statistics says that, had productivity in the UK returned to its pre-recession trend, it would be 20% higher than its current level. Britain would be one fifth better off. The normal pattern is

Canada's labour productivity rose 1.4% in Q1 2017. This is not a spectacular result but a solid performance. Sometimes, slow and steady progress is preferable to high gain, fall-back performance.  (Think 'tortoise and hare'.) This

We have been told a few times that what creates success is sheer hard work... the perspiration not the inspiration, and the 10,000 hours.  But many great men (and women) have achieved their greatness by

I try to keep up to date with productivity trends and productivity news. In scanning the airwaves and the twittersphere, I often see governments urging their citizens to be more productive. At least in religions

In the UK, we have been through a rather exciting General Election - though as I write this, we have the same government and the same Prime Minister. In their campaigns, all parties made us

Many nations have realised that the only true long-term key to economic growth is productivity improvement. The problem is that this realisation is often the end, rather than the start, of the matter.  Governments and

I've referred to the subject (threat?) of robots several times in the last year. Clearly they (robots) are going to have a big impact on many companies and on many people's jobs - but exactly

Global rating agency Moody's Investors Service sees a persistent decline in labour productivity growth, stemming from an ageing population and slow investments, as posing a key threat to global economic recovery. The agency's report, titled

The last 2 decades have sen the inexorable rise of the robot - especially in motor manufacture.  We have all sen the robotic arms lifting and fitting panels, spray painting, and so on.  Some workers

In the developing world, education standards have been rising for decades.  More and more of the population go to university and the number of degrees, and even higher degrees, rises relentlessly. Yet, still employers maintain

Japan has a highly automated industrial sector which has fuelled productivity growth over several years. However this efficient sector is only a pat of the Japanese economy (though an important part) and the rest of

Donald Trump is hailing his tax cutting plans as 'radical' and likely to stimulate US growth.How will they affect US productivity? Well, the way in which productivity responds to trade measures is not clear ...

Is laziness helpful in making people more productive? does it encourage them to seek less arduous ways of achieving the same output? Well, certainly the opposite is not true  Busyness is not a sign of

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, has issued a stark warning that living standards will fall around the world unless governments take urgent action to increase productivity by investing in education, cutting

I have just returned from the World Productivity Congress in Bahrain - a fascinating event in a fascinating country. I am not going to report on the Congress ... but the spirit of the event

I am travelling today from the UK to Bahrain for the World Productivity Congress. I do not expect world-shattering insights ... but I do expect to think  and act a little differently from next week

Most of us will admit that we are not experts in all areas. (Some of us will even admit to not being an expert in any area.) So, we take advice, help and support from

Lots of management texts and courses tell us about the details of planning, organising and managing.  One problem is that managers can tend to think that they themselves have to immerse themselves in the detail.

These two terms are often used interchangeably - but they are different.  Here I am not concerned with technical differences - but with philosophical or attitudinal differences. Organisations that pride themselves on being efficient usually

No-one is quite sure why the UK voted to leave the EU - but a recent study into the habits of 500 SMEs (small and medium enterprises), commissioned by online printing company instantprint, revealed that dealing

India is held up as the latest 'economic miracle' - transforming its economy over the last 20 years.  It is often suggested that success is down to 'hard' factors - such as technical ability, capital

I talked last week about AI - posing the question whether this is the next big technological driver of productivity improvement. Of course, some people are really worried about AI - and its effects on