Technological innovation can drive massive productivity gains - but it is some time since we have had innovations of the size of those in the 1970s and 1980s - when the PC first hit desktops

The world needs to improve productivity - if we are to raise living standards, feed the world and avoid water and fuel shortages. Yet, governments seem unable to do this - productivity has been at

GDP per hour worked is the normal way in which we measure - and compare - national productivity. This is at best a 'blunt instrument'.  There are so many factors that affect GDP besides productivity. So,

The productivity of Germany and France (GDP per hour worked) is strong - and almost identical ... even though Germany is normally regarded as a strong economy and France as a weak one. Perhaps the

We've all seen technology completely disrupt certain industries - photographic film, film cameras, music recording, etc. Sometimes what emerges from this process of disruption is a changed but equally strong industry; but sometimes the disruption

Donald Trump aims to 'make America great again' by re-patriating manufacturing and putting Americans back to work. Laudable aims - but practical? The second can't happen without the former .... but if he does succeed

Some of you will have made New year's resolutions. Well, don't make specific resolutions relating to work and productivity - unless itb is one to revert to 'first principles' and review: your mission and vision

I make no apology for my continued focus on the UK. Any government should be looking to increase national productivity - by identifying key areas and key levers they can 'pull'. In the case of

Further to last week's comments on the new UK Productivity Council, UK Chancellor Philip Hammond used the Autumn Statement to pledge new funding for fibre broadband and 5G technologies. The £400 million investment in fibre, called

The UK Government is set to fund a business-led initiative designed to improve management skills and business productivity, after Chancellor Philip Hammond’s announcement within the Autumn Statement 2016. The new UK Productivity Council will help

There are lots of blogs and magazine articles offering 'productivity hacks'. What impact do these have on the productivity of an organisation? Well, most of them are aimed at personal productivity.  They may help some

How will Brexit affect UK productivity? Well, it looks as though tax revenues will be lower.  But employment looks to be holding steady. The uncertainty will lead to slower investment by some firms. But the

Just last week there was a near collision between a passenger jet and a drone. Drones have, in fact, had quite a bad press.  Yet their potential is immense. There are all sorts of ways

Frontier companies are those who operate at the technology frontier - early and effective adopters.  Unfortunately in the UK, there are few such companies and far too many laggards who adopt technology late and often

Sometimes it seems  difficult to get the productivity message over to people - the young aren't interested and it seem to be way down the priority list of many business people and politicians. So, perhaps

One of my great 'life lessons' came about from reading a quotation which I think is attributed to the Dalai Lama. "If you are in control of a situation, there is no need to worry.

Do your employees turn up at 9am and leave at 5pm, having completed their day's work.  Was it satisfying for you to watch them beavering away?  Were they productive?  How much more productive might they

When you hire new people how do you induct them into the organisation?  Too often this consists of introductions, 'policy sessions', issuing of email ids and passwords .... and little else.  Your new people are

Automation brings rewards to companies that invest.  The auto industry has installed many thousands of robots over the last 10 years - numbers of employed people have fallen, quality has risen, productivity is up. Great

Japan is offering employment subsidies to organisations that improve their productivity.  So 'winning' companies get a double boost. Is this a sensible role for government - to reward the successful? One reason for their action

The relentless rise of technology and the willingness of men to experiment means we are likely to see a merging of mankind and technology over the next couple of hundred years - producing real cyborgs.

More firms are allowing workers to come to the office in less formal attire.  Does this have an impact on productivity? There is little research on the issue.  The arguments seem to boil down to:

Nations are (quite rightly) urged to improve educational standards and attainments to help boost national productivity.  An educated - and skilled - workforce is a key underpinning of higher productivity. This is actually a vicious

We know that teams that share values tend to knit together better.  A culture in which people 'get on' and work for each other is considered to be productive. Yet, tension can provide creative sparks;