Your Monday morning task
On Monday morning (or perhaps Sunday evening), ask yourself the following questions : What are the critical issues this week? What do I absolutely have to get done this week? What might come back to
How artificial, how intelligent?
Some people praise the potential of AI (Artificial Intelligence). Some are scared by it. Who is right? All of them. We know that all new technologies tend to be misused by unscrupulous and unprincipled actors. The
Small can be effective
In a changing world, business leaders are looking for more training options that provide greater flexibility and variety. They are looking for a mix of formats and delivery options, with a preference for short courses.
Re-Generation
In many countries, governments are raising the retirement age to contain pension and welfare costs. Today’s workers are going to have to work to a ripe, old age. (Since, generally, people are healthier and fitter than they
Digital Overload
We have all experienced sensory overload due to the deluge of emails we receive. This is even more so for those of us whose organisations have provided us with a range of helpful (?) productivity
In Retrospect
A new trend is emerging of organisations organising review and retrospection meetings - perhaps every 2 weeks or so to allow employees (collectively) to review what they’ve done, what they’ve achieved, what went well and
Where is the growth engine?
Lots of countries that expanded their productivity through the 1980s and 1990s have slowed to a crawl. Their 'growth engines' seem to have disappeared or been dismantled. COVID-19 may have been the final nail in
Continuity
Getting people back to the office is proving difficult for many organisations. Employees have got used to the flexibility, and to the lack of commuting, associated with home working. Many organisations have saved money by allowing users
Can I have some more, Sir?
We all need more food. The world population continues to grow. At the same time, however, we devote less land to agriculture as we create mega cities and urban sprawl. The only solution is increased agricultural productivity.
Let Them Laugh
I remember once walking past an office and the staff in there were obviously enjoying themselves. They were laughing - at what, I know not. My first thought was ‘How odd. Shouldn’t they be taking their work
Simple
A very simple way of thinking about productivity is to identify the things that block or slow down throughput and eliminate them. I know this is an oversimplification because in some case, removing a bottleneck
Working Hard is Not Enough
I get concerned when I see famous people in all sort of fields (‘celebrities’?) give advice to youngsters saying something like “You can be anything you want to be, do anything you want to do. You
Learn from other Disciplines
Someone once told me if you want innovation in engineering, don’t ask an engineer. They’ll give you accepted (and workable) engineering solutions but they won’t give you groundbreaking, innovative or creative solutions. What you need is
We need real, not artificial, intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is touted as ‘the next big thing’ in productivity improvement - and there is little doubt that we will see lots of examples of AI taking over relatively menial, snd some more
Are Some People More Productive Than Others?
Most people assume that some people are more productive than others - and for some jobs, that is clearly true. But for many people, their productivity is determined by ‘the system’, the technology and the productivity
What’s The Purpose?
Many firms put in systems to improve productivity, by monitoring what is going on and how hard people are working. They manage - or micro-manage - the time of their employees and how it is filled.
Trteat gyouyr employees like dogs
Do you have a dog? If so, you know that, above all else, dogs value ... food, yes, but consistent behaviour from their owner. That is how you train your dog - by applying consistent
The Technology Circle
Last week I suggested that technology might be useful in helping drive productivity forward. This week, I am changing my view after further reflection. Yes, over time firms have used technology to improve their business
Technology might help
Major technological change does boost productivity. Think of the really big developments - the wheel, the steam engine, the computer, the Internet, the robot. Though it takes time, such technologies have transformed industry and human life
Happy New Year
Since publication date of this blog is right at the end of the year, I simply want to wish everyone a productive new year. During the holidays, I am sure you have been reflecting on
Why do you monitor employees’ home working?
With Working from Home still being a a large factor for many organisations, monitoring of employee work habits has become more common. When did they send the email? When did they access the latest briefing note? Questions
What’s on Your ‘Don’t Do’ list?
Most of us have some form of ToDo list. This might be very simple - a list of things in our head that we want to do today or this week - or we might use
Become a Morning Person
Some of us are not naturally morn ing people. It takes us a couple of hours to becomes fully awake and alert and reach peak performance. If in that couple of hours. you’ve had one
Limited Success
The UK is successful in many areas - it has a large, successful renewable energy sector, a whopping great financial services sector and a large tech startup sector. Yet UK productivity does not reflect these advantages.