Focus – but not all the time
Focus! Focus! Focus! That’s the advice we are given. If we focus, we can perform, we can achieve. But as with all such exhortations, such simplistic advice, such trite sayings, there is another side to examine.
Lowering Working Hours is Not Sustainable
There have been numerous reports lately of organisations cutting working hours to increase the engagement of employees, whilst paying the same salaries. This is said to improve productivity. I am somewhat skeptical of such reports - and of the
The Future Can be Built on Stories
Story-telling is becoming recognised as a very effective means of communication. People react better to an interesting narrative than to a boring set of facts or exhortations. So, telling people your vision, and what you
Short-term thinking, short-term success
If we give our staff a list of objectives to meet or tasks to complete, they will generally do so. After all, most come to work to do a good job and to please their
Throw Away the Plans
That headline does not mean we should stop making plans. Those who don’t plan, don’t succeed. It means that we must recognise that a post-pandemic world causes us to rethink some of the old certainties. The Omicron
Benchmark to highlight posible gains
When undertaking productivity assignments in some countries, it is surprising to find out how far performance and productivity is from that of the best performing countries snd organisations. This in spite of the data that
Two Important Questions
Do you know the real underlying causes of downtime and reasons for employee inactivity? Are you able to act on these causes in time to negate their effects? If ‘yes’ to both, you have
Laugh Your Way to Productivity
Managers who hear their employees laughing may be angry at the lack of discipline, art the lack of concentration, at the lack of serious effort. Yet, laughter serves a variety of purposes in a work
Dieting is a Short-Term Fix
When we diet, we usually start with great enthusiasm and we probably have some initial success. We buy new foods and ingredients, try new recipes. We might go to gather gym more often band try
Value Progress, not Perfection
Many of us beat ourselves up at the end of the day because we haven’t been able to complete our ToDo list - which just gets longer and longer. However instead of bemoaning what we
Returning to Work can be Srressful
Many organisations are bringing employees back to the office - perhaps not full-time but maybe on a hybrid working basis. When they do this there are all sorts of logistical challenges. Do we bring everyone back
We Still Need Passion
Some organisations concentrate almost exclusively on the numbers, on pushing sales, on improving efficiency and productivity. It is good to do this but sometimes those organisations forget the passion. What drove the business at the
Who is responsible for productivity improvement?
There is no one ‘secret’ to improving productivity. It must be a team effort looking at big things like strategy and culture; and little things like execution and motivation. None of these can be left out. The
Money Is not Enough
The UK government is pouring m ore money in to the National Health Service. During the pandemic the NHS has been highly valued but terribly stretched and many of its normal day to day procedures
Vision without Strategy – No Power!
Electric cars, buses, even planes. They are all coming. Vehicles are improving all the time. As sensors become more efficient, range is extended - and range anxiety is the one factor that puts buyers
Has Homeworking Been a Success?
There have been many reports that the pandemic has proven the effectiveness and productivity of home working. However, a lot of these reports were based on surveys of employees who say they feel more productive when
The Two-Minute Rule
One useful principle to remember when dealing with incoming mail is to to try and handle everything only once. Pick something up and deal with it so it needs no further action. It is so
Use All Your Senses
Mindfulness has been a bit of a buzzword over the last couple of years. It suggests that we should all be aware of who and what we are, and try to focus on the present
AI may not be a productivity revolution
There have been quite a few claims over the last five years that artificial intelligence (AI) will result in huge gains in productivity. These huge gains don’t, though, seem to be arriving any time soon. When
The Importance of Analytics
We’ve talked quite a few times about measuring productivity - to highlight (relative) inefficiencies, to set benchmarks and targets for improvement - but mainly to understand just what is happening in a process. We measure throughput,
Feelind Good is Not Enough
Many of us use multiple messaging and productivity platforms in our work - Zoom, Teams, Slack and so on. Quite a few also regularly drop into Twitter or Facebook. Each time we read an interesting
ToDo lists don’t tell you much
Many people use ToDo lists and apps to keep track of their outstanding tasks. There are also lots of apps available, with different flavours of operation. However, you need to remember that a ToDo list (even
Look After Them
I saw in a recent survey that people who thought their productivity had increased (or at least stayed the same) whilst working from home during the pandemic, also reported that their mental well-being had improved.
Its not the technology driving productivity
People often claim that technology is the key to improved productivity. Firms should, they say, be investing in digital services, robotics, AI, IoT and so on. Generally, there does seem to be a correlation