Most business people are aware that the culture of an organisation has a direct and significant impact on performance and productivity. What is organisation culture? At its most simple, it is the collection of beliefs and values held and promulgated by the senior members of an organisation via their policies, decisions and behaviours. This in turn drives
Over the last several decades, especially since the second world war, we have been encouraged, and exhorted, to be more productive - to meet ever-stretching targets. And we have done it. Productivity figures over these years have been quite good. But what happened to those gains? In most of the Western world, there has been a
Too many executive teams are focused on this quarter’s results - the results that will be pored over by stakeholders and analysts, eager for some sign of development, of improving fortunes, of higher profit potential. The problem is that this narrow, short-term view tends to drive out the longer-term thinking that true strategic planning needs.
Digital Transformation (now I notice coded DX) is often cited as the basis of future productivity gains. True .... but working smarter, not harder is. not solely the province of technology. Technology can be a useful transformation catalyst but more important is the questioning of current working systems, processes and methods. If we don’t do
I read an article recently which suggested that forward-thinking companies need to merge their ‘traditional’ Lean practices with newer approaches such as AI. Whilst accepting the principle behind this comment, I think it is a little unfair on ‘Lem’ to suggest that the Lean approach to performance development does not readily accept new ways of
Quite rightly, many productivity gurus (like me) stress the importance of team working, team skills and team motivation in driving high performance. Few important tasks in industry and commerce are completed solely by individuals - they mostly require groups of people to work together in teams …. possibly small teams, possibly large sections or departments of an
Those of you who are regular readers of this blog will know that I am a great believer in looking after the well-being of your employees - making sure they are engaged, fully skilled, motivated and rewarded - if you want high productivity. In general terms, this was perhaps recognised 10 years ago, but the last
Those of you who are regular readers of this blog will know that I am a great believer in looking after the well-being of your employees - making sure they are engaged, fully skilled, motivated and rewarded - if you want high productivity. In general terms, this was perhaps recognised 10 years ago, but the last
The Lean philosophy emphasis a number of factors related to effective and efficient working - one of which is ‘flow’. Materials and information should flow through s process with no barriers or restrictions. What about there ‘flow; of people. ‘Flow ‘ is a term that has been applied to that state where workers are fully
You should always keep your business life separate from your personal and social life. True? On first reading, or first thought, it seems to make sense. However, think of all the times you have: Been bowling with the team Had a business lunch Held an after-hours birthday celebration Played golf with a business contact. Were these