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5 Ways to Cultivate Evidence Based Management
In my last post I argued for E.B.M. (evidence based management) as an approach that will help you: Make the best possible decisions As fast as possible At the lowest possible cost Here are some...
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Layering Your Problems In
How to cook a leg of lamb When my wife cooks a leg of lamb she asks me to cut off the last 7 inches – the shank. Cutting the last few inches off a leg of lamb is not easy. It requires a hack saw and...
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Synergy
A great management word We love to talk about synergies, it is a super word, hard and scientific. It gives the impression that we know what we are doing. That we are in control. Synergy: the creation...
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A World Without Objectives
Objectives: could we manage without them? How would we cope? The guys in H.R. would throw up their hands in horror. We couldn’t rate our staff. Pay for performance would flounder. Annual appraisals...
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Poor Behaviour
Dysfunctional situations It is easy to blame other people’s behaviour for poor performance: He is uncooperative She is selfish He is incompetent She is a bully He is power crazed She is rude Poor...
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Corporate Conflict
The battle On any given day in any corporation you will see: barbed e-mails, poisonous meetings, water fountain back-stabbings and all out turf wars. This is common or garden violence and nothing to...
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What Are You Talking About?
Does your language define you? The Sami people in the far north of Scandinavia have lots of words for snow. Soavli — Wet slushy snow Vahca — New snow Guoldu — Very fine snow that blows up from the...
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The Two Faces of Accountability
Accountability When things go wrong there is a simple solution. Politicians do it, journalists do it, managers do it and even my children do it. When things go wrong we search for somebody to blame...
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Does Your Organisation Have Bad Habits?
We don’t think much We spend most of our time reacting to situations without thinking about them. It’s the way our brains work. Over time we pick up habits and learn routines. They allow our...
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Why Change Fails
The need for change There is lots of pressure on companies to be nimble, to innovate, and to change. Yet these directives fail time and again. This has lead to widespread puzzlement and a host of...
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Failing to Learn
Flight 1549 On the 15th of January 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 struck a flock of canada geese as it was climbing away from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport. The plane lost all engine power. The...
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Everybody Cheats
Who can you trust? When I was a small boy, the most exciting thing in the world was a day trip to London with my father. I was brought up in a field in deepest Yorkshire. The big smoke was amazing....
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Cigarettes and Alcohol
Prohibition Noun: The act of forbidding something, especially by law In 1919 the US government attempted to reduce levels of alcohol consumption. They passed legislation that prohibited its...
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Outcome or Effort, Which Should You Reward?
You should praise your children Every parent will tell you that you should applaud your children. Praising them for a job well done and telling them how clever they are builds confidence and self...
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Stopping the Suicidal
Preventing bad behaviour From the start of the industrial revolution to the mid 20th century, we British have used town gas. It lit our streets, fired our boilers and cooked our roast dinners. Town...
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What Is the Biggest Sin of All?
Should you reward success? Rewarding success is the obvious thing to do. Slaps on the back, public praise, bonuses and honours come easily to us. People expect to be rewarded for good performance. If...
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