In the world of business and increasingly in public organizations, 99% as good as the best is simply not good enough. Only the best is remembered and gets 80-90% of the business. All the rest scrabble for the 10%. World class performance is about having that small advantage and using it well, time after time. Not that I’m suggesting one small advantage will keep you in front for very long. Your advantage needs to be one that continually renews, expands and refreshes. No time to rest on your laurels, there is no standing still.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Future
Steam technology, Institutional Orthodoxy and UK Productivity
Sometimes history has a resonance with events today. Historians say you can’t understand today without knowing about yesterday. I’ve always been more interested in tomorrow, perhaps I missed a trick. But I was struck by England’s amazing success in becoming the major economic power in the world, and the contrast now with decades, or a century, of our productivity nightmare. Poor productivity costs everyone, employee, employer and Government, a massive amount of money. We need to fix it to be able to afford the Welfare State to which we think we are entitled. Enjoy the video.
Continue readingTime for a new Manifesto!
The pen is mightier than the sword and Marx’s writings have proved to be a nuclear option. His ideas have shaped history and perhaps, in their vision, help freeze progress? But he was far-sighted and foresaw that one day, with the right conditions, the supply of labour would gain the upper hand over the suppliers of capital. Has that day arrived? Enjoy the video.
Continue readingHuman Resources or Human Relations?
The HR department has evolved rapidly over the last 50 years. Is this a valuable evolution or is the HR department doomed to die out?
Continue readingEncouraging Innovation
I’m sure somebody rightly famous said “Innovate or Die”. It’s not a bad maxim, although the obsolescent part of the product Life Cycle curve can be a profitable strategy. Of course, the advantage of innovating is that you can expect a premium price while your competitors catch up. It can be a highly profitable strategy. But, like everything, you have to manage it properly. Enjoy the video.
Continue readingThe War for Talent
There has been a shortage of skilled applicants for jobs in the UK. I doubt that recent political events have made the country more appealing to foreign job-seekers. But there is a clue! How do you make your organisation more appealing to potential employees?
Continue readingStrategic Thinking and Decision Making
What do I mean by Strategic Thinking and Decision Making? There are some great examples of Strategic Thinking in the management books. There may be some great stories in your organisation too. Decision Making is the poor relation of the duo, but without good Decision Making the best strategy will run aground. Do you have a strategy? Do you practice critical thinking in your decisions?
Continue readingAre you an Executive? What do you do and what should you do?
Are you an Executive? A Director, perhaps the Chief Executive? What do you spend you time doing? Do you spend it on “comfort work”? Work that makes you feel busy, work that you are competent to do but work that should be delegated? If you are busy, keeping your head down, who is steering the Corporate vessel? Who is looking for the rocks on the journey or the next innovation that could move you forward? Should you be doing routine handle-turning work? Or should you be building the future? Even worse is the truth of who is steering the vessel!
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