Time to refresh those strategic thinking skills
What leadership skill do your employees, colleagues, and peers view as the most important for you to have? In the Harvard Business Review a 2013 study by The Management Research Group found that 97 percent of a group of 10,000 senior executives said strategic thinking is the most critical leadership skill for an organisation’s success. In another study, …
Christmas cards and how not to send them
Charity not cards. Some people seem to enjoy writing to each other to tell them they are not sending a card but have chosen to donate to charity instead. It is amazing how people have been duped into believing these two things are connected. You may get a note that says something like this: ‘As…
Coaching skills – real life reminders
We run many coaching programmes and sometimes real life reminds you of how relevant and important some of our frameworks and ideas are in practice. Example 1 I was chatting to a friend who asked how business is for DTC. I was enthusiastic and also mentioned we had been on the receiving end of a…
In which the CEO encourages employees to work harder by giving them forms to fill in
It is amazing how some managers think they can create forms and procedures that will keep employees successfully in line. We heard a case this week that just makes us want to weep. The company has many people working from home. The employees do a lot of miles. The CEO has introduced a new form…
In which Terry Gilliam’s vision of an organisation comes to life
We have spent hours and hours recently preparing tenders for Public Sector organisations. Based on our experience we wondered what it would be like to apply for a job in the Procurement Department…. This is what it might be like…. Applying for a job in the Procurement Department Dear applicant. Thank you for considering a…
In which we were mostly ignored but did eat a lot of chocolate
This week we went to a trade show. We went as potential buyers/customers and were frankly appalled by what we saw. The products and the services were not the problem, it was the people on the stands. We tried a test out on people. We went past every single exhibition stand slowly. We picked up…
The web site bouncer and abstract impressionism
I am out shopping in town and see that a new clothes shop has opened. I am not sure whether the shop is my kind of thing having never been inside before but it has a few interesting garments in the window so I head towards the door. Suddenly a man in a black suit…
The quantity theory of excellence and a performance management response
The restaurant is doing well. The staff are great, good food and a nice atmosphere. The restaurant becomes more and more popular and the owner is delighted. His dream of a successful business has come true. He enjoys the fact that the restaurant is full and takings are up. Something does begin to bother him.…
Is there any sign of personality or life in your paperwork?
When you dissect our work a couple things stand out. It matters what we say, how we behave how we interact. But of equal importance are our handouts, materials, proposals, slides, brochures; the written material that surrounds our profession. I bet many of you are judged on the same or a similar basis. Whether you…
Are you an Ostrich or a Finger Pointer?
In Marshall Goldsmith’s book ‘What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There’ he berates the leader who doesn’t apologise. I was running a session on Executive Presence on Friday and explored his research with a collection of up and coming managers and future leaders. We discussed leaders who refuse to apologise even after some monumental…