One Man, Two Guvnors
One man, two guvnors. Not just a funny play. It’s also the situation managers are in today. On the one hand, they are responsible for production, keeping the corporate machine running, hitting their targets for output and quality. On the other hand, they are responsible for their team, the people they lead. For many yearsContinue reading “One Man, Two Guvnors”
No more Navy Seals, please.
If I read another ‘Leadership’ book that talks about the Navy Seals, I’m going to throw up. Or any other elite combat group. Or a leading sports team. I get why people write about these. If you’re going to sell your book, it’s got to sound interesting and a bit sexy. These groups have aContinue reading “No more Navy Seals, please.”
What basketball tells us about the future of work
“Every company will go remote” predicts Chris Herd, CEO of Firstbase “We’ll be back in the office 5-days a week” opines Alison Schrager on Bloomberg Who’s right? Well, it’s hard to say because we are spectacularly bad at imagining what the future will be like. If you disagree, then let me tell you about theContinue reading “What basketball tells us about the future of work”
Follow the science
Here’s what research tells us about work: 1. We have limited amounts of cognitive effort. Typically, we can do 3-4 hours of concentrated work a day, in periods of around 90 minutes. Beyond that, our cognitive capability declines sharply. 2. People who have friends at work report being happier, more purposeful and productive. They alsoContinue reading “Follow the science”
‘Return to Office’ is bad for business
If you’re a CEO, you might feel like going all ‘Goldman Sachs’ and demand a full-time ‘Return to Office’, to snap back to how things were before, a ‘Return to Normal’. However, I fancy the self-styled ‘Masters of the Universe’ are making a big mistake by going against the market. Here’s ten things you’ll missContinue reading “‘Return to Office’ is bad for business”
It’s not WHERE but HOW that matters
It’s not WHERE that matters, it’s HOW. The conversation rumbles on about the ‘return to the office’, as evidenced by a rather flawed article on the BBC website titled “Should in-office workers be paid more?”. (The answer’s ‘No’). Once again, we start with a crude dichotomy between ‘office’ and ‘Work from home’. Once again, assumptionsContinue reading “It’s not WHERE but HOW that matters”
Literally, stuck in the past
You don’t need a new Operating System for your business. It needs to change, for sure, but it drives me nuts when people start talking about ‘installing a new OS’ or ‘Business 2.0’ or similar nonsense. An organisation is lots of things but it’s not a bloody computer. Or a machine of any kind. It’sContinue reading “Literally, stuck in the past”
Jerks at Work
Can you work effectively with arseholes? I use to think so. That I could have a ‘professional relationship’ with people I nether liked or respected and still deliver. Now I think I was wrong and that it was damaging to me personally. It’s why today I have a strict ‘No Arseholes’ rule. As author ofContinue reading “Jerks at Work”
The importance of the janitor
I once cleaned the toilets in a Corned Beef warehouse. I was holiday cover for the regular guy and it was a bit of a doddle, I was done by lunchtime. What did the regular janitor do with his time? He chatted to the guys who humped the corned beef around. He was pretty popular,Continue reading “The importance of the janitor”
A thought experiment on ‘The Office’
A thought experiment. Imagine an organisation where everyone works remotely, from home and other places too. “We need more innovation and collaboration”, says the CEO,”we need stronger relationships across the organisation”. A task force is put together to decide what to do. Their conclusion is that the way to address these three requirements is toContinue reading “A thought experiment on ‘The Office’”
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Decrapify Work 