Blog

Recently Scott Keller wrote a post at the HBR blog site on the importance of ownership. He described a study reported in a book by Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman in which half the participants were randomly assigned a lottery number. The remaining half were given a blank piece of paper and a pen and … Continued

To what extent are you responsible for innovation in your company? The reality is that unless you’re in research or product development, most people in organisations don’t think of themselves as innovators. In fact, many managers discourage their people from inventing new ways of doing things — pushing them instead to follow procedures and stay … Continued

Whilst it’s been around a while, this article remains one of the most influential articles on leadership of all time. Not only does it show the importance of emotional intelligence on leadership behaviour, it shows how a leader’s different approach or ‘style’ directly impacts their team’s climate and performance. Proprietary diagnostics to measure style and … Continued

Increasing productivity with little or no financial outlay has been a consistent theme of late. A recent Harvard Business Review looked at why some knowledge workers are more productive than others. They discovered the primary difference in how these workers do work is that they have the power to shape their work environment — which … Continued

Recognition is up but interesting variations in the different regions around the world…. But as I always say, recognising the extra effort employees have given in a tough business climate by providing feedback and positive reinforcement will pay dividends — and it often comes at no cost to the organisation. Read the full article here….

CBI and Pearson recently promoted some research into what businesses are looking for in school leavers and what needs to change in our current education system. Interesting to note that only 20% of all jobs require a graduate qualification. Launching the research Rod Bristow, UK President of Pearson, said: “The connection between education and the … Continued

Engaging staff with little or no additional cost to the bottom line is a challenge facing all businesses today. Line managers are crying out for salary and bonus increases to retain their best staff but HR and the executive say ‘no’. However, the good news is that money, according to Daniel Pink and the Centre … Continued

This blog is more of a helpful ‘insight’ rather than ‘hint’. It does, however, go to the heart of one of OD practitioners’ key concerns: how to engage when times are tough and budgets tight. This sets the context and over the coming weeks I’ll provide some further no or low cost ideas to engage … Continued

In a word, yes. It really does matter what people think of you and how you are perceived – but it shouldn’t be the be all and end all. The reality of life is that most people can’t help but be affected by other peoples’ impressions of them and therefore how people react to them. … Continued