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Do You Have to Control Everything?

31 March, 2014 by James Lawther 7 Comments

Command and Control

If there is one thing that upsets me… Really upsets me it is being controlled.  Being told where I have to be, when I have to be there, what I need to do, which meeting I need to go to… I hate being controlled. Of course it cuts both ways.  If I am hell-bent on […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: beliefs, command and control, do as I say, empowerment, human nature, management style, trust

Snakes, Rats and Your H.R. Policies

26 March, 2014 by James Lawther 3 Comments

Unintended Consequences

Have you heard of the Cobra Effect? In Victorian times, at the height of the British Empire, the governors of Colonial India were very worried about the number of cobras in Delhi — no self-respecting bureaucrat has a liking of venomous snakes. The governors came up with a plan.  They offered a reward for every […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: bad process, cheating, cobra effect, employee performance measures, human nature, incentives, nothing new under the sun, performance management, reinforcing behaviour, systems thinking

How to be a Amazing Manager

20 March, 2014 by James Lawther 7 Comments

remarkable manager

I am going to teach you how to be an amazing manager.  These are the secrets that will make you the world’s best boss and put you on the career path to greatness — would I lie? The amazing manager’s 5 point plan: What you need to do is… Get out of your office Talk […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: best practice, do as I say, management by wandering around, management style, motivation

Stranger Danger

16 March, 2014 by James Lawther 6 Comments

Stranger Danger

I play it safe On Thursday I spent all day in my boss’s team meeting.  I am a lucky man, I work with people I like… We see the world the same way We laugh at the same jokes We bitch about the same people (admit it, you do too) We moan about the same problems […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: beliefs, human nature, innovation, learning

Integrity

9 March, 2014 by James Lawther 7 Comments

two faced

ɪnˈtɛgrɪti/ noun the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles — synonyms: honour, sincerity, right-mindedness the state of being whole and undivided — synonyms: unity, coherence, togetherness, undividedness, togetherness, solidarity Have you ever met somebody who lacks integrity? How do they make you feel? Queasy? Ill at ease? Guarded? Stressed? Lack of integrity, it […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: integrity, motivation

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