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Are You Missing out on the Next Big Thing?

22 December, 2013 by James Lawther 18 Comments

Pumpkin Carving Tool Set

Consultants always have a tool kit, a fancy method and a book that you can use to improve performance. There is always something new: Systems Thinking Total Quality Management Theory of Constraints Lean Thinking That is just for the process improvement guys, let us not forget that Numbers and acronyms always sell books You really […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: assumptions, human nature, problem solving

The SMART Goal Myth

19 December, 2013 by James Lawther 20 Comments

I have been on a leadership course. I’ve learnt that if I want to improve my team’s performance I must set them all SMART goals.  A goal that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time bound — I bet you’ve been on the same course. A good SMART goal is something like: “increase sales rates from 15% to 22% by […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: assumptions, management style, objective setting, SMART goals

The I-Bomb

15 December, 2013 by James Lawther 10 Comments

Bang… There’s been an explosion.  Not a Car Bomb or a Molotov Cocktail, nothing that crude, it was much more sophisticated, it was an Infrastructure Bomb, it… Shredded your systems Destroyed your data Pulverised your processes Macerated your MI Splattered your specifications Brutalised your business rules The whole lot is gone… wiped… deleted.  The waste […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: capability, constraints, information technology, infrastructure, innovation, legacy systems

Five Useful Questions

8 December, 2013 by Hugh Alley 5 Comments

5 questions

This is a guest post. One of the marks of great leaders is that they ask great questions.  How did they learn those great questions and where could you learn some to ask? Five great questions Mike Rother at University of Michigan has pulled together a set of five very useful questions that prove remarkably […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: communication, management style, training

Getting it Right When it all Goes Wrong

4 December, 2013 by James Lawther 5 Comments

Sometimes it all goes wrong, there is a calamity, a disaster or a screw up. Shit happens. There is only one sensible response when it all goes a bit Pete Tong; understand why and then do something to stop it happening again — it works even better when done quickly. This is not a revelation. My father […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: accountability, blame, communication, fessing up, management style, trust

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