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Organisational Mechanics

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Sexism and Process Improvement

7 November, 2013 by James Lawther 5 Comments

The Big Five are five symphony orchestras in the United States that “lead the field in musical excellence and calibre of musicianship”. If you went to listen to them in the 1970’s, you would have noticed that about 5% of those excellent musicians were female. If you do the same thing today that proportion is more like a […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: assumptions, human nature, service improvement

God-Awful Art and Operational Measurement

3 November, 2013 by James Lawther 4 Comments

stand back and look

I can’t draw I am not bestowed with an artistic talent. That is not a defeatist attitude, just (another) realisation that I am less than perfect. At school I took art lessons.  They were possibly the most painful hours in my life; my school friends would sketch away with alacrity creating images of great beauty […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis, Tools & Techniques Tagged With: clarity, key performance indicators, measurement, monitoring, service improvement

The Demons of Management

31 October, 2013 by James Lawther 6 Comments

sins of management

Why is operational improvement so difficult?  Maybe it is because we are our own worst enemies.  Here are a handful of our own organisational demons. Dogmatism ~ an unquestioning belief in our own “rightness” Instead of questioning our own beliefs we plough on regardless.  The more senior we are the more dogmatic we become, after […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: management style, systems thinking

A Team Needs a Purpose

27 October, 2013 by James Lawther 3 Comments

Goal

A team needs a purpose, a raison d’être, an objective. Without a purpose it isn’t really a team, just a bunch of people. If you agree, then it seems reasonable that the clearer that purpose, the stronger the teamwork. Is it clear what the purpose of your team is? Is it memorable? Can you write it […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: purpose, teamwork

Team, Purpose, Method

25 October, 2013 by James Lawther 4 Comments

bobsleigh

There is a line of thought that there are three key factors at work in your organisation: Your team, the people and the relationships you have with them Your purpose, the reason your organisation exists Your method, the processes, systems and know how you use to get things done These 3 things inter link Without a […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: capability, purpose, teamwork

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