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The Management Spork

20 October, 2013 by James Lawther 10 Comments

spork

I grew up in the 80’s. One of the breakthroughs of the decade was the Spork. It was half spoon, half fork and if you bought the deluxe version, it had a serrated edge making it half knife as well (don’t think about that too hard). The Spork was billed as the end to all […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: bad process, employee performance measures, form follows function, mixed messages, performance management, sacred cows

Form Follows Function

16 October, 2013 by James Lawther 2 Comments

This is not new news Fire engines look the way they do so they can put out fires The London Underground looks the way it does so it can transport people Crocodiles look the way they do… (maybe now I am labouring the point) If you know your function then your form will follow. So far […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: form follows function, purpose, service design, video

Bonsai Management

13 October, 2013 by James Lawther 12 Comments

Bonsai Tree

I have started growing bonsai trees.  It is immensely satisfying and the results are beautiful.  It is not too difficult, this is how you do it… Pick a plant species that responds well Carefully trim back its roots and branches Choose a small container to constrain growth Plant in well-drained soil Feed and water regularly […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: conformity, empowerment, management style, organisation, performance management

How to be a Creative Genius

10 October, 2013 by James Lawther 9 Comments

Have you ever sat in a brainstorming session where the facilitator pins up a blank sheet of paper and asks people to shout out their “new” ideas? Everybody freezes as they start to worry: Do they have a new idea? Who has thought of it before? Is it a good idea? What will the boss think? […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis Tagged With: brainstorm, innovation, nothing new under the sun

Are You Too Clever for Your Own Good?

5 October, 2013 by James Lawther 10 Comments

Locked or Not

I travel a lot with work. It is not glamorous.  I’d love tell you that when I said I was in K.L. I meant Kuala Lumpur, but unfortunately it is far more likely to be Kings Lynn (for those of you who are not from the UK, Kings Lynn is sometimes, albeit unkindly, referred to […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: accident prevention, automation, complexity, East Midlands Trains, human nature, less is more, service design, simplicity

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