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The Project That Couldn’t Fail

15 July, 2017 by James Lawther 2 Comments

Plan to Fail

Trite management sayings Managers love clichés. They pick them up as they gain experience and seniority. The most popular are those that prove their superiority and make others feel small. A couple of my personal favourite statements of the obvious are: “Fail to plan and plan to fail” and “Poor Planning leads to P### Poor Performance”. […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: ballistic model of success, command and control, culture, Dilbert, political will, project management

Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast

25 June, 2017 by James Lawther 2 Comments

Culture eats strategy for breakfast

What does that mean? It sounds like management claptrap. Let me repeat it, and attribute it. Culture eats strategy for breakfast ~ Peter Drucker Anybody who has worked in a large organisation will know that we prize strategy above all else. It is an intellectual pursuit, highly valued in the boardroom. We hire consultants to […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: accountability, culture, fear and anxiety, group think, management style, strategy

Teenagers, Bedrooms and Cash Payments

9 June, 2017 by James Lawther 11 Comments

Over-justification effect

I nearly broke my neck At the entrance to my eldest daughter’s bedroom there is a short flight of steps.  As I went to wake her this morning I slipped on what I could most graciously describe as a pile of underwear.  I took 5 of those steps in one fell swoop.  I think “fell” is […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: incentives, motivation, over-justification effect

The Irresistible Force and the Immovable Object

15 March, 2017 by James Lawther Leave a Comment

Irresistible Force Immovable Object

A middle manager’s view of change As managers get older their chances of promotion shrink.  There are fewer senior jobs than junior jobs.  The sad truth is that if you haven’t “made it” by the time you are 40, you probably never will. There is little upside to being a middle-aged middle manager. But most middle-aged managers have plenty […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: blame, empowerment, management style

Performance Management Best Practice

26 February, 2017 by James Lawther 3 Comments

performance management

What is the best way to improve staff performance? There is an awful lot of performance management “best practice” out there.  Lots of books, seminars, HR gurus and management consultants who tell you what to do and sell you a model. But which practice is the best practice? In 2002 the corporate leadership council decided […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: beliefs, best practice, performance management, pygmalion effect

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