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A World Class Ego

26 February, 2018 by James Lawther 2 Comments

Ego

ego ˈiːɡəʊ,ˈɛːɡəʊ/ noun: a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance. “he needed a boost to his ego” Synonyms: self-worth, self-respect, self-conceit, self-image, self-confidence, amour propre We all have egos But the ego of a corporate manager is stronger than most. Beyond a point we don’t work for the money. Power and status drive us. We even […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: blame, command and control, human nature, leadership, management style

The H.R. Hammer

13 February, 2018 by James Lawther 2 Comments

Performance Management

My brother is nothing like me Before I start this post I should point out that my brother and I live in very different worlds: He works for a F.T.S.E. 100 bank (not an insurer) He works in Canary Wharf (not the City) He works in I.T. (not operations) He is going bald (see picture […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: blame, collaboration, performance management

Myopic Management

8 January, 2018 by James Lawther 2 Comments

Myopic Management

The quick fix Managers are problem solvers. We spend our days finding issues and fixing them: We solve the problem of low sales by offering discounts. We solve the problem of high costs by cutting budgets. We solve the problem of poor quality by extra inspection. Our time is filled with discrete problem after discrete […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: accountability, blame, collaboration, command and control, objective setting, point optimisation, roles and responsibilities

The Two Faces of Accountability

1 January, 2018 by James Lawther 7 Comments

Accountability When things go wrong there is a simple solution. Politicians do it, journalists do it, managers do it and even my children do it.   When things go wrong we search for somebody to blame “hold accountable”.  It’s in our nature. Fortunately it is more nuanced than that. There are two ways we can […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: accountability, blame, learning, management style, reinforcing behaviour, root cause analysis

The Dark Side of Data

28 September, 2017 by James Lawther 2 Comments

Data-centricity Organisations are tripping over themselves to become data-centric.  They are busy investing in business intelligence and analytical infrastructures.  There is a thriving market for analysts and data scientists, accountants and actuaries, people who can pore over the numbers and provide insight. Data is the new gold, businesses are spending money like drunk sailors. Data […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis Tagged With: blame, command and control, data is not information, management style, measurement, video

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