Busting management myths I love social psychology, it fascinates me. I particularly like experiments. It is one thing to put forward a theory about why people behave the way that they do; it is another thing altogether to prove it with some data. Let me give you an example, how should you set up an office? […]
Does All That “Structure” Help?
Organisations are complicated They have: Customer requirements Partner requirements Legal requirements Compliance requirements Legacy systems Specialist teams Obsolete databases Competitive pressure Profitability problems And all those competing priorities are in conflict with each other. How do we manage complexity? By creating process and structure: RACI frameworks Target Operating Models Interim targets Delegated authority levels KPIs Heads […]
Productivity for Productivity’s Sake
The obsession We love to make things more productive. We strive to be cheaper, more efficient, higher yielding. It is the holy grail, taking up most of our working hours. More for less in itself isn’t a bad goal, but who decides if we are being productive? Myopic measurement Imagine you flip burgers for a living and you […]
Management Beliefs
Do you believe in self-help? One of my favourite quotes is from Henry Ford: Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re right Personally I am all for a bit of self belief, but does it work for organisations as well as people? Does belief have a place in business? In 1974 […]
The Productivity Equation
We all want more productivity… The world abounds with productivity experts of one sort or another: Outsource this Streamline that Squeeze the other We obsess about reducing our cost base. Taking out heads and slashing expense. But we are missing a trick? How do you define productivity? Using a little advanced algebra (if I say so myself), […]