Silo Thinking In every business, the work flows around the organisation something like this… That is a little simplistic, as the work can ebb, flow and go back on itself. It may also be that your organisation employs underwriters, data specialists or doctors, but the principal points are the same. Work flows around the organisation […]
Can You See the Forest for the Trees?
A Broken System Waldsterben is a nasty word. It is a German noun that means “death of the forest.” Trees have been dying across swathes of Germany and central Europe since the 1970s. Leaves and needles fall, and the bark drops off, leaving great tracts of tall, dead stumps. It is a dismal sight and […]
Optimising Each Part… Doesn’t Optimise the Whole
Harvard Business Review Greg Satell provides a classic example of sub-optimisation in his post. Managers strive for efficiency in every part of their businesses. Yet many of those businesses are bloated and ineffective. This is the efficiency paradox; it runs something like this… The more efficient you make the parts of your organisation, the less […]
The Daily Grind
How do you cope? I run (maybe it would be more accurate to say am loosely responsible for) a back office. It provides a service to an organisation. It doesn’t talk to customers It doesn’t make sales It doesn’t drive revenue It is one big cost. A lonely place to sit on any profit and […]
Fixes That Fail
Cost cutting Definition : An effective short term financial fix that has long-term consequences. These ultimately require more of the same short term fix. Examples: Profit numbers were low so managers deferred essential maintenance. They saved money in the short term, but the machines failed. This led to poor customer service, reduced sales and — in […]
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