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Organisational Mechanics

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Busy Doing Nothing

13 December, 2015 by James Lawther 4 Comments

I am a busy man An executive with a burgeoning inbox — or so I tell my wife. This week I… Wrote presentations Prepared for audits Attend stakeholder briefings Drafted investment proposals Wrote appraisals Reviewed budgets Socialised information Reorganised departments Hired new staff Brainstormed solutions Talked about customers Discussed automation strategies Visited suppliers Defined new […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: bureaucracy, human nature, management style, purpose, video, wasted intellect

Marshmallows and the Cure for Everything

22 November, 2015 by James Lawther 6 Comments

Test and learn Now I’m married with daughters I don’t go out that often. Nightclubs and cinemas are a thing of the past (unless it is to watch Frozen… 4 times and counting). An evening in front of the TV is a treat. I sat down last night to watch a re-run of House.  It […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: marshmallow challenge, plan do check act, problem solving, TED talks, test and learn, video

What is an Organisation?

8 November, 2015 by James Lawther 4 Comments

You can’t improve it if you don’t understand it You can’t improve your organisation if you don’t understand what an organisation is. So I googled organisation, this is what I found: Organisation: noun /ɔːɡ(ə)nʌɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/ An organised group of people with a particular purpose. – “a research organisation” The action of organising something. – “the organisation of conferences” The quality […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: beliefs, point optimisation, systems thinking, video

Paying People to Lie

3 October, 2015 by James Lawther 1 Comment

The best way to fill your organisation with liars… Is to set up an incentive scheme.  I guarantee at least two deceptions: The first deceit The lying starts with the debate about the target: What service level can you meet? What can you shave off your budget? How much extra can you sell? 10%? 20%? 30%? If someone has a bonus […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: employee performance measures, human nature, incentives, motivation, performance management, targets, video

Rule 7: If the Work is Important Write it Down

3 July, 2015 by James Lawther 6 Comments

I have a file on my laptop It is a rather sad file, it is called “Sunday Night”. I travel for work and on Sunday nights I pack a bag for Monday morning.  The file reads a little like this… Sunday Night: Taxi, Train Times, Water Bottle, Hat, Scarf, Gloves, Coat Monday: Shirt, Jacket, Trousers, Belt, […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: best practice, gemba, process mapping, standardisation, video, work instructions

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