The Curse of Instant Gratification
28 May 2008Are you looking for quick-fix solutions to change management? David Molden considers how organisations can ensure their people are wired positively for change.
Champions
20 May 2008The term champion is used to describe a person who has certain leadership abilities and personal qualities, namely:
Terminal 5 – How it could have been made to work
3 April 2008Not intending to profit from the misfortunes of others, the debacle of terminal 5 is too tempting to pass over, and the designers of this chaos, BAA, have enough media predators hounding them that it is unlikely this low impact shot will be noticed above all the cries for compensation and retribution. Those responsible will be too busy soul-searching to take any real notice of what people are saying beneath their anger as they become increasingly numb to the stones and arrows being thrown by upset customers and press.
Terminal 5 - A Manager’s Guide to Employee Engagement
3 April 2008One thing highlighted by the opening of Terminal 5 is employee engagement, or ‘how to achieve instant employee disengagement’. This goes some way to answer the questions the public are demanding. It seems that BAA and BA put all their money on technology to create the ultimate airport experience, and maybe they assumed their people were but a small part of the system, and of lesser importance than the technology. If this is true, and all indications suggest so, it is a foolish and very costly mistake to have made.
Good people management linked to business success
From the publishers of The Personnel Manager's Yearbook6 March 2008
A new report has delivered compelling evidence to suggest a strong link between effective people management and business success. The result of a two-year study, the report suggests that organisations with a comprehensive approach to people management perform better than those without, indicated by higher profits per employee, higher profit margins and higher productivity. It also identifies 12 core measures that any organisation can track to assess the impact of their people management practices on business performance.
How do you compare with your peer group in the success stakes?
6 March 2008
Major work issues, as voted by you
19 February 2008The results of last week’s poll are very revealing. 38% of you voted low level motivation as the major pressing issue for you at work with unclear direction (21%) and a poor relationship with a colleague (24%) coming close behind. The second two probably contribute significantly to the first so let’s take a look at all three.
Results of the poll ‘most common distractions at work’
23 January 2008In our recent poll we asked you what you consider to be the most common distractions at work. You responded as follows –
Driven to Distraction
7 January 2008An article in our local paper recently highlighted 10 most likely distractions that cause accidents whilst driving. High on the list are: using a mobile phone, passengers playing with the controls, screaming children and boisterous animals.
What distracts you at work?
If...
18 December 2007If, like us, you are looking forward to the festive break with thoughts of family, children, fun and relaxation, you know that it is also a time for reflection on the year past. Recalling the highs and lows and wondering how much of what happened was planned to happen, and how much of it took you by surprise, we still look for ways of shaping the future the way we would like it to be.
Let’s get passionate!
7 November 2007How about turning ‘National Stress Day’ into ‘National Passion Day? What if you could turn all those things that cause you stress into opportunities for something else – learning something new, building or mending a relationship, getting some feedback, stepping out of your comfort zone, widening your horizons, influencing the working culture, helping someone through a challenge, coaching a colleague? Well, is there anything stopping you, other than your own mind and free-will?
Success at Work - How to Network and Influence Others
10 October 2007Recently published in The Independent on Sunday - in association with Pearson
The Role of Rapport
We all need people in our lives – to love us and to be loved, to buy from and sell to, to coach and be coached, to teach and to learn from, and to enjoy life with. The results of your interactions with each individual will be determined by your ability to get on with them, to be influenced by them and to influence their thinking and behaviour. Whatever you do, your ability to influence others in all kinds of ways is important if you want to be more than a passive onlooker. Whether you are buying, selling, managing, leading, coaching, mentoring, parenting, relaxing or having fun, your degree of success in all these areas will come down to your ability to influence, and this requires skill in building rapport quickly.
Did you take your body on holiday and leave your mind behind?
29 August 2007Just back from your summer break? Are you refreshed and raring to go?
Taking time out to recharge the batteries and relax is a no-brainer in today’s complex and high-speed business climate, but did you really have the break you deserve, or did you find it hard to switch off?
How do you keep your employees engaged?
21 June 2007Engaged or disengaged?
This is the question on the lips of many senior execs today. They know that when employees are disengaged with their work mistakes are made and productivity falls. They also know that the contribution of highly engaged employees is consistently high.
Rate of progress – or length of inertia – how do you measure a day’s effort?
29 May 2007
Wherever we turn these days our clients seem to want to move their organisations forward with increasing speed. The rate at which they expect decisions to be executed and plans implemented will one day soon match the speed of procuring and devouring a big Mac, of this I’m sure.
Harbingers of Change
Some CEOs seem to have an instinct for spotting harbingers of change and then taking initiatives that steal the march on the competition. In 1999 a quarter of the bacon sold in Britain came from foreign pigs that had not been fed antibiotics to make them grow faster. The Danish industry abandoned these drugs in response to consumer demand – a harbinger of change. In Sweden farmers are banned from using antibiotics to promote growth. This gave both the Swedish and Danish farmers an advantage over those in the UK who had not yet developed alternatives to antibiotics.Arrested Communication
17th April 2007The smooth running of any organisation relies on effective communication between people. When messages become mixed or fuzzy, confusion steps in and people become unsure how to act. The more we understand about how people communicate and process information, the better we can be at communicating with them. This is true whether you are interacting with your team, your boss, your supplier, the general public or interviewing a crime suspect.
Do you believe what you say?
Do you have the tools you need to succeed?
12th April 2007Ever tried to undo a crosshead screw with a flat head driver... ever rounded a nut by using the wrong sized spanner... sometimes grabbing the nearest (or most familiar) tool seems like the quickest option. What inevitably happens is that 'quick job' gets harder or more complicated and the quick fix you were seeking becomes a more serious or time consuming problem.
People behave as the culture dictates
22 March 2007When working in teams people develop habitual reactions to the way others behave towards them. The culmination of these actions/reactions creates the culture.
I don't do small talk!
12th March 2007We often hear people say ‘I don’t do small talk!’ The implication is either -
- I am far too busy or important to get involved in passing the time of day with colleagues and friends or ...
- Actually I am petrified of you and I don’t know how to talk to you so I’ll just keep myself busy instead
Get a job you like – or become grit in the machine
5th March 2007
I have heard some people say it’s not important to enjoy your work – as work is merely a means to an end – the salary; but this view fails to recognise a number of negative consequences on people and the business.
Bad managers turn off young talent
15th February 2007A survey conducted by the
The Brilliance of NLP
12 February 2007We are often asked ‘what has NLP done for you?’ And perhaps more intriguingly, ‘what does NLP enable you to do?’ These are not questions to which answers trip off the tongue easily. Discussing these questions in the context of our recent book Brilliant NLP we came to the conclusion that answering the first one in particular will depend at which stage of life the question is posed.
Purpose and Passion in Leadership
10 February 2007I was intrigued to learn that European Union leaders, gathering in
Is it time to activate your banana?
8th January 2007A current BBC news video tells of civil service bosses in Tyneside who have introduced a 'clean desk' policy. The purpose behind it is to improve service to the public, but it has infuriated unions and demotivated staff. One employee was asked if the banana on his desk was active or inactive.
When you treat employees like children don't be surprised when they begin to behave like children. Employees learn what they live.
Group Coaching has the edge
3rd January 2007To an outside observer the REALSUCCESS Programme may look like a communication skills or motivational training course - but look closely and you will see that it is very, very, different. Yes, the participants learn the most advanced influencing skills available today, and they leave highly motivated, but the similarities stop there.
Sheep dip anyone?
2nd January 2007There is a belief that attitudes and skills can be developed overnight almost like upgrading the operating system on a computer. What often happens is that the speed at which managers expect to see change in processes and systems is also applied to people. Attempts to get employees to think and behave differently by sheep-dipping often have the opposite effect. This is because people are unlike processes and systems.
Confidence – how to have more!
30 November 2006If you had a big bag of Confidence what would you do with it?
- Go for a promotion?
- Be more influential with key people?
- Lead yourself and others in a meaningful direction, focussed on results?
- Start a new business venture?
The Levellers
25 November 2006Virginia Satir was a highly effective family therapist whose work can be directly related to behaviour in the workplace. By using a range of highly graphic descriptions of typical behaviour she was able to give people a way of recognising the cause of conflict. You will probably be able to draw comparisons between the following descriptions of what is generally referred to as Satir Categories and the behaviour of people in the workplace, and maybe even your own.
Are you listening to me?
8 November 2006
Why managers are turning to NLP for leadership skills
I was recently with a group of managers from a fast-moving international organisation. They were learning NLP skills to give them more of an influence in the business. During a conversation at coffee break one of the managers said she recently met their CEO, who asked her how things were in her part of the company. She told him what she was excited about, and also described some of her frustrations.
Time to trade old style for new?
3 November 2006
Over the past 15 years new ways of helping people to succeed have emerged. The science of personal effectiveness has moved on leaps and bounds. The personal development market has bloomed and is undergoing unprecedented change.
New ways are here. Its time to trade old for new.
Do you think or feel your way through the day?
1st November 2006How do you weigh up situations and make decisions? Would you call yourself a thinker or a feeler? Well, it really doesn't matter whether you are one or the other - and of course everyone has the capacity to both think and feel. What is important is how you think and how you feel.
Coffee Machine Coaching
17 October 2006
Coaching is recognised as a highly effective and targeted method of creating change in individuals for both personal and corporate results. The growth in the number of organisations providing coach training and qualifications has been explosive in recent years as organisations realise the impact of these tools over more conventional training courses.
Why rapport skills are vital to the success of a new business venture
1st October 2006
The Sunday Times business section of 1st October has a fascinating story of how Mervyn Davies, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, succeeded in buying Hsinchu bank in Taiwan for $1.2 billion.The article tells of how Davies and his team got to work as soon as they caught wind that the bank was interested in selling. In what has been termed ‘wooing the Wu’, Davies began creating rapport with Wu and his family, such that they could be considered a possible buyer. Being an international businessman he was very aware of how the strength of family ties in Taiwan can make owners reluctant to sell to outside investors. He realised that any approach would need a good degree of rapport building.
Is stress getting to you?
18th September 2006
As an engineer my brother knows all about stress. He used to test metal
components for the level of physical stress at which they would
fracture, shatter or break in half. Some metals can take more stress
than others, but they all have a point at which they will be overcome
by the pressure being exerted. People are pretty much the same, except
that stress begins as mental pressure before it becomes physical. There
is a level of stress at which some part of you will snap.It’s getting tougher at the top!
12th September 2006
If you’re a CEO or CFO of a publicly quoted company you probably know what pressure is. A recent study by Booz Allen Hamilton at 2500 largest publicly quoted companies has found that in the period between 1995-2004 CEO dismissals increased by 300%, underperformance being the primary reason. Being a CEO is an increasingly risky business.
Have you had your wake-up call?
12th September 2006
Today I chatted to a man in the steam room at my gymn. He was probably in his mid 50’s and making a supreme effort to get fit. He told me that he had moved house a year ago and changed his life style. He had lost a good deal of weight, changed his diet and taken up exercising in the gymn. I couldn’t resist asking him what the trigger for this change in lifestyle had been.test
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