Here is a question I ask a lot, when I say a lot, I mean at least daily! It's one of my favourite questions when talking with clients and for myself as well! It's one of those questions that really should be one of your key questions as well, are you ready for it because it really is going to change your life, I know sounds like hype right? it's no...

My mum used to make the best chicken and veg soup, she'd boil up a chicken to create the stock, then remove it and add the chicken meat back, then she would add Split Peas, Pearl Barley, Lentils, Carrots, Peas, Onion and lastly some salt for seasoning. It was the same process every time, they were added in the same order, the same weights were used...

 When it comes to changing or improving things they say it's always easier to critique an idea or a draft of something than start with a blank sheet of paper, you never really get to start with a blank sheet anyway, there's always something that's set in stone, but what if there wasn't? What if you could genuinely start with a completely blank...

Organisations talk about their values, they frame them and put them on their walls, but do they really pay much attention to them? Frequent readers of the blog know that I have a passion about organisational culture, it's the one single true advantage your organisation has over any other so having a true set of values that you can build your cultur...

I was at a meeting the other week when one of those annoying corporate sound bites was used to shut someone down, you know the ones that seem to sound right but when you stop and think about it a little they make zero sense at all. We've all heard and probably, unfortunately, used them from time to time but this one is one of the dumbest ones I can...

I attended a client's monthly management meeting the other week and it was interesting to say the least. The session was scheduled for an hour (so in my head I'm thinking that's a bit short) and it was to cover operational performance and a new product they were designing for a new market they were looking to enter. I'd asked in advance why they we...

Solving problems can be challenging, that is after all why they are called problems. It gets harder though if it is something completely out of left field, something that is completely new to you and just leaves you stumped. It can be stressful at times, especially if you have a bunch of people all depending on your decision. Thankfully, you are pa...

Recently I was talking to a group of people (all from different organisations) about Standard Work. That is when organisations have a method of doing things, just one method, everyone does it the same way so you can get repeatable results. However, the important thing about these standard work routines or practices is that they do have to change ov...

The working year has many milestones that are marked on the wall or outlook calendars. Some are looked on with excitement and some, well not so much. The annual break and long weekends would be the big positives, on the other side we have things like monthly budget reviews and of course the annual employee reviews. It does not matter if you are the...

If I knew then what I know now… The inference from that little phrase is that you would obviously make a different decision and so things would turn out better. Often however that's not the case, certainly not with people at work. We all hire people who aren't suited for the company, they aren't necessarily bad people, it's just they don't fit the ...