Having the opportunity of consulting and working within a number of industry sectors and various companies in many parts of the world, I am continually intrigued by the “motivation questions” that are so often asked – how can we motivate our staff well to achieve better productivity? How do we get our staff to take…
They know their customers. They know what their customers want. They know how to present their products so that their customers will purchase from them. They know the ideal pricing for their products so that they clear their goods daily. ‘Fresh’, ‘freshly cooked’ and ‘relevant’ are the maxims by which they operate. These are the…
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. ”So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” (J.R.R TOLKIEN) Deciding what…
“Every gathering is a chance to renew commitment” (Kouzes & Posner) The HR Council defines recognition as follows: “Employee recognition is the acknowledgement of an individual’s or team’s behaviour, effort and accomplishments that support the organisation’s goals and values”. The key in this definition, of course, is for managers to draw the dotted line between…
“Engagement is an individual’s sense of purpose and focused energy, evident to others in the display of personal initiative, adaptability, effort, and persistence directed towards organisational goals” (Wiley-Blackwell – Employee Engagement: Tools for Analysis, Practice, and Competitive Advantage) Organisations that create a culture of high engagement become more attractive for employees. These organisations manage to…
“Organizational culture is the ‘water’ in the fishbowl. If the water is clean, nourishing, energising, the fish will thrive and if the water is toxic, the fish will die, leaving the infrastructure value-less” (Ranjan de Silva, Sensei International) Organisational health – the status of operating efficiently and effectively with a “happy team” of positive and…
The “sweet spot”, a term used typically in relation to the best point of ball impact on clubs used in the sport of golf, is often misused by club manufacturers when they boast that their clubs have “a larger sweet spot” – suggesting that amateurs have less chance of messing up the shot when they…
“… the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark” (James 3: 5) Although the weight of the human tongue is only about 60 – 70 grams, its potential for evil is so great that it has…
While most of us are quite pleased that 2020 is finally over – it was a rough year – and all of us are looking forward to the promise of new opportunities in 2021, we need to view this fresh year with both a degree of circumspection, as well as a heart filled with hope….
Pressure gets to everyone from time to time, often resulting in behaviour that is not aligned to one’s “normal”, known character or disposition. This behaviour irregularity causes confusion in the minds of those closest to you, leaving them frustrated and even upset. This happened to me recently when the family were involved in decorating the…
The newly-appointed CEO to a giant retailer sat down with his executive team to go through the finances of the group. Pouring through the budget, they came upon a line item with a large associated “expense”. The CEO questioned the number and the finance chief responded: “Shrinkage is included in the budget for theft. Our…
So much is being written about team collaboration and cohesiveness currently – perhaps more specifically, the electronic and digital tools associated with keeping team members in touch with each other and working towards the same goals. So Deloitte, The Digital Workplace, even notes this by means of a definition: “…to solve business problems and operate…
