In praise of project managers
A new day - I’m not frightened,Though the budget has tightenedAnd the client is grating my nerves.Black coffee and toastWill prepare me for mostOf today’s little sidesteps and swerves.First job, email...
View ArticleLipstick and Heels at the Bank
Oh dear. Oh dear, dear, dear. You've all heard about this right? The Bank of England 'sent' their female folk to a "Dress for Success" seminar. Then someone leaked the memo reminding all the girls how...
View ArticleEngaging Freelancers
Just recently a couple of people have asked me for my thoughts on engaging freelance employees. I'm not surprised they're asking. As our economy relies more and more on flexible resources, so the way...
View ArticleHappiness at Work - Podcast
I've just listened to this fantastic podcast by Alexander Kjerulf and I think you should too. The man just talks good sense!http://is.gd/gywpMy favourite quotes:"Two things make us happy at work,...
View ArticleGirl's Guide to Employment
Just come across this brilliant advice on employment for women, written in the 1916 Girl Scouts manual - How Girls Can Help Their Country.This really made me smile at how things change. The list of...
View ArticleThe Factory in the Garden
Goodness, apparently the Cadbury Brothers understood the importance of work/life balance and an enjoyable working environment way back in 1879! Just found this lovely little post on Cadbury's new blog...
View ArticleGetting it Right - ?What If! Innovation
A couple of weeks ago I went to see ?What If! The Innovation Company. I’ve been a fan of their work ever since I was lucky enough to benefit from their creativity training back in 2001 – training which...
View ArticleClosed loop communications
Oh dear, oh dear. It would appear that I haven't blogged since April and it's now nearly the end of July. I think that counts as procrastination don't you?So then, a quick post (when procrastinating my...
View ArticleShoot your employees and get away with it
Errrrr... someone sent me this and suggested I blog about it. The thing is I have no idea what to say. It's a clip of TASER testing its wares on its employees. Its hideous. But there's a tiny part of...
View ArticleCrystal clear
The other day I found myself standing in a wedding shop, tiara in hand, bridal shoe on foot, left to sort myself out while the shop assistant went off to answer the phone.I didn't mind too much, I'm...
View ArticleShouting in capitals
This article from the BBC interested me.'...A New Zealand woman has lost her accounting job after sending "confrontational" emails filled with block capitals. So why is it taboo to hit the caps-lock...
View ArticleInnovation Beehive interview with Kursty Groves
Michael O Keefe over at Innovation Beehive has just done an interview with Kursty Groves, author of, 'I Wish I Worked There'. There are some great insights, but it's this one that really catches my eye...
View ArticleEngaging for Success
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has commissioned a report on the importance of employee engagement in helping Britain out deep, dark recession. This accessible and well-written...
View ArticleThe 25th Hour
The 25th Hour is a brilliant nationwide campaign which aims to use the motivational power of the 2012 Olympic Games in London to inspire a surge in volunteers to help communities around the UK.The idea...
View ArticlePractice makes it easy peasy
In a final acceptance that zero exercise probably isn't good for me, I went to my first ever Zumba class yesterday. Other than teaching me the merengue, this amazing class had a few other timely...
View ArticleEngaging events
More and more frequently I'm being asked to knit together the two sides of my professional personality and advise on engagement in events. Which makes sense, given what an amazing channel live...
View ArticleDon't underestimate the girl on till 4
A 60 second exchange between two girls behind the tills at Waitrose yesterday reminded me that you can never can tell what someone's real skills are. Girl A - "How was your break?"Girl B - "What...
View ArticleCommunication for Inspiration : Give your team Obama skills
Yesterday I read the following irritated tweet from an editor at one of the national newspapers. ‘My desk phone is broken. IT man has taken it away. And a replacement? "Oh, we haven't got any"....
View ArticleBad news can be inspiring
A couple of weeks ago I got an email from Posterous who I have a (totally unused) blog account with. The email was a very well worded apology that their servers had been hit by Denial of Service...
View ArticleWork Space Design - An interview with trifle creative*
We all know instinctively that the space around us affects how well and how happily we do things in it. Anyone who has ever tried to join the Mile High Club in an aeroplane lavatory knows this to be...
View ArticleAssume Nothing!
Last week, I attained the right honourable position of Judge Samantha Lizars. Only for about 2 hours admittedly, and not actually in a court room. Rather in a classroom, for one of the London heats of...
View ArticleAgility
This is what's on my mind this morning. Businesses the world over name agility as one of their 'core values' and many more reference it in their client spiel. It's quite hard to achieve though, as...
View ArticleInternal Comms and the Social Media Revolution
This article from Marketing Week caught my eye this week. Coca Cola are launching a new internal social network, as a mechanism to support their global employee base in staying connected. Sainsbury’s...
View ArticleYou say tomato, I say tomato
Just read this great post on HBR about the challenges of running a multi-cultural team; particularly when combining people used to an eastern culture with people used to a western culture. I have to...
View ArticleEngagement in what?
Writing for The Guardian, this article by Ivan Robertson discusses the importance of employee engagement in difficult economic times. It's the second half of the article that really got my attention,...
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