It is good to see the government making noises about the role of values in the companies which it buys goods and services from (http://bsb.tips/ukgovtvalues). Minister for the Cabinet Office, David Lidington said that the government will “extend the requirements of the Social Value Act to ensure all major procurements explicitly evaluate social value where […]
Bite Size Business Tips
Great processes don’t remove the need to have great people
“Turn it into a process”. Most businesses I work with are either doing this, or live in shame because they’re not! I enjoyed Sam Carpenter’s Work the System. Along with The E-myth, it creates a compelling case for proceduralising what your business does. Rightly so. But the key justification I hear leaders cite for process […]
Leaders – pause before launching your team at your latest idea
More crucial than knowing which things to focus on is absolute clarity about what to not do altogether. Because those “not quite as important” things will block out your time, energy and focus, and prevent you giving those to the things that count. And that wastage gets amplified exponentially when you’re a leader. Those “wouldn’t […]
Culture radiates to all your business relationships
There was little greater testament of the culture we built than the annual London to Paris or Amsterdam bike rides that we organised. Every year, a group of us from the ultra-fit semi-pros, to the overweight, unfit, anything-but-pros (i.e. me) would do the 3 day cycle to raise money, mostly for Hope and Play, the […]
Good people sometimes do bad things
Sadly, I all too often see criticism at work focus on the individual rather than their actions. While we contextualise our own actions, we generalise everyone else’s. For example, I was late because my train was delayed, but you were late because you’re disorganised and don’t build in contingency. Or my report wasn’t 100% because […]