Boy, how times have changed! We were discussing the Sinclair C5 in the office this week and many here had never even heard of it, let alone seen one! Launched during a by-gone age (1985!), it became an object of media and popular ridicule during…
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We had an interesting question this week on our management course that opened up a good discussion on leadership. The question came from a new manager who had been promoted from among his peers and was now managing people who were much more knowledgeable and…
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The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model is based on the premise that excellent results with respect to performance, customers, people and society are achieved through partnerships, resources and processes. The model explains performance gaps and identifies improvement directions. I’ve used it a…
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One of our communication courses includes a section on obtaining feedback from your staff, and this is an area that many managers have concerns with. They feel that their staff hide their real feelings and are afraid to offer any form of feedback in case…
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I’ve been asked to talk at a conference about how business has changed in the last ten years. Boy oh boy, where do I start? It made me think about the changes in how businesses run today. But it also made me think about some…
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Strange question? Maybe. Few people actually think about the style they adopt when they are listening to another person. But there is value in doing so, and I’d like to share some ideas that may help your communications in the future. (more…)
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One challenge that is often brought up in our courses is that of lack of cooperation between departments. Although you’re all working for the same company, other departments may appear to slow you down. Here are some tips in working with this situation. In dealing with other departments, begin…
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We had an interesting discussion on a recent training course about how continuous improvement within a department can be supported. One manager on the course was implementing a Kaizen Programme and his main concern was that the structure of the organisation, and especially his team,…
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Your team can offer valuable assistance in achieving your goals and objectives, but only when they are given the opportunity to do so. Many managers are reluctant to offer more power to the team because it is risky and diminishes their control. But it is…
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We do many communication exercises on our courses, and delegates like them because they are fun, easy to assimilate and transfer into the workplace, and give them an opportunity to improve this important skill in a safe environment. Here are some exercises we use. Take…
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Many people who manage teams in customer service are aware of the need to display vision and customer focus in their businesses, but less people are able to apply this in the real-world atmosphere of the hot-house business. To create a culture takes time and…
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You have to exert influence in many ways on different people many times a day, whether it’s your boss, customers, staff, stakeholders, suppliers, colleagues or others. When you think about it, persuading is just another form of selling. If you need to influence another person,…
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