PARSONS GREEN — There’s a lady in a business suit sitting reading The Guardian.  The Media Guardian is tossed on the bench beside her.  Untouched.

It’s maybe symptomatic of a larger issue. And then again maybe I am just getting old. [Cue rant.] Why do the media need sections dedicated to… the media? 

I find myself hanging [...]]]>

PARSONS GREEN — There’s a lady in a business suit sitting reading The Guardian.  The Media Guardian is tossed on the bench beside her.  Untouched.

It’s maybe symptomatic of a larger issue. And then again maybe I am just getting old. [Cue rant.] Why do the media need sections dedicated to… the media? 

I find myself hanging around late in cinemas just to stare in awe at the screen. Why do we need to have “credits” for the caterers assistant?

Why do the arts and the softer sciences need to be so self-congratulatory?

It does none of us any good.

Can you imagine a great big banner being pulled behind an aircraft: “And the guy who polished the wing was called Gus…”?

/df

If you listened to the average mumblings of commentators, employees are fed up and… work is horrible and… and…

But maybe that’s not true. Maybe work is more interesting than it was. Maybe people are more [...]]]>

GREEN PARK — The papers today say that we’ve hit a 23 year low for employee sick-days. That’s no small achievement.

If you listened to the average mumblings of commentators, employees are fed up and… work is horrible and… and…

But maybe that’s not true. Maybe work is more interesting than it was. Maybe people are more engaged. Maybe employers are better at responding to people’s needs.

This summer (in the northern hemisphere) may be a good test. There’s a lot to distract you in most good summers:
• school plays
• tennis majors
• big horse meets
• golf championships
• summer music festivals

And then the chance employees might want to play or perform at any of these. Yes, this is a big holiday season, but maybe there’s even more reason to stay away this summer, with the World Cup, and a frankly pretty rubbish two years of economic nightmare to sleep off.

So what can you do about it?

Good question. And that’s one of the motivating factors for the World Cup guidance that we’re about to publish this week. But there’s more to it than that as well.

It’s called treating people like grown-ups.

There could be some of those rare moments of national experience.  People will want to be a part of it.

You may need to find a way of making sure that you’re not the only place that won’t participate.  Because engaging employees in your business is a slow and painstaking process.  Disengaging them can be done much faster.

/df

ST JAMES — I think of rubbish collectors.  Or proctologists.  There are lots of jobs out there that no one really wanted, but had to be done.  And there are people doing them because the market makes it hard for someone to avoid doing them.

No one wakes up in the morning and says “I think [...]]]>

ST JAMES — I think of rubbish collectors.  Or proctologists.  There are lots of jobs out there that no one really wanted, but had to be done.  And there are people doing them because the market makes it hard for someone to avoid doing them.

No one wakes up in the morning and says “I think I’ll go make people miserable today” or “what I’d really like to do it spend my whole day is physical pain and exhaustion.” But there are jobs like that.

Both of my grandfathers were engineers.  Gavin, the great Scot and athlete, who was my mom’s dad lived on the Gulf Coast of Florida for 30 years.  Sox, who ran a big American engineering firm, was all about heavy equipment.  But neither man would have guessed that we’d be seriously trying to get oil out of the ocean floor.  Like it is something easy to do.

Imagine trying to collect rocks on the dark side of the moon.  Can do it?  Yes.  I believe we can.  Will we do it?  Of course not.  Why would we?

Demand drives behaviour.  In this case I don’t think we can complain about the behaviour unless we’re willing to look at the demand that drives it.

/df

LONDON — It’s an interesting question.  Are we already?  Could we be more so?

Clearly the UK is a desirable place to work, because people come here and stay.  It is a sought-after spot for foreign postings. But in spite of much talk from various parties about the importance of highly skilled workers, I think that [...]]]>

LONDON — It’s an interesting question.  Are we already?  Could we be more so?

Clearly the UK is a desirable place to work, because people come here and stay.  It is a sought-after spot for foreign postings. But in spite of much talk from various parties about the importance of highly skilled workers, I think that questions remain about how much we have created a country that is a great place to work.

What are the factors?

1. Tax
2. Administration
3. Public transport and other aspects of ‘quality of life’
4. Education and access to skills
5. Immigration and renewing our workforce
6. Workplace regulations and laws
7. Working hours
8. Culture of work
9. Ability to manage change
10. Business leadership and involvement

The first 5 of these are often in the political discourse.  The other 5 are not.

They are all well within the control of governments.  And all would contribute greatly to the success and prosperity of the country.

So why are we not talking about them all?

/df

HOME — The sign behind the track today at the Shanghai Formula 1 race said “Made WITH China”. (You can see it in this BBC report at about 3:42 and 3:53, but it was clear all day.)

Along with the logos for Santander, Lenovo’s ThinkPad, DHL, Shell, Allianz and others, the message coming out of China’s [...]]]>  

HOME — The sign behind the track today at the Shanghai Formula 1 race said “Made WITH China”. (You can see it in this BBC report at about 3:42 and 3:53, but it was clear all day.)

Along with the logos for Santander, Lenovo’s ThinkPad, DHL, Shell, Allianz and others, the message coming out of China’s industrial capital today was clear: You have to work with us.

No doubt.  It’s in English.  It’s one of the highest profile China events with a business audience.  Where is used to say [in] on all the toys I had as a child, it now has the word [with] squeezed in.

The Chinese dailies make the point here and here.

The trick then comes in understanding and cooperating with China.  Stories like this one, printed in the Australian paper The Age this week do not help. 

I had the pleasure of being in a major FTSE boardroom recently while the China operation tried to explain the situation in that country.  It took a lot of words, pauses and a great deal of openness of spirit and mind for the westernised executives to get it.  They wanted to.  And eventually I think they did.

But more can and should be done by Chinese businesses to help.  There is more communication, operations and change management that Chinese industry and government can do.

The ads are a start, but only a small step in a much longer journey.

/df

THE WHITE HORSE — I used to work in one.  My parents always preferred to eat in them, and since I moved back to London 10 years ago, I haven’t been enough.

Here are the lesson I learned in a pub that help me in business:

1. Teamwork is always better

You know the miserable guy (usually) sitting [...]]]>  

THE WHITE HORSE — I used to work in one.  My parents always preferred to eat in them, and since I moved back to London 10 years ago, I haven’t been enough.

Here are the lesson I learned in a pub that help me in business:

1. Teamwork is always better

You know the miserable guy (usually) sitting at the bar, or in the corner, by himself?  With each passing day he becomes less fun.

People leave the house to be with other people.  They give you ideas, energy and an occasional kick in the backside.

2. Passion drives behaviour

You can usually see who is having fun.  And they’re laughing, telling jokes, getting argumentative.

People need something to believe in, and when they do, they get fired up.

3. You are what you drink

There’s stacks of leadership books about the “say / do gap”.  If you go down to the pub with the boys and order a “lager tops”, you should expect to be teased about it.

4. There’s got to be a Gov’nor

Relationships matter.  You cannot have a successful pub without people in it who make the time pass.  We go where we like the people.  Relationships matter.

5. Volume, even success, does not equal happiness

There are far too many unhappy roadside pubs.  They might serve a lot of £5 microwave ready meals (frozen Yorkshire pudding anyone?)  But they won’t change you life… or even your mood.

6. Right place, right time

Location can be a killer.  Or help you succeed beyond what you’d expect.  Be in the right place at the right time.  Good luck will follow.

7. Go home before closing time

There’s no sense being somewhere when you shouldn’t be.  Don’t out-stay your welcome.  Knowing when to quit is one of the first — and sometimes the last — lesson people learn in business.  Learn it early.

So, that’s all you really need to know.

Mine’s a strong continental lager, thanks.

/df

P.S. What have you learned?  Go on.  Tell us!

IN MY KITCHEN — I was just thinking last week that triathlons and marathons have become the new mid-life crisis.  And then I read the story in the Sunday Times Style Magazine: “The rise of the IRON MAN”.

Turns out that triathlons are the fastest growing mass-participation sport in the UK.  The article cites Vernon Kay, [...]]]>

IN MY KITCHEN — I was just thinking last week that triathlons and marathons have become the new mid-life crisis.  And then I read the story in the Sunday Times Style Magazine: “The rise of the IRON MAN”.

Turns out that triathlons are the fastest growing mass-participation sport in the UK.  The article cites Vernon Kay, Eddie Izzard, David Walliams and Matthew McConaughey (US readers are going: ‘phew, one I recognise!’)

Some people say that it’s all about the gadgets and the expensive kit.  Body mass sensors and £5,000 bikes. But I don’t buy that. I think it has a lot more to do with the new ‘mid-life’.

“This is my last break for freedom,” one punter says.

“It’s the equivalent of being off my head in the Ministry of Sound in 1991,” says another.

What really strikes a chord for me is when another person interviewed in the Sunday Times says “Modern life is emasculating.”

These sporting events offer a host of recognisable words:

• objectives
• stretch goals
• key performance indicators
• strategy
• milestones
• challenges
• achievements
• assessment
• competition
• pressure
• stress

Those sound familiar, don’t they?  They’re all business terms that probably have no business being used in business!

We have tried to turn business into a sport. And stolen the terminology of athletes and warriors to talk about it. But, when compared to real physical challenge, endurance and survival, the language sounds silly.

Who are our business heroes?

• Warren Buffett
• Lakshmi Mittal
• Jack Welch
• Sergio Marchionne

And what do they do all day?

They sit around reading stuff and talking to people.  That’s not exactly the adventure stories we started life dreaming about.

/df

CHELSEA — I realised yesterday that I have not lived in North America for more than a decade. So it’s hard for me to fully understand what companies like Verizon and Comcast are all about.  But even from this distance it’s clear they’re having trouble with service delivery.

A few years ago I found this brilliant [...]]]>

CHELSEA — I realised yesterday that I have not lived in North America for more than a decade. So it’s hard for me to fully understand what companies like Verizon and Comcast are all about.  But even from this distance it’s clear they’re having trouble with service delivery.

A few years ago I found this brilliant series of YouTube videos called “the Comcast guy is asleep on my sofa.” They still hold a special place in my heart.

Today I read about M.I.A.’s new song “I’m Down Like Your Internet Connection”. Written based on the singer’s experience with Verizon.  Apparently she even gets some employees to sing the chorus.

What failures of technology and service make this kind of thing possible?

Unfortunately you can’t say that they are one-off situations, because they ring true with so many people.

Customer experience — particularly in the telecoms businesses — is so important. Here in the UK, companies like T-Mobile, Orange, O2 and Vodafone will do almost anything to keep people.

There are some fairly straight-forward technology, change and communication issues that can be ironed out quite easily in most businesses.

Get on it.

/df

DISTRICT LINE — The newly appointed Lord made a bit of a storm in Parliament with his maiden speech.  Perhaps any minimalism in grace and nuance will inadvertently help our regular politicians, by showing how hard it is to speak without edits, teleprompters and producers. 

Describing his views on small business he said:

“I have also seen [...]]]>

DISTRICT LINE — The newly appointed Lord made a bit of a storm in Parliament with his maiden speech.  Perhaps any minimalism in grace and nuance will inadvertently help our regular politicians, by showing how hard it is to speak without edits, teleprompters and producers. 

Describing his views on small business he said:

“I have also seen some poor examples of businesses that simply will not succeed, even in the best of times. The reality is that, however good the help provided by government, some businesses simply do not work. Government and banks cannot just write blank cheques to anyone who thinks that they have a good idea.”

And that’s the basis of the argument.  Essentially, if you don’t succeed it’s likely that your idea was rubbish.  And that winds me up a bit.  Because it sounds like the ‘American dream’ which is often translated as ‘if you work hard enough, you will succeed.’  And my experience, after working in government, in large businesses and in small business is that there are many things that government and large businesses do to keep small business down.

Which is why I like this second quote from Lord Sugar of Clapton:

“In Britain, small businesses have a lot to be proud of. They employ over 50 per cent in the private sector and they generate as much turnover as big business-in fact, 99 per cent of all businesses are SMEs. The credit crisis has pushed our SMEs to the limits. Some companies have struggled, not because of failure in business, but because of the tougher credit conditions.”

And in many ways it contradicts the quote above from the same speech.  I have not seen any real effort made to help small businesses in a coordinated or concerted way.  There’s lots of nice rhetoric, but the way that Lord Sugar describes small businesses is pretty much the way they feel treated: ‘Do this!  No, no sorry, do that! Woops, you screwed up.  Must be your fault.”

The fiscal, judicial, regulatory and bureaucratic systems are all stacked against smaller businesses.  Rules seem to be written for organisations with means, access to expertise and advisers, and an institutional history in doing this stuff.  Small businesses need to negotiate a maze of complexity that no regular business person has all the experience to master.

In analysing his own speech later, Sugar said:

“During the ceremony, I only got a mild ‘hear, hear’ – mostly from the Labour lot, but they’ll like me in the end.”

I will stand in front of the Palace of Westminster itself and give him a mighty round of ‘hear, hear’ myself if he can address the real, structural issues that are holding small business back. 

No one wants something for nothing.  A proper helping hand to succeed would be good enough.

/df

LONDON — I have long been a fan of Alfie Kohn the author and professor.  Earlier today he tweeted (yes, that’s a verb now) with a link to an article he wrote in 2003 called “What does it mean to be well educated?”

Like most things he writes I find it sets me to thinking about [...]]]>  

LONDON — I have long been a fan of Alfie Kohn the author and professor.  Earlier today he tweeted (yes, that’s a verb now) with a link to an article he wrote in 2003 called “What does it mean to be well educated?”

Like most things he writes I find it sets me to thinking about life and work.  At one point he asks refers to:

the dispute between those who see education as a means to creating or sustaining a democratic society and those who believe its primary role is economic, amounting to an “investment” in future workers and, ultimately, corporate profits.

I am interested in the assertion because it raised a fundamental question about why we educate and how we educate.  And even bigger ones about life. 

I have often thought that education could be more practical… more vocational.  I should have been taught how to fill in a tax return at one of the 9 schools I attended.  Or maybe how to apply for planning permission or balance my chequebook (who’s got a chequebook these days anyway.)  But instead I got a degree in English Literature.  What good is that!?

Quite a lot, I have found but I don’t want to stray too far down that path.

What I find interesting is the question of whether school should train us to be good workers or for to be good people.  (Kohn makes the point better.)

My question then is:

Are we human here to have a good life?  Or are we here to be successful workers?

If you answered Yes and No then you understand what I am trying to say.  But unfortunately those answers belie our behaviour, day by day, week by week and hour by hour.

/df