Before we begin properly please may we get something out of the way? The definition of the word Priority is that it is “the most important thing” and as such you cannot have Priorities. It is not possible to have more than one most important thing. You can’t have more…
Most people have heard about the Pareto Principle or 80/20 Rule as it is also known. The idea is pretty simple that 80% of something is generated by 20%. Pareto originally observed this in Italy, noting that 80% of the wealth was held by 20% of the population. Since…
Is Servitisation the Way To Sustainability? Sustainability is a strange thing. We get very excited about recycling and sustainable production but are these really the way to positively effect climate change? What about looking at some old fashioned ideas and giving them the new exciting title by asking, is servitisation…
Since the beginning of the pandemic many people have found that not only can they work from home, but they are more effective doing so. I’ve written about my enthusiasm for work from home but pointed out that it’s not always effective in previous blogs Why 100% Work From Home…
The problem with so many people and businesses is that they dedicate large amounts of time and effort on things over which they have no control. At the end of the day there are some things you can control and most things which you can’t. Effective time management and control…
I used to work with a company where one of the sales people only worked two and a half days per week but he brought in more than double the business of the next best one and also at a higher contribution to sales ratio. Many of the other sales…
When you meet someone for the first time it’s almost certain that one of the first questions that comes up will be “what do you do?” Most people fail to answer it. Instead they give a job title or description. “I’m an engineer, I’m an accountant, I work in retail,…
There’s a well known cartoon showing a person frantically mopping the floor as the sink overflows. It is obvious to everyone but the person with the mop that the effective thing to do is to turn off the tap. That’s why effective plumbers don’t mops floors. Whilst we can all…
We constantly hear about climate change, sustainability, green issues and net zero. As a species we are very good at inventing things like electric cars, recycling procedures, wind turbines and biodegradable plastics but they all miss the point. We try and solve the problems of sustainability by creating more and…
The trouble with business is that failure is looked upon as a disaster. Of course sometimes it is but mostly it’s a setback. Famously Edison is supposed to have said “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Whilst I am not suggesting that you should…