Archive
on negotiation, part four
The No Deal, or Walk Away, option is always there for both parties. Yes it is a last resort, but there are times when you cannot get a viable deal and walking away is the only way to go. It works best if you understand what the consequences are though.
In this example the company that I worked for had a contract with a client for a particular job to be performed on an ad-hoc basis. It worked well and the contract had been renewed several times, but the client had gone for a complete renewal proposal over about eighteen months and wanted to negotiate a deal for the job. As you might expect they were also looking at other contractors in case we had not the capacity for the job. Read more…
on improving the breed
For some years now the concept of continuous improvement has been embedded into management culture. We have had all the Japanese influences, lean manufacturing (and then lean everything else, except, perhaps, in management speak where fat is good it would seem), and so there is a general willingness to work towards improving product and process. Some of this is disguised in the throwaway culture we have with cars, white goods and technology where as soon as you have bought the latest the next generation is announced, but there is one area where improving the breed seems to be not just overlooked, but is sometimes supressed. Read more…
on the boss being loose in the building
It was a message that would reach me from time to time in my first major operational role. Out of a workforce of around 700 on site around two thirds of them worked for me and for “The Boss”, who normally only moved from the main entrance to his office and back with the occasional foray to the gents, the canteen or the conference room, to be roaming was both unusual and dangerous. Read more…
on accentuating the positive
A call asking for some free advice is a fact of life in my line of work and rarely does a week go by without one. Whether the caller gets the advice they are seeking depends on how well I know them and last week’s call was from someone I have known for a while so I was at least prepared to listen. Read more…
on making the most of a dodgy boss
The obvious positive that you can take from working for a poor boss is that you can see how not to do it. Learning from your own mistakes and failures is great, but watching others screw up is all very good experience and you can benefit a lot from it, but there is another, often overlooked, plus side to working for a dodgy boss. Read more…
on making an impact
Even those without too much ego tend to want to be well thought of and for anyone scrambling up the greasy pole of promotion it is an important factor. Sure you don’t want to be everyone’s pal because you have to make the tough calls, right?But what impact are you making with your style of leadership? Read more…
on a lack of interest in the truth?
Perhaps I have been a bit slow on the uptake here, but a casual remark led to some serious discussion and some, for me anyway, disturbing thoughts for it seems that in the world today people no longer want the truth, they want their view to prevail regardless of the facts. Read more…
on the leadership advice that no-one gave me
Last week I was asked what advice I could give to someone who was about to make the move up from the shop floor to their first management position. It’s forty five years since I had my own first go at taking that step and the memories of it are still painful today. Read more…
Musings from the facilities front #3
Life is never dull as an FM; I have heard or read that so many times over the years. People expound about how great it is not knowing what you will face at work each day, but I do wonder if that is the best way to be working. Read more…
Just do it
Things that need to be done can sometimes seem hard, complicated and daunting. Finding a place to start can often be hard and as for trying to get diverse groups of people around the table, let alone to agree to anything, looks impossible. There are all sorts of platitudes that can get trotted out at times like this; the journey of a thousand paces starts with a single step, or eating the elephant one bite at a time being two of my least favourites, especially when they are trotted out by people who don’t have to do the hard jobs. Making things happen takes all sorts of things, but there is one tool that works every time. Read more…
I support this charity
British Blogs
the Monday Musings column from that consultant bloke 