Archive
but in the end nobody did it
We all know the lines about everybody knowing that somebody would do it, but in the end nobody did it; it’s a little off pat, but rings nicely true and it sums up one of the basic issues of leadership that is often overlooked (see foot of blog for the full story). Read more…
Knowing the other party
After my last blog I took some stick from a colleague over my using the term “Know your enemy” in the context of colleagues. In this PC world maybe they have a point, for the phrase as used more than forty years ago was one that we all, at the time, applied a different meaning to. So here I am going to change it to “Knowing the other party” which is more neutral. Last week I was talking about site visits in general and one that we had coming up in particular and I want to carry on that theme to consider things from both the view of the host and their visitor. Read more…
“Prato” and the Site Visit
One of my tenants has a VIP visit coming up and they are looking to create the best impression that they can. Much depends on their own efforts of course, but as the FM team for the site my colleagues and I can make our contribution. The question is how far do we go to help? There is a service level agreement in place so we could just do what we are contracted to do, but I am not comfortable with that route because there is a time to do what you need to and there is a time when you do it right. Read more…
on the pros and cons of protégés
I mused here last week on succession planning and one part of that is the possibility of having a protégé. It is a complex relationship, almost a partnership, and can be very beneficial when it works well. Certainly I have had the delight of seeing a number of people that I have taken under my wing go on to do well in their careers. Read more…
We have a plan! OK, but is that all you’ve got?
“I thought you were right handed”. My friend had just watched me latch a gate, close a hasp and lock a padlock with my left hand as we locked up the shed and retired out of the rain. Our planned day working in the garden was being curtailed by one of the squalls sweeping across Wiltshire and thus demonstrating the first of my topics here; we knew that the weather was unreliable and had a back-up plan. Read more…
more musings on measuring stuff
Measuring performance is important. It doesn’t matter whether you are measuring it at individual, team or organisation levels or that of pieces of equipment or infrastructure, you need to know how well things are working. Read more…
can you learn leadership?
Can leadership be taught? I believe that it can and to a good standard, but it is another question as to whether someone who learns how to lead can become a great leader. Read more…
“We have two or three strategies that we can use this afternoon.”
The quote is from someone connected with a sports team so perhaps I should have expected a linguistic howler or two, but aside from the amusement that the words afford there is a serious side for this individual was talking about just one element of his team’s approach to the event. Read more…
things come in threes
It’s an old expression and folks use it in terms of things both good and bad and sometimes, quite often even, it is true, but there is another rule of three that works every time if you use it.
As I have got older I have become aware of just how many things I have been taught that really didn’t register too well at the time, but later in life they have come back to me, usually after I have learned the lesson again, this time the hard way. That is very true of the rule of three that I’m talking about this week. Read more…
project lessons from the air
Something that they teach you when you are learning to fly are the three most useless things for a pilot; runway behind you, altitude above you and fuel left in the bowser. Read more…
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the Monday Musings column from that consultant bloke 