Archive
more on myths and panacea solutions
Last week I gave my thoughts on the myths around centralised procurement. I picked that activity just because it had been in the media in the preceding days, but it was just one example of panacea solutions. Read more…
the obscure art of decision making
This week I wrote about planning; you can read that soon, but in doing so I covered the art of decision making and that is what this week’s Monday Musing is all about. You’ll know the old joke about “I used to be indecisive, but now I’m not sure”. Decision making is easy, so why do we make such a meal of it? Read more…
would you be a leader or a manager, and does it matter which you are?
I write a lot here on leadership issues; it features a lot in what I do and is something that has fascinated me for many years. This week I was reading in an on line forum where the difference between a manager and a leader was under debate.
That there is a difference between managing and leading I don’t think is at issue, but there is no reason for me why the same person can’t be both, and I would go further and suggest that many of the best leaders are also good managers. Read more…
is it unreasonable to be focused?
There was something on one of the internet forums last week about whether or not an “Unreasonable Leader” could succeed in Facilities Management. I did have a quick look, but had a lot on the go at the time and so didn’t follow up and read the post or its follow up comments. However, I would offer the observation that firstly yes they can (and do) and am living proof of the point. Read more…
would you rather be a leader or a manager?
I was reading the other day an on line forum where the difference between a manager and a leader was under debate. That there is a difference between managing and leading I don’t think is at issue, but there is no reason for me why the same person can’t be both, and I would go further and suggest that many of the best leaders are also good managers. Read more…
the art of time management
Time is a very odd commodity isn’t it; on the one had we measure it with great precision and yet in other ways we are astonishingly casual about it, but time has been on my mind a lot in one way or another over the last week, both in terms of managing it and wondering where it went. How do you manage your time? Read more…
unclutter your organisation
I wrote last week about supporting the front line, and the importance of having a focus on what you have to do to deliver what your customers need. As regular readers will know I have a strong dislike of process for the sake of it and a belief in concentrating on what you need to do and not allowing yourself to be distracted by nice to have fancies. Read more…
asset management; a hard lesson
Asset management is very much at the forefront of my thinking at the moment, and in a very personal sense. It was about 4 weeks ago that I took a long look in the mirror and decided that I needed to apply some first principles to my main asset; myself. Read more…
you have what you’ve got: use it well and more will come
This wasn’t written with the financial crisis in mind, but, in proof reading it, it could well have been. My thoughts were more on developing teams and, because teams are made up of them, individuals.
If you lived in that ideal world of fluffy bunnies and blue skies then you could always pick your own team. Fortunately, at least for me, we don’t live there. It wouldn’ be much fun anyway as there would be no challenges, and so back here in the real world we will, as leaders, have to make something of what we have. Read more…
working in different worlds
The other week I was chatting to Cathy Hayward, providing a quote or two for an article, and we talked about some aspects of the differences between the public and private sectors. It almost 44 years ago that I left full time education and in that time I have worked in both sectors and with businesses from family firms, through local, national, pan-European and global outfits. More recently, as a consultant, I have continued that theme, but consultancy tends to lead to lots of smaller projects and so I get to see a wide range in a short space of time and often, as I have this month, been working for public and private sector clients at the same time. Read more…
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