Imagine a bucket with a hole in the bottom. That’s how we manage the jobs that we get within the service, or calls as we refer to them, using a leaky bucket. It could be a shiny read bucket with a strong wire handle and comfortable wooden grip or an old galvanised bucket with a … Continue reading A leaky bucket
Channel shift – it has to be more than just about money
I’ve been to a conference on channel shift, encouraging your customers to move to different forms of interaction with your organisation. It was good, perhaps not worth the five hour train ride but you always pick up something interesting from these events. Lunch was nice too. But my gripe was that speaker after speaker talked … Continue reading Channel shift – it has to be more than just about money
Is work the worst place to work?
Here I am sitting at home working. I’m parked at the kitchen table looking out into the garden with my laptop open in front of me. I’m connected securely to the work’s network and I’m happily and productively beavering away. The sun is just starting to rise. I’ve halved my inbox, done most of the … Continue reading Is work the worst place to work?
Incentive to come together
It has long been believed that larger organisations are more efficient than smaller ones, or at least have greater capacity for efficiency. This can certainly be proven in areas such as use of assets, retention of skills, reduction on overhead etc. but whether such efficiencies lead to greater effectiveness is another story, one for another … Continue reading Incentive to come together
Colchester General Hospital targets improvement
Once again another hospital finds itself in the news because of its target driven culture. This time it is Colchester General Hospital and follows an inspection by the Care Quality Commission which found inaccuracies in recorded cancer waiting time data at the hospital. The manipulation of data to give the impression that targets were being … Continue reading Colchester General Hospital targets improvement
Personal development plan
I’ve had my personal development plan meeting this week. You may know it as an appraisal. Now I talk with my boss about performance and objectives all of the time but my PDP allows a once a year formal discussion about how well we are doing. It’s a two way street. As with all processes … Continue reading Personal development plan
Keep rowing
I’ve been reading a book of late called ‘The oarsome adventures of a fat boy rower’ by Kevin Biggar. It was leant to me by Leah from OnBrand Partners. It’s about how he went from being a couch potato (I can empathise) to winning an Atlantic rowing race. It’s a great tale of commitment, team … Continue reading Keep rowing
What learning a language can teach you
I’ve been inspired by a blog I read today. It was by Benny the Irish polyglot who is convinced that anyone can learn a foreign language and be fluent in three months. I came across his site when I got the urge to learn Dutch for some reason, perhaps with a view to going on … Continue reading What learning a language can teach you
Give me the keys that unlock people
Everybody has a key that can unlock them. Most have more than one and they are someone that they trust. It could be a member of their family, their partner or their mother perhaps. It could be a colleague at work or a close friend. It could be an upstanding member of society like a … Continue reading Give me the keys that unlock people
Feelings trump facts
I have been an admirer of Dr Edward de Bono’s work for a long time. I have read many of his books which are always stimulating; in fact I’m just about to finish ‘I’m right, you’re wrong.’ His ‘Six thinking hats’ is one of the books that has had the greatest influence upon me and … Continue reading Feelings trump facts
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 