This week is flying by. It’s day four of National customer Service Week already. I’m still wearing my Institute of Customer Service badge (with pride) even though I’ve changed jackets since yesterday. Today’s theme is employee engagement and culture which is perfect as we’re having our second day of our Lean Start-Up training. The group … Continue reading Unfolding plans 151 – Employee engagement and culture
Unfolding plans 149 – Customer complaints
Day two of National Customer Service week and the festivities are well underway. Today’s themes are Customer Complaints and MOT. I think the MOT idea was one of our own where a small team of people descend upon a part of the wider organisation to help solve issues and identify learning opportunities. I know it’s … Continue reading Unfolding plans 149 – Customer complaints
Unfolding plans 146 – Simplicity
Life is complicated. The more I think about it the more complicated it becomes. It seems as if complexity is an inherent part of the way the world works. It’s that second law of thermodynamics again. It states that (forgive me for I paraphrase) ‘In any closed system the amount of usable energy is always … Continue reading Unfolding plans 146 – Simplicity
Unfolding plans 145 – Video kills
Video was never my medium. It just doesn’t work for me. I fluff my lines and get all tongue tied. I’m more nervous on video than with any other format. I don’t know why, perhaps it is the permanence of it all. I think I get hung up on how I’m coming across rather than … Continue reading Unfolding plans 145 – Video kills
Unfolding plans 144 – Scrum
Somebody has sent me a copy of ‘Scrum, The art of doing twice the work in half the time’ by Jeff Sutherland. I don’t know who it was. I had my suspects but one by one they are being crossed off my list. It just turned up at work in a manila envelope (C5 in … Continue reading Unfolding plans 144 – Scrum
Unfolding plans 140 – be mindful of others
A couple of days ago I was telling you about Lee and his stories. His tale of children and coasts tugged on a few strings. It brought back memories of childhood, happiness, helplessness and an innocence lost. It gets me every time I hear it (and I’ve heard it a few times now!). He has … Continue reading Unfolding plans 140 – be mindful of others
Unfolding plans 139 – we need fewer rules
First break all the rules. That is what the book said. If this is a rule then should we break it? First stick to all the rules? It’s all a bit confusing. There are too many rules, too many regulations. I can’t be expected to know them all yet every time we are faced with … Continue reading Unfolding plans 139 – we need fewer rules
Unfolding plans 138 – we need more entrepreneurs
I’ve heard it said many times that entrepreneurs are a special breed. They are vital to the health of the economy. They create the wealth that this nation relies upon to pay for its hospitals, its roads and all the other good things we’ve come to expect in a modern economy. I agree. Those people … Continue reading Unfolding plans 138 – we need more entrepreneurs
Unfolding plans 133 – summit else
The motorcycle outriders held the traffic up at Thinford roundabout. Their blue lights cut through the dank morning air. Helicopters hovered above as the threat level was set at high. The limousines with their blacked out windows sped through the empty roads before screeching to a halt outside the Educational Development Centre. The delegates hurried … Continue reading Unfolding plans 133 – summit else
Unfolding Plans 131 – A SOWE
I’ve been thinking about how we create a self-organising work environment. A SOWE. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I saw Sugata Mitra’s work at the first Dynamo conference and that was well over a year and a half ago. How do you get your teams to come together and deliver what is required … Continue reading Unfolding Plans 131 – A SOWE
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 