Management Blog

Bad management Costs £3bn a Year

Bad management practices cost Welsh businesses £3.3bn, around 9% of the country's entire GDP, according to a study of business productivity performance by Proudfoot Consulting and the LSE. The report says almost one quarter of all working time(22%) in British firms is wasted because of poor management. Three-quarters of time is wasted as a result of poorly planned and managed work or inadequate supervision of workers.

Proudfoot rated 150 meetings in 50 companies against a best practice scorecard. Almost half had no agenda and in less than a third were participants prepared with minutes captured. Only 12% resulted in a clear set of next steps.

Powerpoint Kills

What's your motivation these days for attending an exhibition, conference or corporate event? Is it the quality of the speakers or the fact you get an excuse to get toigether with your peers and play? I think most people would agree that if powerpoint could kill  we'd all be dead. Where do these organisers find some of the speakers?

What about speakerless events for the future? Just more time for networking, socialising and reinforcing working relationships. Any thoughts out there

Keep Fresh

1. Be passionate about what you're doing

2. Enjoy learning

3. Reward yourself

4. Exercise

5. Work when you're at work

6. Don't work when you're not

7. Have outside interests

8. Know your colleagues

9. Use your lunch break

10. Take your holiday

The Efeectiveness of Motivational Speakers - Ask the English Cricket team!

What is the value of motivational speakers? This is an often much maligned area of management development as it is difficult to measure its value or effectiveness. I haven't come across any research into this subject but can only speak from personal experience and anecdotal evidence.

Our own view is that inspirational and  motivational speakers do just that - inspire and motivate. However you have to be certain that the speaker you have chosen is the right one for you in terms of the message to be delivered. The other thing to be wary of is the quality of speaker which can vary enormously. Unless you have seen someone yourself then you are taking a big risk in booking someone.

It must be effective otherwise why would there be such a large number of speakers out there offering their services - the must be making a living from it. Also why would our most successful sporting teams use them if they weren't effective. One of the best is Alan Chambers MBE. Alan, in spring 2000, led the first British team to successfully walk the 500 miles from Canada to the Geographic North Pole. Alan has been involved with the English RFU and spoke to the English Rugby Union World Cup winning team  and the Ashes winning English Cricket Team as a motivational speaker. Visit Call of the Wild's website for more details

Listening Skills

1. Don't Multi-Task - -Focus on the person you're talking to and put everything else to one side until later. If you can't concentrate pay attention to the quality of the voice, their eye colour and what they are wearing.

2. Suspend Judgement - Focus on what they're saying rather than your analysis of it. Listen know form an opinion later.

3. Make Gestures - Use your body language to make it clear that you are involved and listening. Keep eye contact and nod your head in recognition.

4. Ask Open Questions - A good listener will ask questions

5. Refer Back - Mention in your conversation something the person suggested on a previous occsaion. Listening need not be confined to the current discussion.

6. Hear Them Out - Reacting too quickly will set them on the defensive and guarantee an argument.

7.Explore Thier Words - Listen to the vocab the person chooses to use and be aware of its shadow meaning.

8. Be Aware of Emotions - Does their tone of voice alter while they are talking - it may reveal a change beneath the surface.

Taken from "The Mind GYm:Wake |Your Mind Up." Published by Time Warner.

Green Business

1% of global carbon emissions are produced by five FTSE-100 Companies.

A small group of top British companies - BP, Shell, Corus, BHP Billiton and Scottish Power - account for a shameful 1% of total world carbon emissions. In 2003/4 they were responsible for more than 60% of all the emissions of the FTSE-100 and nearly half the Uk's rising total. FTSE performance depends on carbon reliant industries, an issue that firms must soon face. heavy industry not only produces emissions, but is intrinsically tied to other carbon-generators - such as electricity.