Does publishing performance data make people perform better? The National Health Service in the UK has developed a cunning ruse to improve patient care. They have started to publish data about consultant’s mortality rates. Before you go and see a specialist you can go online and see if he is competent or not. If you don’t like what […]
The 5 Sins of Management
Deadly diseases In 1982 W. Edwards Deming wrote about the 5 deadly diseases that inflict most organisations: Lack of constancy of purpose Emphasis on short-term profits Evaluation of performance Mobility of management Running a company on visible figures alone Are we still infected? 30 years on have we found a cure? Have a look at the slide […]
Snakes, Rats and Your H.R. Policies
Have you heard of the Cobra Effect? In Victorian times, at the height of the British Empire, the governors of Colonial India were very worried about the number of cobras in Delhi — no self-respecting bureaucrat has a liking of venomous snakes. The governors came up with a plan. They offered a reward for every […]
The Management Spork
I grew up in the 80’s. One of the breakthroughs of the decade was the Spork. It was half spoon, half fork and if you bought the deluxe version, it had a serrated edge making it half knife as well (don’t think about that too hard). The Spork was billed as the end to all […]
Performance Appraisals: You Wouldn’t do Them at Home…
I love my wife dearly, but there are a couple of areas that she really could sharpen up on, areas that would improve her performance and deepen her satisfaction with her home life. Fortunately I am a very experienced manager with a large team of engaged employees and know exactly what to do to motivate and […]