Another day, another enormous public-sector IT project disaster getting news coverage. This time, the abandoned NHS systems project that has cost us all £10Bn so far. "All" of course being unless you are a shareholder in one of the companies involved, in which case you're probably at worst neutral on the deal. "Richard Bacon, a … Continue reading The problem with projects
Category: Management
A few years ago I was at an IT industry event and met a chap who worked for Ford in the UK. Specifically he worked for Ford's retail operation, and chatting to him I was surprised to learn that over recent years the blue oval brand had been buying up a number of its car … Continue reading Supply chain acquisition
So within a fortnight of my own departure, things appear to be entering a really interesting phase at Microsoft with Steve Ballmer's announced retirement "within the next 12 months". It's generated a flurry of press coverage, a significant uplift in the stock price and one paradox that is being frequently mentioned is that on his … Continue reading The next CEO
Every once in a while, an old colleague of mine Francis requests a theme for a blog article. A few days ago he asked me why, when we shared an office, I'd seem to pick up every sales telephone call I received. He wondered why... The mechanics of it are simple, I guess. I'm easily … Continue reading Answering the phone
Twenty or so years ago an old friend of mine set up a "knowledge-based" business and needed a loan of a couple of hundred thousand pounds to get up and running with the infrastructure required to establish a company - an office, furniture, kit, staff and so on. Five years ago I heard a chap … Continue reading Thoughts on starting up
There was an interesting nugget that I recently read in Clay Christensen's "How will you measure your life?" about the impact of high performer management fast track programmes: that they train leaders in organisations to be less innovative. Christensen (who is probably best known for his earlier book "The Innovator's Dilemma") argues that such streaming … Continue reading The fast track to zero innovation
A few evenings ago I was giving a friend of mine a bit of advice. She'd been asked to, as a "career development opportunity" (alongside her day job) to create a digital channel strategy for her organisation. One of the topics that came up was the subject of telephone helpdesks, and specifically whether helpdesk callers … Continue reading Hanging on the telephone
I'm not a great fan of the type of management consulting that is typified by organisations like McKinsey (too often it merely represents the wrong sort of management delegation from my lowly viewpoint), but there are many things of value that come from the work of such firms. A case in point is the 7-S … Continue reading Dodging silver bullets
One of the quotes I've most overused in the past few years is Don Tapcott's “Institutions are becoming naked, and if you're going to be naked … fitness is no longer optional. If you're going to be naked, you better get buff.” It sums up so much for me about the world we now live in. That when … Continue reading Socially naked
An old friend of mine yesterday asked me to share a list of the things I've been reading recently. Thought I'd share more widely: 50 Economics Ideas You Really Need to Know: your really need to know (50 Ideas) a bluffer’s guide to economics Adland: A Global History of Advertising another self-explanatory title. Useful to … Continue reading The Book Shelf
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