David Summerton Business Consulting
Change is now constant; nothing, but nothing, is stable any more. Embrace it! How change relates to organisation and management; • changes in the environment of the organisation (consumer trends, law, social needs) • changes in the products made and services provided • changes in work methods, how goods and services are provided • changes …
Forget the wider noble intentions – managers want to have power and be able to show that they have it for all to see. For most managers, management is about personal ambitions; power, money, status. One of the last taboos is to discuss how much you earn, so the trappings of success become disproportionately important. …
Continue reading "Flaunting Power – What’s Power If You Can’t Flaunt It?"
It is important that managers ask challenging, positive but constructive questions. This is essential to encourage staff involvement and for staff to understand situations and problems that arise in the business... Some of these questions are difficult and uncomfortable but that SHOULD NOT stop us from asking them!! (1) Help find or make meaning • …
Here are some keywords that I always find useful when I am thinking business: Challenge assumptions Think Big Thing Small Set up new ways of doing things Detect patterns – what do they tell you? Sense a need to change something – what’s your gut feel? Where does the overlap between departments actually sit – …
Continue reading "How Can I Improve My Output Towards My Business?"
Whilst the organisation and the role may change, and the work of different departments even inside the same organisation may be different (the Production Departments has a very different feel to that in Finance) the one common factor is that the role and responsibilities of the Manager are likely to be very similar. Every managerial …
Continue reading "What Is The Role Of The Manager In The Workplace?"
Watch your initial assumptions We have a tendency to look for information that supports rather than contradicts our current view. Don’t get too comfortable! Value your information source as well as the information. People tend to put more weight on friends’ views than they do on research from a reliable source. Choose criteria for assessing …
Listen without interrupting - Show that you understand how they feel as well as what they are saying. Analyse the problem - Differentiate between facts (the report has three errors in it); assumptions (it was clearly done at the last minute); generalities (your junior people aren’t up to it); and emotions (I feel let down). …
All decisions should be made as low as possible in the organisation. The Charge of the Light Brigade was ordered by an officer who was not there looking at the territory. It didn’t go well. Is the decision you are about to make either expensive or not. It’s that simple. A decision to relocate my …
Stand out from the rest of the marketplace and gain more business. By improving the service that you give to your customers you will continually deliver a positive commitment to the business. No matter what level people work at in the organisation we should all drive towards providing the best possible service that we can. …
Continue reading "Let Your Organisation Be Known For Superior Service"
So you have a group task to create a new product/business idea. You are all gathered in a room and the door is locked until you come up with the next million pound idea. Every idea in this stage of the process is a great idea, but people always make judgemental comments that might cause …
