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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
29 Nov 2020 - 21:31

null The Chateau 

If local government were a building it would be a crumbling stately home , still grand but decrepit now in parts,  it’s gardens over grown and floor boards warped. Makes you wonder does it have a future or will it be allowed to decay through lack of funds and indifference, no longer considered relevant. The longer it’s neglected the more costly it is to restore it. But it’s amazing... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
27 Nov 2020 - 22:19

null If you find yourself in a hole-call it a swimming pool

My dad dug a big whole whilst levelling the back garden and decided he would call it a swimming pool. The new build house had a steeply slopping back garden. Never one to pay someone for doing something he could do himself my dad went about moving earth , lots of it, to level it up. He took earth from the bottom of the garden and moved to the top. He started in one corner and... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
18 Nov 2020 - 16:03

null The thrill of the tight rope

  I was once carpeted by my boss for a piece I had written in a local journal published by and on behalf of the voluntary and not for profit sector. The leader had had a word with him. Apparently I should have made it clear that I was writing in a personal capacity and not as a spokes person for the local authority. The boss was at pains to state that the leader did not necessarily... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
13 Nov 2020 - 15:04

null Don’t be a bad loser( like Donald Trump)

"Show me a good loser and I'll show your a loser." So said Graeme Souness.    Jose Mourinho muttered about high level conspiracies, Alex Ferguson like to motivate his team by encouraging the believe that everyone wanted them to lose. When Arsenal’s historic unbeaten run was ended by Manchester United, at old Trafford, Cesc Fabregas notoriously through a slice of pizza at... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
05 Nov 2020 - 07:44

null Every senior manager has a fantasy

  Every senior manager has a leadership fantasy but they’re to embarrassed to tell you. They do however give clues.     Maybe they secretly see themselves as Dirty Harry... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
28 Oct 2020 - 16:28

null The average 3 year old is getting smarter

 Many parents and every grand parent thinks their child is very bright for their age. This has always been the case but now there is evidence to support the claim. It appears the average 3 year old is getting smarter. Children are still learning to walk and talk within the same time scales as previous generations but significant changes have been noted in the extent of their... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
24 Oct 2020 - 15:43

null Trust , Unity and Progress

  They sound like a communist party slogan from the soviet era. Something like,  Trust in the party and the United workers will achieve great Progress. They are in fact the easy to remember headline words of the value statement of a small deprived midland local authority I once worked for. Helpfully the website explains what each word stands for. Trust – Shows respect, makes a... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
15 Oct 2020 - 15:30

null Who do you trust more your Dr or your MP ?

That is a simplified version of the government’s attempt to take back power from doctors. It has parallels with local government. How do you get the balance right between the professionals, the managers and the politicians. Should the professionals run the service because they know best or should managers because resources are scarce and budgets finite or politicians/ councillors... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
02 Oct 2020 - 11:35

null All or Nothing 

Reading the biography of a very successful leader is often disappointing if you are seeking to learn how to replicate their success. Interviews with those who worked closely with such leaders often come up with interesting stories but no really usable tips. Friends and family  simply tell of the contrast between the private person and their public persona. So I had high hopes that... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
01 Oct 2020 - 10:48

null Your team doesn’t need you when they’re winning

You earn your money as a manager when the team are going through a difficult patch. When performance dips, when morale is rock bottom and confidence low that’s when your experience and know how is supposed to make the difference.    Jose Mourinho apparently told his opposite number on the Chelsea bench that he should not be so quiet and miserable when his team is losing nor did he... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
29 Sep 2020 - 14:15

null A Hard Rain 

When Bob Dylan wanted to warn people of the increased risk of a nuclear war he wrote a song , A hard rains a -gonna fall, which tells of the destruction from the fallout of The Bomb. When the PM’s chief advisor spoke of a hard rain hitting the civil service it was a threat of a different kind. But the aim was the same destruction. In this case destruction of the relationship between... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
22 Sep 2020 - 13:24

null Showing you’re annoyed is not the same as making staff scared of you  

Alex Ferguson claims he used his notorious hairdryer treatment no more than 6 or 7 times in his long and successful career. The accounts of former players would indicate it was a lot more but may be the truth is that it was used sparingly in order to maximise its impact. The point is All his players had heard of and probably witnessed one of these fearsome verbal assaults. No one... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
14 Sep 2020 - 11:35

null The Understanding Manager

Everyone wants a supportive manager some one who recognises your value to the team and acknowledges your skill and work ethic, some one who is sympathetic when some difficulty in your personal life makes you less effective than normal, someone who is understanding when your naivety or passion gets you into trouble. But if you are that manager how do you determine whether your... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
11 Sep 2020 - 06:27

null Simply the Best 

If you ask a highly successful manager, a great leader what it is that makes them so effective don’t expect to get the answer that those who work with them would give. Even the best often lack insight and don’t see themselves the way others see them. They see themselves as paternalistic looking after and out for their staff. Those  who worked for them describe a strict Victorian ... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
08 Sep 2020 - 06:03

null Vanity Projects 

A project that is not justified by cost and effort and whose purpose is to make the instigator look good. The most famous was the USA race with the Soviet Union to put a man on the Moon the cost of which could not be justified but was intended to demonstrate capitalism was better than communism  and the USA was the greatest.  Putting a man on the moon was an extortionately... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
02 Sep 2020 - 07:00

null The hole in the donut

These managers never seem to focus on the perfect circle. Instead, their first comment calls attention to the inconsequential mistake. They ask for trivial back-up data that you failed to bring with you to the presentation. They imply that maybe you have misunderstood the politics surrounding the situation and therefore have written the email with a more aggressive tone than... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
14 Sep 2020 - 14:06

null It’s Complicated 

He drove the car, a reluctant participant in what was a sectarian assassination. First he finds the librarian he fancy’s is the wife of the man they murdered. Then he takes a job working on her farm just to be close to her. Him and his dad, the only Catholics on the estates, get burned out when their house is firer bombed. Homeless and hiding from his “ friend” the shooter, who he... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
25 Aug 2020 - 09:01

null Ginger Rogers’ Annual Appraisal

  Annual appraisals do more harm than good and now it’s ok to say so. Many large companies have dropped Annual Appraisals replacing achievement and reward with support and coaching. One to One formal monthly supervision, the norm in some specialisms is now being rolled out across whole organisations as part of the performance management revolution.   After all Ginger Rogers did... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
20 Aug 2020 - 13:17

null It’s your dream job but there is a catch

It’s your dream job. You have said so publicly and often, which hasn’t gone down well with previous employers. It’s high profile with a very competitive salary. But it’s only for nine months! It doesn’t matter how successful you are in this period at the end of it you will be gone. Your replacement has already been named by the incoming chair. This is not the best time to be joining... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
18 Aug 2020 - 09:33

null Boxing Clever

” Everyone has a plan until they are punched in the mouth.” Mike Tyson was not known for his wit and wisdom but his ferocity. His comment was therefore probably just a statement of the obvious that when it came to the fight whatever cleaver tactics his opponent had in mind they were still going to get hit very hard. Yet the comment is memorable because in life so many carefully... See more
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