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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
18 May 2020 - 11:11

null Residential Care is Killing Older People 

  What has the coronavirus crisis told us about residential care? It has told us that residential care puts older people at far greater risk, which is ironic since the biggest reason for admission is the perceived risk of remaining at home.    Life expectancy in residential care for older people is 2 to 3 years and often less. Residential care for most people over 80 is not a ... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
14 May 2020 - 10:34

null What’s  different about leadership in a crisis as opposed to any other time ?

The characteristics of effective leadership are the same in normal times as they are during a crisis. The difference is that during a crisis there is a temptation for leaders to do too much, to get over involved, to become to narrowly focused and neglect their role in anticipating the challenges further down the road.    A recent article in the Harvard Business Review identified the ... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
13 May 2020 - 12:56

null Rejuvenating the Talent Pool

    Even a successful management team needs their talent pool rejuvenated at regular intervals. Move too slowly and inevitably performance declines . Move too fast and the instability and loss of expertise leads inevitably to declining performance. Building on success requires decisive often ruthless intervention.    You can only hold on to your more experienced and talented ... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
08 Jul 2020 - 11:38

null Can Tony Soprano make you a better manager

 Tony Soprano has never read a management book. Yet he successfully manages a diverse workforce in a very competitive and treacherous business environment. Tony doesn’t work long hours his meetings are short, measured in minutes  not hours. He rarely gets involved in the day to day operation of the business he leaves that to his captains telling them ,” It’s your job to make... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
09 May 2020 - 11:12

null The Poor Make Bad Choices

The poor make bad choices the first being their parents, the second being where they were born.    www.blairmcpherson.co.uk 
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
06 May 2020 - 11:23

null The Balloon Debate

Did you ever have a balloon debate at school? One day my younger brother came home from primary school and as we sat round the tea table told us that he had won the ballon debate. This was a new one on us older kids so he explained that it involved being the last one to get thrown out of an air ballon. This turned out to be not as dangerous as it sounded but just as violent. A group... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
28 Apr 2020 - 10:02

null Make HR your Friend 

  The best advice I could give any one moving into their first management post.  There are lots of articles about why people hate HR and very few on why you should befriend at least one person in HR. The job is about people management as much as managing the budget and most managers find that the people they work with cause them more problems than the budget. Whether it’s... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
27 Apr 2020 - 10:46

null Management shouldn’t be about shouting from the sidelines

In this case the sidelines could be the chief executive’s blog, the senior managers road show or even the team meeting. There is getting your instructions across, vocal encouragement and unhelpful criticism. It doesn’t help to keep saying the same thing but louder or more earnestly like the typical tourist abroad. It undoes the good feeling if you praise some one for their effort and... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
25 Apr 2020 - 11:54

null The difference between managers and leaders.

One asks permission the other seeks forgiveness. 
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
20 Apr 2020 - 09:17

null The Manager’s Lucky Socks 

 When good fails to turn into great. When the sum of the parts isn’t greater than the whole. When a talented senior management team never quiet reaches the heights expected. Then people look at the leader. What’s missing? It’s the Don Revie effect. What they might have and should have been. Revie’s psychological flaw was his insecurity reflected In his numerous and well documented... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
16 Apr 2020 - 10:59

null How much should governments tell their populations

The governments of the world conspire to keep the news of the end of the world from their populations. This is the premise of a Hollywood disaster movie. Fear of panic , mass hysteria and the complete breakdown of law and order persuades governments around the world to keep the impending doom an official secret. The worlds greatest scientists race to come up with a plan to save... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
14 Apr 2020 - 21:29

null Talent v Character

 What’s surprises me is that managers so readily recruit on talent and then spend all their time addressing defects in the individuals character when it is so much easier to coach skills and impart knowledge.    www.blairmcpherson.co.uk
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
11 Apr 2020 - 15:04

null Are people looking at a lot more porn during the lockdown? 

Are people looking at a lot more pornography during the lockdown  or our providers just assuming they want to? Never mind bored  house wives, it’s sexy students and shameless girls that fill my junk mail inbox. Some commentators have speculated that at the end of lockdown there will be a surge in divorce applications and a baby boom might there not also be a new audience for porn?... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
08 Apr 2020 - 12:41

null Humans are irrational but capable of behaving rationally

  What has this Pandemic told us about how people behave in a crisis and how the authorities should manage that behaviour. Panic buying causing unnecessary shortages, having a big last night out before the lockdown officially starts and ignoring social distancing to go for a walk in the countryside whilst the weather is good, these all appear examples of selfish, irresponsible... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
31 Mar 2020 - 12:39

null 10 Things you should never say to HR 

If HR staff had thought bubbles above their head when in conversation with managers then you would be able to see when they were thinking ,” you really shouldn’t be telling me this”.  1) You can’t stand one of your team If you tell a member of HR you can’t stand an individual in your team how is it going to look if at a later date that individual submits a grievance against... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
23 Mar 2020 - 15:23

null Will Convid finally break the health and social care barrier?

If it’s no longer about money, about budget cuts or being more efficient. If it’s about being practice led rather than finance driven, if it’s about effectiveness rather than cost then one outcome of the response to Convid might be to finally make a reality of the integration of health and social care.    If hospitals are not to be overwhelmed then patients need to be moved to nursing... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
21 Mar 2020 - 18:14

null Crisis management

A crisis is exciting. Crisis management is a series of boring meetings to plan  for something that may never happen. There are so many immediate and obvious challenges facing an organisation that very few senior managers/ chief executives/ board members get excited about joining the working group. Which explains why the person appointed to chair the group is someone who wasn’t... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Mar 2020 - 17:35

null Toughest ever Person Specification 

Statement by leader of the council in intro to top job advert. First sentence.  What skill, wizardry and determined delivery could you add to iconic Cambridge, our international city of considerable magic?    I don’t think they are looking for a former graduate of Hogwarts. Maybe it’s the wizardry that football correspondents refer to when describing a player capable of mazy runs... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
10 Mar 2020 - 22:49

null A Tiger Team

We hacked the system to show how vulnerable it was to hackers. We broke into the gallery and removed the priceless art work to show how weak the security was. We inserted an operative to show how easy it was to infiltrate the organisation.  A Tiger Team is set up to test ones own defences. A bit more aggressive than a mystery shopper or unannounced inspection /audit but with the... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
09 Mar 2020 - 12:12

null How Bond villains convey malevolence 

  Senior managers need the ability to hold an audience, to dominate a room, to make people feel comfortable, as opposed to uncomfortable,in their presence. It’s a skill and like any skill it can be learnt and with practice and coaching improved. So it is surprising so many senior managers neglect this aspect of their role. However things may be about to change. This area of... See more
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