thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
19 May 2022 - 15:59

null Why we use metaphors and when we shouldn’t. 

Metaphors are used to capture attention and explain complex things by comparing them to something familiar to the audience.  The business metaphors chosen often have nothing new to say and are just a different way of saying it.  These metaphors tends to look for parallels when we would learn more by focusing on the troubling differences. Military metaphors are common but business is... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 552 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
17 May 2022 - 16:20

null Swimming in rough seas

  It’s about working in a difficult environment, finding strong forces working against you and having to use up a lot of energy to make slow progress.  This can happen in any organisation at any level from the employee with a really good idea and an unreceptive manager to the Chief Executive dealing with an influential group within the board. It could be an HR team trying to push the... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 555 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
09 May 2022 - 06:48

null Can robots have a sense of humour? And would we find it funny?

In Catch 22 wounded officers in hospital are given enlisted men’s letters to redact of any sensitive military detail. Some of the letters are to girl friends back home and are very sexually graphic but most are from sons to mothers and are very dull. The officers quickly become board with the task and devise ways of making it more interesting. Like redacting every forth word, or every... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 559 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
09 May 2022 - 02:47

null Gogglebox

People watching other people watch television! Celebrity Gogglebox. People watching celebrities watching television. I read the,”inspiration “ for Gogglebox came from the innovative comedy,The Royal Family, which is set in someone’s sitting room from where we watch a family sitting watching the television! The difference is that The Royal Family is a carefully scripted social... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 492 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
06 May 2022 - 15:59

null The state of things and status of Queuing 

Queuing is never far from the headlines these days but usually it’s about the waiting lists for NHS operations, the length of waiting times in A&E or the queuing of ambulances outside hospitals. This news item was about the practice of queuing for someone else. I first heard of it in India where the simple act of buying a railway ticket could involve queueing for hours or even... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 5217 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
07 Jun 2022 - 07:04

null It’s Shangri-la and you are the legend at its centre 

“ Where everyone of us has the chance to make a mark and shape the future. Where senior managers are a catalyst for this change. Energising the people who can make it happen. At the centre of everything you will inspire passion. You instil courage. You bring the heart of a leader. “ It’s an advert for the organisation’s top post. It’s an advert that tells you what... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 6473 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
09 May 2022 - 02:51

null Snooze and you lose

Those who need five hours or less sleep a night are more successful than those who need eight hours or more. Less sleep gives you more time to do things and  being more productive makes you more successful.  Research around what makes a successful  business person or political leader has identified a correlation with the amount of sleep they claim to need. From interviews and... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 52254 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
17 May 2022 - 14:36

null Prove you are not a robot 

It says much about modern society that a computer requires me to prove I am not a computer to progress with an interaction! If computers need help to distinguish between humans and computers does a computer realise it is a computer? I compute therefore I am. 
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 51872 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
02 Jan 2023 - 02:24

null Spread it thinly 

It was a debate between the merits of butter v margarine in terms of a healthy diet. The dairy farmer argued butter was a totally natural product so had to be better for you. His counterpart argued that research had shown that alternatives to butter such as those made with olive oil reduced the risk of heart  disease. The interviewer then turned to the medical spokes person from the... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 51456 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
15 Apr 2022 - 14:41

null Is the juice worth the squeeze?

Post pandemic and the Great Resignation people are even more likely to turn down the opportunity of a management/senior management post because of inadequate resources , unrealistic targets and relentless pressure.  I asked someone I managed if they had thought about applying for a management vacancy that was currently being advertised. No they said. I asked why not since they had... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 51145 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Apr 2022 - 08:48

null Heard but quickly forgotten 

To those who don’t want feedback. To those who avoid training. To those who say I have been doing the job for years there’s nothing you could tell me I don’t already know. To those who claim it’s all just basic common sense. To those who think there are no new ideas, no better ways of doing things, no such thing as best practice and no need for inspections. I say you must be the... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 51128 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
27 May 2022 - 09:54

null What’s the difference? 

 The difference between an NHS manager and a LA/ SSD manager is significant when considering the integration of health and social care and I believe has been under explored when considering the reasons for frustratingly slow progress. So here goes a rather undiplomatic account of over 30 years trying to make it work. As a new manager in Social Services I was quickly exposed to my ... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 51574 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
03 Apr 2022 - 09:50

null The Macbeths as CEO and Head of HR 

In some organisations HR doesn’t have a seat at the top table. In many organisation HR don’t feel they have the status or influence their expertise and contribution warrants. But this isn’t about those organisations this is about what happens when an ambitious new chief executive hires a ruthless head of HR with the intention of taking complete control of the organisation. Board... See more
null 0
null 2 Comments
null 51338 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
28 Mar 2022 - 10:33

null How to reduce complaints-don’t record them

A complaint is only a complaint if it is a formal complaint and is only a formal complaint if the word, “ formal”  is used other wise it is not recorded as a complaint because it has been dealt with informally. Managers are expected to try and deal with complaints informally as such they are enquires, issues raised or concerns not complaints. We  haven’t had any complaints.How do you... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 51278 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
25 Mar 2022 - 12:37

null Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas 

The latest example of bullish Senior management thinking is from the Chief Executive of P&O who in a Commons hearing said there was no point in consulting  because ,  “ no Union could accept our proposals”. This is not the first time I have heard a Chief Executive state there is no point in consulting employees because we know they won’t agree but we are doing it any way.... See more
null 0
null 1 Comments
null 51336 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
23 Mar 2022 - 13:02

null “ So long and thanks for all the fish.” 

The dolphins kept it simple when they left the planet just as it was about to be destroyed to make way for a space super highway. (Hitchhikers’ Guid to the Galaxy).  Keep it simple is good advice for the standard resignation email. Just announce your giving in your notice, you’ve enjoyed working here, even if you haven’t, you appreciate the support provided., even if it was in short... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 51270 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
21 Mar 2022 - 16:42

null Fear,  Favour , Fortune 

It’s the 50 th anniversary of The Godfather probable the most famous and many would say the best film about the mafia. Films and t.v. series set in the world of organised crime are often referred to in articles  to illustrate the principles of effective business thus spicing up what otherwise might be rather dull academic accounts. In any discussion about leadership, strategy,... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 51274 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
15 Mar 2022 - 11:21

null Every one knows what bullying is and that it’s wrong or do they?

Shouting ,swearing, ridiculing and “losing  it big time” not as a one off or isolated experience but as a daily occurrence, a regular feature of the way the manager behaves would be unacceptable and considered bullying in most organisations.  But how hard can you push someone to deliver, how high can you set your expectations and how critical can you be before it is considered bullying?... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 51237 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
05 Mar 2022 - 11:56

null Professionalism 

What shocked me was not that he threw up all over her Jimmy Choo’s but that as a professional footballer on a night out he had drunk so much as to be uncontrollably sick!  www.blairmcpherson.co.uk 
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 54932 Views
thumbnail
Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
05 Mar 2022 - 11:41

null Middle managers are part of the solution and part of the problem

  When it comes to getting the message across and driving lasting change  are middle managers the problem ? Is the solution to bypass them and appeal directly to their staff?    I found my self  agreeing with an article in Human Resource Director ( February). The authors were saying how important it was to engage with middle managers if an organisation wanted to drive lasting ... See more
null 0
null 0 Comments
null 54955 Views

Showing 161 to 180 of 1,001 entries.