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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
05 Apr 2021 - 11:49

null Organisations in Denial 

Some leaders think it is a perfectly normal state of affairs in these challenging times for managers to be cynical and staff disillusioned. Some leaders claim staff always moan about their managers and distrust senior management and that this does not mean that the organisation will underperform, disappoint clients or has problems that at some point will surface dramatically. They are... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
15 Mar 2021 - 07:14

null Changing your mind 

The willingness to change your mind is a good quality in a leader as long as they don’t do it too often. Change it too often and you’re a nightmare to work for, never change it and you’re a disaster waiting to happen.    I would complain to my elder statesman colleague on the senior management team about the boss’s  failure to stick to his guns when mangers express doubts about a... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
08 Mar 2021 - 16:12

null This is not America

This is not America. I am not an American. I am not anti Americans just their business/management culture. The business schools, the MBA courses, the case studies and the language, the influence of the US is overwhelming. The attitude and the behaviour, the way they do things, are held up as models to study and emulate. They are the biggest and best, so they tell us. Recently , to... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
14 Apr 2021 - 06:23

null Some of the least effective managers are also the busiest 

Either because they don’t delegate appropriately or find it too difficult to prioritise but mostly because they attend the wrong meetings. They attend meeting based on whose chairing rather than the agenda. With the result they miss meetings that they really should have attended. The questions they should be asking are can I make a meaningful contribution? Do I need to attend every... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
16 Feb 2021 - 10:34

null ZAP! WHACK! BIFF! BAM! BOFF! 

The new Batman will be black DC comics has revealed. Can he do for your organisation what he is going to do for Gotham City? Or will it be Wonder Woman who returns to save the day? Does your organisation’s Equality and Diversity strategy recognise the lack of black employees in senior posts and is one of the aims of the strategy to address this situation? Do you believe in ... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
29 Jan 2021 - 14:56

null Bridgerton 

It’s trending. It’s on t.v. It’s about the life’s and loves of the aristocracy in Regency England. So what’s it got to do with diversity and inclusion in your organisation?  Bridgerton a Netflix costume drama reimagines Regency England as a place where black people existed as equals with whites. And that’s a game change.    Netflix has a Vice President of inclusion responsible the ... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
10 May 2022 - 14:11

null This is muscular management 

The macho  leadership style, the emphasis on competition rather than cooperation, the focus on cost/efficiency, the obsession with numbers (measurement and data ) the belief that the end justifies the means, the attitude that it’s about beating the system so anything is ok if you can get away with it, the treatment of employees ( zero contracts, not recognising TU’s, aggressive... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
08 Jan 2021 - 11:21

null Digging Managers out of holes 

Wisdom is the greatest quality a manager can have. The trouble is it is not easily or quickly gained. It comes over time from experience. For the inexperienced manager help is on offer from HR. They have the accumulated experience of many manager over many years. There is nothing they have not come across before - well almost nothing. But be assured they have come across more... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
26 Dec 2020 - 11:41

null Big Jack on Management 

I have been watching a film about Jack Charlton who died in 2020. The film focused on Jack Charlton the manager. For a decade he inspired  a modest out fit to consistently over perform. Former colleagues recounted stories which gave insights into his management style. He could be single minded and inflexible, he could be direct to the point of being abrasive, he was decisive and clear... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
21 Dec 2020 - 08:42

null It’s no exaggeration to call this torture 

It’s harder than most people would imagine to sack staff who have abused residents. Hard to uncover the abuse and harder to put together a strong enough case to get a dismissal.   The worst kind of bad practice is rarely picked up by inspections, sometimes there are rumours, sometimes managers have concerns but without specifics nothing happens until you get a whistle blower.... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
14 Dec 2020 - 12:15

null Big Boy Pants 

 In the USA they call trousers “pants”. In our family big boy pants refers to the underwear that my 3 year old grand son wears as part of his toilet training. Just another example of the misunderstandings that can occur when we think we speak the same language or is there more to it?  Philadelphia Mayor tells Trump to “Put big boy pants on”. So read a headline in the days after... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
07 Dec 2020 - 17:24

null What aren’t they telling us?

Who killed JFK, did the Americans really land on the Moon, what is the government covering up about Area 13, and what aren’t the board telling us? As with all conspiracy theories the idea that there is a secret plan is actually comforting, it‘s more reassuring to think our leaders are intelligent and competent , even if devious, than to accept we inhabit a world of randomness and... See more
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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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Showing 261 to 280 of 1,016 entries.