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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
20 Mar 2023 - 22:27

null Project Cassandra and Black Swan events 

Six years ago the German military launched Project Cassandra, a programme designed to predict disasters and black swan events by getting novelists, poets and journalists to write stories about them. If military and intelligence services believe fiction can act as an early warning sign of future disasters then we should be very worried about AI.    Once machines learn to think or... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
18 Mar 2023 - 13:23

null You don’t need the dream team to succeed. 

Could there be any better example of team work, dedication, professionalism and achievement than the Apollo space program which ultimately put a man on the moon? As a role model could you wish for a better employee than an astronaut , a skilful and knowledgeable team player, totally committed to the project? Well that’s the myth the truth is rather closer to the experience of the average... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Mar 2023 - 16:22

null What should you be allowed to say 

Few inside the organisation will talk about the changes but the feeling is there is little money and a lot of angry people. A popular Director has been suspended for comments at a meeting with carers. Not for saying anything critical about the organisation but for pointing out how Government policy was impacting on her social workers ability to do their job. I suppose it didn’t help that the... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
09 Mar 2023 - 13:34

null A pattern of knitting found in organisations 

In China the Government has cracked down on feminism. Words relating to feminism online are censured. The response by bloggers has been to replace the words with rhyming slang, so feminist becomes, “ women’s fist”.  So what would a subversive social media posting critical of an organisations leadership read like using rhyming slang?  More about knitting  Senior management have... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
21 Feb 2023 - 15:49

null And anything else the boss asks you to do 

The list of requirements was so extreme that some commentators thought it was a spoof.   Must be “highly talented”, “ooze leadership” and be “a great orator”.   “High energy and sacrifice are required to excel in this position. We cannot carry anyone. We need a commitment to stay until the job is done.”    “ Excessively long hours are the norm and the role may... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
14 Feb 2023 - 10:09

null LA’s can be noisy organisations 

There is a technique composers  use in which the piece starts with what appears a random selection of instruments all playing at once, making a loud noise. Gradually a rhythm imposes itself and a tune emerges as instruments fall in-line some going into the background others to the forefront. It is the contrast between the discordant, chaotic, introduction and the subsequent harmonious... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
06 Feb 2023 - 16:16

null Manage your energy not your time

In the tips for being an effective manager time management is always near the top but more radical advice would be manage your energy. People who get things done have in common energy and enthusiasm. But energy is exhaustible, let your batteries run down and you become less effective, let them run down completely and you burn out. So target your efforts, put your energy into projects,... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
06 Feb 2023 - 15:35

null Different sides of the same coin? 

Resilience and Agility are closely related. Resilience is the ability to recover or bounce back. Agility is a set up able to take advantage of opportunities and stay ahead of the game. However the ability to over come set backs does involve some of the characteristics of agility like the ability to change direction quickly and smoothly.  Resilience for an individual is about confidence... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
06 Feb 2023 - 14:14

null “ won’t get fooled again” should be the recruiters motto

According to some recent research at Columbia Business School  https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/newsroom/newsn/1879/mens-honest-overconfidence-may-lead-to-male-domination-in-the-csuite  men typically over over estimate their achievements and abilities by 30%. They are not consciously exaggerating but genuinely believe they are considerably more talented than they are. All to often... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
02 Feb 2023 - 13:33

null Keep a lid on it 

We have all experienced being asked a question  instinctively knowing you’re  not supposed to give an honest answer. I knew it when my boss asked if I thought he was a bully! A common theme in audit reports is that senior  managers did not recognise the extent of the problem. I read a particularly damning report which was strikingly titled,” I’m surprised your surprised”. The... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
02 Feb 2023 - 13:10

null Be a tackler not a dodger 

It’s like football,  tackling is part of the game. In the same way challenging team members is part of being a manager. In a game of football there are a lot of tackles   mostly they are fair tackles but that doesn’t stop some players complaining. So being complained about is not the problem , the problem is a clumsy , badly executed or ill- intentioned challenge.  Continuing... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
29 Jan 2023 - 14:24

null I was a roadie for a rock band in the  70s

My parents and fellow students thought I was working on a play scheme in Blackfriars London during the long summer holiday of my second year at teachers training college. Instead I was driving a Ford transited van around the country, loading and unloading equipment. I got the job by happy accident. One of the girls at colleagues I shared musical tastes with was friendly with someone in a group... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
23 Jan 2023 - 15:51

null Making Local Government Cool 

“One of the things I think I can bring to the Presidency is make  Government and public service cool again” Barrack Obama. I wish I had said this when asked at interview what I could bring to the post and organisation. If Local Authorities are to effectively tackle their recruitment and retention challenge then chief executives need to make their organisations cool again.  When I... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
17 Jan 2023 - 21:31

null Bank of Dave 

Have you seen the film Bank of Dave on Netflix. It’s a David and Goliath story where the little man takes on the establishment big boys and wins. It’s a romcom which is not afraid to be political. It’s set in a depressed, economically disadvantaged northern Town. It’s not a hypothetical norther Town it’s Burnley, Lancashire and it’s a true story. If you are at all interested in community... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
17 Jan 2023 - 14:55

null Always have the right people on the bus.

 It makes a great deal of sense to get recruitment right, to have those on board who are going to be an asset for the journey. Yet the majority of people on the bus got on when the destination was different and before the new driver took over. Some of them are disgruntled passengers.  The restructuring interviews were a revelation most of the candidates had no recent job interview... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
13 Jan 2023 - 21:02

null Bullying in the movies 

Looking at the video and film clips, film makers in the USA think bullying at school, in the work place and in leisure venues is common place. They also believe all bullies get their comeuppance. But only by picking on the wrong person who violently and with maximum efficiency breaks bones and busts heads using fists and feet. The message seems to be learn to fight.  Does the message... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
06 Jan 2023 - 11:59

null Upside down 

We’ve got it all wrong the Private sector should be learning from us not the other way round. For the last 30 years we have had it the wrong way round. Like discovering some famous modernist painting has been hanging upside down in the Louvre ever since they paid a kings ransom for it. For decades the public sector has been told it needed to be more like the private sector . We were urged to... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
04 Jan 2023 - 12:42

null Are you ready?

How do you know when you are ready to step up to the next level? Is it simply enough to think you can ? You feel ready but can you convince an interview panel? I can do most of the things they want I’ll apply and let them decide or are you someone who decides not to apply because you can’t demonstrate you have everything they require?  Sometimes the advert states but more often... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
03 Jan 2023 - 14:18

null Be like water in a stream 

  It’s sounds like a piece of ancient oriental wisdom or something from a kung Fu film.   I came across it in the December Human Resource Director (HRD ) magazine in an article by Jenni Field describing how leaders needed to be adaptable. She suggest managers need to be like water in a stream that flows round a rock, always moving forward whatever the obstacles in it path!  ... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
03 Jan 2023 - 10:28

null Success and Failure  

‘It’s not enough to succeed” said Gore Vidal .“ others must fail”. Some people get as much satisfaction from the failure of rivals as they do from their own successes. It’s not an attractive quality. Team spirit means celebrating someone else’s success like it’s your own. Blair Mcpherson former Director author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk   
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