Category Archives: management

To get better complaints: help the customer to complain

I read this HBR blog and thought about how it could be applied to complaints.  When a problem occurs, an organisation will often wait until someone before trying to fix the issue. As most organisations do not work actively to … Continue reading

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Systems thinking for middle managers: workplace democracy in action.

As middle manager, I have been thinking a lot about how I do my job. As a colleague explained to me, “We are the jam in the sandwich.”  I liked the idea because it shows a central, sweet, and connective … Continue reading

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In the age of social media, will your Chief Executive sort your mail?

The question is shocking, as it seems impossible. Yet, in today’s social media enhanced workplace, the potential is implicit within the technology.   We would not expect a Chief executive to open a company’s mail, sort it and deliver it. Yet, … Continue reading

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Need to improve your customer service? Have your Chief Executive sign the complaint responses

Sometimes you have trouble with customer service. Try as you might, you cannot find a way to improve it. What may exist is a gap between the senior management and the frontlines regarding customer service. In many ways, the senior … Continue reading

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Are you aware of how your solution has unintended consequences?

In trying to manage, it is important to start by understanding the issue or the problem before trying to solve it. As Peter Drucker wrote, an effective executive asks, “What needs to be done?” Often times, a manager may believe … Continue reading

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The rise of the networked managers: sense making in the social media age.

The manager’s role is changing. The new organisation, connected and networked,  requires managers to deal with internal and external issues.  The required skill set is changing.  In the past, the focus may have been on service delivery based on top … Continue reading

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What you allow to interrupt you defines your priorities

We often hear management gurus advising us that effective and successful leaders know how to prioritise their work and the work of their company. To an extent, they are correct. What is left unsaid and not discussed is how those … Continue reading

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Three reputation management reasons explain why Penn State and the NCAA settled so quickly

In the United States, the Jerry Sandusky scandal has gripped college sports unlike any scandal it has ever faced. The story centres on his criminal convictions for sexually assaulting young boys when he was a coach at Penn State and … Continue reading

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Are we all managers now?: the rise of the self-organising organisations.

The future of manager is connected to the future of work.  There has been talk of the self-organising organisation, which would cut or end the need for managers.  Instead, we are all managers now. The future of work will be … Continue reading

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Do corporate integrity programmes work or does culture eat them too?

  The Barclays fine for the LIBOR scandal and Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK)’s massive fine by regulators raises the question whether corporate integrity programmes work. All major firms have the programmes in some form either as a corporate social responsibility programme or as an … Continue reading

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