Interesting Times!

Thursday, 1 July 2010

I know that as we face this perfect storm, where nothing seems to provide comfort and reassurance about the future, colleagues are becoming increasingly frustrated...

However, it may be reassuring to know that we are not alone! A recent Hay Group study found that nearly 60% of people were seriously considering leaving or actively looking for new jobs. Worse still, a further 35% said they were only holding off because there weren't any jobs to go to! I have discussed this with colleagues and the question is how do we manage in such uncertain times?

These are some of the suggestions colleagues have come up with:

1. DEVELOP NEW MODELS Have we got a “lean enough and mean enough” structure to survive after the storm? Are are obsessive about reducing hierarchy, simplifying decision making, and shortening lines of communication? Can we generate a list of unnecessary things that are getting in our way, and then work on removing them. Send me your list and I'll show you mine!

2. BUILD BRILLIANT LEARNING PLACES How do we make sure that all our work places are great places to work and places where talented people want to work? How do we improve and develop the workplace and show some more interest in people as people? Send me your list and I'll show you mine!

3. BUILD BEAUTIFUL SYSTEMS Are our systems, processes and procedures beautiful: clear, efficient and elegant so that they support our culture and our work? Can you think of ways to make things better, or make the work more interesting? Send me your list and I'll show you mine!

4. USE TECHNOLOGY How do we exploit the latest IT and web-based solutions to deliver our services more efficiently and more effectively to provide a more intimate and personalised service to our customers and clients? Send me your list and I'll show you mine!

5. CELEBRATE EXCELLENCE How do we reward and recognise colleagues contributions to ensure that people feel part of something special and they are appreciated for their unique added value? Send me your list and I'll show you mine!

What are your suggestions and additions to this starter for five?
Chris

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Brilliant Quotes!

“I must accept life unconditionally. Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don't set any condition.”
Margaret Lee Runbeck

“Happiness is not in our circumstances but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are.”
John B. Sheerin

“Most true happiness comes from one's inner life, from the disposition of the mind and soul. Admittedly, a good inner life is difficult to achieve, especially in these trying times. It takes reflection and contemplation and self-discipline.”
William L Shirer

“The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase: If you pursue happiness you'll never find it.”
C.P. Snow

“Doubly rich is the man still boyish enough to play, laugh and sing as he carries and emanates sunshine along a friendly road.”
Charles R. Wiers

"Faith is not a shelter against difficulties, but belief in the face of all contradictions."
Paul Tournier

"Convictions are the mainsprings of action, the driving powers of life. What a man lives are his convictions."
Francis C. Kelley

"To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger; but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can."
Sydney Smith

"It is often just as sacred to laugh as it is to pray"
Charles R. Swindoll

"Things never go so well that one should have no fear; and never so ill that one should have no hope"
Turkish proverb

"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself"
Chinese proverb

"Don't bother to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."
William Faulkner

"In times of change, learners will inherit the earth,while the learned will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists"
Eric Hoffer

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."
John Lennon

"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."
Robert F. Kennedy

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."
Mahatma Gandhi

"Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way."
Abraham Lincoln

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"There is nothing in life so difficult that it cannot be overcome. This faith can move mountains. It can change people. It can change the world."
Norman Vincent Peale

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein

"Life isn't measured by the number of breaths we take but the moments that take our breath away."
Anonymous

"Patience and perseverence have a magical affect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
John Quincy Adams

"Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and woman to win them."
Ralph Waldo Emerson