Blog Archive
October 2005
I read recently that the 12 Safest Companies in America all have one thing in common – a passion for safety. Question: How do you instil that passion? Answer: Employee engagement. Of course, it stands to reason that employees must be engaged when it comes to safety, but a clear message is being sent out here.
I always enjoy reading what David Bolchover has to say. I wonder how many of us concur with his view that while we might be just a little bored with our day to day jobs we could actually do another person’s job perfectly well, if not better.
There has been an interesting, week-long-so-far debate on Melcrum’s SCM forum about what makes a good leader. The response has been amazingly varied. As the Conservative Party enters its final phase of choosing a leader, I thought this BBC News Magazine article was appropriate. I’d be interested to think what everyone out there thinks about this subject!
I never cease to be amazed by some of the language that comes out of companies today. And I don’t mean cursing and swearing. It’s the jargon that people use.
When Adam Crozier recently remarked that a good proportion of Royal Mail managers were sub-standard, I suspect a large number of CEO’s secretly empathised with him, in the knowledge that some of their own managers fall short of attaining the qualities needed to be good, inspiring leaders. David Bolchover, author of The Living Dead: The Shocking Truth About Office Life, points out that it is our managers, with whom we have to work on a daily basis, who are to blame for low morale, poor productivity and lack of commitment among the workforce. Interesting reading, this.
Charles Woodruffe has written a truly insightful piece in Legal Week into what exactly motivates and engages employees, and points out that whilst this is important for every employee, it is especially necessary for talented people who are likely to become the leaders of the future. He raises some interesting points, not least that whilst the CEO’s of most organisations agree that their people are their most precious asset, and that they need to foster the right conditions to get the best out of them, ‘the trouble is that organisations do not necessarily put this thinking into practice…..’