Wake Up!

Most people are more effective workers in the morning - when fresh.  As the day goes on ,most of us tire.  The problem is that we don't always recognise this - and we take decisions, do important work, hold important meetings when we are not at our best.

Does this work for teams and organisations.  Should we choose the activities we undertake in the morning and what we leave till the other end of the day.

Do new stuff - initiatives, development work, innovation - in the morning.  Do routine stuff, the chores at the day's end.

Try it - let me know if it helps!

Reflection

Approaching the end of another year is a time for reflection - personal reflection and, if you are brave enough, organisational reflection.  What have you - and your organisation - learned this year that will make you better next year.

It might be something about your products, your processes, your customers, your competitors ... or your own approach to managing your own area.

It may not revolutionise what you do - or how you do it ... but there must be something.

If not, what have you been thinking about all year?

What happens next?

Labour productivity is all over the place for many Western nations.  It rises, it slows, it plateaus.  It is hard to predict as these countries struggle to climb out of recession.  Productivity fuels economic growth - but then employment and wages catch up and productivity levels off.

Many organisations are spending all their attention on just 'staying alive' - they believe that productivity can wait ... or that it will take care of itself.

It won't.  We all know the problems that can accrue if you spend your time on the urgent things and forget to address the important ones.

More organisations need to be thinking NOW about their future performance.

Local clusters?

Clusters have been proved to a useful development tool - bringing together companies - and people - from similar industries/activities - to share knowledge and  experience, and to collaborate.

A similar effect can be created locally by bringing together employees from within the company to discuss problems, issues, projects, developments - sharing perspectives from designers, engineers, administrators, and so on.

Such 'bringing together' could be formal - company project days, for example - or could simply be the result of shared relaxation/refreshment space.

Think about how you can get your employees to interact with one another - if only 10% of that interaction is directly work-related, you will reap the benefits.