Bring on the revolution

The Industrial Revolution was the greatest ever change to UK society, transforming the lives of millions of people. Yet, at the time, many people suffered from appalling work under dreadful conditions.

Now the UK is faced with Brexit and ...

We vget all sorts of predictions but these are almost always based on prejudice, not on facts.

To b e fair, no-one knows what will really happen.


My own view is that the UK is resilient and innovative enough to cope in the longer-term but I accept there may be short-term problems.

It might, however, be just what we need.  A shot in the arm ... or a kick up the pants. A stimulus to greater innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.

What will be, will be. If w approach it as a challenge, we might succeed.  If we accept it as a threat, we could be in trouble. We have to make the best of it!

Do one thing, say another.

Politicians often bemoan the UK's poor productivity.  Yet, at the same time, over the last decade they seem to have systematically destroyed much of the further education sector with a policy of 'a thousand cuts'.  The same is true of 6th form education. 

There is quite a bit of evidence to show that a well- educated, properly-trained workforce is one of the principal keys to higher productivity.

So., the politicians are the probable cause of the UK's declining productivity ... and are unlikely to be the saviours.... especially since the whole of UK politics is being sucked into the Brexit maelstrom.

So often what politicians say is undermined by what they do!

Are you in the right job?

We expect modern managers to be numerate and analytical. We educate and train them to be so.

Yet when we look at entrepreneurs we see something else.  We see creativity and passion. 

Which of these are the best qualities to have?

Of course, I have given you a false dilemma. The answer is that really successful business leaders have both analytical and creative skills: they also have passion. They care about what they do; they care deeply about what they achieve. They will make errors and misjudgements but their inner belief, their passion will drive them on to rectify their mistakes, to improve their judgement and their results.

Think about what you do. If you don't care about what you do, you are unlikely to succeed. If you don't have the passion, you are in the wrong job - or the wrong organisation.

What do we want from education?

I read a comment the other day suggesting that increased private  investment in (private) education would improve its productivity.

I think this is debatable.

As in many other areas, it depends on how you define and measure productivity. We all know that productivity is quite different than production or output: fundamentally it involves the incorporation of resources consumed ... mirroring the judgement we all face daily on assessing 'value' for goods and services we consume.

More investment would certainly raise the numbers of students coming out of private education .... but, as we have just said, that is not a measure of productivity..... nor, importantly, of that very elusive factor 'quality'.  

Take India as an example. Lots of private colleges and universities output thousands of students each year. Yet, there is some doubt about whether many of them are fit for the workplace. They know lots of stuff ... but they can't do very much. Their employability skills are lacking.

Even in admittedly strong areas like engineering, India's education is limited. Their engineering graduates are excellent at solving 'standard' engineering problems .., but when faced with a problem that requires ingenuity and innovation, they lack the problem-solving and creativity skills to take the next step.

So, let's define what we mean by 'productivity' in relation to education, let's determine our aims, objectives and aspirations ... and then try to assess whether more investment from the private sector can help us deliver.

It possibly can .... but if we don't know what we want to happen, we can't bring it about.

Forget the blips

Toyota has had its fair share of problems recently - and has certainly been knocked off the plinth it has been on for some time... held up as a beacon of efficiency and productivity,

So, what does this do for the reputation of the Toyota production system - must we now all try to forget those few Japanese words we learned - like kata, kaizen, gemba and so on.

No, it does not!  Conditions may not currently be favourable for Toyota  but the principles that underly the Toyota Production System are still valid - as are the tools and techniques. There are still countless firms benefitting from the lessons learned - and continuing to thrive in unstable, highly competitive markets.

The future will one day teach us why Toyota has had its 'blips' - whether this is due to them forgetting their own principles and practices, or whether there is some other unknown factor.

I suspect that before too long, they will be back on their plinth. In the meantime, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater ... keep the faith, aim for 'lean', maintain your focus.

Leading from the .....

You will have often heard a phrase like ... Success is a marathon, not a sprint ... indicating that the activity in hand must be addressed with focus and concentration over the longer- term.

Well, Productivity is certainly a marathon.

You need a good start, then a keen ongoing focus and finally a strong finish.

Tools and techniques are very useful but attitude and execution are what really matter. Productivity improvement is best achieved within a supportive culture that expects, receives and values contributions from across and throughout the organisation.

Productivity leadership is not about having the best ideas but about creating that culture in which all ideas for improvement are considered, evaluated and rewarded.

Switching off destroys the culture; the focus must be continual. Leaders must continually relate to, and report on, Productivity ... reinforcing the culture, maintaining the focus and demonstrating their commitment.

Effective leaders lead from the front and the back ... and all points in between.

Bw good to your employees - and your planet

Many organisations make some attempt to treat employees well - with recognition and reward systems, flexible approaches to leave, healthcare and so on.  The trouble with such 'benefits' is that they quickly get absorbed into 'the expected' rather than being regarded as an 'extra'.

If you want something to have a longer-term effect on employee well-being - and even more importantly, on employee productivity  - then you need to select' benefits' that have a more direct effect on employee performance.

For example, why not institute a transport system to get employees to work - saving them the hassle and stress of doing it for themselves.  You can make it part of your environmental strategy since any form of shared transport is almost certain to be less resource intensive than lots of cars arriving with one individual. 

But more importantly, your employees should arrive fresher, less-stressed and ready to go.  They should be more productive, more content, more engaged with the organisation.

So you can treat your employees well, help  the planet and raise productivity.  Win-win-win. What's not to like?