Tools of all sorts are being sold to us as the latest desirable purchase. The latest time-waster to plague meetings is the chorus of competing suggestions for new tools that happens whenever someone mentions a problem.   Read More . . .

One of my great delights in life is having a really honest conversation. The honesty comes is when either person can say what they really feel without fear. It is in this context that I can tell someone that they are an idiot and they read affection in every syllable even though we both have acknowledged that they just did something really stupid.   Read More . . .

This is a story about a piece of ill-considered graphic design that created low value work, added cost and produced waste. The waste caused by poor design is much greater than just piles of printed rubbish, it extends all the way through to demotivating high value staff with low value tasks.   Read More . . .

We have had a bit of a mouse plague. It feels like a plague because I have mice everywhere I am – in the office and at home. The mice in the office left their 'calling cards' all over the kitchen bench but the mice at home exploded behind the fridge creating an unholy smell.   Read More . . .

If enough people do stuff the same inefficient way for long enough someone else will solve the problem that those people are are avoiding. We all know someone who has one folder on their computer called My Files and everything is dumped into that folder. Ghastly way to store and try to find anything.   Read More . . .

The inventor of email has died. I wonder if he ever thought that email would bring out the hoarder in most of us. Email has been around for over 40 years. I remember how wondrous and clunky it seemed when I first came across it when working in a research role at a Uni back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. It was the stuff of the future. There was no hint at the time that this weird, clunky communication system would become the most seductive form of fools' gold.    Read More . . .

Take a moment to think what would happen if every question that is asked and answered in your organisation could be stored and searched later on. How much knowledge could you collect?    Read More . . .

I jumped out of my seat to go and ask a colleague for help but stopped as soon as I stood up to check the time. Five before the hour - not an appropriate time for an interruption. So I made a note for myself, did something else for a few minutes then sorted out my problem with my colleague - on the hour.    Read More . . .

When did it become a 'thing' that you are expected to change jobs every two years? Recently I have had clients move on to new jobs because they have been in their current role for two years - that was the explanation that was offered up which just made me feel as if I had been on another planet for the past few years. My niece told me that a recruiter was concerned for her job prospects because she had spent four years in one role. Apparently this meant she would now be pigeon-holed. What utter bunkum - if you get pigeon-holed as a result of four years of employment then doing a university degree becomes a huge risk.    Read More . . .

I had a short holiday recently. On the first morning I learnt how dependant I have become on one of the robots in my life when I was wondering why it was taking so long to brush my teeth. The switch on the toothbrush must have broken, I thought, because it just kept going and going. Not so - I was using an ordinary hand driven toothbrush having left the electric one at home.    Read More . . .