In all businesses but especially in SME’s it is vital to understand why fixed overheads are so important. The answer lies in the name. They are FIXED. We live in changing and unpredictable times and so anything that restricts our ability to react quickly can be a problem. We saw…
Why do bad managers hate work from home? We have recently heard many managers objecting to their staff working from home. The most recent of these is Jacob Rees-Mogg a man whose ideas of work are firmly based in the industrial revolution and have never moved on. So why do…
Time management is a great term that has been around for decades now but I’m sorry – you can’t manage time. A dictionary definition of to manage is “to handle, direct, govern or control in action or use. Just try doing that with time. What we really need to do…
A couple of days ago I wrote about the Ivy Lee Method Ivy Lee Method and now we move to the Pomodoro Technique as an extension of that. Named after the tomato shaped timer this technique make use of the brain’s natural ability to work well in short bursts. The…
In order to have an effective, rather than just a productive day I use the Ivy Lee Method. Who or what is Ivy Lee I hear you ask? Ivy Lee was an American productivity consultant who was engaged by Charles Schwab (one of the richest men in the world in…
I keep hearing the phrase “it’s great that we are getting back to normal” and it got me thinking – what’s so great about normal? The pandemic has been a total disaster for so many people around the world. Some have died, others are left with long covid but for…
I spent yesterday at the MACH exhibition and it got me thinking – every sausage needs a sizzle. For those of you who don’t know MACH is a manufacturing exhibition held in the UK. Here people involved in the manufacturing industries, both large and small get together to look at…
It’s April 1st today or April Fools Day and it got me thinking – why celebrate fools? I love those television programs where one can watch talented people try their hardest to produce the best work that they can and learn to be better at their craft. They are, however,…
In Lean terms the Waste of Motion is defined as ‘any unnecessary movement of people, equipment or machinery’. An example which is often offered is the motion of people to and from pieces of office equipment, for example one central printer. Far better, says Lean theory, to put a small…