More Returns on Investment from 121s

Tom Peters encourages managers to obsess on R.O.I.R – the Return on Investment in Relationships.
ROIR through 121s comes in many forms:

increased staff retention
improved productivity
recognition and acknowledgement of progress
appreciation of those who are performing well
identification of under performance and early resolution
promotion of behaviours that reinforce strategic goals and values
increased tempo of coaching to develop potential [...]

121s: Giving People What They Want?

Most people are looking (consciously or not) for a number of things from their work. These include:

self determination – the freedom to decide what they should do, when they should do it
control over their own future
to be able to plan, act and succeed
to improve things – to make them better
to expect success
to enjoy responsibility [...]

Progressive Managers – Progressive Ideas

“It is not the brains that matter most, but that which guides them – the character, the heart, generous qualities, progressive ideas.”
Dostoyevsky
This is a great quote that reminds us that management, especially progressive management, is not so much about techniques and tools but about our basic stance in relation to those we manage.
Certainly in [...]

Understanding Your Organisation – Part 2 – Strains

In my first post in Understanding your Organisation I presented a really simple image that helps to understand the relationship between strategy (concerned with future well-being), operations (concerned with the delivery of service/product to current customers) and management as the function that integrates strategy and operations. Scarily simple – but I have found it [...]

Managing the Moon Walking Bear

It is true that we don’t see with our eyes as much as with our brain. Sure the eyes capture the photons – but it is in the brain that we actually do the seeing – largely based on what we are looking for.
If you need proof, try this.  NB you will need to [...]

Alien versus Predator:NCVO takes on Added Value

Last week I attended my first ever Performance Hub event at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations in London.  The event was jointly run by NCVO and the New Economics Foundation and played to a full house.
In essence the message was:

the third sector doesn’t understand ‘added value’
‘added value’ is therefore a concept that is passed [...]

The Challenge of Becoming a Better Manager

(Image supplied by Deborah Benbrook – a great ‘Leeds’ photographer – click the image to see some more of her work)

I work with managers who are trying to get better at their craft. Much better. They want to be the kind of manager who supports a team to do amazing work. To [...]

Maslow on Management

 

First published back in the 1960s Eupsychian Management made neither the best sellers list nor the bookshelves in airports and railway stations. In fact it barely sold its first modest print run. No doubt this was in part because the business book industry had yet to take off, and in part because of [...]