James Lawther
James Lawther
James Lawther is a middle-aged middle manager. To reach this highly elevated position he has worked for many organisations, from supermarkets to tax collectors and has had multiple roles from running a night shift to doing operational research. He gets upset by operations that don't work and mildly apoplectic about poor customer service.
Serious Business
I travel to London on the train more regularly than is pleasant At the end of each journey a steward passes through the carriages with...
Fear or Boredom?
My daughter is learning to play the flute. As far as musical instruments go the flute is without a shadow of a doubt...
Payback Time
Maz Iqbal told me a great story this week…. Imagine you were an employee of a large business. You worked in a factory, or...
Can You Have Too Much Information?
We live in a world of big data. We are all collecting information, compiling it and then trying to work out how to...
Should you Standardise?
There is a line of thought that says standardise your processes. Get everybody to follow the same process The one designed to give you the…
So You Want to be World-Class?
Lots of organisations claim to excel. They are: I wouldn't mind betting that yours claims it is the best in the world at something. Are...
What do Your Customers Think?
Here is a lovely little video. You should watch it. All 4 minutes and 18 seconds. He gets to the point doesn't...
Are You Doing What’s Important?
All organisations are full of work, stuff that needs to get done. That work is divided into two nice neat categories: 1. Customer work Work…
Do You Design Against Demand?
Here is a very simple 2 step improvement idea for you: Understand the customer demands that are placed on your organisation Design your infrastructure and…
Make the Message Clear!
We are getting grief at work, we aren't dispatching van drivers quickly enough. (The first bit of that statement is true, we are always getting...
Rearranging the Deck Chairs
There is an old adage that form follows function. In his book "The Leader's Handbook: Making Things Happen, Getting Things Done" (which is great and...
Gordon Ramsay, Darcey Bussell and Your Next Re-Org
When we are faced with a problem, maybe a new competitor, a cost challenge, a product launch or simply a new job, we marshal...
It’s all About the System Stupid
I work for a large multi-national corporation. Like most large multi-national corporations we have wisely outsourced our IT. Part of it to...
Caution: Management by Hippopotamus
There is a HiPPO in the room. It is big, loud, ugly and everybody is doing what it wants. The HiPPO is the Highest...
Zombies will do Wonders for Your Motivation
I have just wasted 2 weeks of my life playing "Plants versus Zombies", the worlds most foolish computer game. The premise is at...
Let’s Talk About Me
Words are powerful things; they can engage, they can sting, they can excite and they can bore. The impact words have on people...
Hot Chocolate Tastes Better in an Orange Mug
That is not a random provocative statement (though I am guilty of those on occasion) it is a scientifically proven fact. Charles Spence,...
Are Your Neighbours Spying On You?
W Edwards Deming is often quoted as saying: "In god we trust, all others must bring data". His point was that if you want to...
Quality Control Doesn’t Work (and how to fix it)
Here is a bold statement, "inspection doesn't work"; (literally bold). Yet every organisation I have ever worked for uses and pays for quality...
“Group Think” is no Laughing Matter
In the 1970's the psychologist Irving Janis coined the term "group think" to explain why group pressure results in poor decisions, or, as he...