Saturday 27 September 2008

100 day plan - Share your dreams and let others help you with the interpretation! Confucius


Every company has tonnes and tonnes of data, but they are all asking the same questions. Information and knowledge are table stakes. Insight and foresight win.

In other words, don't ignore the spreadsheets and marketing studies but figure out ways to go beyond them. "We're all swamped in information. What we're looking for is ideas. We're trying to get to the future first."

'Fail Fast, Learn Fast, Fix Fast'
Success is inversely proportional to the time spent doing Strategic Planning. The further one gets from Head Office the more likely we are to have a 100 day planning process.
Feel like Family - Play like a Team - be Demanding & Caring

IDEAS - the Age of Ideas - Keep in Touch

Moving from Attention to Attraction Economy
Information > Knowledge > Interruption > Permission > Experience >>> ATTENTION
P&G soap adverts > Tesco / Carrfour > Customer (screen & mobile) in charge of decisions

Think through heart
- Power to People (consider Mary Quant's mini skirts - KR early job)

  • interruption >> Attraction
  • reaction >> interActive - having an influencing dialogue
  • marketing AT >> connecting with
  • RoI (investment) >> RoI (involvement)
  • Rational >> Emotional

embed 'Lovemarks' (nb Saatchi & Saatchi copyright the Lovemarks Co) - Evolving beyond Brands

  • Lovemarks - Loyalty beyond Reason
  • Owned by people
  • adding mystery, sensuality and intimacy
  • Irreplaceable moving to Irresistible
  • Consider axes of Love and Respect










  • Not transaction... having relationship

Go beyond Green - How sustainable are you really?, You'll be here tomorrow but your dreams may not.
GREEN >> BLUE
environment >> environment + economy + society + culture
fear >> radical optimism
obligation >> opportunity
planet & consumers (who wants to be called a consumer?) >> people
global problems >> individual passion

krconnect.blogspot.com

full script of Institute of Director's annual convention speech

Power and the Passion

Kevin Roberts - CEO Saatchi and Saatchi

In an age where people can go from 'Hero to Zero' overnight, people can get Nobel Prizes for power point and we are burdened by loads of stifling and dysfunctional matrix management.

We need to be in the ACTION business
...and get focused on doing stuff...... it is time to act.

The role of business needs to be to make the world a better place, to have inclusive capitalism and be creators of self-esteem, to give hope, dreams and success a chance.

Professional vs Amateur Winners

Consider 'Winners never quit, quitters never win'

there is always a burden of expectation, drive created by an individual inspired by challenge, to outperform we may need to consider the skills in schools and types of leadership that will enable 'out performance'.

Miles Templeman, IoD Annual Convention, London. April 2008

Saturday 30 August 2008

Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible

...a leadership primer of eighteen lessons from General Colin Powell, Chairman (Ret), Joint Chiefs of Staff and former U.S. Secretary of State.

Lesson 1: "Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off."
Good leadership involves responsibility to the welfare of the group, which means that some people will get angry at your actions and decisions. It's inevitable, if you're honorable. Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity: you'll avoid the tough decisions, you'll avoid confronting the people who need to be confronted, and you'll avoid offering differential rewards based on differential performance because some people might get upset. Ironically, by procrastinating on the difficult choices, by trying not to get anyone mad, and by treating everyone equally "nicely" regardless of their contributions, you'll simply ensure that the only people you'll wind up angering are the most creative and productive people in the organization.


Lesson 2: "The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership."

Tuesday 20 May 2008

Saturday 19 April 2008

Management Gurus - quick and easy guide

By Lyndsay Swinton
If you need to know who's who in management but haven't got time to wade through stacks of books, relax because in a cup of coffee's time you'll be an expert on management gurus through the ages. Read on...

Management Gurus
Frederick W Taylor - Scientific Management - Frederick W Taylor, an American inventor and engineer, is considered the father of scientific management.
Elton Mayo - Human Relations Theory - Elton Mayo formed Human Relations theory after the surprising results of the Western Electrical Company Study.
Abraham Maslow - Hierarchy of Needs - Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist best known for his theory of the hierarchy of needs.
Frederick Herzberg - Hygiene and Motivation Factors - Frederick Herzberg proposed that satisfaction and dis-satisfaction at work resulted from Hygiene and Motivation factors.
Peter F Drucker - Peter F Drucker is an internationally acclaimed management writer, consultant and lecturer.
Douglas McGregor - Douglas McGregor was an American social psychologist best known for Theory X and Theory Y; opposing assumptions about human behaviour behind every management decision or action.

Quality Management Gurus
W Edwards Deming - Total Quality Management & Deming's 14 points - W Edwards Deming was an American statistician, founder of total quality management, Deming's 14 points and statistical process control (SPC)
Joseph Juran - The Quality Trilogy - Joseph Juran's belief that quality does not happen by accident gave rise to the quality trilogy.
Philip Crosby - Zero Defects & Right First Time - Philip Crosby is an American who promoted the phrases 'zero defects' and 'right first time' in quality management.
Tom Peters - Tom Peters' book “In Search of Excellence”, co-authored with Robert Waterman, presents 8 common themes of successful corporations.
Dr Kaoru Ishikawa - Quality Circles - Dr Kaoru Ishikawa gave his name to the Ishikawa diagram, also known as the fishbone diagram or cause and effect diagram.
Genichi Taguchi - Quality Loss Function - Genichi Taguchi is a Japanese quality expert, known for the Quality Loss Function and 'Robust Design'.
Shigeo Shingo - Poka yoke, source inspection, mistake proofing and SMED - Shingo quality teachings were successful as they were practical and action oriented, and contributed to Just in Time (JIT) production

Management Specialists

Ken Blanchard - The Situational Leadership Model - Ken Blanchard is internationally renowned for his situational leadership model developed with Paul Hersey and his One Minute Manager series co-authored with Spencer Johnson.
Dr Meredith Belbin - Team Roles - Dr Meredith Belbin, founder of team roles theory, is a widely respected expert and adviser on organisations and teams.
Honey & Mumford - Learning Style Questionnaire - The Honey & Mumford self-administered learning style questionnaire determines your preferred learning style.

Related Articles
The Johari Window Model - The Case for Cigarettes and Alcohol in the Workplace Increase Self Awareness and Be More Effective In Groups with the Johari Window Model
The Learning Matrix: Smooth your learning journey An already infamous statement from US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reveals a valuable insight into learning. The Learning Matrix is vital knowledge for effective managers.
How To Do A SWOT Analysis: Strategic Planning Made Easy Strategic Planning" sounds a lofty pursuit and perhaps beyond our humble capabilities. Not so with a SWOT Analysis. Learn how to do a SWOT analysis using the SWOT matrix and become an effective strategic planner today, achieving your goals.

Thursday 13 March 2008

Creating inside tracks - managing business relationships

every executive needs ...
  • a relationship network in place when the time for action comes
  • the instinct to find shortcuts into the market place
  • the knowledge and experience to sort out blockages and problems
  • plus the ability to be positive and keep smiling at all times!

"for god's sake be interesting" Paul Cautley CMG DL - D Group Founder

Humphrey Walters - other quotes


'Think in ink'
Safety, Happy, Fast
Crisis team focus challenge and motivation 'look for the gap in the waves' -the way ahead

Leadership is about
- game of increments
- ruthless simplicity
- no dumb ideas

Management need to
- look after resources
- give hope
- show the way ahead; examples crack in the ice, waves
- think outcomes
- plan 'decompression' (post key challenge/success) - model it

Fear...
- is only temporary
- if you give in - it will last for ever

Individuals in a team will make the difference
- thinking correctly under pressure
- goodbye to the normals

Tuesday 11 March 2008

Black Swan - the impact of the highly improbable


Nassim Nicolas Taleb

JHP: Everything it says it is on the cover. A great read and one that makes sense of so much....

Ultimate motivator - Go out and Make things Happen

People will
  • fight for a right
but will
  • die for a cause

........to make (their) world a better place

from Sunday Telegraph 30/12/06

.......

What irks Mr Walters is that much of the wisdom acquired during the Woodward reign at Twickenham is now being ignored. "It's very important to examine success," he says.
"There was no proper debrief after winning the rugby World Cup. Reports were written but they didn't ask for the view of some people on the bench, the groundsman, the bag man.

"Everybody looks at things differently and every view is just as important because it's a game of inches. Everybody brings an inch. It's about sticking them together." Mr Walters cites an example of how knowledge from the Woodward era has been jettisoned. "One of the things we did was to change our kit at half-time. Now it's not happening, or at least some players do and some don't. I noticed Pete Sampras changed his shirt on Centre Court, particularly when he was down. It was like saying to his opponent: 'Listen, mate, this game's just started for me.' So, when we ran out for the second half the opposition must have felt: 'Bloody hell, this is a new team.' The players also felt better, and if they'd had a bad first half it was like dumping that in the waste bin."

Such attention to detail was a crucial element in England's World Cup triumph. Sir Clive was dispatched to study training methods with the Denver Broncos, the American football club, while the players learnt about teamwork from the Royal Marines.

But underpinning everything was a sense of mission. "I said to Clive that we could do all this stuff but if we don't have the hearts and minds of the players then it's a waste of time," Mr Walters explains.
"What we had to do was create a cause, because people will fight for a right but they will die for a cause. We came up with the idea that our duty was to inspire the nation. That was our cause and everything sprung from that."

A bit of inspiration would not go amiss as another year of sporting failure beckons, though Mr Walter believes success will not come unless administrators or even the Government grasp the nettle. Leadership is the key.

"Our coaches are as good as anyone else's and we've got the players. We've got all the ingredients, and that is what is so sad. I think the general public are sick and tired of mediocrity but you can't just hope that something will happen. In business, you've got to go out and make things happen."

However this is not at any cost or just any cause - its still necessary to get a cause people will die for...

Soldier's Dream - Chris Hall

We never wish to fight
but we are willing to die
We die for a cause that's not our own
Many of us soldiers will never come home

We never wish to fight
but we die to protect your freedom
We die for a cause that's not our own
Many of us soldiers will never come home

We love our families, we love our country
We are willing to die for their protection
This is our cause, this is our own
A soldier's only dream is coming back home

Humphrey Walters - Building winning teams // followers' duties


Dream a lot – if you dream a lot, opportunities will pop out of the woodwork.
Don’t tell people that it is easy when it is not, say "It gets easy – but it’s tough to start with."

winner's code
  • punctuality - be 15 mins early land, 5 mins early sea
  • empathy
  • 'scuttlebutt' - don’t gossip, tell them straight
  • find heroes and celebrate
  • Leave each problem on the ‘wave behind’ – when you have faced a challenge, let it go
  • Winning is about doing 100 things 1% better, not 1 thing 100% better.

To build a better organisation, you need
  • a sense of excitement
  • a sense of belonging
  • a sense of performance
  • a sense of worth & value
If, an inspirational poem by Rudyard Kipling
Humphrey Walters used this to celebrate the English Rugby team winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them:

"Hold on!"If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And - which is more - you’ll be a Man, my son!

Humphrey was speaking at annual conference. He specialises in developing high performing teams and told about his experience on the 1996-7 BT Round the World Yacht Race and working with the English Rugby team until in 2003 it won the rugby World Cup. http://www.humphreywalters.com/

Saturday 2 February 2008

The Little Book of Civilisation 2

What is Civil Engineering?
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) members are well aware of what they do, and the contribution their work makes to society. They have defined civil engineering as"a vital art, working with the great sources of power in nature for the wealth and well-being of the whole of society. Its essential feature is the exercise of imagination to engineer the products and processes, and develop the people needed to create and maintain a sustainable natural and built environment. It requires a broad understanding of scientific principles, a knowledge of materials and the art of analysis and synthesis. It also requires research, team working, leadership and business skills. "


A Civil Engineer is someone who practises all or part of this art. But do the general public really understand the diverse work of civil engineers?

"The Little Book of Civilisation" explains how the work of civil engineers touches the lives of people around the world. It has been produced by ICE as a direct response to the membership requirement for raising the profile of the profession.

The booklet contains illustrated case studies covering all the disciplines of civil engineering,

ranging from the Eden Project to Hong Kong International Airport and the WaterAid Ethiopian Project. A combination of high quality photography, inspiring copy and mind-boggling facts and figures will engage every reader.

We remember great civilisations such as the Romans, Egyptians and Maya - all were able to develop building techniques and systems to support life. Today, civilisation relies more than ever on teams of inventive people to design, build and maintain the sophisticated environment that surrounds us.

This booklet looks at the amazing ways civil engineers overcome the challenges of creating and maintaining infrastructure for us, and for future generations.

Click here to download The Little Book of Civilisation 2 (2381 Kb)

Sunday 27 January 2008

A Strategy Director role

1. Purpose

Strategy
to lead

1. the strategic planning and development of Any Company
o through the ongoing internal change programme and
o development of clear strategies for organic and non-organic growth,

- targeting growth towards £1bn plus by 2010, enhanced margins to an average PBT greater than 3%, and
- having a clear long term 5-10 year plan to reflect changing market conditions

2. the regular strategic review of the business and its markets including lead in
o assessment of acquisitions subsequently playing key roles in
i. due diligence
ii. final agreement
iii. integration activities
to create and generate
3. innovative customer solutions and generate sustainable, margin enhancing new market opportunities from current core capabilities

Cultural Change Programme
to support and assist

1. MDs to shift client relationships towards long term, mutually dependant, high-value business relationships
o through enhanced business development,
i. partner selection,
ii. market selection,
o process improvement and
o high impact operational support and coaching

2. the MD and HRD in raising the calibre of business leadership across the organisation including talent development

3. the MD in the ongoing implementation of process improvement and cultural change in Any Company, involving all
o functions and
o business units.

Process delivery
to create

o brand positioning, marketing,
o internal and external communications,
o business development and business improvement functions

o to create sustained growth, market leading positions in our chosen sectors and
o enhanced business reputation
______________________________________________________________

2. Responsibilities:

1. Strategic planning
o acquisition planning and implementation

2. Business development
o Customer solutions
o Marketing and brand

3. Internal and external communications

4. Business improvement

______________________________________________________________

3. Initial Objectives:

Strategic planning
Assess and critique the 2007 strategy submission and develop action plan,
o including assessment of potential new markets and actions to progress
· Monitor and manage our progress against our strategic projects.
· Support or lead the roll-out of our vision and strategy.
· Take ownership of the corporate scorecard.
· Lead the initial scoping and for cross group working in
o regeneration,
o property development and
o complex projects in common sectors (eg Rail, Nuclear)

Business development
· Recruit and/or develop high calibre BDM’s
o agree roles, targets and objectives and confirm meeting and reporting structure

· Support the MD’s in business development strategies for
o relatively new sectors (e.g. power generation, defence, airports, ports, Crossrail) and
o ongoing areas of targeted growth or market share defence (e.g. Rail, Renewables and Water)

· Assess existing customer relationships and identify continuous improvement opportunities
· Review current JV partners and any actions required to address future needs

· Embed and champion account management approach across BU’s
o assess BDM processes and agree a cross company business development plan

Internal and external communications
· Recruit or grow a high performing communications team who are
o proactive and
o recognised by the business units and sites as adding real value to their operational activities

· Develop an innovative and high impact PR and marketing plan
o Develop a detailed plan to raise the Any Company brand awareness,
§ utilising feedback and workshops held to date and facilitate company-wide engagement
o build upon existing plans to enhance external communications; e.g. web site, external literature, site branding etc
o Oversee the completion of a comprehensive library of
§ case studies,
§ pre-qualification materials and
§ other specific marketing literature, both operational and cultural
· Continue to support Cascade, roadshows and other internal communications events which have proved successful

Business improvement
· Lead the cost reduction programme.
o Set targets for efficiency savings and deliver in conjunction with EMT directors
· Chair business improvement forum
· Develop a business improvement plan for Any Company
o including assessment of specific new processes, in conjunction with process owners.
o Support the MD and *** in developing a best practice framework and implement processes and coaching to embed this into our culture
o Assess opportunities for specific performance improvement activities
· on live contracts with resulting client engagement

· Actively support the Values roll-out programme

· Work with *** to develop a company performance model and fully implement
o KPI’s and
o other performance and data requirements

· Assess our CSR strategy and
o support/coach current team to take a step change in our current culture, strategy and profile

China - historical territories and 1914 Republic (days of empire)... from Wikipedia


Click on links

























Friday 18 January 2008

TradeStone's RADICAL vision!

... recognises the importance of private labels and therefore our vision is simple – to provide the world’s leading retailers and wholesalers with private label solutions that deliver radical results. What do we mean by radical?

R – Rapid Response

A – Agility (Opportunity/Challenge Response)

D - Dramatic Design

I – Innovation

C – Controls (QA/QC/Regulatory)

A – Alternative (Channels/Sourcing)

L – Leapfrog (the Competition)

TradeStone’s radical results include: 200 to 400 basis points to the bottom line; sales increases of 35 percent; average consumer spend increases of seven percent; and sell through at margins of 78 percent.
TradeStone…Private Label Solutions; Radical Results!

Thought Leadership

According to commentators such as Elise Bauer, a distinguishing characteristic of a thought leader is "the recognition from the outside world that the company deeply understands its business, the needs of its customers, and the broader marketplace in which it operates."[2]

Leadership is deliberately causing people-driven actions in a planned way to accomplish the leaders agenda. Phil Cosby[3]

http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/cbp 

Wednesday 16 January 2008

Ansoff's Matrix

A basic overview is available on Wikipedia at http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Product-Market+Growth+Matrix. Basic thing to remember is that it is always good to have a balance in a business and personal portfolio – suggested split as per percentage below.

Thursday 10 January 2008

UK Ports


see http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&om=0&msa=0&msid=102119844401171836975.0004436095e195ea75f5e&t=h&ll=52.059246,1.230469&spn=3.34373,9.558105&z=7
Aberdeen (GBABE)

Blyth (GBBLY)

Bristol (GBBRS)

Charleston (GBCHD)

Felixstowe (GBFXT)

Fishguard (GBFIS)

Fleetwood (GBFLE)

Glasgow Apt (GBGLA)

Goole (GBGOO)

Grangemouth (GBGRG)

Greenock (GBGRK)

Holyhead (GBHLY)

Hull (GBHUL)

Immingham (GBIMM)

Ipswich (GBIPS)

Isle of Grain (GBIOG)

Liverpool (GBLIV)

London (GBLON)

Portbury (GBPRU)

Sheerness (GBSHS)

South Shields (GBSSH)

Southampton (GBSOU)

Stranraer (GBSTR)

Teesport (GBTEE)

Thamesport (GBTHP)

Tilbury (GBTIL)

Warrenpoint (GBWPT)

http://www.searates.com/