Most Recent Blog Posts
9 Reasons To Invest In People Before a Merger or Acquisition.
I'm betting some senior managers would quietly prefer to wait till after a merger before embarking on a talent improvement program. After all, why invest in people who may not be with you any longer after the dust has settled? But that's an unenlightened...
Does your organization’s culture respect your talent?
If it does, it's a great place to work. Employee recognition company Bonusly recently published a great article entitled 10 Dead Simple Ways to Improve Your Company Culture. I liked the article. A lot. But that's probably because I noticed that...
The valuable talent lying about the office.
The booming US stock market is hiding a problem that everyone knows is there but no-one knows how to fix. Most Western business leaders are inadvertently stifling the natural talent in their teams and departments. The complaint that 'I'm not valued' or...
Dear Chancellor. Productivity comes from people, stupid!
Leave the other countries behind. Break out of the downward productivity spiral by focusing on people! Yet again the UK Government tries to solve the productivity issue by using the failed policies of the past: more money desperately thrown at technology...
To attract new talent, give current talent what it wants.
Most people reading this don't keep bees. But if you were asked how to attract bees to your neighborhood I bet most of you would instinctively know the answer: grow flowers. Yet in recruitment, although most companies are also trying to attract busy...
The Win Win Win that’s old, new and still to come.
The talent revolution is the new business productivity wave that's taking over from the total quality programs of the 80s and the process re-engineering and IT waves of the 90s and noughties. The talent revolution delivers wins for people, teams and...
Talent, the Moon and the Deep Blue Sea.
How Talent Was Rediscovered. (Episode 3 in the Clare series.) 'How has talent lain hidden for so long?' Clare was settled in a chrome chair at one side of the long boardroom table. Her PC sat obediently in front of her. I sipped my water while she...
When Strategists Struggle For A Voice
'You're a strategist.' I watched Clare's face carefully to see if there was any reaction. I was recruiting for a city firm and this was her second interview with me. She returned my gaze evenly, like a cat regarding its owner. She knew I had given her...
The Talent Enlightenment
A new force has been discovered and unleashed upon the world. It is set to change the way that organizations are built and managed. It will allow companies to save money even while they double their output. It will also allow individuals, for the first...
Neuroscience: Talent is for whole brain thinkers. Skills reside in the mutinous left hemisphere.
Science has spoken and placed a massive question mark over the prominence given to skills in the career market. Psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist, in his widely-acclaimed 'The Master and his Emissary' discusses the roles of the two brain hemispheres and their...
Dinosaurs and Dreams: The truth about Skills and Talents
'I really want to use my skills', the interviewee said. You're heading for trouble, I thought. Clare was a freshly minted graduate in a smart black suit with the most sparkling résumé I had come across all year. She had achievements in sport and drama as well as a...
“We can’t build great organizations because we can’t see teams.” – business guru Marcus Buckingham.
Teams are where the work gets done In this 1 minute video Marcus Buckingham nails a big part of the productivity problem. Every company has its org charts and its hierarchical structures and its management trees. These are drawn up and set out neatly in...
The Post Authority Workplace. Do you believe in it?
What if there was no management staircase? Now I'm not talking about the organization that distributes the mail. I'm referring to the work environment that comes into play when authority (i.e. management) is no longer needed. So why am I even raising the 'end of...
Case Study. Shipping Company Cuts Salary Bill And Rescues Company Culture From Decline With Method Teaming©
Subject: Long established US Shipping Agency This leading American shipping company is an employer of thousands of people worldwide. The Challenge Headcount and salary bill had risen steeply over a period of 5 years, out of all proportion to the growth in revenue. At...
Case Study. Medical Company – Bad hires almost eliminated and a costly salary bill reduced.
Subject: Medical image systems manufacturer. Location: Birmingham, Alabama. The company's engineering expertise was second to none and it occupied a privileged position in its industry. Since it introduced Method Teaming it has been the subject of two acquisitions by...
Case Study. Law Firm Transforms Failed, High Cost Recruitment Process Into A Highly Effective System
Subject: Law firm specializing in tax advice to affluent private clients. Location: Georgia, US. The Challenge This 120-person law firm suffered a costly bill for the amount of management time wasted on a bad recruitment process. Despite rigorous interviews and...
Non-Profit Case Study – St James Church drives efficiencies across its workforce with Method Teaming©
"On joining the staff of St James Church, Method Teaming gave me insight into exactly how each and every staff member ‘ticks’. I understood nuances that would normally take me months or even years to discover. This drastically compressed my getting to know the team...
Case Study – HP Account Team Grows Citigroup Account
The Right Person At The Right Time Can Make All The Difference In 2004, CitiGroup was the world's largest bank. HP's business with CitiGroup was $350M p.a. and they had built a large team to manage and grow the account. The team's account manager was Sherry,...
The Culture Pendulum
Do you ever feel like the organization can't make up its mind on what it wants to be? Consider your favorite sports team. They fire a manager after a losing season and bring in a new person to instill discipline. The team still doesn't win, so they fire that manager...
Why Subcultures Are Dangerous And How They Emerge
Subcultures hide in plain sight When an organization's predominant culture fails to connect with its employees, there is huge danger. If team members don't want to work in that culture, they will create a subculture. This will often be a locus of rebellion. For...
