Do you run your business like an army or a farm?
Something that once was used to store several decades’ worth of half-read family Christmas presents suddenly became a prestige piece during video calls. A little game developed where eagle-eyed, amateur psychologists tried to discern a CEO, politician or professor’s character traits based on his or her book collection. The more erudite, usually, the better. One […]
Good growth in a recession: It’s not either-or
When Martin Luther King Jr said those words, he was referring to the civil rights struggle in the USA, clearly a time of great challenge and controversy, when taking a stand for what was right took great courage. But the message applies today: what we do in hard times shows our character. These are hard […]
A quick reality check for your strategy
You have goals you are trying to achieve, competitors who are trying to beat you to it, and a set of rules that govern what you can and can’t do. Like most complex games, success is dependent on having a sharp strategy and a plan for how you can win that cascades into smaller plans […]
The E=mc2 of interviewing
I have to put the same question to one of the UK’s experts in selection, Douglas Board. His degree was a first class honours in mathematics from Cambridge. Surely there isn’t an equation for interviewing? “Well, I’ve invented one which can help you avoid a common mistake!” he replies. “Seriously, sweating the complex abstractions of […]
Leading over the holidays: 3 festive rules
The figure of Ebenezer Scrooge looms large at this time of year. Charles Dickens’ most famous character is also the most famous Christmastime boss, and a yardstick of sorts for the rest of us. Needless to say, it’s a comparison few would like to earn. But getting leadership right over the holiday period is a […]
What recruitment trends can tell us about 2023
In these blogs we usually talk about the cut and thrust of running a business, and wider trends that we see in the market. It’s rare that we talk about what we actually do day to day. Yet it struck me that our executive search business provides a unique glimpse into how companies are preparing […]
What they don’t tell you about leading flexible teams
That prognosis still probably holds in the long term, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see a relapse over the next year. The cost of living crisis and recession are focusing minds. People are unlikely to be as insistent about their working conditions if they’re worried about meeting mortgage payments. At the same time, the […]
Why social immobility is a business problem – and what you can do about it
When diversity and inclusion became a significant business issue in the following decades, the focus unsurprisingly fell on gender and race, perhaps a little later LGBT and disability. Class is relatively rarely discussed. Yet if anything, social immobility has worsened over the past 25 years. If they want to access the best talent and give […]
Will 2022-3 be this generation’s winter of discontent?
You’d be forgiven for thinking that you fell asleep one night and woke up in 1978, our last winter of discontent. Many will wonder whether this winter will be even worse. Businesses need to plan and that requires some certainty. No one can offer that right now, but we can look at the causes and […]
5 leadership horror stories
Her own Nightmare on Downing Street will surely go down as a case study in disastrous leadership. Miscalculations, intransigence, betrayal, screeching U-turns and a collapse in authority, all in the space of a few weeks. For leaders in less rarefied and unenviable positions, it can be useful to reflect on a cold, near-Halloween night on […]
