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Attrition can be your friend.

Attrition can come in handy at times (like these).

Don’t go chasing waterfalls

The pace of technological advancement in the modern world is relentless. From AI and ML to blockchain and NFTs (what was that about??), there are always new technologies and trends that promise to revolutionize the way organizations do business.

Changelog

New updates and improvements to Bramble

How to sabotage a promising new manager in 10 easy steps!

10 tips to set your managers up to fail.

Doom-and-Gloom or an opportunity to enhance your competitive advantage?

Data and Analytics are going to be fundamental to good decision making over the next few quarters. You’re essentially flying-blind without holistic performance metrics…how on earth are you expected to make informed decisions on staffing and workload balancing without the right insight?

The Tango Between Ops And Finance

Every year, like clockwork, the dreaded annual budgeting process comes around. For up to a 6 month period there are spreadsheets making their way around the organization, back and forth between different departments, countless inter and intra departmental meetings and negotiations, all to arrive at a set of numbers for the upcoming year that everyone is “happy” with...

“Everybody wants to rule the world”

In the 80's, you could hire a bunch of people, assign them tasks and they would follow orders. They wouldn't ask questions and some didn't really care why they were doing what they were doing. You could tell your employees to break rocks all day, everyday and they would do it.

Can you recognize good performance?

How to establish the right performance metrics

Data is useless…

Companies have an abundance of data, but it's useless if it isn’t being used, or intended consumers don’t know how to use it effectively.

The easiest way to destroy employee trust…

There's a reason why employee monitoring software is called surveillance software: it treats you like a criminal and creates an environment of distrust.

The McNamara Fallacy

The McNamara Fallacy isn’t just a problem for military strategists, it is a common pitfall for Operations Leaders and Continuous Improvement programs throughout Corporate America.

Performance Review or Root Canal?

Performance reviews are looked forward to about as much as visit to the dentist. Most employees dread their upcoming evaluations for weeks or months prior, and if we’re honest - so do managers.

What the Winter Olympics can teach leaders about high performance

As the Winter Olympics come to a close for another 4 years, what better time to look at the correlation between today's high performing athletes and the key role that data plays in their lives.

CX - What not to do

For any organization looking for an example of what NOT to do in relation to customer experience: Simply look at the NFL.

The 4 typical ways to benchmark individual performance…

Most companies have performance metrics in place. Frequently, built on a foundation of benchmarking. Benchmarking via comparisons to the team average, historical performance or industry best practices. The unit of measure will vary depending on the client and the function however its’ fair to say benchmarks built on volumes, time or dollars are common.

The ghosts of calls gone by...

Now that there has been such a huge adoption of video conferencing products, I can’t see that we’ll ever go back to the ‘old telecon days’ anytime soon. So much like rotary dial telephones, in honor of what is to become a communication relic of the past, here are 4 types of teleconference personalities that are now somewhat gone - but definitely not forgotten.

Sustainable continuous improvement starts at the frontline.

Every organization is always seeking to improve — better, faster, cheaper. This can come in many forms: process improvement, automation and organizational redesign to name but a few. Yet how many organizations engage their frontline staff and harness their buy-in and ideas to continuously fuel improvement?

To build, or not to build?

Technology is continually evolving, and what may have been a suitable solution for the organization 10 years or even 5 years ago, may not be the best solution for the current business environment, which in-turn means it’s definitely not a good solution for the future.

“but we’re different...”

Having metrics is not about big brother — it’s about objectively understanding what is happening in your people’s day, so you as a LEADER can proactively manage your team with better control.

‘Tell me where it hurts’

The first words a Doctor asks a Patient in order to quickly diagnose the problem. Those of us working in Continuous Improvement would do well do heed that advice.

10 definitive signs you are a consultant

Consultants get a bad wrap — I should know, I used to be one. As with any profession, there are those that operate in such a manner, they ruin it for the rest.

I love it when a plan comes together

It’s that time again…

OODA loops and the importance of your communications cadence

You’ve probably decided on your strategy post-COVID. Before you execute, it may be worth having a think about OODA loops, and what your go-forward operating model and communication framework will do to yours.

A.B.C — it’s easy as…

The A.B.C I’m referring to here is Activity Based Costing — in particular Cost-to-Serve reporting. As much as we’d love for it be as easy 1,2,3 or do re mi, unfortunately that isn’t always the case.

The power of observation

Sometimes a low-tech approach is the right solution to your operational problems…

Long Weekends Forever…?

Okay, maybe not quite — but shorter workweeks could be on the horizon.

7 Tools for Identifying Operational Friction

Operational friction is one of the prime causes behind business failure. It’s the gap between the actual performance of a business in relation to its ideal operating conditions.

4 tips to help your team members be more productive

Line management can be frustrating… and rewarding… all at the same time.

Boosting employee engagement is smart business…

Managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores. Without doubt, the role of the manager is the most important influencer of staff motivation and engagement.

5 Signs Your Boss Doesn't Like You

You have been busy at work. You’re working long hours, doing your best to impress the boss. But it seems like no matter what you do, or how much effort you put into your job, more and more work keeps finding its way to you. Does you boss just not like you?

Picking the right productivity platform

In the age of the remote worker, it is vital to select the right performance solution.