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Attention to Detail and Quality

Two recent perspectives on the power of Attention to Detail and Quality. The Sunday Times yesterday had a profile of Aston Martin and CEO Urlich Bez in which, as an example of Aston Martin’s attention to detail, they reported that the hide for their leather upholstery comes from Scandinavian cows.  The cows are kept in […]

Lies, Truth, Myth and Narrative

I came across this in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s new book, The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms “You can replace lies with truth; but myth is only displaced with a narrative” The power of storytelling in a nutshell. Organisations, especially when reacting to events, are usually good with the first piece; producing reams (or […]

The Organisational Impact of Generation Y?

An interesting debate, here, on the thoughts and potential impact of Generation Y upon organisations, sparked by this post from Vineet Nayar.  Nayar asserts that the passionate, questioning, social-media enabled millennial generation has the potential to radically alter how organisations operate.  Many of the comments question, effectively, why this generation should be so very different […]

The Positive Side of Stress

An interesting perspective on stress from Shawn Achor.  Firstly, he reminds us that stress is a natural reaction related to the fight-or-flight instinct.  It is not stress per se which is bad for us but rather the debilitating effects of prolonged and unrelieved stress, i.e. distress.  Secondly, think stimulus-gap-response.  Aware of the signs of stress, […]

IR35 and the Mutuality of Obligation

The Register comments on an interesting case in which the Tax Tribunal has overturned a decision of HMRC and found that a designer working in the aircraft industry was not, in fact, a pseudo-employee but was operating as a separate business under a contract for services. It is a particularly interesting case because the tribunal […]

Take Back Your Attention – Tony Schwartz

Maintaining focus and attention is a challenge for everyone in these distractingly connected, always-on days.  I think it can be particularly so for those working alone.  No office structure to bolster your resolve, only self-imposed deadlines to meet and a dread fear of disconnecting from the net and missing an all-important email.  These all add […]

Take Back Your Attention – Tony Schwartz

Maintaining focus and attention is a challenge for everyone in these distractingly connected, always-on days.  I think it can be particularly so for those working alone.  No office structure to bolster your resolve, only self-imposed deadlines to meet and a dread fear of disconnecting from the net and missing an all-important email.  These all add […]

Motivation and the Freelance Professional

This animation, based on Dan Pink’s talk to the RSA goes a long way to explaining the trend for business professionals to leave the corporate cage and go independent. As Pink explains, beyond the realm of repetitive, mechanical tasks motivation comes not from financial bonuses but from three factors: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. For the […]

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