You are currently browsing the Blog - EMS - Business Consultants weblog archives for January, 2009.
30/01/2009 by Geoff.
Recently in the sporting press Joe Kinnear, Manager of Newcastle United, has hit the headlines when one of his players has said he will not play for Newcastle again since JK keeps getting his name wrong in interviews!
Well Joe, whilst this might be an honest mistake, as a leadership trait, its not really very clever is it?. Its important to remember details of key members of your team and other people that might be important to your business. Maybe you ought to see other examples of Premiership leadership styles (see previous blog on 12/1/09 Man City 5 Hull 1)
Phil adds - I went to a great seminar this week by these guys http://www.gomadthinking.com/personal organised by the IBC. Joe please check them out. They can definitely help you with your difficulties.
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28/01/2009 by Phil.
Are you into Facebook? No neither am I. But as these social networking sites take over the world (as it seems to me!) it would be a lost opportunity not to try them to improve networking for your business.
Have you tried LinkedIn yet? I looked at it as part of a marketing plan for EMS and I have to say I find it very useful. I have re-connected with some respected and valued colleagues from years and years ago and in places like China, Belgium and the USA. If I have a question, or need information, I can ask my connections or the whole community (currently 30,000,000+++) and get answers quickly. Likewise if they have a need they can easily contact me. You can even read this BLOG on my LinedIn profile. Like all good network system it relies on connections. Although I have under 100 1st level contacts at the second level (my contacts, contacts) there are 13,000+, and at the third level almost 1.4 million!!
So why not take a look and give it a go. 15 minutes spent entering your profile (tip: copy and paste from your CV, it’s quicker) is well worth the investment. And if you want to send myself or Geoff an invitation to join your contacts you are going to get a ‘YES’ http://www.linkedin.com/?trk=hb_logo philt@emseff.co.uk geoff@emseff.co.uk
Posted in Tips and Ideas, Company News | No Comments »
28/01/2009 by Geoff.
In the current climate companies are being forced to downsize in order to survive.
In doing this, too often, we see them forget that they have to operate to certain standards and look after their current customers. Hopefully, prior to downsizing, a company has a good picture of the problems that are preventing it from performing better - perhaps the core problem of the business or where the constraint is.
In the downsized environment these problems are still relevant and need to be dealt with.
Beware of re-inventing the wheel or the onset of student syndrome in operating your business.
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18/01/2009 by Geoff.
Phil in his “Now even Toyota” comment identifies the need for more lean managers and giving the customers what they want.
To add further comment - the basic problem currently is that companies are not selling what they were. If the obstacle is price then more lean managers (taking waste out and reducing costs) is the answer since prices can be reduced whilst margins are protected.
But if the obstacle is not price then the answer lies elsewhere.
To often companies solely concentrate on reducing costs whilst a similar focus on increasing sales would reap greater returns. They should start by asking the question “what products, services or resources have we got that can satisfy a need in the market places?”
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18/01/2009 by admin.
The Environment Agency has joined forces with Oxfam to encourage householders to reuse unwanted objects over the festive period - particularly in light of the downturn in the market for recovered materials.
The two organisations are urging the public to donate “quality” items, such as clothes and books, to one of Oxfam’s 730
The move follows sharp falls in the prices being paid for recovered paper, plastics and metals and while the EA claims that householders can still be confident in being able to recycle materials at the curbside, it stresses that material should be reused instead if possible.
Posted in Current Issues, Uncategorized | No Comments »
12/01/2009 by Phil.
I don’t know if you were as shocked as I was to hear the news that Toyota announced losses for the first time in 70 years. That should either give us all extra encouragement that even Toyota, at the cutting edge of Lean thinking, can get it wrong, OR lay down a marker as to just how deep this recession will cut, if even they can get bitten.
They are now looking to increase their number of LEAN managers to help them through the crisis. It seems that as they also got onboard the global expansion bandwagon they omitted to keep pace with the need to have enough Lean, Change managers on board. With so many famous names, especially on the high street, failing to keep pace with the rate of change and facing closure, it should make us all consider whether what we offer our customers is what they want? Is it relavant and up to date? What is our Unique Selling Point (USP)? Do we have enough Change managers in our organisation.
Toyota will come through the other side stronger and more able cope with even more difficult situations in the future. The question we should ask ourselves is will we be able to say the same?
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12/01/2009 by admin.
EMS runs Team Building and Man Management Workshops. - John Hill writes
One subject covered is Dealing with Failure, and the accepted wisdom of ‘Give praise in public and be critical in private’ is discussed. Consider this then. Phil Brown is the manager of Hull City FC playing away to Manchester City FC in the Barclays Premier League. Hull are 4 nil down at half time. What does Phil Brown do? Does he take his team to the dressing rooms ASAP to inspire them for the second half? No he does not. He keeps his players on the field and in front of over 45,000 football fans and live TV he gives them a verbal lashing.Hull held Manchester City 1 – 1 in the second half, with the final score 5 – 1
Is that good or bad Man Management? Or is he just a brilliant leader?
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05/01/2009 by Geoff.
If you’ve taken time out to read Phil’s article on continuous improvement techniques (http://www.emseff.co.uk/twoscompany.html) or if your business is just looking to improve then the danger is that you will have numerous projects on the go that probably never get finished. Your business never sees the benefit that was originally forecast!
First of all we recommend you answer the question ”what’s a project?” in our view:
But you still have a long list?
You now really need to know the benefits to the business from the project (value, impacts the constraint of the business etc), justify it and decide who is going to lead or manage the project.
If you can’t really identify the benefit of the project then don’t do it! If you decide a project is really worth doing the make sure you take it to conclusion and ensure your business realises the predicted benefits.
There will be more on our website on this subject during 2009.
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