How to improve relations among your colleagues July 8, 2014 Worrying about being seen as a slacker is holding Londoners back. Many of us spend more time in the office than we do with our partners, housemates, or friends. So why are we so reluctant to invest time and energy in fostering genuine relationships with our co-workers? You might think you already [...]
Checking emails: The cost is higher than you imagine July 7, 2014 Start clustering your responses – even relegate your boss. Checking your emails is slowing you down – massively. A recent survey found that over half of respondents looked at their inbox more than 11 times a day. A third said they checked each time they got a notification. Even if you only receive [...]
Lessons learned from a leader’s right-hand man July 6, 2014 What do Batman’s Robin and John Prescott have in common? Julius Caesar is down as having said: “I would rather be first in a small village in Gaul than second in command in Rome”. All well and good, but behind every successful leader, there’s always a number two who is crucial to the running of [...]
Thinking like a leader: Achieve it in three steps July 3, 2014 Giving fewer answers and keeping an ear to the ground will help you. In the future, “one won’t ‘manage’ people… the task will be to lead people”, said management guru Peter Drucker, back in 1959. He was explaining one consequence of the rise of “knowledge workers” – the bankers, software engineers, and other “gold collar” [...]
Lessons from the career of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos July 2, 2014 The remarkable success of Amazon’s founder shows the value of always asking “why”. Amazon recently turned 20, and Jeff Bezos, its founder and chief executive, can stake a fair claim as one of the most influential entrepreneurs of his generation. His company has reshaped the way books, clothes, electronics and thousands of other [...]
New Machiavelli: Political nous is crucial in offices July 1, 2014 Knowing your firm’s social networks will help you get things done. Niccolo Machiavelli gets a bad rap these days. His name is used as a byword for the ruthless scheming that makes some organisations toxic places to work. But according to a new paper – Power in Management and Organisation Science, by Peter [...]
How to combat productivity dips June 30, 2014 Discovering the secrets of your body clock can make a serious difference to efficiency Forcing yourself to work through the afternoon slump is often an unpleasant necessity – modern life rarely provides the opportunity to pay attention to our body clocks. But you don’t have to rely on cold, hard determination, brisk walks and endless [...]
How to handle being shown the door June 29, 2014 Whether you fight your corner or seek to reach a deal, it’s important to know your options. Here is a scenario: out of the blue, your newly-appointed boss gives you a “below expectations” rating at your mid-year appraisal. “Why the change from exceeds to below in the space of six months?” you cry. A pause [...]
City & Gild: Post Luis Suarez, has the World Cup lost its bite? June 27, 2014 For some, football is more than a game; it’s a matter of life and death. But for me – the Suarez incident aside – the World Cup has lost its bite. As my mind wanders to Wimbledon and the hope Murray doesn’t let me down as badly as the England team, I struggle to [...]
How to perfect the art of saying no June 26, 2014 There will always be those tricky situations, but you can set yourself up for success One small word can be very difficult to say. “We fear that every ‘no’ is a missed opportunity to make a difference and build a relationship”, says Wharton professor Adam Grant. And it is easy to feel like [...]