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Search listings: Meet the Steering Group
What's your name and where do you come from? My name is Adam Hickey, Owner and Managing Director of Pinnacle Conservation Ltd. I have to confess, i'm a bit of a...

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By: |

Last updated: 17 Mar 2023

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Historic Environment Skills Forum; What should you be allowed to say
Few inside the organisation will talk about the changes but the feeling is there is little money and a lot of angry people. A popular Director has been suspended for comments at a meeting with...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 12 Mar 2023

0; Meet the Steering Group
1. What's your name and where do you come from? I’m Patrick Whife I work as Head of Skills at the Institute of Conservation. I live on the south coast in Hove (actually). 2. How...

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By:
Phil Pollard
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Last updated: 10 Mar 2023

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Historic Environment Skills Forum; A pattern of knitting found in organisations
In China the Government has cracked down on feminism. Words relating to feminism online are censured. The response by bloggers has been to replace the words with rhyming slang, so feminist...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 09 Mar 2023

0; Critical Systems Thinking
Professor Mike C Jackson gave a really stimulating session on Critical Systems thinking arguing that the diversity of approaches is a strength, and challenging us to observe the world through these...

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By:
Mary McKee
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Last updated: 08 Mar 2023

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Systems Thinking Interest Group (STIG); PSED Vacancies
This area of the PSED Network KHub signposts to job opportunities that may be relevant to members. Current opportunities: PSED Officer (SEO), Department for Business, Energy &...

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By:
Ieuan Willox
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Last updated: 07 Mar 2023

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PSED Network; 5 tips to taking your first step into participating in a group on Knowledge Hub
Whether you’ve joined Knowledge Hub to find information, share ideas, ask for advice or connect with others, that first step into participating in your group might seem a bit scary. It doesn’t have...

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By:
Knowledge Hub Team
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Last updated: 07 Mar 2023

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KHub Connects; Systems Leadership
Why is systems thinking important for leadership? BEIS has responsibility for several complex and interacting policy challenges. For example, our net zero portfolio must deliver rapid...

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By:
Katie Gronow
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Last updated: 06 Mar 2023

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Systems Thinking Interest Group (STIG); DQHub Event: Things to consider when using other people's data in your analysis
On 08 March, DQHub will be running an online event aimed at anyone interested in understanding the quality of data products that are used in further analysis - both within and between...

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Last updated: 03 Mar 2023

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The Government Data Quality Community; And anything else the boss asks you to do
The list of requirements was so extreme that some commentators thought it was a spoof. Must be “highly talented”, “ooze leadership” and be “a great orator”. “High energy and...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 21 Feb 2023

0; 2023 State of Children's Rights Report
The 2023 State of Children’s Rights Report acts as an alternative report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. It updates the UN Committee about progress and areas of concern since the...

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By:
Rebecca Spillane
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Last updated: 20 Feb 2023

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Children's Human Rights in Scotland #UNCRC; Meet the Steering Group...
What's your name and where do you come from? I'm Rob Woodside, Director of Estates at English Heritage. I'm home based in Gloucestershire but work all over England. How did you come...

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By:
Phil Pollard
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Last updated: 17 Feb 2023

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Historic Environment Skills Forum; LA’s can be noisy organisations
There is a technique composers use in which the piece starts with what appears a random selection of instruments all playing at once, making a loud noise. Gradually a rhythm imposes itself...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 14 Feb 2023

0; Manage your energy not your time
In the tips for being an effective manager time management is always near the top but more radical advice would be manage your energy. People who get things done have in common energy and...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 06 Feb 2023

0; Different sides of the same coin?
Resilience and Agility are closely related. Resilience is the ability to recover or bounce back. Agility is a set up able to take advantage of opportunities and stay ahead of the game. However the...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 06 Feb 2023

0; “ won’t get fooled again” should be the recruiters motto
According to some recent research at Columbia Business School...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 06 Feb 2023

0; Keep a lid on it
We have all experienced being asked a question instinctively knowing you’re not supposed to give an honest answer. I knew it when my boss asked if I thought he was a bully! A common...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 02 Feb 2023

0; Be a tackler not a dodger
It’s like football, tackling is part of the game. In the same way challenging team members is part of being a manager. In a game of football there are a lot of tackles mostly they are...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 02 Feb 2023

0; Volunteering: sprucing up a local park
Twas the season of goodwill in December and a few Bristol-based Geospatial Commission staff pledged a day of volunteering leave to help plant trees with the city council. Along with others from...

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Last updated: 30 Jan 2023

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Cabinet Office Green Network; I was a roadie for a rock band in the 70s
My parents and fellow students thought I was working on a play scheme in Blackfriars London during the long summer holiday of my second year at teachers training college. Instead I was driving a...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 29 Jan 2023

0; Meet the Steering Group
What's your name and where do you come from? My name is Phil Pollard. I am currently the Heritage Career Pathways Manager at Historic England. I grew up in Liverpool but have lived in York,...

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By:
Phil Pollard
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Last updated: 10 Feb 2023

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Historic Environment Skills Forum; Company Fined £40K
Hi members, We have just recently prosecuted (£40k fine) a provider of Explosives in Leicester City for storing HT3 fireworks dangeroulsy. We previously revoked the businesses Explosives Licence....

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By:
Gurdeep Dosanjh J.P.
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Last updated: 25 Jan 2023

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Fireworks Enforcement Liaison Group (FELG); Making Local Government Cool
“One of the things I think I can bring to the Presidency is make Government and public service cool again” Barrack Obama. I wish I had said this when asked at interview what I could bring to...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 23 Jan 2023

0; Bank of Dave
Have you seen the film Bank of Dave on Netflix. It’s a David and Goliath story where the little man takes on the establishment big boys and wins. It’s a romcom which is not afraid to be political....

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 17 Jan 2023

0; Always have the right people on the bus.
It makes a great deal of sense to get recruitment right, to have those on board who are going to be an asset for the journey. Yet the majority of people on the bus got on when the...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 17 Jan 2023

0; The policy/ data disconnect and what to do about it
A year or two ago I gave a presentation to the IGPP conference about what I perceive to be the policy/ data disconnect that exists across the public sector, why it's causing issues and how we might...

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By:
Simon Roberts
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Last updated: 13 Jan 2023

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Geospatial Community Scotland; Bullying in the movies
Looking at the video and film clips, film makers in the USA think bullying at school, in the work place and in leisure venues is common place. They also believe all bullies get their comeuppance....

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 13 Jan 2023

0; Participatory Systems Mapper
This blog post launches a series of systems thinking software package/application reviews - we will be posting a review each month, and asking for your comments, questions and experience of...

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By:
Katie Gronow
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Last updated: 11 Jan 2023

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Systems Thinking Interest Group (STIG); Illegal Landings Team
Hello! We have been meaning to have a presence on the Khub for some time, but work has been crazy since we started! Many of you have already worked with us on illegal landings, but for those...

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By:
Illegal Landings APHA
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Last updated: 10 Jan 2023

0; Upside down
We’ve got it all wrong the Private sector should be learning from us not the other way round. For the last 30 years we have had it the wrong way round. Like discovering some famous modernist...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 06 Jan 2023

0; Are you ready?
How do you know when you are ready to step up to the next level? Is it simply enough to think you can ? You feel ready but can you convince an interview panel? I can do most of the...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 04 Jan 2023

0; Be like water in a stream
It’s sounds like a piece of ancient oriental wisdom or something from a kung Fu film. I came across it in the December Human Resource Director (HRD ) magazine in an article by Jenni...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 03 Jan 2023

0; Success and Failure
‘It’s not enough to succeed” said Gore Vidal .“ others must fail”. Some people get as much satisfaction from the failure of rivals as they do from their own successes. It’s not an attractive...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 03 Jan 2023

0; Pele, the beautiful game and Local Authorities
Pele referred to it as the beautiful game. As played by him and the Brazilian team that won the World Cup in 1970 it was. Any team he played in would rather win 4-2 than 2-0 because it was...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 03 Jan 2023

0; White Lotus
White Lotus and Succession are examples of hate t.v.That is a successful T.V. series in which non of the characters are attractive or deserving of our sympathy. They are rich or are...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 04 Sept 2023

0; Good advice from Richard Branson
“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!” “Respect is how to treat everyone, not just those you want to impress.”...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 26 Dec 2022

0; What’s the difference
What’s the difference between gaming the system and cheating-integrity!

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 24 Dec 2022

0; If you were offered a £millions
But you had to be in constant pain, on a good day a nagging pain like a toothache , on a bad day a searing pain that cripples you in agony,would you take the money? Would a new car and four...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 22 Dec 2022

0; On the fifth Day of Christmas
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/five-zero-budget-ways-to-boost-your-data-quality-culture If you’ve got any more examples, it would be great to hear them, please share below:

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Last updated: 20 Dec 2022

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The Government Data Quality Community; What happens on a Christmas team outing is never spoken about again. You wish.
Do they still have office Christmas parties where the alcohol flows freely and people behave badly? Does the ban on alcohol mean it’s strictly a mince pies and coffee get together? Or do you work...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 19 Dec 2022

0; The Sinking of the Titanic
Does anyone really still believe the captain should go down with the ship? Must someone always be to blame and should that be the person in charge? As a senior manager I always signed up...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 16 Dec 2022

0; No smoke without fire
A few years ago I read an article in the professional press which gave an account of a training programme in support of recruiting more women into the fire and rescue service , not as office staff...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 15 Dec 2022

0; A Coach...in training (Post 2)
Link to latest post: A Coach...in training - Post 2 Hi everyone, I've created a blog site to host posts going forward so will add a link here to any new posts as/when...

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By:
Melanie Crunkhorn
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Last updated: 14 Dec 2022

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Civil Service Coaching Community of Practice; Profile of a Director
My pay last year was £3.7 million. My last holiday was in the Maldives and antique hunting in France. For relaxation I go to my beach house. I started in retail with a Saturday job in an arts and...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 13 Dec 2022

1; Some of my favourite things
My favourite Christmas film is ,” It’s a Wonderful life”. Because it’s about making a difference to other people’s lives often in small ways that can have a much bigger impact than you would ever...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 11 Dec 2022

0; What do I dislike most in other people? Negativity.
Paul noticed office morale seemed low, staff seemed unhappy and discontent. He was aware of the usual moans and groans about workloads and management but wondered if there was any particular issue...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 08 Dec 2022

0; To those who are not racist
Racist behaviour is not limited to those who judge people by the colour of their skin, who think ethnic minorities are inferior or who preach hate. The majority of racist behaviour is committed by...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 01 Dec 2022

0; Your ever so humble public servant
I once worked for a boss who was fond of telling people he felt privileged to be a Director of social services. Echoing that same ever so humble sentiment. Had the term been prevalent at the...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 29 Nov 2022

0; Des Res
I am interested in how cabinet members describe their Local Authority and what better place to look than their recruitment adverts for senior posts. I thought it might fun to characterise the...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 17 Nov 2022

0; A brief history of Time Travel
A time machine has been invented and then uninvented many times. Creating a time machine has not proved that difficult in the past/future. The problem occurs when you use it, people seem totally...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 14 Nov 2022

0; Number One’s
I have a long standing suspicion of numbers when they are used to prove something. I think it started with Led Zeppelin. They were a rock group who refused to sell out by releasing a single when...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 14 Nov 2022

0; MACRO L
This is useful for billing multiple clients, or just checking work for time sheets. I produced this primarily to discuss with colleagues the complexity to complete individual work stream...

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By:
James Martin
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Last updated: 17 Jan 2023

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Visual Basic Macros (Office 365) For Time and Money Savings; Only senior managers wear suits
The new senator for Pennsylvania doesn’t wear a suit to work. For public appearances he prefers what those in the US call, “work wear” usually a hoodie. He captured the white collar vote and his...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 12 Nov 2022

0; Grow your own
Recruitment and retention for management and executive posts has become a big issue of late. In response organisations are reviewing their approach to Succession planning. The traditional focus on...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 14 Nov 2023

0; When to stick and when to twist
“He would say something to you on a Monday, contradict himself on a Friday and you would believe both.” Martin O’Neil on Brian Clough . Management is full of contradictions. A great...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 11 Nov 2022

0; The wit and wisdom of a manager
Some people like to quote Winston Churchill me I find the sayings of Brian Clough more relevant to management. He was opinionated - we talk about it for twenty minutes and then...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 10 Nov 2022

0; The New Augmented Workforce
A couple of years ago I visited the BMW-MINI Production Plant, at Cowley, Oxford. This was arranged as part of our theme on ‘innovation’ for Warwick Business School’s Innovation network. The...

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By:
Stephen Dale
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Last updated: 07 Nov 2022

0; Bad Organisations
I like working for my boss. I like the people I work with. I like the work I do. I don’t like the organisation I work for. It use to be said that people leave managers not organisations. Recently...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 02 Nov 2022

0; Confidence
“ Confidence is distributed in a very ramdom way. Some people have stunning amounts of confidence and no talent and other people have stunning amounts of talent and no confidence. But...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 29 Jun 2025

0; Lessons from the mess at the Met
It’s always easier to see where someone else is going wrong. With of course the underlying confidence that we would never let things get to that state of affairs. The description of a senior...

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By:
Blair McPherson
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Last updated: 06 Aug 2026

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