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Blog
Destination Addicts 
The very popular manager of our local football club has lost some of his shine. He turned things round last season. He cautioned about getting carried away with the improved performance, he talk...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  21 Feb 2025
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Blog
Leaders want change not to change
Ever wondered why so many change initiatives fail or fail to deliver all the benefits anticipated? Was it really resistance from employees, opposition from partner organisations, lack of...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  14 Feb 2025
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Blog
PROJECT BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
What is Project Business Management? Projects span industries like IT, Telecom, Automation, Energy, Infrastructure, Construction, and other complex fields where high-tech solutions, systems,...
By: 
Daniel Galiana
Last updated:  05 Feb 2025
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Blog
The Fall
Recognised as out performing other organisations for the last 15 years, lead by an outstanding innovative individual, hiring the most talented, establishing a culture of success, a dominant force...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  04 Feb 2025
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Blog
Organisations live or die by recruitment but
In the long term organisations live or die by recruitment and retention.  But in the present organisations survive and prosper by their ability to get the best out of their existing...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  03 Feb 2025
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Blog
What’s it like to lead
Traditionally leaders are strong , confident, determined , single minded individuals not prone to self doubt. More likely to be described as courageous than sensitive. But  what does it feel...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  30 Jan 2025
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Blog
 The Lion, the T Rex  and the Monkey 
Each animal represents a style of leadership, neither good nor bad but each has characteristics which can be good or bad. When things are going wrong through no fault of their own, when the...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  27 Jan 2025
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Blog
Things I shouldn’t have done and said 
I shouldn’t have deleted my one to one supervision dates from my boss’ diary when his p.a. was out of the office.   I shouldn’t have told the head of HR , “ the tail shouldn’t wag the dog “...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  22 Jan 2025
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Blog
Characterising Carbon Monoxide Household Exposure and Health Impacts in High- and Middle-Income Countries—A Rapid Literature Review, 2010–2024
NEW PUBLICATION - Carbon monoxide manuscript Abstract Carbon monoxide (CO) is a toxic gas, and faulty gas appliances or solid fuel burning with incomplete combustion are possible CO sources...
By: 
Obiageli Onyekpe
Last updated:  22 Jan 2025
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Environmental Public Health Tracking
Blog
The best defenders don’t tackle. 
A football correspondent recently wrote . “ The best defenders in the world don’t tackle they politely intervene. “ At first I thought this was a ridiculous statement.But then I thought of the...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  21 Jan 2025
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Blog
What managers want in 2025
  It’s the time of year football managers dread. Once Christmas is over it is clear whether the ambitions of the board and supporters are going to be realised or whether success will have to...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  20 Jan 2025
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Blog
World Hijab Day 2025
February 1st, 2013,  marked the first annual World Hijab Day(link is external) (WHD) in recognition of millions of Muslim women who choose to wear the hijab and live a life of...
By: 
Aysha Malik
Last updated:  20 Jan 2025
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Blog
The buzz of the positive vibes.
Good vibrations are energising.The excitement . The positivity. The anticipation. The feeling that good things are about to happen. The feeling that any thing is possible. That people are on your...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  14 Jan 2025
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Blog
A New Year A New Job A New You 
We all know that work can make you ill, we don’t hear so much about work making you well. The right job and suddenly they never have a day off sick. A new job, a new energised ,positive, amiable...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  13 Jan 2025
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Blog
Half - Arsing your Job 
“ I spent a lot of time when I worked in an office answering emails” says Leena Norms Author of Half-Arsed Humans : how to live better with out burning out.”And I would be like answering emails...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  11 Jan 2025
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Blog
It’s Brutal here
There’s nothing warm and fuzzy about this place. Loyalty is taken advantage of; intelligence and differences are a threat to be neutralised. It’s brutal here. Whilst advocating the benefits of...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  06 Jan 2025
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Blog
 More than just a positive spin or tell it like it is 
Are your senior managers  more concerned with protecting the organisations image than facing up to its short comings. Weak, arrogant, ,defensive managers. Incurious board members.Closed...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  06 Jan 2025
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Blog
It’s bad but in a good way 
They had a secret. It should have been a disaster, it should have been fatal. But it wasn’t. In fact it was energising, liberating. It involved not being found out, pretending everything was...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  06 Jan 2025
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Blog
Everyone thinks they are a team player-until tested. 
I thought I was a team player. I would cover for absent colleagues, help out when some one was feeling swamped or overwhelmed, help onboard a new member of the team, do extra work to tackle the...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  30 Dec 2024
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Blog
Mentoring the stuck
Mentoring isn’t just providing wisdom to the inexperienced or a leg up to the future high flyer it’s often helping the stuck become unstuck. The stuck are those  employees/managers who despite...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  20 Dec 2024
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Blog
Lead Exposure in Children Surveillance System (LEICSS) annual report, 2024
Executive summary LEICSS is a national surveillance system coordinated by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The surveillance system notifies the Health Protection Teams (HPTs) of...
By: 
Obiageli Onyekpe
Last updated:  18 Dec 2024
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Environmental Public Health Tracking
Blog
Napoleon asked only one thing of his generals that they be lucky. 
The toss of the coin. The bounce of the ball. The broader line decision. The Luck of the draw. In sport luck can make the difference between winning and losing so it no surprise that those who play...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  13 Dec 2024
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Blog
Management Yoga for absolute beginners 
Management Yoga is not about extreme flexibility or contorting your self or your team into fancy shapes. It's about, finding inner strength and creating freedom of action within the team.  It...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  09 Dec 2024
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Blog
The Water Carrier
Every team needs at least one. Someone who is prepared to do the unglamorous work. To do the boring ,tedious , monotonous ,routine stuff that has to be done. Someone who keeps things moving by...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  09 Dec 2024
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Blog
Managers who don’t want to manage
Some managers don’t want to be managers they find themselves in this position as a natural career progression from being a well regarded professional. But being a good teacher, social worker,...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  05 Dec 2024
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Blog
Passion on and off the field 
I read an interview with a former premiership footballer in which he said he hadn’t fallen out of love with the game as some pundits had suggested, he had never been in love with it. In fact he...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  18 Nov 2024
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Blog
What is the Historic Environment Skills Forum?
The Historic Environment Skills Forum was launched in November 2022 in direct response to Action 1.1 of the Heritage Sector Resilience Plan. The purpose of the  Skills Forum  is to...
By: 
Phil Pollard
Last updated:  09 Sept 2025
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Historic Environment Skills Forum Logo Historic Environment Skills Forum
Blog
We eventually stuck our fingers in our ears
After being verbally whipped and routinely screamed at we eventually stuck our finger in our ears. The manager had no filter,  blunt to the point of rudeness. Interested only in results, no...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  13 Nov 2024
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Blog
How do they do that?
I bought a children’s box of magic tricks to entertain my five year old grandson. I learnt a couple of tricks and put on a show. He was impressed but did not give me the credit because he though it...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  13 Nov 2024
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Blog
Exploring the use of Earth Observations data for public health risks.
Temperature is an important modulator for several public health indicators as it interacts directly and indirectly with many determinants of health, such as impacts on pathogens or vectors. For...
By: 
Obiageli Onyekpe
Last updated:  04 Nov 2024
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Environmental Public Health Tracking Logo Environmental Public Health Tracking
Blog
Trust me I’m a senior manager 
The reality is most  senior managers don’t deserve the trust of employees. I need to qualify this statement by stating the obvious which is organisations are not run for the benefit of their...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  06 Dec 2024
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Blog
Why do so many of us hate work? (And how we can change that)
Is it the feeling that we are poorly paid , badly managed and under resourced or is it we resent work that has little value or meaning?  I never hated work, except those 4 weeks in the...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  04 Nov 2024
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Blog
The pressure to look busy as opposed to being busy 
Fauxductivity is not about lazy or skiving workers . Fauxductivity is term HR professions have coined to describe the problem of wide spread behaviour in which employees feel the pressure to always...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  28 Oct 2024
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Blog
When things change but don’t really change but still up set people.
“Depending on your age and resistance to change ,it potentially never went away, but 34 years after the shock Snickers rebrand the Marathon bar is making a comeback. “ Zoe Wood 21/9/24 So why did...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  25 Oct 2024
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Blog
Gen Z and the return of the tie 
Ties are having a moment. In fact the dark suit, white shirt and tie is now, “ edgy office-wear” made popular outside the office by the likes of Taylor Swift. You need more evidence. Have you seen...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  22 Oct 2024
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Blog
The inalienable right of managers to recruit to their posts
You inherit a team. You try to get the best out of them. But there is no getting away from the fact that it’s exciting and empowering when you get a chance to fill a vacancy. So why would HR try...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  21 Oct 2024
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Blog
Looking for a job in London
I was a Gazetteer Management Services Officer at Mid Devon District Officer. I worked with addressing data or maintaining a Gazetteer database and worked on the Local Land and Gazetteer database in...
By: 
Peony Tse
Last updated:  21 Oct 2024
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Blog
How to say “no” and when to say yes  (At work)
“At 70 years old if I could give my younger self one piece of advice ,it would be to use the words “ fuck off “much more frequently” Helen Mirren. I wouldn’t recommend telling your boss to F Off...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  04 Oct 2024
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Blog
The last human job? 
Your agony aunt isn’t real,  her replies to your emotional and relationship problems are composed by using Artificial Intelligence. Does this invalidate her advice?  The issue is not...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  03 Oct 2024
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Blog
The Wasted Years 
These were the lost years when nothing much happened and it looked like nothing much would. But it’s never too late to make up for lost time.  Do you have wasted career years? I period of...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  01 Oct 2024
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Blog
Dear Dickhead
Your resignation letter is not the occasion to tell your boss what you really think of them or how you feel about the way the organisation has treated you.   Your line manager is aware you...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  26 Sept 2024
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Blog
Does your organisation suffers from a culture of contempt? Try this test.
1 How are experts viewed, trusted and valued or view with suspicion and considered naive ? 2 What is the attitude to Health and Safety, bureaucracy which if not checked undermines...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  25 Sept 2024
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Blog
Best ever elevator pitch
An elevator pitch is traditionally a very quick introduction of yourself or your idea designed to create interest for a longer meeting. They usually last around 30 seconds. Elevator pitches...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  23 Sept 2024
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Blog
It’s all in the handshake 
A good firm handshake at your interview will creat a positive first impression. A wet fish handshake ,clammy and weak will be off putting. But a “funny” handshake will guarantee you the job. ...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  17 Sept 2024
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Blog
Thanks for that boring story
The boss has been on an executive communication course. There was the usual stuff about not using management jargon and tailoring the message to the audience but what he seems to have taken away...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  17 Sept 2024
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Blog
So you had a Bad day at work  you messed up. 
May be your the MI5 officer who left a confidential terrorist report on the train, the contracts office who quoted the wrong figures resulting in your organisation losing out on a large lucrative...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  17 Sept 2024
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Blog
The Power of Phishing
  Phishing remains one of the most prevalent and dangerous cyber threats globally. According to the 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report, phishing attacks continue to play a leading role...
By: 
Tom Walker
Last updated:  13 Sept 2024
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Security Education & Awareness Centre (SEAC) Logo Security Education & Awareness Centre (SEAC)
Blog
Budget Prediction 
This year will be harder than last year. On the other hand it will be easier than next year. Blair McPherson former director , author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk 
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  09 Sept 2024
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Blog
Eating insects is not going to save the planet
It would have a lower environmental impact than conventional meat. However most food products would have a lower impact than meat. The trick is to find an alternative to meat that consumers will...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  06 Sept 2024
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Blog
The fixer 
Someone who is skilful at solving problems for others sometimes in away that is not entirely ethical and maybe even dishonest. The Americans in typically blunt fashion refer to the fixer.  A...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  02 Sept 2024
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Blog
The girl with the blond hair
A classical poet who as a young man sees a beautiful girl in the street and worships her for the rest of his life without ever seeing her again. Well it was like that I was driving, nearly home, I...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  25 Aug 2024
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Blog
What they say about each other
 The deputy says the boss is incompetent. The boss says the deputy is not as good as he thinks he is. The team member says the boss doesn’t realise what the deputy is saying behind his back...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  20 Aug 2024
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Blog
I had a dream a rather confusing one 
I had a dream ,a rather confusing one,  about the World Health Organisation in which much amusement was had over confusion caused by reference to the abbreviation WHO. Along the lines of that...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  19 Aug 2024
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Blog
Show me your happy face 
It’s the Olympics and in the pool it’s synchronised , now called , artistic swimming. By the way the smile is fake. The participants are supposed to smile to hide the pain. The costumes may be...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  12 Aug 2024
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Blog
Even the president of the United States must sometimes stand naked 
He is a convicted con artist who assumes the identity of his cellmate. It’s a way of laying low from those he owes money to. On release he aims  to hid out at the home of relatives of his...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  02 Aug 2024
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Blog
3 different perspectives
 It’s your average organisation. HR believe if you treat people fairly the organisation will be more productive. Managers question whether HR have their back. And ask their staff not to shoot...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  30 Jul 2024
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Blog
Only 3 goals away from a hat trick 
Have you ever received a reference for a candidate that reminded you of the  Roger McGough poem about a rugby player ? The strongest , fastest,  most skilful player to grace a pitch, with...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  29 Jul 2024
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Blog
Confidence is over rated give your inner critic a name
Moments of self doubt are normal don’t try and ignore them. This is the advice given to athletes competing at the Olympics by the GB sports psychologist. Even the strongest minded, most confident...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  29 Jul 2024
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Blog
Managing in the age of EDI
The different cultural values of ethnic and religious groups  influence the way people expect their manager to behave they also affect the way employees relate to their manager. A managers...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  29 Jul 2024
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Blog
Sin of Pride
His best friend at university had surprised every one by joining a monastery. It was a silent order but as a novice he was permitted a visitor once a month. When asked what life was like in the...
By: 
Blair McPherson
Last updated:  26 Jul 2024
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