My Blog
This blog is for me, it’s my sketch pad where I think things through and work things out. Having worked ‘stuff’ out I think it’s good to declare it, so I am sending it to you. Hopefully you will also find it useful.
Latest Posts
Lance Armstrong
‘The biggest cheat in sport’ according to some of the press. I don’t buy that from them, especially them. Have “we” ever cheated? Probably. Have we ever told a lie, several lies or even a big one? Probably. “I am a human being. Nothing that is human is foreign to me” Terence Afer. How many…
Read MoreBehaviour – management’s obsession
How come Thomas behaves this way at home and yet a different way at work? He is the same person, though behaving in a different way. What is driving his behaviour? “Management” try to drive, influence, manipulate behaviour with “consequences” – either positive or negative, incentives or punishment respectively. Daniel Pink, author of “Drive”, questions…
Read MoreAny questions? – How to elicit a response from an audience
We have all been to the industry conference where the experts ‘broadcast’ for an hour and then the chairman asks “any questions?” Then awkward silence, no response. So how do you elicit questions from your audience? Here’s a three step approach that works: 1. Ask the people to write a few notes on what connected…
Read MoreWhen we meet
I’m really interested in people and their stories so if we were to meet I’d like to find out about your story: your early years, how you got into your job, your best achievements and some of the hurdles you overcame to get here. I’d love to hear about what you are doing now and…
Read MoreTime to Think
What would it be like if your team had time to think – together – instead of continuously responding as individuals to emails and urgent matters of the day? I believe collective thinking and listening time is fundamental to effective collaboration and team working. I also believe it rarely happens. If you were able to…
Read MoreConstruction industry best seller
What constitutes a ‘best selling’ book in the construction industry? If my intent is to share what I have learned and my ideas rather than make money from my books, and I have given away 1,500 copies of my first co-authored book, “21st Century People Leadership”, is that a ‘best seller’? When a busy director…
Read MoreDifficult work
People are involved in difficult work. Often it has not been done before, it’s a permanent prototype, possibly never to be repeated. It might be building the tallest tower, slotting a tunnel under the capital city, decommissioning a nuclear power station, building a bridge over a busy river, maintaining critical water infrastructure or electrifying the…
Read MoreCelebrating 13 years in business
Today I am celebrating 13 years running and growing my own business, DSA Building Performance Ltd. Reflecting back these are my top 5 most enjoyable achievements: 5 – Working with Tony Blanch, Costain’s Group Business Improvement Director and his team for six years on their “hugely successful” Implementing Best Practice programme and then a few…
Read MoreConnected with Rob Dalton
Rob has just accepted my invitation to connect. He is my 500th connection on LinkedIn. Getting to 500 connections was a target I set myself at the beginning of this month – check out The LinkedIn Leader for my rationale http://dsabuilding.co.uk/linkedin-leader/ Rob and I first met earlier this year in a collaboration workshop I facilitated…
Read MoreDialogue v.s debate?
Debate is what you see in the House of Commons. There is no listening. Each side is set on proving they are right and the other side is wrong. The side with the most power wins, irrespective of the merits of its argument. The origin of the word debate is to beat down. The route…
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