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
Collaboration? Who’s got time for that?
Collaboration might be back on the government’s agenda following publication of The Construction Playbook, but how prominently does it feature in the typical project director’s mind? It wasn’t on my mind 30 years ago when I was a project manager. There wasn’t a name for it back then, I probably wouldn’t have thought it was important, nor known how to do it and I wouldn’t have had time for it. Things have changed since then, or have they? Who’s got time for collaboration or even The Construction Playbook?
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“If someone had just listened to me, I think I would have got through it”
Six years ago, John had a breakdown. He’s OK now though never returned to work. If someone had listened to him, he’d have got through it. John needed support. I care about leadership team performance though more for the wellbeing of the players and their people and right now some are on the edge. In this post we look at the importance of balancing support with challenge and how to provide both.
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Field guide to the Construction Playbook: Four ways you can prepare for it
The Construction Playbook is the latest Government publication urging reform. Pay attention construction business leaders, this is how the government will be trying to use its purchasing power to change the way you behave.
Read on to find out how to prepare your company for changes that might happen if the Playbook sticks. Or if it doesn’t, you might still set a strategic course for increased capability that is worthwhile whatever happens.
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Why I’m turning up the dial on coaching
Coaching is a partnership to discover new thinking. It’s future focused and optimistic. If you are leading a team in steady state and you have all done what you are doing hundreds of times before then crack on, this is not for you. This is for leadership teams that have something big to deliver in challenging and uncertain times. It’s for people who are up for the messy work of thinking and acting differently together and who are prepared to turn up and do the work. This is what the work looks like.
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Just check in, to see what condition your condition is in
What do BIM, The Construction Playbook and my weekly confidence Zooms have in common? They are tools, techniques and strategies used as interventions for improvement. There is something about interventions not widely understood. I am going to share it with you in this post. What’s different about BIM, Playbook and my weekly Zooms? I think my Zoom session will make the biggest difference to your success, here’s why ….
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John’s lost it. It’s normal. But what can he do about it?
What if your confidence is down? First up, its normal, take it easy. Our confidence is dynamic, it goes up and down. Secondly, lacking confidence we lose clarity of thought and we produce less or we don’t inspire others to produce. It’s costly, pay attention! Third up, you can do something about it. You can protect your confidence with easy steps, things you like doing. Here’s how…
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How to protect your confidence in tricky times
I don’t know about you but when my confidence is down I sit there for ages procrastinating and worrying. And I don’t get much done. I know I am not alone. And confidence is down right now, what with all the stuff going on. What if you are procrastinating and not getting much done, what if your people are sitting there, looking busy, though not producing? Confidence is the lifeblood of business, but how do you protect it? Here’s how…
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What is the essence of coaching?
We are going to change the construction industry from the bottom up. To do that we need to change the default conversation. Command, control and blame as a conversational style does not work; its crushing. You have felt it. There is a better way to gain commitment and get things done – big or small. Use a coaching style of conversation. But what is coaching?
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How to kill off talent
My Big Idea is taking shape, now I need to get young professionals on board with it. I’ve suggested ‘what’s in it for them’ though I don’t really know. So, I am reaching out here to find out and then I will shape things to fit. But first let’s see how to kill off talent, cos we don’t want to do that, right?
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If it works in sport, it can work in construction
I’ve got a big idea. It’s about changing the construction industry from the ground up, and energising thousands of young professionals and their organisations along the way.
For the last eight weeks I have been articulating this Big Idea, here in my blog.
In this post we get down to brass tacks including: costs, benefits and executive legacies.