The Blogworld of Poppyfish People Development

With less than a week to go until the start of the London Olympics let's start with a topical metaphor. Think of a successful organisation as a healthy athlete. Honed, toned, in the zone and eager for success. Reaching the pinnacle of Olympic success takes time, commitment, vision and only comes with dedicated practice and preparation. This preparation comes in different forms – mental and physical - and all with the aim of being at your best when the moment of truth arrives.  Coaches ask their athletes to visualise what it will feel like to compete, to imagine in great detail, how they will compete in those vital moments when there is all to gain, or all to lose. What does success look like? What will it take to win through? How will it feel to do so? What needs to happen for success to be realised? The same preparatory techniques can be applied to organisations, where simulations can form part of this preparation, helping the organisation develop and maintain its v...

 Purity, Perfection, Victory, Peace and Friendship. The Olympic Torch reaches St. Albans The Olympic Torch came to St. Albans last weekend. The event was part of the Torch Relay  preceding the London games that has seen the torch carried the length and breadth of Great Britain. I wasn't actually that bothered about going to see it, but my youngest daughter was keen so I scooped her up and set off for a convenient street corner. We waited patiently as part of a growing crowd and after about an hour, the procession came in sight. I say sight, but actually I heard it before I could see it. The gaudy looking torch was preceded by about half a dozen advertisement riddled lorries playing loud music, creating the razz-a-ma-tazz that is now de rigeur for such events. Interspersed between them were to be found jugglers, flag sellers and at least a dozen hairy coppers on motorbikes (why do motorcycle policemen look so grizzly?). As I stood surrounded by pavements full of He...

What is it to have 'edge'? I want you to join me in an inquiry into 'edge'. The word 'edge' comes in many forms. My ruler has an 'edge' on it, so does my lawn. Businesses might be described as having an 'edge' over their competitors. We talk about the fact that one candidate might 'edge out' another one at a recruitment interview. I can be 'on edge' when my football team is hanging on to a 1-0 lead with three minutes to go. In all these cases I think I know what the word 'edge' means. But what does it mean when someone asks you what is your edge? That definition is far less clear. This is because the concept of edge at the personal and psychological level is far more than just something which gives you an advantage. It's more elusive than that. True enough, if I 'have an edge over you ' then I have something that allows me to be compared favourably to you, but this is totally different from actual...

I was lucky enough to be part of a conversation recently in which people from different organisations were sharing their personal views about their various workplaces. This is one of the real upsides to my job. This was a multinational group working across different sectors and the threads of the conversation were many and varied, yet what stood out for me against all the statements and opinions about how different our organisations were was one thing upon which everyone in the room seemed to be agreed - namely that it's a 'bad thing' to exhibit vulnerability in the workplace. A bad thing. No one appeared to be too bothered by this and the conversation soon moved on. But for me the apparent confirmation that we can simply accept that organisations create, allow or somehow foster these predatory moments hung heavily in the pit of my stomach with a nauseous pang. The frown and bad feeling that I was left wi...

  Maybe using different words can bring different outcomes  This short entry is inspired by, if not directly stolen from, a quality conversation I enjoyed on the Riverside Terrace Cafe of the Royal Festival Hall this week.... The words we use are important. Many words have connotations and meanings that influence the way that we feel about them. Consider this conversation for instance: Tom: "I don't like change" Sally: "Oh really? So what would happen if you won the lottery tomorrow?" Tom: "You wouldn't see me for dust" Sally: "So you do like change?" Tom: "Well no, I don't like change, but that wouldn't be change as such, that would be a win" Sally: "So a change can't be for the better?" Tom: "Not like that, I mean, it would be great to start something new, something I could really make a go at" Sally: "So change is OK if it improves things?" T...

 Sometimes I learn fast. Swing one punch and you’ll get me, but swing another and I’ll duck. That’s fast learning. But learning just why it was that you wanted to punch me in the first place takes a little longer. For that to happen I need to learn about you, and I need to learn about me, and I need to learn what it is about our relationship that stimulates the Frank Bruno tendencies in you. Learning comes via action, and learning from that action through the act of reflection. Learning isn’t always easy. It is often challenging. Ever heard the phrase “ I learn most when I’m out of my comfort zone ”? Well, it may be true, but life outside the comfort zone (and maybe I’ll revisit just what a comfort zone is in another blog entry one day) comes with lots of other challenges that might actually restrict learning. I am on a learning journey. I say ‘am’ because I don’t suppose it ever stops. Learning starts as soon as a new born baby learns how to breathe in air and stops, ar...

Care for some management speak, your Grace? Let's start with an anecdote. The night before the Battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington was asked a question by one of his junior officers. " What are your plans, your grace? " the officer asked. “ To beat the French ” was the Duke's curt reply. When the questioner went on to suggest that the Duke might be well advised to share his more detailed plans with his men in case he himself were to be injured the Duke tersely replied, “ If I thought my hair knew what my brain was thinking I’d shave it orf and wear a wig ”. How times change. This morning, an e-mail newsletter arrived in my inbox from the McKinsey Quarterly  . It contained the sort of thinking that would have the dear old Duke of Wellington ripping out his hair and which would have curled his toes inside his now famous boots. The McKinsey article talks about “Crowdsourcing”. According to wikipedia crowdsourcing is about "outsourcing ta...