Two years ago, a large municipal administration started an ambitious transformation program. It introduced flexible working spaces, a "fun at work" initiative, and a social media platform. The adoption of the social media platform was rather sluggish in the first year: the employees simply didn't understand why they should use it. Consequently, a performance target … Continue reading Digital Immigrants Disconnected After Update
An investigation was launched at a large metal commodities company: a young man, who was promoted to 'team leader', did not arrive on the next day transformed into a suit wearing, KPI demanding psychopathic police enforcer, as was normally the case. By 1100 in the morning the global supply of metal commodities had ground to … Continue reading SHOCK! Millennial Manager Causes Mayhem at Firm
A company that asked its employees to define their shared values has discovered a surprising result. The firm has realised that it is the least ambitious company in the history of the world. Staff had the choice of numerous nouns describing values including: passion, ambition, collaboration, inspiration, agility, fun. Employees could also propose options which would … Continue reading Company Values Exercise Exposes Total Lack Of Ambition
Teams at a large bank face a yearly ritual called 'the headcount challenge'. In simple terms, the ritual involves the head of HR handing out new headcount targets to each division on the basis of cost reductions. The joke is of course that no manager can actually do anything: it is impossible to fire people … Continue reading Headcount Tactics
Managing Spaghetti 