Everyone enjoys a good story, whether it’s a blockbuster film, a classic novel or even just a recount of a bizarre incident from over the weekend. As human beings we cannot resist a good story and the classic formula for a good story is that it has a beginning, a...

“Why does one organization get a reputation as a great place to work while another struggles to retain its employees?  It’s never a simple matter of one company paying more than another” states Dale Carnegie, author of the white paper, Building a Culture of...

I am just back from holiday, rested and tanned.  There is no doubt that a good book, good company and a good pool sums up my favourite way of passing time.  Those of you who are alert to my foibles will note that there is not a mention of wine!  A lapse of...

I read somewhere recently that September is the time when we start looking for change or a new beginning.  Apparently with at least thirteen years of schooling behind us we still feel the need to prepare for a new term.  Whether it is making a career change, starting...

The old saying goes that while the cat’s away, the mice will play and this week Maureen’s mice are taking over the blog while she visits clients, candidates and enjoys a few days of sunshine in Gibraltar and Spain. So speaking of my boss, I read somewhere that the...

We have all experienced the frustration of poor service and the negative behaviours of people who really don't appear to be enjoying their jobs. The idea for this blog came whilst travelling on EasyJet or SqueezyJet as I am known to call it.   I was so impressed from...

Please do forgive me sending you an eMail about eMails – I feel sure that you will love the irony!! I came across a really good article in my favourite read – Harvard Business Review (HBR) – page 26 for those that still enjoy the feel of paper….    Of course the more...

  Startling thought I know!  In my usual magpie way, or if I am being more formal demonstrating Curious behaviour, I came across this new jargon – MOOCS. This stands for massive open online courses. A good article by Matt Chittock writing for ILM’s Insight...

Some of you may have missed the fact that my birthday fell during this week.  On reflection it would have been lovely to have a fall in years!!!   I have taken some time off to enjoy it – before you say anything it was not to recover from a hangover!! Time off is good...

Travelling back from the Isle of Man yesterday Carol and I were discussing this.  No we had not lost the plot – although this is always possible - two Myers Brigg P’s are always interesting and fun! We were reflecting on the age old syndrome of HR professionals being...

    We realise that by now you are probably tired of baby stuff, but Kerry and I did get two of the names correct – Louis from Kerry and Alexander from me – we should have put a bet on it!! So what else?    Well on the serious side there is the issue of women,...

What are we like?  Wrong sort of snow, too wet, too dry and now too hot! Vicki, Hollie and I are trying to keep cool sheltering under our umbrellas, with all doors open and fan going.  Any moment now the ice cream van will be outside to tempt us too! On a slightly...

Congratulations Andy, you are now the Wimbledon champion! We cannot help but reflect on how Murray has benefited from the quality team that have supported him.  In particular how his mentor Lendl has helped to get Murray into the right psychological space.  There are...

Every year we attend the CIPD Centres Conference.  This year it was in Stafford – a red brick time-warp type of conference centre.  We do this for a number of reasons – it enables us to mingle with other centres and share best practice, we have the opportunity to talk...

After navigating the London bus system (rookie mistake!) I arrived at the HRD Conference and Exhibition. For a relatively small venue, I'm sure I walked miles that day and the team and I met some really interesting organisations as well as sampling four of the...