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Corporate retreats (and death)
This week, a short one, because Iâm in Monaco (speaking at a corporate retreat and escaping the mortifying venality of British politics).
What your board doesnât know
10 years ago, my research revealed what boards donât know about their employeesâ living standardsâŠ
Recession: quick and dirtyâpt 1of2
As we emerge blinking from lockdowns, everyone is asking for recession insights⊠in June, when itâs not technically been confirmed that weâre in a recession (yet). Iâd hoped this could wait until the autumn. But it canât.
What I wish someone had told me about leading a team
We are now on our 100th episodeâđâand hitting numbers that we hadnât dreamt of two years agoâŠ
The hard truth behind the Queens' success.
Stephen Fry made the best speech at the Jubilee concert asking:
âHow many local sewage works has Her Majesty opened with a bright smile? How many plaques unveiled? How many trees planted? How many ribbons cut, ships launched? How many prime ministers tolerated, for that alone no admiration is high enough.â
Travel & lunch is now discretionary spend
Things are starting to get back to normal, but the office is still feeling just a bit empty. Last week I was asked by two business leaders: âWhere are the missing 20%?â
Many are just not engaging with the incoming messages telling them their teams are hoping, wanting, needing to see themâŠ
7 travel tips I learnt the hard way
Rocking five stages in five cities over the last week has brought back memoriesâŠlike those of former colleagues whoâd happily abandon someone at the airport if they were too slow to get through passport control (đŹ shit, now I wonderâwas it me that did this?)
What if a 20% pay-cut for all-remote is a very smart strategy?
đ€Ż This week, British law firm Stephenson Harwood announced a 20% pay-cut for those who wanted to work all-remote. The backlash was palpable.
But is it really just a cost-cutting instrument which devalues home-based working?
Are weâŠout of touch?
Stand upâdonât worry, you can do it mentally if youâre on the train. Now, sit down if youâve not heard of:
Chunkz, The Sidemen, Nella Rose, KSI, Niko Omilana, Filly.
This is how Milimo Banji (known as Mils), CEO of TapIn, rather brilliantly shamed a whole lot of us (predominantly white) HR people at a recent Economist conference.
Rees-Mogg and lies leaders tell themselves
The British government minister responsible for efficiency, is busy bullying civil servants back into officesâwith his snotty memos and barrage of data-less articles about âslackersâ working from home, heâs as convincing as everâŠ
Stop. Using. These. Two. Words.
Flexibility and Balance? Give me a break
đ„± Blah blah âflexibleâ work, work/life âbalanceâ, blah blah blah.
These two words have become utterly overused and totally meaningless. Iâm just so over them.
Time to get tough with your board!
â 74% of managers says they donât have the influence or resources to make change for employees (Microsoft Work Trend Index)
đ 54% of managers believe that leadership is out of touch with employees.
Stop using Gen Z as an excuse!
The latest Microsoft Work Trend Index (31,000 people in 31 markets) has landed, and shows that 51% of organisations plan to return to full-time office hours by the end of the year. At the same time, a majority of employees say they prefer to mix work between the office and home. Perhaps this fundamental disagreement is why 41% of employees say they are considering leaving their jobsâŠ
But does that include young people?
The power of work you love
Global researcher Marcus Buckingham has a new book called Love + Work (out 5 April, 2022). In it he rages against our education systems for standardising and testing our children, without digging deeply into their uniqueness and the things that they really love.
Hybrid hot buttons
Some of us are embracing hybridâand each otherâas we return to offices more regularly and at scale.
But the skirmishes have started. đ€ș
The worst of the worst
This week has been it.
Ukraine has broken our heartsâwhile inspiring us with the kind of bravery and leadership that makes us weep.
Bosses: Gods, Monsters, and Mortals
One of the best compliments I was ever given was from someone who thought I was a pain in the arse.
He was the FD at a big agency who said to my then-boss, âYou can say what you like about Christine Armstrongââclearly he didââbut you canât deny that people really like working for her.â
Never be boring!
60 seconds of tips to light up your audience when you present research, data, thought leadership, or slides.
Featuring a badger coat.
Three day weekends & spiritualism anyone?
One of the benefits of working for myself is that I can design working days that ensure I Get Shit Done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Which, for me, means working short but intense days with deep thinking tasks early in the morning. I share this as I reflect on author Emma Gannonâs recent tweetâŠ
âWomen have won the pandemicâ
Saturday at 3pm was when my world turned dark. Child two was sent home from a party vomiting. By 4pm, the youngest was at it. By 6pm it was me and then our oldest was sent home from her sleepover. It was REVOLTING.