Monthly Archives: July 2009

Perfectionism – Enemy of Priority?

Business improvement thoughts come to me in the strangest places…

We’ve just had a period of sunshine and rain that has been great for the grass in our horses’ field, but it has also caused the ragwort to sprout. Ragwort is poisonous to horses and needs to be thoroughly eradicated from fields (I think it may even be an offence to knowingly let it grow).

This means going out with a special fork to remove the plants including the deep roots. My wife asked me to concentrate first on the plants that had grown enough in the week to flower, to prevent them going to seed and exacerbating the problem.

Being my usual self, I set out with the wheelbarrow and fork, determined to clear every last vestige of ragwort from a 3 acre field. Continue reading

Nine Principles for Taking Critical Action

Recently, we’ve been crystallising our approach to solving problems and seizing opportunities, to build a repeatable, consistent model that can be rapidly applied to save time and money, and create value for our customers – and their customers too. In tough economic times, action needs to be decisive yes, but incisive also – not much point making the wrong decision quickly! Anything that helps in the quest to get it right will help immensely at the moment (and when recovery comes).

Continue reading