Management Secrets unveiled - How to Increase the Efficiency of your Staff
Monday morning tea break in the building. There is a subdued air in the canteen, a few people are grumbling. About what? The memo that came round first thing announcing the team building day planned for the end of the week …
1 week later …
Monday morning tea break in the canteen. The atmosphere is electric. Bert from stores is telling a joke to Dave, the accounts director. Madge from packing is having an animated conversation with a couple of guys from sales …
OK, so why this big difference. The team building day of course. The whole day was arranged by Brian and Sue in the personnel department (note how this forward thinking company did not regard their staff as merely resources). They realise that to get the best out of people you need to work with them, help them to enjoy their working life. It’s all about human nature. Treat a person as a resource and they will be just that, a resource. They will do what they have to to to make sure they get paid. That’s it. They will not be concerned about how good a job they do.
How to Survive The Missiles of Business and Life
Picture a crisp, clear spring day. You’re flying 550 knots at 22,000 feet, with your wingman two miles off and exactly ninety degrees to your right, on a combat mission in southern Iraq’s no-fly zone. You both are scanning for enemy aircraft, surface-to-air missiles (SAMS), and radar activity. Over half your time is spent “checking six”-looking behind you and your wingman for unseen threats or movement.
Suddenly, you hear your wingman’s voice blare over the radio, “Break right, break right! Missile launch your five o’clock!” Your heartbeat ramps up and you feel the surge of adrenaline as your fight-or-flight reflex kicks in. This all happens in an eye blink, and in that same instant, it’s time to act. Instinctively you ‘break right’ - crank the stick to the right, bank the aircraft ninety degrees, and pull back as hard as you can, feeling the g forces flatten you back into the seat.
You lower the nose, jettisoning chaff and flares to help break the radar lock, and crane your neck around behind you to get a “visual” of the missile. The smoke plume of its exhaust becomes easily visible as you continue the maneuver to avoid the missile’s flight path. Fortunately for you, it detonates a thousand feet from your aircraft. In some ways, it all feels like a dream.