A Friday thought on attitude.

Here’s a tale from life that can teach us all a little about the power of a positive attitude. At the age of 84, my grandmother, having found herself living alone after the loss of my grandfather, decided to have a foreign holiday. Helping her with her passport application, my uncle (her son) suggested that Read more about A Friday thought on attitude.[…]

A Friday thought for Mother’s Day.

Mother knows best. This week’s article is a short and simple lesson from my mother.  My mother is sadly no longer with us, she never held a leadership role in business, but I believe she was a natural leader.  Here is an example of her style that hopefully illustrates a behavioural point in the leadership Read more about A Friday thought for Mother’s Day.[…]

A Friday thought on punishment

I accept what you are saying, but I still want to discipline people for doing things wrong. One of the most common areas for resistance in behavioural science is the concept of positive recognition for desired behaviours.  When presented with the scientific evidence that you get more with the carrot than you do with the Read more about A Friday thought on punishment[…]

A Friday Thought on the Income and Substitution Effect.

So, exactly how do you motivate your big earners?  It’s really as obvious as it sounds! A few weeks ago we published an article on the law of diminishing marginal returns, a classic A-level economics subject.  So whilst in A-level syllabus mode, we had a notion to do an article on the income and substitution Read more about A Friday Thought on the Income and Substitution Effect.[…]

A Friday thought on the law of diminishing returns.

So at what point does an additional cook spoil the broth? Through a number of engagements over the last week, the notion of diminishing returns has entered my work a couple of times.  On both occasions the idea was met with surprise by a number of colleagues.  So, I thought, if there are a handful Read more about A Friday thought on the law of diminishing returns.[…]

A Friday Thought on Empathy

Always right?  Try the alternate view. Do you ever feel like you are fighting an uphill battle?  You know the way forward but no one seems to be prepared to see things from your point of view?  We have all been there from time to time.  But what if this is a constant frustration?  What Read more about A Friday Thought on Empathy[…]

A Friday thought on opinions.

Opinions rarely  advance humanity, facts and action are what drive us forward. In another week with a high profile drink driving case, the internet and printed media is awash with opinions about Ant McPartlin.  Many have criticised his choices, many have suggested he has got off lightly (even though he has been charged) because of Read more about A Friday thought on opinions.[…]

A Friday thought on prioritisation.

What does letting go of the soft stuff really mean? Here at BITS we are delighted to be busy.  So busy that we haven’t posted a Friday thought for weeks.  What does this mean though, really? Does it matter?  In the main, yes it does.  Jeremy Clarkson is a man I usually find amusing, but Read more about A Friday thought on prioritisation.[…]

A Friday thought on leadership strength.

Everyone wants a strong leader, but what does a strong one look like? What constitutes a strong leader?  Is it an ability to steadfastly stick to your view when all around you are telling you that you are wrong.  Is it making tough decisions even when they have a negative impact on your people?  Is Read more about A Friday thought on leadership strength.[…]

A Friday thought on positive news

A personal thought on positive safety improvements. In order to produce the posts for this website, it is necessary to review safety incident reports, watch documentaries on disasters, read reports from the Federal Aviation Authority and study many more sources of relevant information.  Often, my wife and family will ask, “why do you watch this?  Read more about A Friday thought on positive news[…]