Browse by Tags

• CEO
• Change Management
• Conferences
• Consulting
• Culture
• Europe
• Internal communications
• Leadership
• M & A
• Middle East
• New business, marketing, selling
• People management
• Strategy

• Employee engagement: does anyone agree what it is?

  Scott and I have just been going through some slides on the topic. I talked to HR Directors at a CIPR conference on the subject on Wednesday. It wasn't a very good performance. I had so much to say that I just talked without breathing for 50 minutes and Read More... Posted 20 April 2007 19:16 by David Ferrabee | 2 Comments Filed under: Strategy, Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, People management

• Companies must learn to celebrate success

  ON PUTNEY BRIDGE -- It's 9:10 on a Sunday morning. And we are here for a reason. They're walking a donkey across the bridge. As one does. It's from one church to the other for Palm Sunday. My kids thought it was hysterical that the donkey emptied his Read More... Posted 01 April 2007 09:10 by David Ferrabee | 0 Comments Filed under: Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, Consulting, New business, marketing, selling, Internal communications

• Strategy, objectives, competencies & performance management

  Are you bored yet? Normally you only have to say the word "competency" and people suddenly find they have other pressing engagements. Now let's add that we are also talking about communication of all of the above. Right, I am the only one still reading Read More... Posted 27 March 2007 12:33 by David Ferrabee | 2 Comments Filed under: Strategy, Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, Consulting, People management

• Social Media Forum: Who knows what'll happen?

  LONDON -- Tomorrow Phil and I present at Melcrum's conference for technophiles . It'll be interesting to see what kind of mood the whole thing has. I know late last year Neville Hobson (who is on before us) blogged from the podium, while waiting to present. Read More... Posted 20 March 2007 10:02 by David Ferrabee | 6 Comments Filed under: Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, New business, marketing, selling, Conferences

• Attitude: how to succeed in business

  LEAVING KIAWAH -- How many ways are there to be successful in work? I think there must be fewer than there are books on the subject. I was in Barnes and Noble in Charleston, South Carolina yesterday browsing through the business section. And there are Read More... Posted 17 March 2007 14:00 by David Ferrabee | 0 Comments Filed under: Culture, Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, Change Management

• Mega-mergers: Corus & Tata

  DOHA -- It's been about six or seven years since we had those mergers that made your heart stop. Chrysler and who? Glaxo and who? Warner and what? And many years later not all of those look like a great idea. But they are back in season again. GM is doing Read More... Posted 04 March 2007 17:51 by David Ferrabee | 0 Comments Filed under: Strategy, Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, People management, M & A

• P.S. We fired them all

  LONDON -- No one likes to be the barer of bad news. But that's no excuse for the consistently horrible way that redundancies are communicated. A reduction in force... Corporate synergies... A big restructuring... Rationalisation... Inefficiencies... "You Read More... Posted 26 February 2007 09:00 by David Ferrabee | 3 Comments Filed under: Strategy, Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, Consulting, People management, Internal communications, Change Management, M & A

• Who is YOUR audience? (Mine's Laura's mum)

  We're working with a brilliant global manufacturing client to review their communications now. One of the executives we interviewed said "I always test the corporate videos on Ali. The moment Ali's eyes glaze over and he starts to nod off, I switch it Read More... Posted 22 February 2007 11:20 by David Ferrabee | 1 Comments Filed under: Leadership, Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, Internal communications

• Corporate nationalism

  I've just been in Ireland for a week. With my mobile phone and Blackberry mostly turned off. It's been great. But it gives you a chance to look outside of our regular world and see things from a new angle. I read a lot of Irish history during the week, Read More... Posted 19 February 2007 08:55 by David Ferrabee | 0 Comments Filed under: Culture, Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, Europe, Middle East

• *The Office*: Nature or nurture?

  My old boss Bill Quirke used to love to say that a middle managers job was to "shield front line employees from the blinding brilliance of the leader's vision", and interpret the dangerous rumblings of front line staff for leaders. Middle managers are Read More... Posted 07 February 2007 08:49 by David Ferrabee | 1 Comments Filed under: Leadership, Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, People management, Change Management

• The changing workforce: you need to ask Y

  There was an article in the Sunday Times in London yesterday that suggests that change is bad. "The latest generation of graduates — Generation Y — shows the most extreme traits of self-absorption." In my opinion, that would be very funny if it were in Read More... Posted 05 February 2007 08:29 by David Ferrabee | 2 Comments Filed under: Strategy, Culture, Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, People management, Internal communications, Change Management

• What is change management?

  Um. Good question. I my last post I had the social media apostles take exception to the idea that internal communications could be about managing conversations . So now I'm hesitating about the concept of managing change. But I will soldier on. Maybe Read More... Posted 04 February 2007 09:55 by David Ferrabee | 2 Comments Filed under: Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, Internal communications, Change Management

• Symbols of power

  I sold my little red sports car on ebay this weekend. It's the only one I have ever had. And I missed it instantly. Now I have a big minivan. And people make rude gestures to me in the street, just for being there. I think I am due a mid-life crisis. Read More... Posted 22 January 2007 08:40 by David Ferrabee | 4 Comments Filed under: Leadership, Culture, Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, People management, Internal communications

• 'Hippy-ier than thou'

  I've got a friend named Will who I have a drink with every few months. He's a brilliant character. And often has some really interesting insights into work and life. Last night he was describing a situation where he had a life-changing incident in the Read More... Posted 18 January 2007 08:38 by David Ferrabee | 0 Comments Filed under: Leadership, Culture, Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, Consulting, People management

• BP & EMI - more in common than random letters of the alphabet

  I usually try to avoid writing about specific companies. Not least when I know the companies. And I know great people at both of these places. And they are equally, but different, iconic British companies. Lord Browne of Madingley was said to be the greatest Read More... Posted 14 January 2007 18:22 by David Ferrabee | 1 Comments Filed under: Leadership, Strategy, Culture, CEO, Engagement, involvement, morale, motivation, Consulting, New business, marketing, selling, People management, Internal communications, Change Management