This time out, I decided to write some thoughts down around engagement, simply because over Xmas I met up with a good friend who has been operating as a senior leader for decades in various companies. He said something to me that struck a cord around this, he said…...
I won’t lie, when I first heard the term CMEx I immediately thought of explosive materials. That was a while ago of course and since then I've learned a lot about the water industry and how it operates. I’m also a Customer (as we all are). I’ve had the pleasure of...
This past week I managed to attend a water specific conference aimed at asset management. What was I doing there given we don’t get involved in designing or delivering physical assets? The answer, I don’t believe that the idea of great asset management is just about...
It's that time that comes around once every 5 years. Where the PR24 literature starts flowing with all the narratives around the difference between this one and the last one. Having read a few bits and pieces here and there on the latest round it takes my thinking to...
Trying to find time to think, in between spending time with lots of operational teams, hasn’t come easily this past few weeks. So, when this language floated past my eye again, it triggered off some thinking. "Fixing the basics" - this is a strategic phrase I've seen...
Having spent some time recently getting more familiar with how the current set of water companies like to organise themselves, it continues to fascinate me how something so similar can often be so different. One company will have a central team of improvement...
Having heard a number of conversation over the past few weeks that are very much 'productivity' focussed, I thought about a piece of work I was involved in a while back and how that may be a good thing to share and help people think a little bit differently about this...
Of course not….would be the immediate answer. But after spending a fair bit of time with people from all layers of hierarchy this past month, this question has popped back to the top of my mind. It's not a new one, but one that I feel is always worth a think around as...
I was reading an article in 'Utility week' over the past few days with the title 'you can’t manage what you can’t measure'. Drucker and Deming said something similar to this and as much as I could get into a debate around how this statement might have a few holes in...
I've been in a number of conversations recently, whether that be through training delivery or coaching sessions where we have ended up talking about the different roles that water companies create in order to solve problems on their networks. These conversations...