Author Archives: Marianne

Development can help great people be even better – but if you have a pound to spend, spend 70p getting the right person in the door. Last week we were looking at having great performance reviews as part of an evolving process of continuous feedback and development. I was saying that there may be times […]

[Includes FREE download from our series of Simple Systems ‘How to deliver an inspiring performance review.’] Performance management is one of the four foundations of the McFreedom System™. Performance reviews are all about improving the performance of the team, by improving the performance of each individual in it. No one should ever feel anxious going into a […]

Do you feel like you’re drowning? Drowning in paperwork, in problems, in people stuff?  And all because of your success! When you were starting out you had a handle on everything. Now you’ve grown you’ve had to take on more people and it’s just not the same. You feel like you’ve lost control. And like […]

‘You can dream, create, draw and come up with the best ideas in the world, but you need people to help you turn your dreams into reality.’ As business owners, we rightly focus a heck of a lot of attention on our external customers and what we can do to give them a great experience. […]

‘If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done’ It’s a little known fact that Jane Austen produced her best work when there was dusting to do. I’ve also been known to ‘get creative’ with housework hanging over me, and I know others whose shelves get built, gardens cleared, just at the thought of having […]

If only we realised that we had all the right ingredients in our business, to make the leap – to spring forward to success. It’s that time again.  The time of year we all look forward to. Lambs leaping and bleating in the fields! Daffodils brightening up every green strip of land with their gorgeous […]

‘Not suggesting we recruit in our own image and likeness … but we must be a good match.’ It’s coming up to the wedding season again. Most people think of a day that will suit – best chance of good weather, not clashing with any big sporting event – that sort of thing… and then […]

Can you remember back to your school days? I’m sure for some of us it will be easier than for others 😉 Remember how you’d answer a question, but even though it was technically right, it wasn’t the one the teacher was looking for? Q. What is ‘hard water’?     A. Ice (of course!) […]

As a business owner you know that a high-performing team is essential for a successful business. But how do you start building a team from the group of individuals who currently work for you with all of their different personalities and egos? Any of these sound familiar? The cat – ‘hmm, good idea eh? I’ll […]

Would you let someone drive a forklift without any training? How about letting an apprentice loose with scissors on their first day? Or having a new recruit present an important bid to a key prospect? Of course you wouldn’t. But maybe you would promote one of your team to be a manager and then not […]

Have you ever had to complain to a business? I don’t know how many times I’ve found myself saying, ‘I know it’s not your fault’ to the individual I’m speaking to, desperately trying not to take out my frustration on them because they, as an individual, are not responsible. Often the person I’m speaking to […]

Can you remember the day you first learned about the amoeba?   That blob of wobbly jelly with a black dot inside called the nucleus – the heart or engine room of the thing. Not a very scientific description I know, but the image has stuck in my head over the years, and I’m pretty […]

It’s that time of year when my ancient boiler gets its annual health check. For about fifteen years now I’ve had a series of engineers visit my house, make that ‘sucking through the teeth’, noise, and shake their head, as they discover the age of the patient. Yet on it chugs – incredibly reliable despite […]

And so we begin again. I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year and that you enjoyed a refreshing and re-energising break! So now we enter a brave new year, determined to be a brave new us. Will we be more streamlined, healthier, happier, richer? What challenges have you set yourself for […]

Is it really the last Friday before Christmas?!  Where has this year gone? And how ready are you for the one that’s about to begin? I’m sure that, with so few days left before the big day, your mind is way too full of all the things that you have to get done…for both your […]

I read some interesting stuff the other day which really hit a chord with me and the growing Bright7 team. It was all about what makes a workplace great. One of the points was about having simple ‘Rules of the Game’ to reduce waste and make expected behaviours clear. I don’t know about you but […]

Ode For A Small Business Owner… When the road is long Keep forging on Don’t look ahead to see How far you’ve still to go Don’t look from side to side The faces you see there May cause you to stumble Sometimes take a look behind And see how far you’ve come. I’m not really […]

It’s that time of year again…my car is due its MOT. I always think that they’ll find something wrong, and I sit there, like I imagine an expectant father must, waiting for the phone to ring.  All those moving parts…they can’t all be in perfect working order, can they? So it’s always great when I […]

I read this week that workers in the UK are unproductive. Productivity is the new government watchword. Of course we all want to be productive – but if you focus on productivity without any thought for quality, customer focus or value for money, you may well be productively doing all the wrong things. And ‘There […]

‘I know you believe you understand what you think I said but I’m not sure if you realise that what you heard is not what I meant’. I wonder how many words have been written over the years on the importance of communication. I heard a great one the other day where Steinbeck’s ‘The Grapes […]

I have a problem with process!  There, I’ve said it! Don’t get me wrong, I love what it does, the results you can achieve through it…but the word itself chips a little piece off my soul – makes me think of bureaucracy, paperwork, jumping through hoops. My mind turns to ISO9001, Lean six sigma and […]