I was quizzed the other day about how to make a working day effective , and stop people from working late into the evening. It was a good question and it got us talking about the essentials of a working day. There are certainly some tasks that need to be completed each and every day. There are also tasks that need to be managed over a slightly longer period of time to match your available capacity. (OK, sometimes you do need to flex your capacity, but I am talking about the longer term here). If you know the essentials then you can devise a simple 'exit' from your daily working. The notion is that if you can tick these items off your list each and every day then you can wrap up the working day more effectively. If you can do that then you have a good chance of making the working days and weeks more effective. Have you got an end of day routine? Giles Johnston Author, Consultant and Chartered Engineer

A photograph taken at the end of the Barclays 'Pick the Expert's Brain' event. From the left (with expertise in brackets): Willard Wright ( Commercial / Business Insurance ) Les Hare ( Accountancy ) Graham Pegman ( Wealth Management ) Steve Wheaton ( Marketing ) Giles Johnston ( Business Improvement ) - yes, that's me (too warm for a jacket!) Steve Duncan ( Human Resources ) If you were there, I hope you had a good (and informative) time. Giles Johnston Author, Consultant and Chartered Engineer

How many times have your team said 'I didn't know that's why we did that'? It can be a real reminder that just because we know all about the process, it doesn't mean that our team gets it. They may be pressing the right buttons on the computer system and following the instructions, but their lack of understanding hinders improvement ideas . When you make sure that people understand the 'why' of the system then it can allow them to participate in continuous improvement activities and idea generation. A little bit of education can make a big difference compared to not enough knowledge. Giles Johnston Author, Consultant and Chartered Engineer

To coincide with the revised free report I have updated the presentation on Slideshare. An embedded copy is below. Improving on time delivery from gilesjohnston Giles Johnston Author, Consultant and Chartered Engineer

Just a quick note to let you know that our free report 'You're Late!!!' has been updated today. It now includes expanded action points to help you improve your on time delivery performance. To get your copy either: 1 - Go back to the link in your email and download the new version. 2 - Sign up for the free report by clicking here . Giles Johnston Author, Consultant and Chartered Engineer

Recently I was asked for my comments on time management whilst working with an Operations Management team. I thought it would be worthwhile sharing my notes on this blog. Time expands and contracts to fill the time available – schedule the important tasks early into your day. Time management is not just about where and when, but what and why. Deciding what tasks will give you the biggest payback in terms of results needs to be considered when planning your day / routines. Hence, know what is important and what is trivial. Planning – what needs to be done in what sequence. Scheduling – when the planned items needs to be done. Routines yield consistency and help you to be proactive in your role. Important and difficult tasks should be tackled first.* Effectiveness first, then efficiency. Once you have the right tasks you can then find a better way to do the tasks to free up time. Once the routines are complete you can move onto (mini) projects, whether this is managing

Have you ever felt the frustration of watching an improvement project stall, fall over and the benefits never being realised? I’ve seen quite a few projects over the years stalling.  Thankfully I have been able to help get them back on track, allowing my clients to get the results they wanted. Just recently I was involved in another similar project, one that was going off track. This got me thinking about the way I fix this particular problem. This month’s article covers the main steps I follow to get projects back on track. Step One – Clarify the Objectives Probably the biggest offender is the lack of clarity around the specifics of the project. Vague objectives lead to confusion. Reducing or confirming the scope of the project, and getting detailed on what you want to experience once the project is completed, can make a big difference. Put it in writing for reference. Step Two – Clarify the Mechanics / Top Level Plan How the project will unfold and what will need to happ