April musical playlist

Posted on 28 April, 2013 by

Here’s my list of top seven tracks for April.

An eclectic list of bits and bobs.

I discovered dEUS when I was on holiday in France and they played Suds’n'Soda on some MTV-type programme I was watching one evening. I saw them live a couple of years later at the now defunct Duchess of York in Leeds and they were outstanding.

I first heard Chris Smither when I lived in the US and used to listen to WFUV to and from work (a great radio station). The guys at WFUV were big fans of the grizzled guitarist.

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Management and leadership are two different things, not two different people.

Posted on 26 April, 2013 by

Management and leadership are two different things, but that doesn’t mean that managers and leaders are two different people.

This chasm-like division between the fabulous leader whose job is to provide inspiration and direction, and the workmanlike manager who has to get into the weeds and deliver on the detail, is a load of nonsense.

Worse, it’s harmful.

I’ve been a manager for years, and I’ve only succeeded when I was also a good leader. When I’ve been a leader, I only got that right when I didn’t abdicate my responsibility as a manager.

Manager Leader

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Leading Change by John P. Kotter

Posted on 23 April, 2013 by

Leading ChangeLeading Change by John P. Kotter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first read “Leading Change” by John P Kotter back in 2000.

It changed my life.

It was the first proper business book I read, before that I would have sneered at the very idea of being seen with a book about business; I had an interest in theories of learning and I loved training, but after reading Kotter I realised just how fascinating things like organisational psychology, change, management, and leadership could be.

I decided to re-read it last week. I had some business travel coming up and wanted to revisit some old books so I could include their reviews in this blog; so, just like 15 years ago, I started with John P Kotter.

Here’s the review:

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An Utterly Impartial History of Britain (or 2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots In Charge) by John O’Farrell

Posted on 15 April, 2013 by

An Utterly Impartial History of Britain or 2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots In ChargeAn Utterly Impartial History of Britain (or 2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots In Charge) by John O’Farrell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is fun book; great for anyone who wants a quick high-level easy-to-read overview of English history (more so than British) over the last 2000 years.

Not quite the last 2000 years. John O’Farrell stops at the end of World War II, deciding, quite rightly, that John Major’s cones hotline would feel like a bit of an anti-climax after the Battle of Britain.

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Change management is not project management

Posted on 14 April, 2013 by

Change management is one of those jobs that you have to explain to people.

You can’t just say that you’re a Change Manager and expect everyone to nod and understand what you’re on about.

It’s not like saying you’re a Doctor or a Fighter Pilot, it’s more like saying you’re a Waste Transformation Consultant; the sort of fancy unclear title that people suspect is just another word for a Garbage Relocation Operative.

Tom Cruise playing a Change Management Consultant

Tom Cruise playing a Change Management Consultant

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