Monthly Archives: July 2007

Earlier this month I wrote about a friend of mine checking the Facebook entries of prospective graduate trainees. It appears that this practice is more common than I realised. Recruitment firm Joslin Rowe surveyed 53 companies and found that 20% of … Continue reading →

Here’s something that occurred to me today. Motivational speakers are a bit like diet books. If they really worked, you’d only need to see one, then you’d be sorted for the rest of your life. There are hundreds of motivational … Continue reading →

In an earlier post I discussed the work dress-code nightmare. One management consultant has become so distressed by the arrival of a new boss who insists on dressing down that he has written to Lucy Kellaway’s problem page. It’s not just … Continue reading →

Going by some of the comments about consultants in previous threads, the Corporate Whore can expect little sympathy from some of this blog’s readers. That said, his blog is entertaining and well-written. It also reminds me of the happy years I spent … Continue reading →

As Edgar Schein told us in 1985 , leaders embed culture in organisations by their actions. In other words, people look at what leaders do and what they reward, rather than what they say, and behave accordingly. It has become a hackneyed cliche … Continue reading →

Following on from yesterday’s post, Bob Sutton has come up with an Arsehole Test to go with his new book You answer True or False to statements like: You secretly enjoy watching other people suffer and squirm. You believe that … Continue reading →

When someone in academia says what I’ve been saying for years and turns it into a “breakthrough idea”, I feel partly vindicated but also a bit hacked off that I didn’t think of writing the article and marketing the idea … Continue reading →

Employment lawyers are warning that ‘Gingerism’ could be the next form of discrimination. In a recent case, red-haired waitress Sarah Primmer was awarded nearly £18,000 in compensation, after her boss had taunted her about the colour of her hair. If the lawyers are … Continue reading →

McKinsey Quarterly has carried out a study of how companies spend money. The survey of 2507 executives from around the world found that senior executives often make bad decisions about resource allocation. Despite the good intentions and intense involvement of senior executives … Continue reading →

You must have seen it happen. It usually starts when someone on the management team goes sees a motivational speaker. The next morning he comes into the office convinced that the guru who gave the entertaining talk has the answer to the company’s … Continue reading →