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Dealing with conflict

Dealing with conflict

The word conflict carries a lot of negative baggage, and most people seek to avoid it. However, as any businessperson will tell you, conflict will eventually happen. Conflict is a natural and necessary part of doing business, so managers who seek to eliminate all forms of conflict in their workplace are not doing themselves, their employees, or their businesses any favors. Just because no one mentions any conflict to their manager does not mean that none exist, or that these unacknowledged conflicts have no negative impacts. Properly handled, functional conflict challenges the status quo and spurs the company forward to improvement. Dysfunctional conflict is a drag on the company and a waste of time and other valuable resources. A manager…
Dr Neil Thompson
December 14, 2017
Seth Godin’s blog – Best practices

Seth Godin’s blog – Best practices

If you need an appendectomy, it's unlikely you'll die during the operation. That's because the surgeon has been trained in hundreds of years of best practices. From Semmelweis to the latest in antibiotics, she knows what's come before. Not only that, but the scalpel she uses is the result of 1,000 iterations over the centuries. Every device has been sanitized based on trial and error from the millions of patients who came before you. Surgery is an engineering project, and it's based on best practices. Learn from the past, don't ignore it ... Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
December 14, 2017
Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – Live to fight another day

Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – Live to fight another day

‘Strategic capitulation’ is a term used in behaviour management programmes to refer to the technique of giving in to whatever is being demanded by someone who is being aggressive and potentially violent. It is intended as a last resort. The way it works is this: if you have someone (child or adult) who is behaving in a hostile, aggressive or threatening way, there are various methods that can be used to handle the situation (distraction, for example). But, if those techniques don’t work (no technique is guaranteed to work), then it can be safer and wiser to give in and give them what they want than to risk being assaulted. Unless you work in a setting where aggression and violence…
Dr Neil Thompson
November 30, 2017
Social services are broken. How we can fix them

Social services are broken. How we can fix them

When a family falls into crisis -- and it sometimes happens, thanks to unemployment, drugs, bad relationships and bad luck -- the social services system is supposed to step in and help them get back on track. As Hilary Cottam shows, in the UK a typical family in crisis can be eligible for services from more than 70 different agencies, but it's unlikely that any one of them can really make a difference. Cottam, a social entrepreneur herself, asks us to think about the ways we solve deep and complex social problems. How can we build supportive, enthusiastic relationships between those in need and those that provide help? Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
November 30, 2017
Charter for Trees, Woods and People

Charter for Trees, Woods and People

On 6 November 2017, on the 800th anniversary of the 1217 Charter of the Forest, the new Charter for Trees, Woods and People was launched at Lincoln Castle – home to one of the two remaining 1217 Charters of the Forest. It now rests in the Lincolnshire Archives. During 2017 we reached out to all sections of UK society to define this new charter, and to build a people-powered movement for trees. More than 70 organisations and 300 local community groups answered the call and helped to collect over 60,000 tree stories from people across the UK, demonstrating the important role that trees play in their lives. These stories were read and shared, and helped to define the 10 Principles…
Dr Neil Thompson
November 30, 2017
10 ways a positive culture builds positive results

10 ways a positive culture builds positive results

I have been in the workforce for more than three decades, and I can say without hesitation that positive cultures breed sound strategies and deliver results that exceed expectations. On the surface, it would seem like I am stating the obvious. But those who have worked for tyrants, or have worked in kill-or-be-killed cultures, know that they too can be successful, but the pain, drama and carnage doesn’t lead to long-term success... Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
November 30, 2017
Bringing visibility to black British women

Bringing visibility to black British women

In the wake of Black History Month 2017, Jane Tanner of the Women's Resource Centre describes how helping with her niece's school project brought the importance role models into sharp relief. Everyone needs that inspirational person; someone you can see pave the way to your more ambitious climbs. I strongly suspect that there are many women who, like me, have felt life is a disappointing quest for reflections of oneself. My mother and aunts are phenomenal women and fantastic role models. But outside of my immediate family, I craved to see black women in public life – ‘on the telly’ achieving in the way their white counterparts were doing. Thankfully this is (gradually) changing, however I continue to ask myself ‘why are black women…
Dr Neil Thompson
November 30, 2017
Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – Don’t be a fashion victim

Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – Don’t be a fashion victim

When anyone mentions fashion, we tend to think of clothes, the latest designer trends and so on. Indeed, there is a huge, multi-million pound business based on fashion in clothing. But, fashion is not restricted to clothes or other relatively superficial matters. There are also fashions in thought and, because of that, fashions in behaviour. For example, think about how certain ideas have changed since your childhood. Changes in people’s thinking about same sex relationships is a clear instance of what I have in mind. With the changes in thinking have come changes in attitude, changes in behaviour and changes in how we relate to one another. These changes were in large part due to years of campaigning and political…
Dr Neil Thompson
November 16, 2017