People are NOT your organisation's greatest asset

It is often said, particularly in the services sector, that people an organisations greatest asset, but this is nonsense and I'm on a mission to make people realise that.

It's easy to see how the misconception arises because people-centric businesses rely heavily on people but to call them valuable assets is like saying a farmer's best assets are his cows.

Another way to look at it is to ask yourself if people are the greatest asset then why is this still true some years later when all those people have moved on?

On the other hand, one organisation will hire resources from another or can compete on the basis of what their staff can do so what is going on?

Put simply, it's not the people that are the asset it's what the organisation does to get special people that is the true asset.

For example, if one organisation is better at finding and recruiting the better people than another then this skill is an asset. So, following on from that, are the benefits systems, culture and internal processes that help to keep best people there.

And if you cannot win by attracting the best people then an alternative strategy is to recruit average people and to train them to be the best. In this case the organisation's Learning and Development is their asset.

So, please, next time somebody tells you that people are their organisation's greatest asset politely correct them and help to stamp out this myth.

Waterlily House at Kew Gardens

The Waterlily House at Kew Gardens is very much the lesser neighbour to the magnificent and majestic Palm House, which is my excuse for not going there before. But the advantage of going there so often is that you get to find places like this eventually.

It shares some of the characteristics of it's grander neighbour in that it is made out of cool white metal shaped by Victorians and is bulging with large green things helpfully labelled by people who know what each one is called.

I think the big ones may be waterlilies.

Big Ideas on time

A week packed with brain stimulating evening events got of to an unexpectedly good start with Big Idea's exploration of time.

I was not that attracted by the subject but it was a Big Ideas event, it was held in a decent pub and the timing and location fitted in well with my long days slaving over two laptops in Victoria. Or, to be brutally short, I had nothing better to do.

I lingered downstairs in the bar for a while with just a pint of Brakespear, a bowl of cheesy chips and an iPhone for company. Refreshed and relaxed I headed up stairs in good time for the 8pm start.

I should have relaxed less and gone up earlier as the room was already packed. I was lucky to get a chair (I was far too late to get a chair at a table) and the later entrants at to squeeze themselves in to standing positions behind the bar. Around fifty of us made it into the room eventually.

The discussion that followed took us in all sort of directions through quantum mechanics, Marxism, slavery, time-travel, perceptions of mortality and several other topics that escaped my notebook.

Some of the random thoughts that did make it into my book are these:

• "Now" is a paradox, it is both unreal and the only reality there is.
• We complain about the speed of life but this is a good thing, in the same way that a fast car is a good thing. It shows that we are achieving (or at least doing) lots.
• Scientific time (i.e. the various ways we measure the passing of time) is rich with tempo but has no history.
• Our understanding of things like evolution and plate tectonics requires that we also understand the time periods that they operate over.
• Time keeping has become one of our most important tools enabling us to do so much, like arrange Big Ideas meetings. We choose to wear watches and have clocks because we can now manage time to our advantage.

It's because I am forced to think along these unexpected lines that I go to Big Ideas.

The Thunderbolt at the Orange Tree Theatre

Autumn brings many joys including the start of a new season at the Orange Tree Theatre.

Opening up is The Thunderbolt a comedy of errors from a century ago, an era that we often look back at in amusement forgetting that as we do so we are ignoring the same biases, prejudices and attitudes that persist today.

The play follows the manoeuvrings of the family of a recently deceased wealthy brewer as they battle for his inheritance. Adding to the complexity of the situation is an illegitimate daughter and a missing will.

Into this mix are added two solicitors who act as impartial observers and also as the rails that the story runs along.

One of these solicitors is played by Orange Tree regular, David Antrobus, pictured in the centre here, who is proving to be a rather fine actor.

The other notable performance was from the other solicitor but I do not know that actor's name as I never buy a programme and their website does not provide the information.

Go yourself and buy your own programme to find out!

The drama comes from the scheming and dreaming of the family that is running smoothly until The Thunderbolt strikes.

The atmosphere of the play then changes from gently amusement to tense emotion as the impact of the thunderbolt becomes clear. The situation then threatens everybody and the rest of the play is spent trying to resolve the situation. Again, go yourself to find out how.

This a subtle and unsurprising play that bubbles along smoothly and then spikes in the middle. It an accomplished play that uses dialogue skilfully to explain the characters and their actions, most of which are revealed as they sit around, there is not much physical action here.

Overall it comes across as a well-written and well-delivered play that satisfies rather than delights. But satisfies is plenty good enough to justify a night out and to justify going back again next month.

Dead shoes

I've work proper brogues to work for years, it's part of my "serious consultant" brand. Usually these are the Full Monty with leather soles and are purchased from Jones Bootmaker for something around, or in excess of, £100.

I find the close hard fit of a brogue very comfortable and you get a buzz of confidence knowing that you are wearing good shoes. They tend to wear well too, which is just as well as I like to include some walking in my daily commute.

The only down-side is the leather soles which can turn in to blotting paper when the ground is very wet and the impact of my walking is much the same as leaving the shoes in a full bath for twenty minutes.

And do, reluctantly, I have been known to but some cheaper imitation brogues, the sort of shoe that is designed more for soft comfort than appearance. I get these from Clarks because I remember the days when shoes meant Clarks (in the same way that Beanz Meanz Heinz) and also there are family connections with several of the Bridgwater clan having worked for Clarks in Street at some point. Some may still do so.

So it was a mixture of surprise, astonishment and disappointment when my new pair of Clarks shoes collapsed on me after just a few months.

The astonishment comes from the way that they died. The soles show just minimal signs of wear but both heels collapsed spectacularly, something I only expected to happen with ladies' shoes.

This left me with the embarrassment of walking around the office with the heels flapping around like a stupid dog's tongue.

I've learnt my lesson and am back on the proper brogues. I have three pairs so that wet ones have time to dry and the seriously ill ones have time to be mended. As is often the case, going for the cheaper option proved to be a false economy.

Note: All of the comments below are spam. I have posted them out of amusement.