August 2008
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Cottier's Restaurant
Saturday night saw us out for a nice meal. It was a better meal than the one we had 12 years ago but the premise was the same. We decided to head into Glasgow, so if the mood took us we could have a few drinks afterwards, however after a leisurely and delicious dinner we…
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Thoughts on Interviewing
Several years ago I attended a management training course. It was largely a series of scenarios throughout which you had to apply the rules of the particular branch of management methodology to which we had ascribed. It’s been a long time since I revisited those rules but by and large I’ve adapted them to match…
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Some shops are evil
Tomorrow I am going into a city called Glasgow. Once there I will likely partake of a coffee from an American outlet known as Starbucks, and most likely wander around a variety of shops trying not to spend money (hey, I’m Scottish, shut up). This activity is known as shopping. The key purpose of shopping…
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New eyes
Hiring new staff is fraught, and rightly so, as it’s likely to be the biggest ‘purchase’ you make for your company. I’ve conducted enough interviews that I’m fairly comfortable with the process, and have a good feel for when to press for more information and when to sit back and let the candidate sell themselves.…
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Arriving moments
As I stood waiting on my niece to walk through the sliding doors, I took in the scenes unfolding around me, a quiet bystander of life. Around me people stood quietly waiting, tentative, excitedly patient, tensing with each noise, each footstep and the rolling trundle of baggage trolleys. Strange languages on either side couldn’t mask…
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Don’t be the secretary
I’m about to head into a two day, brainstorming style, workshop. I was invited along as there will be a lot of useful information flying around, and it’s the beginning of a new stream of work. I will spend the next two days with the people who know most about our product and have already…