Collaboration lessons for mega-projects

Mega-projects and collaboration I’ve just come back from a 2 week trip to the US and as always a bit of distance gives some interesting perspectives on the state of UK industry. For a start, many of the people I met were very complimentary about the capabilities of UK...

What does the case of the Co op Bank tell us about Mutual Boards

The recent news concerning Paul Flowers’ Chairmanship at Co op Bank has shone a bright light on the make-up of the Boards of Mutual organisations. Many commentators have expressed surprise that a major high street brand name should have “a plasterer, a nurse and a...

Nelson Mandela and the importance of succession

So much has been written about the qualities and attributes that made Nelson Mandela such an inspirational leader. His abilities to build relationships, handle conflict and share control were of the highest order – and his focus on the future not allocating...

What the Health System could learn about collaboration

Once again another awful story about the failure to protect the vulnerable in the health system, then another story about unacceptable pressures on emergency care. the first reaction is often to set up another review – the ‘something must be done’...

Collaboration / Reputation and the “one-off” dilemma

The complex programme of work that went into building the London 2012 Olympic Park has been hailed as a great success and proof of a growing capability in the UK for large organisations to work together collaboratively. And yet you also hear a counter argument that...