Litter-ally Different

There were 2 and now there is 1.  One of my cats sadly passed away last year.

Now I am fully aware that anything cat or dog related seems to break the internet, who would have thought, but sad as it was this is not going to be the eulogy (…she was old with several ailments unfortunately).

But this story has more to do with both cats and the fact they were sisters… not sisters against their human overlords, but real sisters and ones that did not really get along.

Although they were both from the same litter they could not have been more different.  One was outgoing, talkative, and affectionate, the other quiet, aloof, and seemingly wanting to spend more time roaming the garden than in the house.  Whenever approached she would run away nervously.

It was just how it was.  One was extrovert and gregarious, the other a quiet bundle of nerves, who preferred to sit in the corner.  We thought this is the way it is, what they are like and you can imagine which we spent more time with.

Yet, now we only have one, the quiet one. She has now inherited the entire indoor estate and territory.   With the freedom to roam, full access to the servants and house staff (that is us by the way)… the behavioural change has been dramatic.

No more cowering in the corner, or shooting upstairs to avoid conflict.  Now she is taking pride of place on the sofa, looking mildly annoyed when a human takes her spot, or coming to see us and actively letting us know when she wants food… it is like she has had a personality transplant.

We thought she was just quiet, not engaged or friendly… it turns out she was none of things.  It was just the environment was wrong.  She was intimidated by her sister.

With this now changed she is living her best life.

Now as I have said before, you can learn a lot from your pets and there is a lesson for us too… back in the office.

Many times, I have sat in meetings and the conversation turns to performance.  We all have opinions of other people, sometimes they are good and sometimes there are areas you want to see improve, this is our role as people leaders.

Yet, sometimes you also hear comments where people have written someone off… they are not good, not engaged, doesn’t work hard, it can become a view on someone’s innate qualities.

Now this may be what people see or feel from their perspective.  However, this may not be the person and who they actually are… it could just be the environment that makes them like this… the culture or even a colleague may change the way they interact…  identify and remove these environmental obstacles and you will see them flourish. 

In our roles as people leaders, we need to get the best out of our teams. 

I am not suggesting laser pointers, new tech toys or treats won’t help… but taking a look at the culture and team dynamics may do even more… it can have a dramatic effect and is worth a look.

Have a good week everyone.

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Clutching drains

Just what makes us so judgemental and is it getting worse?

Over the holidays, we had the wonderful delight of blocked drains (on Christmas Eve…timing eh) … fortunately it was only the kitchen sink, so not all was lost and we managed to avoid doing the washing up in the bath!

Nevertheless, it was a bother and something you want to get sorted as quickly as possible.

So the first step was to head to that fount of all knowledge…YouTube…
and I have now seen more videos of blocked drains than I would ever care to see again, but what struck me were the comments… so many were judgemental, nay even accusatory.
‘Don’t pour fat down the drain’…’you’ll get a fatberg’… ‘it never happens to me I pour it into a milk carton’!

Now admittedly I do like the odd stir fry but I am certainly not pouring fat down the drain, and don’t even own a chip fat frier… but there I was feeling guilty like I was living back in the 1970’s on a diet of fish and chips…

And then thinking about it, these types of judgemental comments don’t end there…

If your clutch goes or brakes fade on your car… again something that needs to be fixed… yet not only do you have to face the price, but also the comments… ‘it is the way you are driving’, ‘didn’t you notice 6 months ago?’… so now my driving is not up to scratch either… a bad, fish and chip, eating driver…!

It is of course different if you have asked for an opinion, a view of what to do, but sometimes it is hard to turn the switch off and you offer the opinion anyway (and I am sure I do this too)… it is even worse online.

Yet, the bigger question here is not really my wounded pride (I’ll get over it!), but why are we so judgemental… offer these ‘friendly’ suggestions, and stating the obvious doesn’t really help anyone.

In real life we all make mistakes and mainly know how we could have done something differently, that is how we learn…. next time. The real priority in the moment is getting it fixed.

This applies back in the world of business, finance, and overdue accounts too.

Yes, we all know it is often better to not borrow the money, but if you already have, something happens and you cannot pay it back… what is important?

‘Helpful advice’ on what you should have done differently… or adequate support to get it addressed?

Fortunately, the Financial Services industry has moved on massively in the last 10 years, and even more so today in the UK with a focus on good customer outcomes… but there is still a way to go, and indeed more generally regarding how we treat customers, employees and friends.

So as we start the year a reflection on being pragmatic, trying to help people on a go-forward basis, not so much time looking back and certainly trying to not be quite so judgemental.

Something to add to my to-do list for the year… now off to get my sausages out from the oven.

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Looking forward to 2024?

It lasts but a moment, that fleeting time between the end of 2023 and looking forward to 2024.

By the time the 2nd rolls around, and certainly by the end of the week, the wheels will have started turning again, and we will be back in it.

What just happened?

So what has just happened, and what do we have to look forward to in 2024?

  • 2023 was a year in which we finally seemed to escape the shadow of COVID lockdowns, and the world started travelling again – definitely a bright spot for me.
  • Hybrid working was still a thing, and despite pressure in many sectors to get people commuting daily again, employees still resisted, not wanting to give up the flexibility and extra couple of productive hours gained in their day.
  • Consumer Duty – finally went live in the UK, ushering in a whole new language around good customer outcomes, sludge practices, and evidencing these outcomes.
  • Economically borrowing levels continued to bounce back, especially in credit cards, with savings rates decreasing.
  • Arrears levels, despite all the doom and gloom noises we made, remained relatively moderate, only showing a slight, albeit steady increase… with energy being a potential exception.

It really felt like a year when things started to get going again, investment in new tech and gear rebounded and new strategic investments started to be made… the rush to digital continued.

… and then there was ChatGPT, which burst onto the scene and sucked much of the attention for many of us… suddenly this tech was widely accessible, although a lot of people seemed quite worried by it all too.

Some Turbulence

However, it was also a year with some big dark clouds…

  • Geopolitics continued to be turbulent, with three major conflicts underway (Ukraine-Russia, Gaza-Israel, and not forgetting Sudan).
  • And politics was not much better. Continued lurches to the right and the left across much of the world… populism and access to new media swaying what seemed fickle opinion quickly and seemingly not generating better outcomes in general. It was all a bit uncertain, upsetting, and anxiety-generating for many.

So what do we have to look forward to in 2024… more change? more of the same?

Peering into the near future…. maybe.

There are continued expectations of increasing arrears levels, a further focus on Consumer Duty (and in particular evidencing), with probably more and similar regulatory intervention being seen (and elsewhere around the world)…. not to mention elections and regional conflicts, which are big wild cards.

But an Optimistic Outlook

But, rather than dwelling on these… which we will no doubt hear plenty about next week (whether we want to or not), today it is worth taking a different tack.

We need to remember that we continue to live in the world of amazing… human technology is continuing to extend our lives, making our lives easier and providing new ways for us to build knowledge, making it so easy to interact with people all around the world.

Yes, there are plenty of uncertainties, but the key is flexibility.

And Remain Flexible

Rather than trying to live in the world of the past, pre-COVID, the certainties of the old ways of doing things, is it time to let go and think about how to make the most of the environment we live in today?

I accept this is not going to make some of the bigger problems go away, and we need to solve for these, but it does allow us to free ourselves and make the most of the opportunities we do have in front of us.

5 things to look forward to

So with this in mind, here are a few things to look forward to in 2024.

  • A total solar eclipse… on April 8th, 2024, across much of the USA.
  • A bonus day in the diary… it is a leap year.
  • The Olympics & Paralympics… the festival of sport arrives in Paris this year.
  • MS Co-pilot – Chat GPT 5? Will this finally roll out? This could be a game-changer to make AI even more seamless and adopted (we will not even realize by the end of the year, I reckon).
  • … and of course, the Taylor Swift Era’s tour comes to the UK 🙂

I am sure there will be more, but it is a start. So here’s wishing you a fabulous, flexible, and fun 2024… have a good one, everyone.

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