Open for Business

This week is The Open Golf Championship - what Americans like to call the British Open but is is THE Open.

The Open obviously has the best golfers in the world - and as with most majors recently rends to be won by an American golfer.  This leads t=you to believe that American golfers are the world's best.

Yet, Europe regularly beats America in the Ryder Cup - a team event. 

Successful teams need more than individual talent.  Whether in sport or in business, building an effective team needs individuals to be put together so they are complementary - and on top it needs team spirit and motivation.

Whoever wins this Open, I would still bet on Europe for the Ryder Cup.  The US college golf system makes US players competitive but not good team players.

So, recruit good individuals - but build them into effective teams.  That's good management!

Take care when reading

I am quite used to seeing strange suggestions for improving personal productivity - often tied to an app someone is trying to sell me.  But the one I saw the other day 'takes the biscuit'.

It is based on the fact that some people think they are more productive working from a coffee shop rather than working from home (fewer - or at least different - distractions).

(Of course whether they really are more productive is probably debatable to say the least.)

A new app - Coffitivity - plays you the ambient sounds of a coffee shop for those occasions when you can't actually get there. It comes with a range of coffee shop sounds and claims to boost your creativity.

So, take care when reading promotional material. You may get suckered in to something like this - on the fact of it, plausible... but do we really believe it?