Hi Everyone
When I was in my twenties I found myself managing the building department of a company that was a subsidiary of a large national builder. I had only limited experience in managing staff but I learned two things very quickly. Firstly, I was under pressure to produce work and profits for the parent company with tight budgeting and realistic forward planning, and secondly organise the office staff and site labour to get maximum efficiency. In the six years that I did this job, the work took me and our site staff from central Scotland to the south coast of England. There is a lot of talk at the moment about poor morale among staff and workers in various organisations but in the sixties, I found no problems with commitment, timekeeping, and a willingness to do whatever job was asked of them. Now as then, you need a tight enthusiastic team while always listening to those who do not share your views. This week Mrs Trustworthy gave her keynote speech to the faithful at the party conference. It was apparently shorter than normal and at the end, she left the stage and disappeared in her car quicker than it takes Boris to get his hair cut. Not the best way to build a team I would suggest. During her speech, she used the word "growth" 29 times. Let's hope that it is not the sort of growth that will need major surgery in two years' time.
It is almost impossible to pick up a newspaper at the moment that does not include an 'expert' telling us how we can save energy this winter and so reduce our energy bills. Most of the advice is irritatingly obvious and in isolation will only save us a very small amount of money. None of them however have published the Senior Partner's energy saving plan which if implemented properly will save you all a great deal of money. Now as a regular Rubbish reader you are about to learn her secrets. First, switch off the fridge, and keep the milk in a bucket of cold water in the hall. The rest of the food normally kept in the fridge will be fine as most of the house will be freezing cold. Don't have a freezer. This again will save on energy and buy all your food on a 'just in time' basis especially if you have a Junior Partner on hand who never says no to your instructions. Never use your washing machine. Just send your washing to a neighbour paying them a rate that will ensure that it will cost them more to do it than you are paying them. Next, go to bed using a candle so that you don't have to switch the light on, making sure that the Junior Partner is close by so that he does not fall flat on his face. If you have no candles use a torch making sure that a member of your family (me) has bought the batteries. Now if you have any doubts about the advice I am giving you, I can personally assure you that I have witnessed all these money saving ideas, and don't forget, I don't do fake news. I think however that I should include a disclaimer at this point just in case you die of hyperthermia.
In the early 1960s, two young accountants opened a nightclub here in Stoke on Trent. On their big opening night, only about 50 people were there but over the next almost two years they built up their reputation. We then got the contract to do a major refurbishment. The club had to remain open so the new working day was from 2am in the morning after the club had closed until 10am when everything had to be tidied and cleaned ready for the next evening. The work went on for about five weeks and normally we would have a site meeting with the clients perhaps once each week. On this contract, they insisted that I met up with them every morning at 10am, and every day they changed something so in many ways it was a nightmare. What quickly became apparent however was that their attention to detail was amazing and that everything had to be as near perfect as possible. I really enjoyed working with them as they achieved their dreams. The rest is history as they say as young then unknown artists Rod Stewart, Elton John, David Bowie, and Eric Clapton regularly appeared at the club. They even booked the Beatles but apparently, their van broke down on the way from Liverpool. They were an object lesson in how to start and build a business.
Just a thought:
What do wind turbines think of renewable energy? They are big fans.
My friend met his wife in a nightclub. He thought she was at home with the kids.
Brian