Articles written by Geoff Hardy

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About me - Geoff Hardy

I live in London and work as a consultant, mainly in call centres across the UK. I used to run pretty large call centres and became fascinated about some of the ways people were managed and the day-today staff issues that arose. Now I work alongside managers

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Business > Leadership Strategies Why good listening skills make a great leader: 1 of 10
'If you want to get someone to respect you, ask them a question about themself and then listen to the answer.' This is a piece of advice that an old manager used to give me when I first started working in a high street bank many years ago and how true it has proved over the years. Taking a genuine interest in people, retain... More..
Business > Business Strategy Best business management books: 1 of 5
I suppose I've always been someone who learns more by reading, reflecting and understanding than participating in group or team learning activities. I need to think things through and fit the pieces together and this takes me time. As such, over the years, I have read many books on business and related subjects. My favourit... More..
Business > Human Resources How to recruit the best: 2 of 6
Recruiting the best people for available roles has become critically important, particularly as the recent recession put many companies under great pressure. However, many companies struggle to find and attract the best people and often make the wrong recruitment decisions or compromise to fill roles. There are, however, a nu... More..
Business > Sales Improving motivation in a call center environment: 1 of 3
Keeping staff motivated and improving motivation levels in a call centre environment are some of the biggest challenges facing managers and team leaders. The nature of call centre work is often repetitive and dealing with customers at the telephone can be stressful. The energy and enthusiasm of a new recruit can quickly disap... More..
Sports & Recreation > Soccer Fundamentals How to be a good referee in soccer: 4 of 10
I qualified as a soccer referee almost twenty years ago and I suppose I have learnt the hard way. There are no words that can adequately describe the feeling you get when you give a controversial decision in the first few minutes of the game, knowing that there is almost an hour and a half of the game still to go. Being a so... More..
Business > Leadership Strategies Managerial challenges in change management: 1 of 2
The rate of change that organizations are going through has continued to accelerate over the last few years and there are no reasons to believe that this trend will cease. This poses major challenges for managers throughout organizations but particularly those with responsibility for staff. During periods of rapid change, sta... More..
Sports & Recreation > Soccer (Other) Soccer as entertainment: 1 of 2
Over the last few years there has been a dramatic change in the way soccer is packaged and marketed. Top level soccer is now a product that competes with mainstream entertainment shows for prime time television audiences, with vast sums being paid for the rights to games. Take the English Premier League, which is one of the ... More..
Sports & Recreation > Sports & Recreation (Other) The history of Ashes cricket series: 1 of 1
The Ashes are played for between the England and Australia cricket teams. Over the years the Ashes series has produced some of the finest and most dramatic cricket ever seen. There is immense public interest in the test matches between the two countries and matches are invariably sold out. The 2005 series held in England is... More..
Sports & Recreation > English Soccer Classic FA Cup finals: 1 of 1
The FA Cup is a competition that is played for each year by English and Welsh professional and amateur soccer teams. The tournament has a long and glorious history being the oldest knock-out soccer tournament in the world. The competition consists of six rounds, the semi-finals and final. Before the first round, there are a n... More..
Travel > Travel (Other) The economy of London, England: 1 of 1
London is a prosperous city and one of the most important in the global economy. Employment levels have been high and property prices have followed a relentless upward path. There has been major regeneration in recent years with large developments such as the extension of the Jubilee tube line and the building of Canary Wharf... More..