Embracing Life’s Journey: My Mother’s Inspiring Response to Breast Cancer Ten years ago, my mum who I adored was told that the breast cancer that she told us had been successfully treated was now terminal. Her response was typical of a woman who successfully raised five children while married to an alcoholic father. She simply […]
The hardest phone call
A few years ago my best friend Dave, who I met when we were both racing motorbikes, lost his wife Sue after a long and difficult battle with cancer. I found myself in a situation that many people dread. I desperately wanted to give him a call to offer my condolences but I simply didn’t […]
The Tale of Young Bob
Getting started The very young Bob joined Anglian Water as a trainees laboratory technician having discovered that playing football for his university but not doing any studying wasn’t enough to get him a degree. As part of the role a chemistry HNC was obtained at his local college on day release and a decent career […]
Training ideas that work
But does the theory support the practice? This post is based on an article that John Sunderland Wright and I wrote for the Autumn 2024 edition of the Institute of Water magazine Bob Windmill, Academic Director, British Water Engineering College Entertain, Engage, Educate (c) My teaching approach is to Entertain then Engage then Educate the […]
Skills: perfect Storm Revisited
Or “why you should be worried by 47%” 47% is the proportion of staff an average UK water and sewerage company will need to replace or significantly retrain 2020-2030 according to EK Skills Workforce Planning Model which is accurate to ±5%. And it is happening now. Mega Trends Mega trends are large-scale, long-term forces that […]
Mastering the Art of Attracting and Nurturing Skilled Talent: Best Practices for Recruitment Marketing
Image via Pexels In today’s competitive business landscape, attracting and retaining skilled individuals is paramount for organizational success. Recruitment marketing plays a pivotal role in this endeavour. This article from Katie Conroy of Advice Mine explores the best practices that businesses should embrace to excel in their recruitment marketing efforts. Let’s see Katie’s take on […]
How to be a really bad manager
And then learn how to do it properly….. This blog is based on a post I wrote for the 2023 Q4 Edition of the institute of water Magazine I loved being a scientist from the time I first weighed a stone in and out of water in primary school. Picking maths, chemistry, and physics at […]
Cheap is good, free can be better
Libre Draw: A Good Alternative to Microsoft Visio for Most People Many years ago I read that for any product or service, you can have any two of Cheap, Fast and Good. This sits nicely alongside another saying “buy cheap, buy twice”, something I learned the hard way when racing powerful superbikes round my local […]
6 Ways to Eliminate Business Debt
Image via Pexels You can barely keep up with your monthly expenses, and your business debt has you on the verge of bankruptcy. However, there are ways to help reduce your debts and regain control of your business finances. As an entrepreneur, you know maintaining financial health is crucial as you try to build your […]
Lessons From The Racetrack – Keeping Up vs Getting Ahead
In previous posts I spoke about how my hobby of racing powerful superbikes around various UK racetracks helped me grow and develop professionally. In this post I’m revisiting the key theme of how the principles of racing successfully can be applied to your professional development. From the beginning When racing , we the riders would […]