Dick Smythe was educated at Bolton School, graduated in pure mathematics and statistics at St Andrews University and then took a masters in Operations Research at Birmingham University • He became a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, Operational Research Society, Institute of Management Services and the Institute of Physical Distribution Management • His career started with a scholarship from Dorman Long Steel on Teesside, working shifts on blast furnaces and steel mills before graduating and, afterwards, in their OR department – he subsequently moved to London to join the world-famous BISRA OR department, then part of British Steel, and was involved in their corporate planning and cost reduction programmes • During these earlier years, he became an officer in the Royal Naval Reserve, serving on their coastal minesweepers, and a wing forward for Rosslyn Park RFC (n'th XV), playing mostly for their famed après-rugby • He was then recruited by Europe's leading consultancy of the day, PA Consulting Group, and went on to set up and grow their Productivity Services Division into a significant part of the business, becoming a PA director and sitting on their UK management consultancy board - whilst there, he led a joint study with the CBI into UK productivity, and presented the results on TV, radio and to the national press with Director General Sir John Banham - The Times leader commented: "It is refreshing to come across something that has its feet firmly planted on the ground" • Since then, he has mixed productivity consultancy work with playing the property and stock markets, skippering his own boat in the Fastnet and many other ocean yacht races and keeping his golf handicap down to single figures • He is happily married, has two sons and two grandchildren to date, and lives either by the Solent or at Marble Arch in London

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Author's posts

Wellbeing – Why Does It Matter?

Some may find the following offers useful food for thought, others consider it just commonsense and a tad long – Gallup are advertising their modestly titled ‘advanced global research and advice’ for understanding an organisation’s wellbeing needs, prioritising interventions and creating meaningful change –  wellbeing is certainly a topic of interest gaining momentum in the …

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An AI productivity boom is coming

Here’s what to consider as AI and machine learning become omnipresent, according to MIT Sloan researchers, visiting scholars, and industry experts. Artificial intelligence is changing most occupations, but it is far from replacing humans, according to a book examining the findings of the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future. Some 92% of large …

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Don’t fear robots

An article by George Elmaraghy  in the Akron Beacon Journal makes one think he’s already read, and agreed with, our latest book ‘Productivity Knowhow’ Revisited  Robots may be the answer to worker shortages Robots have been around for decades. For most of their history, they were perceived as awkward mechanical devices used in factory assembly lines …

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Stretching police productivity

A new report from across the pond by Police Chief Joel F. Shults proposes the incorporation of auxiliary private security agents in non-core areas such as administration and other ancillary tasks so as to provide the public with a better police service and vastly improve current charge rates for more serious crime What are the …

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Could AI solve the UK’s productivity problem?

According to Ryan Morrison in Tech Monitor, automating repetitive tasks could boost Britain’s output, but MPs were told this week workers must be protected UK productivity has remained relatively static for the past 15 years with minimal growth compared to countries like China and the US. The cause is up for debate, but many experts …

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How becoming a kinder version of yourself boosts productivity

My wife, Rhona, once said: “There’s no downside to being kind” and I quoted her at the start of ‘Productivity Knowhow’ Revisited, little realising the impact that kindness might have on productivity – until this article just published in ‘Fast Company’ by Stephanie Vozza – and apologies upfront to those anti her use of 4-letter …

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Ditch ‘costly, restrictive’ skills list for migrants to help speed up economy

A practical common-sense solution emerges from down under and the Oz Productivity Commission – written up by Shane Wright in the Sydney Morning Herald   The skills shortage list for migrants would be ditched and businesses given the right to bring workers from overseas at higher wages under a proposal the Productivity Commission believes would …

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Computer Saturation and the Productivity Slowdown

A very interesting article follows, written by Pablo Azar and just published by Liberty Street Economics – especially as it supports the view expressed in our new book ‘Productivity Knowhow’ Revisited that “it’s the mix of resources and methods used” that determines most of productivity levels achieved, not the individual  inputs themselves – a view …

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‘Ocean forests’ counter global warming

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