We're throwing a free party on April Fools' Day (Friday April 1st) from 3.00 – 4.30 pm at Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Money Lounge in London. I will be joined by Professor Adrian Furnham from University College London. Adrian is author of 90 books, an eminent psychologist and writer for the Sunday Times on everything from dating to the dark side of HR and psychology. Adrian will be interviewing me around “Leading Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise” and we'll be responding to your questions on HR, life and the universe. Book your place by calling Virgin on 0207 439 8802. Our last event was rammed as where we talked of HR strategies to motivate creatives with the man who worked with Freddie Mercury, Brian May et al to engineer Bohemian Rhapsody.
Since it’s April Fool’s Day, Adrian and myself will be discussing aspects of creativity and playfulness as they apply at work. Sir Richard Branson knows that a happy workplace is one where people have fun whilst getting the job done and this session will tickle your funny bones as well as carrying some serious messages about leadership, innovation and creativity at work.
Leading Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise features interviews and contributions from Danny Harmer, HR Director of Metro Bank, The CIPD, Ingentis HR Software and Sir Richard Branson himself, all of whom understand that a creative workforce can be a productive one if suitably led and managed. These approaches are in contrast to HR practices now being used in sectors such as retail which will lead to oblivion in the medium term, including Asda who recently removed their "Happy to Help" badges, as it cut employee engagement / reward strategies to the bone.
In an age of disruption, innovation is one of the few strategies for advantage. Grab yourself a copy of the new book and come along to Virgin to find out how HR can take the lead in this.