Author: thinknow

I spend much of my time talking to clients about their board members, who they are, what they do and how they do it. Frequently it becomes clear that they just don’t have the right people on the board.  They are good folk, with bags of experience and really useful skills and knowledge but just … Continue reading “The five people you don’t want as board members”

We have wanted to perform in the North since the group began singing together, and especially since Nicola became involved with us. We would like to bring our professional music-making to Blackburn, Bolton and Manchester between 31 March and 2 April this year, working with local choirs as well as giving concerts for the general … Continue reading “Guest Blog: Owain Park Director of the Gesualdo Six”

In my work with CCGs I often come across circumstances where two or more CCGs are working together.  This can make sense for lots of reasons and it is becoming more and more frequent. Unfortunately there are some legal requirements that are not intuitive that CCGs must comply with.  Failure to do so could result … Continue reading “CCGs and joint committees; How to keep within the law”

Conflicts of interest in the NHS is a hot topic at the moment.  New statutory guidance was issued by NHS England for CCGs in June followed in September by the launch of a consultation on a standard approach, across the whole of the NHS, to managing conflicts of interest.  Organisations that don’t pay attention to … Continue reading “Managing Conflicts of Interest: 3 tips for NHS boards”

Among the biggest challenges faced by non-executives (including CCG lay members, school governors and charity trustees) are • creating a balanced approach to challenge and support • generating the all-important assurance; a responsibility that is shared equally by all board members. People approach this in various ways but, in my experience, the very best non-executive … Continue reading “Crafting Powerful Questions: The number one tool for non-executive directors, lay members and governors”

Christmas message from Nicola at thiNKnow Ltd Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Nicola King, thiNKnow. Music: Jingle Bells by James Lord Pierpont, arranged by Gordon Langford. Performed by The Gesualdo Six, directed by Owain Park. Nicola is proud to be a Patron of The Gesualdo Six, an exciting young vocal ensemble performing across … Continue reading “Christmas message from Nicola at thiNKnow Ltd”

Governance has never been in the public eye so much.  Everyone, from any walk of life, could probably cite at least one major governance failure from the last few months.  VW emissions, Kids Company, FiFa, Russian sports doping.  With the harsh financial circumstances currently faced by the NHS and the ever constant stream of new … Continue reading “Learning from high profile failures: Governance lessons for CCG lay members”

I’ve always said I don’t believe in intuition but it’s not that I don’t believe exactly, it’s just that I think intuition is actually tiny bits of evidence that we piece together in ways that we can’t articulate logically without even noticing. Think Sherlock but not quite so extreme! My kids have always said I … Continue reading “Hindsight in advance: Does intuition have a place in evidence based clinical practice?”

  “Customer is God, Work is Worship” Like most people, I have a preference for spending my time in clean, comfortable spaces and usually somewhere quiet. I don’t especially enjoy being on a noisy crowded train, or in a lengthy queue at the supermarket. So why is it that I felt so drawn to the … Continue reading “Customer is God, Work is Worship”