Can the whole world fit on the Isle of Wight?

This was a question raised by Maggot 1, the answer to which he believed to be yes.  I have to say, I agreed.  But then viewers of QI know that the obvious answer is often wrong, and would be followed by the siren and flashing video to confirm the error.  And so it was this time.  LO said, with a wisdom beyond her years, that it was bo!!ox.  And she is right, since here is the answer.

So that is one very important issue sorted.  Another one that needs a bit of work is what am I going to do with my career.  Over the last week I have had various conversations with various people, each of whom had either recently changed roles, or were in the process of changing.  It is my natural reaction now to go and speak immediately to anyone I know who has changed, to see if I can learn more about my organisation and myself that might open up doors to new roles that I might like, and ones that might like me.  So far, lots of talking and not many new ideas.  I shall keep speaking and thinking and let you know what I find.  

The big thing that I think is affecting my decision-making is a two-part problem.  The first is that I really would prefer not to have to stay away during the week.  In the "old days", this was easy, but at the moment the need to stay away seems to be part of every interesting role, so this personal criteria may prove to be limiting.

The second issue is the appraisal system in IBM, which is being used rather punitively right now.  Certainly, for the last round of redundancies, the appraisal rating was a major factor in the management decision-making process, with those with low ratings in line for the old heave ho.  So the message is, don't get a low rating.  The rating itself is done by comparing me with my peers.  I may be running at 4 out of 5, but if every one of my peers are running at 5 out of 5 then I will get a low rating.

Now, IBM claim to be creating a "high performance culture", which means the top performers get pay rises and bonuses, the low performers do not.  So, if you put these things together, then you have a climate that really does not encourage an individual to look for promotion to a higher band, or to move to a new type of role.  Why on earth would I want to risk being the least good person on the team, when that could cause me to get a low rating, which could expose me to the old heave ho. 

Hmmm.

I am off to ponder.  Enjoy your weekend, speak again next week.