CIPD - John McGurk

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John McGurk's blog

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John manages the CIPD’s research projects on learning and talent development, including an annual survey which this year included international comparisons. He has recently led research on the evaluation of coaching; e-learning; and the importance of soft skills. His current research explores the skills, attributes and behaviours needed by HR professionals to develop and strengthen their commercial and operational awareness.
John is a qualified coach and mentor. Prior to joining the CIPD he had a multifaceted career starting as a train driver, then moving on to become an HR academic , then research director for the UK pilots’ union.

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John McGurk's latest blog posts

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Young Apprentice: Don't Sweat the Concept or you could be Canned

28 November 2011 at 11:42

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Tags: Young apprentice, mentoring, diversity

This was a creative commercial task where the teams were greeted at Wembley by a spectral Lord Sugar on the massive screen. The task was to design, market and pitch a new deodorant aimed at the youth market. Harry M led Gbemi, James and Lizzie in the...

Young Apprentice 4: Know your Customer, follow your Leader and Don't be Taken in by the "Trade"

17 November 2011 at 13:13

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Tags: young apprentice john mcgurk

Marketing to the over fifties is big business and this task was all about seperating grey pounds from the gnarled hands of their target audience. Of course those hands are just as likely to be manicured and would pass for thirty. Over 50s (and I am getting...

Young Apprentice 2: Necessity is the Mother of Innovation and Teamwork

01 November 2011 at 17:08

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Tags: Young apprentice, #cipd11, Marcus Buckingham

At CIPD’s Annual Conference next week (#CIPD11 on twitter) Marcus Buckingham will give our final plenary on why you should build on your strengths but not overplay them. Our young contestants could certainly learn a lot on that score... This was...

Young Apprentice 2011 Episode 1: Ice cream wars. Soft Skills Scoop Hard Sell

25 October 2011 at 11:34

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Tags: up for hire, John McGurk, junior apprentice

Junior apprentice is back and the theme of young entrepreneurs was very much to the fore. With you people coming into a maelstrom of economic bad news we badly need the youthful optimism of the contenders. The teen would-be tycoons were put to work designing...

Thinking on the Run: 23.08.11

25 August 2011 at 11:02

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Tags: HR Blogs, Learning, Learning and Development

Three days a week when I run for half an hour in the morning in my local park. While I am puffing against age and gravity I think. I think about my plans for the day. I think about what I am going to achieve that day and I think about stuff. The stuff...

Apprentice Final: You have to make stuff to make it, but you also need cheek which is why stubbly Tom got the nod.

18 July 2011 at 16:19

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Tags: The Apprentice, numeracy skills, HR Blogs, Learning and Development, Lord Sugar

Hands up everyone who tried to guess the big idea, the crucial business plan would be from the finalists. I thought Jim could have made a decent proposal with a new electronic invention called a Patternav, a resource for the tongue tied, where stuck for...

Apprentice 5: Episode 11: Remember! You don’t need to know your Christopher’s from your Caracas: Just don’t mash - up the margin or you’ll end up fired.

15 July 2011 at 16:23

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Tags: The Apprentice, HR Blogs, Learning, Lord Sugar

In this penultimate episode the thinned out field had to start up a fast food operation and make it viable and edible. So, they set off in two teams 2 (Helen and Tom) against three (Jim, NIN, and Susan). The first team Helen’s capability was evident...

Apprentice 10: Smell the sell and make the margin or you'll get turned over in the boardroom

08 July 2011 at 11:51

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Tags: Lord Sugar, Sir Terry Leahy, Apprentice

This was another of the perpetual flogging tasks and Lord Sugar told them quite clearly. Sell, buy more stuff and buy some more and sell etc. Smell what sells. So he dumped them in a warehouse in Enfield and gave them an orphan container of what Susan...

Apprentice 7: Think outside the tin, always account for taste and don’t crumble under pressure.

30 June 2011 at 14:19

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Tags: The Apprentice, Learning and Development, Lord Sugar

In the task to make a biscuit which would capture a significant share of the £1b sweet tooth market, the key skills were product design and marketing and pitching. That seems to be the only task in The Apprentice but is still fun to observe how...

Apprentice 5: Episode 8: No Harmony from Melody but Helen Shows the Way to Team Success

28 June 2011 at 10:25

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Tags: The Apprentice, HR Blogs, Learning

This was the regular task of flogging British goods in France. Tom was set up as project manager for Logic and got less support as PM than Tony Blair got from Gordon Brown and his acolytes in his last term. Team Venture was asked to find a manager and...

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