EDITION 730
10 SEPTEMBER 2018

As another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. This newsletter is sent to 50,000+ subscribers each Monday. Please share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can subscribe, learn and engage. I'd be very grateful if you did.

1. How to make direct feedback part of your routine. Many managers don’t give effective feedback because they’re simply pressed for time. There are three ways to make this easier – for you and your direct reports: [READ MORE]
    
2. Top trade unions plan new Brexit poll by 2-1. Britain’s three biggest trade unions now support a new referendum on Brexit by a margin of more than two to one, according to a bombshell poll. The survey also finds that a clear majority of members of the three unions now back remaining in the EU. Union delegates are gathering in Manchester for the annual TUC conference. The Observer
    
3. Police plan for riots and crime wave if there is a no-deal Brexit. Police chiefs are drawing up contingency plans to deal with widespread civil disorder at the country’s borders and ports in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to a leaked report. The bombshell document, prepared by the National Police Co-ordination Centre, warns that the “necessity to call on military assistance is a real possibility” in the weeks around Britain’s departure from the EU. Metro
    
4. Fault-based divorce to be scrapped in shake-up. The biggest shake-up of family laws in 50 years seeks to take the 'blame game' out of divorces. With fault-based divorce set to be scrapped, spouses would also lose the right to contest the breakdown of a marriage under plans being drawn up by justice secretary David Gauke. There are fears in Whitehall the move could run into opposition among Tories and Christians. The Times
    
5. Don’t worry, be happy. Work hard, become successful, then you’ll be happy. It sounds like reasonable advice. But it is backwards. That happiness and success are linked is well established. Relative to their less happy peers, cheery folk are more satisfied with their jobs and perform better at work. They are more likely to go above and beyond for their organisations, and hence receive greater social support from their colleagues. They tend to earn more too. But which came first? [READ MORE]
    
6. Police to test drivers’ eyesight. Three police forces in England are to start testing the eyesight of every driver they stop. Drivers who cannot read a number plate from a distance of 65ft will have their licences immediately revoked. The data gathered by the participating forces - Thames Valley, Hampshire and West Midlands - will be used to improve understanding of the extent of the problem. BBC
    
7. Drunk overtime. A major study suggests that staying awake for 17 hours leads to a fall in physical performance worse than if you had drunk two cans of beer. In other words, you can get drunk on overtime, with predictable effects on productivity. If you can avoid working for days at a time, just do it – for the sake of your health as well as your work. Daily Telegraph
    
8. Teaching by numbers. 1 in 2 maths and physics teachers drop out within five years of starting their careers. 47% of GCSE maths teachers hold a maths or science degree. 17% of physics teachers have a relevant degree, down by about eight percentage points since 2011. The Times
    
9. Amazon passes the $1 trillion milestone. Amazon became the second US-listed firm to have a market value of more than $1 trillion. On Friday, shares in the e-commerce giant rose nearly 2% to a high of $2,050.50 before slipping back. Amazon’s chief executive, Jeff Bezos, is the world's richest man, with a net worth of more than $160bn. Apple reached the $ 1trillion milestone in early August. The Guardian
    
10. The bottom line. The cost of the giant balloon depicting London Mayor Sadiq Khan in a bikini and flown above Parliament Square was £10,000. The Independent