rapids

There's some turbulence in the top positions with newcomer 'TITANS' rising from eighth to fifth with a 15% improvement in their performance.

The new first and second are 'Predictably Irrationals' rising from third with 14% improvement and 'Wacky Workforce' rising from fourth with 17% improvement. 'Ozzy' slip a place to third on 10% improvement 'Lounge4' slip from first to fourth with an 8% improvement. 'SPARTANS' slip one place to fifth with a 6% improvement. Dropping out of the top six is 'Team 1' slipping one place to seventh with 8% improvement. You can see the differential in the improvement figures affecting the placings.

Further back 'Master Minds' rise twelve places, 'COWI Fix it' rise nine places and 'CE-Trix' rise six places with improvements of 15%, 16% and 13%. So it illustrates that good performance pushes the teams up the ranking. A couple more rounds like that and they'll be near to the top. There is still capacity for most to improve and improved performance depends on the decisions you take. Make sure that the decisions are fully discussed by the team members so you understand the effect the decisions will have. Guesswork doesn't produce success.

We look forward to more choppy waters in the rankings in the coming rounds.

 

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dip in the road

The overall performance of the top six has dipped from around 20% last period, to a range of 8% to 17%. This is caused by the restrictions of winning work and then having to deliver it. So early success can dampen future performance as different decisions are needed and may be more restricted. This could well test the leading teams, 'Lounge4', 'Ozzy' and Predictable Irrationals, as well as 'Wacky Workforce' who move up one place to 4, 'Spartans' to 5 and 'Team 1' that slip to sixth.

There is some movement below that. 'KAPtains' move up three places, 'KENT' move up two places and 'TeMERITty' move up seven places. This has been achieved by improvements in performance of 22%,20% and 22%. So it is clear that get the right decisions, improve performance and advance.

What the middle ranking teams are looking for is a differential performance level over and above those in front of them. It can be done.

Now may be the time to review your strategy. Discuss what you’re trying to achieve and how you might achieve it. Make sure all the team contribute to these discussions as the understanding of how to progress is locked in the minds of all the team members. This is the job of the team leader. Each team member needs to remember that it is team success that scores, so arguing your own view will may need tempering with the views of others. The team leader needs to get the thoughts out for discussion.

MERIT develops both leadership and teamwork. These soft skills last and benefit many aspects of your career development. Now is the time to practice them. These skills, in the long term, could take you all the way to the top. In the short term you could rise out of the dip!

 

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splash

With only 116 points separating the first and sixth positions at the end of the second round, MERIT 2023 has got off to competitive start as the percentage improvement of the top six ranges from 25% to 34%.

There is only one new team in the top six. 'Spartans', who had the highest percentage improvement replace 'Resilience' in position six. Andun Engineering's two teams, who held positions two and three in the last round, are now first and fourth. AtkinsRealis' team 'Ozzy' rose from fourth to second.

What does this tell us. It says that it is competitive. The levels of the percentage improvement indicate that the teams understand the decisions they are taking, with no evidence of guesswork. It also suggests that their decision making processes are good, and so far their strategy looks sound.

If they keep this up it will be a tight competition.

Teams further back are not out of it, and any team can get to the top six. A couple of good rounds and they will be competing, so the top six are not safe, as seen by 'Spartans' gaining 430 points in this round and rising from position 15.

Good luck in the next round. Make sure you understand the consequences of your decisions, have a rigorous decision making process and a clear strategy for improving your position and making that big splash!

 

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