Articles & Anecdotes

Stories and ideas drawn from over 40 years working as an occupational psychologist and management trainer.

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Personal Blog

My personal blog is written as the mood takes me, on a whole variety of topics. Comment is actively encouraged.

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Fundraising Watercolours

My watercolours raise money for a small charity, Prisoners Education Trust (I am a trustee).  You can have any original (unframed); just make me an offer.

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Dr. Peter Honey: A short biography

I am a chartered psychologist and founder of Peter Honey Publications Ltd (now owned by EDI).

After graduating, I worked for Ford Motor Company and then British Airways before becoming a freelance occupational psychologist in 1969 (yes, that long ago!). I have always focused on helping directors/senior executives to manage themselves and other people better (impossible to run out of clients!) and worked in organisations as diverse as the Bank of England, AstraZeneca, American Express, the Automobile Association, ICI, ICL, UKAEA and Ford.

I am ‘respectable’ – a Fellow of the RSA and the CIPD.  I was a founder member of the distinguished group that produced A Declaration on Learning and I am a Patron of the Campaign for Learning and a Trustee of Prisoners Education Trust.

I am a dedicated lifelong learner and, rather to my surprise, a popular conference speaker.  I am also a prolific author with a monthly column in TJ and a regular blogger for People Management.  I have written over 20 books including:

  • The Manual of Learning Styles (with Alan Mumford)
  • Developing Interactive Skills (with Neil Rackham)
  • 21 Questionnaires for Personal Development
  • Explore Your Values
  • Teams and Teamwork
  • How to Manage Your Learning Environment (with Alan Mumford)
  • Valuing Diversity
  • 101 Ways to Develop Your People, Without Really Trying!
  • Problem People and How to Manage Them
  • Improve Your People Skills
  • 50 Cautionary Tales for Managers
  • Strengthen Your Strengths

All my work has two enduring themes; learning and behaviour.  Fortunately, neither of these has a sell-by date.  Helping people to learn from their experiences and to interact with others more effectively, will always be relevant.

Latest Article

Worry, a wasted emotion

    I’m convinced that some emotions are unproductive.  I’m thinking of emotions such as feeling worried, anxious, fearful, guilty, angry and inadequate.  Negative emotions like these tend to drag us down and inhibit our performance.    I remember reading a column by Robert Crampton in The Times Magazine where he set out to dispel the impression that he is a laid-back sort of guy by keeping a log of his worries.  He claimed that in a single hour one [...]

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Latest Blog

Lorries from Croatia

Once upon a time, when I had my publishing company, we decided to reduce our printing costs. Every six months we used to print 10,000 copies of the booklet containing the Honey & Mumford Learning Styles Questionnaire. We got a number of different quotations from suppliers for the printing and delivery of the booklets.  A big printing works in Croatia emerged as the clear winner; nearly 50% cheaper than any supplier in the UK.  So, we placed our order with [...]

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