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Confidence – A Business Asset To Cultivate

As I write this article, Northern Rock's share price is in free fall and the Chairman of HM Customs and Revenue has resigned over a data loss of huge proportions. Whether Northern Rock’s share price is a true reflection of the value of the business I'll leave for others in the financial media to dissect. According to news reports, junior officials at the HMRC were responsible for losing two computer discs – nevertheless, the Chairman has fallen on his sword. In both cases there is a common thread, confidence or a lack of it. read more

 

Red Tape Continues To Strangle Owners/Managers Of UK Businesses

UK businesses are calling for more help to drive entrepreneurship and growth, according to the Sage 2007 Heartbeat Survey conducted amongst its customers. Nearly half (46 per cent) of owners/ managers surveyed who would not be likely to start up a business again cited red tape as the single biggest reason why. This is an important issue given that small to medium enterprises (SMEs) accounted for more than half the business turnover in the UK (51.9 per cent) during 2006 and employed around 13.2 million people*. Despite this significant SME presence, Sage's Heartbeat survey for 2007 highlights that there is more to be done to support these businesses in order to continue to drive entrepreneurial growth. read more

 

Staff Need More Support If Businesses Are To Grow, Claims New Research

New research by The Forum Corporation shows that staff play a vital role in the growth of a firm, yet receive inadequate support from senior management. The global survey – of just over 300 executives from North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific – looks at firms that have achieved exceptional growth versus the industry average, benchmarking the attributes and performance of staff in leading growth. read more

 

How Managers Squash Leadership And Creativity In Organisations

When people first enter management, rarely are they offered effective management development, instead they are left to get on with it as best they can. Many of the behaviours they call upon have the unintended side effect of stifling creativity and of killing off nascent leadership qualities in their staff. This creates staff retention, talent development and succession problems for the organization as well as causing problems for the individuals. read more

 

Good To Great - Culture Of Discipline

Getting from good to great is a matter of finding the right formula for the business. The real effort, suggests Jim Collins’ book, Good to Great, is in staying great. That is a real a team effort with proper (Level 5) leadership and a simple (Hedgehog) concept. But temptations come along and businesses seem to be programmed to pursue opportunities even when they are not exactly what they should be doing. How can this ‘creep’ into non-Hedgehog areas be resisted? read more

 

Good To Great – The Hedgehog Concept

Having got the right people in the right seats on the bus and confronted the brutal facts, whilst remaining confident of success, this is the crucial process for deciding 'what' the destination for the business will be. In Good To Great, Jim Collins quotes Isiah Berlin about Hedgehogs and Foxes. “Whilst the fox knows many things, the hedgehog knows one big thing”. Great companies, Collins and his research team found, were mostly hedgehogs. They had come to the realisation that they had a simple and clear purpose and that brought them great results. read more

 

A Female Future ?

Women’s Enterprise Day is here again. Around the country women will be inspired and encouraged to “go for it”, and start their own business. Inspiring and encouraging women to start their own firms appears to be working. For the first time over 1 million women in the UK work for themselves and the numbers of self-employed women are slowly growing, against a broader trend of male stagnation and decline in enterprise. read more

 

GTG - Confront The Brutal Facts

How do you react when one of your team points out weaknesses in your processes or products? Perhaps they seek you out and tell you face to face or send you an email. It is very tempting to react badly and to confront them – but what if what they say is true? Shouldn’t you know about something that may reflect poorly on the company? read more

 

GTG - First Who .... Then What

Most strategies focus on the goal and then look for the right people to achieve it. If the business were a bus, the destination would be on the front from the outset as people waited at the stops to join it. Jim Collins in his review of companies that achieve great performance, Good to Great, finds that the companies who satisfied the criteria set by his research team approached the strategy from another angle. Instead of working out where to go first, the GTG companies tended to concentrate on getting the right people on the bus and in the right seats first (and getting the wrong people off) then figuring out where to drive it. read more

 

Britain’s Success In A Global Economy At Risk If Tomorrow’s Leaders Aren’t Given Better Advice

Britain’s success in an increasingly competitive global economy is at risk if young people on a path to Higher Education aren’t given better careers and skills advice according to research released last week by The Inspiring Futures Foundation. The research will serve as a wake up call to UK businesses who can play a crucial role in making a difference to young peoples’ futures. read more