April 9, 2019
A view that’s different to your own can be tremendously valuable. The value of perspective is that it helps you see things in ways that you might not have done before. In business, owners and leaders can falter because their vision is too narrow. This is not down to a lack of imagination, but rather the…
April 3, 2019
We know about fighting spirit, and coming back from adversity. We prize people’s ability to bounce back from disaster or whatever bruising encounter they have had. Resilience is an essential leadership quality, because in business, as in life, you will encounter difficulties and obstacles, and you won’t always overcome them. Coming back from not winning…
March 20, 2019
Does doing your duty mean doggedly pursuing an aim even if the evidence around you, and the opinions of others, are telling you otherwise? Current affairs often centre on the issue of whether someone in a prominent position is doing their duty, or whether their interpretation of this duty is correct when it comes to…
March 12, 2019
How far should we push a negotiation to the brink to try and get the result we seek? In politics, brinkmanship can occur as a negotiating strategy, and historically, even where things have seemed to teeter on the brink of disaster, things have then been resolved. In the world of business, does it pay to…
November 15, 2018
Imagine the tips of your toes on the edge of the starting line, your knee slowly lunging towards it, your eyes running across the two chalk white lines ahead of you and your ears engulfed in the sounds of cheering crowds. Two people dressed in sports armour are on your right, and two more are…
October 13, 2018
Behind every successful business is an abundance of spreadsheets, graphs and wall displays using data to showcase how they’ve grown to that level — and where the business is forecasted to go. Most directors, managers and business school teacher’s call these figures ‘key performance indicators’ (or KPIs, as the lingo goes). Traditionally, many of these KPIs are…
September 27, 2018
Every business has a hierarchy of some form. There are the decision makers and the action takers — and tradition says that the two should have a tinted shield between them. However, in recent years, samples of this shield have been torn down for testing and rays of transparency have started to peer through. The results have…
June 28, 2018
You may have a leadership title, a position, but it will mean little without the essential qualities to back it up. However, leadership qualities will only work practically, if leaders can depend on the efforts of others. This dependence is crucial. It is about recognising that true leadership is earned. To do this means inspiring…
June 28, 2018
No one wants to be picked on. Being a victim of bullying is something we like to think we can leave behind us when we become adults. For a great many people, the internet is changing that. Cyber bullying is affecting many of us, and it is having an impact on businesses as well as…
November 20, 2017
Over the years, I’ve invested both my time and money into entrepreneurs and the businesses that they have built. Despite their apparent previous lack of experience, I’ve watched some of the world’s most talented entrepreneurs grow into incredible, strong business leaders, running companies that turnover more profit than they ever imagined when they began. These…