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Great organisations are predicated on highly satisfied, totally committed customers who want appropriate quality and a fair price for the goods or services they buy. These customers, as long as they can see that they are receiving value for money, are perfectly happy for their supplier to make good profits – they want to know that the supplier will be there in the future. It’s the marginal customers for whom price is a key determining factor. What happens when there are systems issues that work against good customer service?

10 Organisational predictions for 2010
Working with the trends we have observed in 2009 and the continuing harsh reality in the business world, we have predicted the top 10 key issues for organisations in 2010

Richard Branson Quotes
Richard Branson Quotes

Why Sales Managers need to work on the business, not just in the business

Playing “catch up” is a common challenge for organisations of all sizes. Whether you have enjoyed a period of rapid growth and prosperity, or encountered some unexpected obstacles or losses, with little warning, businesses can discover that their decision making and activity has become very reactive. Too much time is spent putting out spot fires and reacting to situations, while too little time is spent on pro-active and strategic activities. The very real and legitimate day to day business pressures result in many (if not most) decisions being made on an ad-hoc basis, with each one disconnected from the next.

The Power of Prioritising
As we reflect back on 2009, it was a year of change and uncertainty. Many organisations could be compared to a sporting team under pressure. When the market is going their way then everything is working and confidence is high. However when the pressure is on the weaknesses become very apparent and the cracks starts to appear.

How can failure and thought leadership go hand in hand?
The very nature of true thought leadership means that you will fail at some point. If you are leading the conversation, debate, research, commentary in your sector there will always be detractors. Don't let fear of failure hold back your thought leadership campaign.

Return on Investment in Coaching: “But Will It Make Us More Money?”

Coaching is now widely recognised as a means of increasing employee motivation, retention and engagement, and that these will contribute to bigger profits or (in the case of state organisations) better budget management. But it is a fact that many L&D executives and suppliers have to find ways of justifying the spend in terms of concrete results. Corporate culture expert Carol Wilson looks at methods and tools for measuring the return on coaching programmes from the beginning to the end of the project, and tying that return into hard figures.

Flexi-budget - Planning for uncertain times
During these uncertain times, companies need to maintain the discipline of good planning and budgeting, but how can you plan and budget when the goalposts keep moving? Orchard Growth Partners is rolling out a flexible planning and budgeting methodology which allows companies to prepare flexible and layered budgets.

‘Great’ at sales but they don’t ‘fit’ the culture

Sound familiar? A ‘good', maybe even ‘great', salesperson is recruited and hits the ground running, kicking sales goals in the new role, however within a short space of time they have alienated their team, decided that the role is not for them, and left the organisation. As we know the cost of this selection is huge and begs the question, why did this ‘great' salesperson not work out? While there are many possible scenarios and reasons, we often find that a major contributor is the cultural ‘fit' between the individual and the organisation.

Outplacement…the Key to Talent Retention?

90% of organisations indicating that they have been negatively impacted by the current economic climate (HDA Outplacement Survey 2009); how have these organisations successfully navigated through these difficult times to ensure that those leaving the organisation are sufficiently supported into their new roles; while also ensuring that the ‘survivors’ remain engaged, motivated and ultimately retained? The majority (80%) offered outplacement support (HDA, 2009)!

Employee Engagement in Recessionary Times!
In our experience companies that have succeeded in attracting, engaging and retaining talent have done so because of a company wide commitment to people development. Many of the organisation’s top management have invested considerable amounts of time in mentoring, talented employees both formally and informally.

15 Rules for Managing Management Teams
How does our own behaviour influence our organisations, our society and our family? Can we expect any of them to be functional if our own behaviour is not?

"Just Ask the Geese"
You can learn a lot about teamwork by watching geese. These amazing birds are great team players. They look out for each other and they get where they want to be. Find out how in this article.

The Obama approach to change
We have a complex relationship with change. On the on the one hand we desperately want it, on the other we desperately resist it.

Are good sales people born or made?
This age old question is being pondered by many business owners and managers as they strive to increase their turnover and profitability.

Fix the sales force you have

Would we expect any elite sporting team to enter a competition without a clear game plan, talent plan, fitness plan, business plan and action plan? No, of course not. We expect them to be aware, organised, focused and determined to play their best and aim to win. Well, more than 90% of sales people do not follow any logical process when selling. They are often left to their own devices and simply fly by the seat of their pants, relying on intuition and hoping for the best. They often cannot articulate their value proposition or know how they compare to the competition. Nor are they clear about what activities they need to do on a daily basis to achieve sales success. Most make it up. No wonder many don't meet business owners expectations.

CONNECTING IS NOT ENOUGH: The Networking Journeyâ€¦â€¦How networking has changed and where it is heading

May saw me celebrate a ten-year anniversary. On 11th May 1999 I started work for Business Referral Exchange, then a new networking organisation founded six months previously and with just four groups running in London, Hertfordshire and Essex. At the time networking as a formal activity was little known in the UK, with a few independent groups supplementing the networking offered by Chambers of Commerce and community groups such as Rotary. How times have changed! Networking is now a key activity for millions of small business owners across the World and, with the rise of social online networks, is being recognised as a key skill for everyone, from jobseekers to global corporates.

Tackling Barriers to change
There are a number of barriers to successful change - both in terms of implementing it and equally, if not more importantly, sustaining it. By highlighting a top 10, this article gives ideas on how to avoid failure and how to implement and sustain successful change.

Telemarketing Victory - Target Market Definition: Select Your Suspects

UK Telemarketing Expert Shaun Gisbourne looks into the first vitally important actions to take in order to ensure a successful start to any telemarketing activity. In this first article, Shaun focuses on the key questions to ask yourself before selecting, acquiring and calling on contact data for your intended target market and shows how the effort you devote to this step now will reward you later on.

Developing a Skilled Workforce for the Upturn
The current economic climate is not to last for ever. It is therefore important that employers begin to prepare and ensure that they have the staffing required for the upturn.

Where To Send Your Brilliant Resume
As I have said many times before your resume will not get you the job you want. Your resume is only one part of the equation. The purpose of your resume is to get you through the front door of the company you wish to work for and have an interview.

BUILDING VIRTUAL RELATIONSHIPS
A new survey of over 3000 workers, commissioned by BT Business, reveals that poorly managed communication may put customer and client relationships at risk. Better use of technology coupled with a clearer understanding of people’s varying personality types may be the key to winning customers and ensuring clear, effective communications within an organisation.

What does leadership mean today?
THis article outlines the shift that has taken place in leadership theory and practice today. It describes the six new leadership challenges: vision, empowerment, inspiration,challenge, collaboration, recognition and modelling. It describes effective personal leadership and concludes with a seven step process and work sheet for leadership development.

When the Going Gets Tough ....

As they say in the classics, the tough get going. More and more frequently over the past several months I have been working with people who have been retrenched. I don’t know of an industry which hasn’t been affected by recent and ongoing economic events. There’s a lot of anger, frustration and blame out there. People who were in what they thought were secure careers with a bright future are suddenly without security and the future seems bleak. Retrenchment packages offered by many employers are only enough to keep people afloat for a few months or, in many cases, a few weeks. And because of this, competition for the jobs that are available is getting more and more intense and the need to get back into work quickly is paramount in people’s thoughts.

How to manage your way through an Economic Downturn

Challenging economic downturns expose floors in most businesses and organisations which will include some of your people, and in turn will have an adverse effect on the overall performance of the company. Staff can become despondent, de-motivated and unsure of their future which will eventually affect customer service, quality, efficiencies and production. To be successful you will need to manage your people better than ever before, retain your top performers and where a vacancy exists utilise only the most robust recruitment processes to identify a candidate that can bring talent and where possible portable assets with them.

The Resume Checklist

The following checklist and tips could help you make sure that your resume gives you the best possible advantage. The checklist is by no means exhaustive, but if you follow these points, you will have a resume that is worth reading and maximises your career opportunities. Each point is important and it is equally important to make sure that your resume incorporates all of them. Miss out on one or two and you could see your good work on the others possibly wasted. Ask yourself the following questions:

Resumes that Boost Interview Performance

Your resume's primary job is to win you an invitation to an interview. But that's not all it can do. In this article I explain how a great resume increases your opportunity to shine in the interview. Your worst enemy in a job interview is time. Therefore, making the most of the time allocated to the interview is critical to gaining a competitive edge. How do you want to be remembered by the interviewers? As the candidate with whom they spent 75 per cent of the precious, never to be repeated time clarifying your skills, experience and achievements? Or as the candidate with whom they had an in-depth discussion about your ability to contribute to the organisation's future success?

Why an Outstanding Resume is Not Enough to Get an Interview: Reason 5
Many people think that a powerful, well written résumé is sufficient to give them the edge needed to secure a job interview. While an outstanding résumé is absolutely necessary, it may not always be sufficient. This is the fifth in a series of short articles which outlines the factors, other than your resume, which could determine whether you will be amongst the chosen few from the multitude.

Why an Outstanding Resume is Not Enough to Get an Interview: Reason 2

Many people think that a powerful, well written résumé is sufficient to give them the edge needed to secure a job interview. While an outstanding résumé is absolutely necessary, it may not always be sufficient. This is the second in a series of short articles which outlines the factors, other than your resume, which could determine whether you will be amongst the chosen few from the multitude.

How your Resume can Optimise Interview Time

The primary function of a resume is to secure an invitation to an interview. But that's not all it can do. It can also provide you with a competitive edge at the interview. Because your worst enemy in an interview is time, optimising that limited time is critical. Many interviews devote 50% of more of the precious, never to be repeated time to clarifying your experience and achievements rather than being an discussion about your ability to contribute to the organisation.

How to Explain your Accountabilities in your Resume

It's not what you say, it's how you say it that matters. Many outstanding candidates fail to get interviews because they are unable to articulate their accountabilities clearly in a way that engages the reader. This article provides some guidelines and hints to help you express your accountabilities in the various jobs you have had in a way that grabs attention and convinces recruiters and hiring managers of the value you can add.

Before You Consider Redundancies
This is an article considering a few alternative options that organisations may wish to take before going down the redundancy route.

Effective Leadership = Business Success
Leadership plays a vital role in the building of any business and can have a direct effect on the attitudes of colleagues and staff which in turn affects products and services. The attitude and influence of the leader is also reflected in aspects such as staff satisfaction and retention.

360 Feedback in Performance

Organisations seeking options for enhancing the effectiveness of performance management are likely to find attraction in the use of 360 feedback as an input. Where performance management is used solely to determine a performance rating and reward outcome, the research does not endorse the use of 360 feedback. However, with a carefully considered approach, an effective linkage between 360 feedback and performance management can lead to the identification of more informed learning outcomes and developmental action plans.

360 Degree Avalanche

There is an intrinsic attraction to 360-degree feedback. Traditional feedback processes are effectively one-degree type systems with, usually, the immediate supervisor providing the employee with uni-directional comment. By involving more than just one person in the feedback process, the process is likely to be more meaningful for both supervisor and employee with greater representation in the amount and type of information supplied. Those providing the multi-rater feedback may include peers, direct reports, other levels of management, internal and even external customers. Suppliers may also provide feedback and there is, of course, the opportunity for self-appraisal.

IS SALES TRAINING PASSING ITS SELL-BY DATE?

As a company who specialises in sales training and development, I've found myself growing increasingly more sceptical towards the real impact of traditional sales training methods. According to Professor George Miller, Harvard University, our conscious minds can only process around 7 chunks of information at any given moment. If this is then related to applying new techniques learned during a training course, then how can salespeople feasibly put into practice loads of new techniques instantly?

The Exploratory Meeting
The Exploratory Meeting is a key element in the sales process. Typically the meeting will have been arranged after qualification over the telephone, and a decision made by both parties that it would be mutually beneficial to meet. It is the exploratory meeting that will allow the professional sales person to set the ground rules and get a ‘feel’ for the customer and their needs.

Customer Profiles for New Business
In 1906 an Italian Economist called Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula based on observing that 80% of the land was owned by 20% of the population. Dr Joseph Juran, a Quality Management pioneer also recognised this universal principle that later became know as Pareto’s Principle or The 80-20 Rule.

How Many of Your Customers Are Profitable?
The provision of value should be a two way street. If providing value to your customers is essential for long-term prosperity, then so is accurately measuring the value you receive in return. This article explains how to calculate the profitability of one’s customers, and offers some thoughts on how to treat the profitable and unprofitable.

If you employ more than 50 people are you complying with the ICE Directive

If you employ more than 50 people, you should be complying with the ICE Directive (The Information and Consultation Regulations) which came into force on 6th April 2008. As a result, you will be legally bound to inform and consult with your workforce in permanent collective representative structures, i.e. European Works Councils (EWCs). This came into effect for larger companies employing 150 plus people in April 2005.

Dont let your clients move the goal posts Protect your company
Large companies with purchasing power have been moving the goal posts and bullying their suppliers to accept new payment terms. Fightyourcorner advises suppliers to put in place good debt management systems to avoid problems in the future. Good debt management should protect companies affected by sudden changes in contract terms.

People Don't Leave Organisations - They Leave Managers
The workplace of today has very little in the way of career opportunities for staff. The hierarchy has been flattened to the degree where promotion is almost like winning lotto!

Action and Speed Creates Results
Taking action with speed sets successful entrepreneurs apart from those that dawdle, and therefore stay in mediocrity. Small business owners and entrepreneurs have the edge in this regard. They can take action with speed, because they, unlike many larger organisations, can decide quickly and then move forward...

ICT Peace Initiative
On monday I had the opportunity to be part of a discussion that was convened by ICT leaders, in attendance were 4 key players in the ICT industry. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how the ICt community can use their infrastructure to push out a positive message about Kenya at a time when all the messages being broadcasted are negative.

Make Change Easy Get Involved
The level and intimacy of involvement in change makes a big difference to how people are able to respond. Taking 'control' of change can be fruitful, enlightening and, yes, enjoyable. If you are undergoing change, think it through, and then think how you can enable your people to get involved too...

Succession Planning for Your Business - 7 Key Benefits
As the manager; leader; ‘boss’; supervisor; CEO; HR Director; you are where the pressure is and you need all the help you can get, with pressures often coming at you from above and below. Succession Planning is here to help you...

Make the Most of Your Time - Focus on Strengths
Time efficiency and business effectiveness are much better served when we focus our efforts where we are strongest – when we are aligned with our values and skills. And by delegating those parts of our skill-set which less best suited, we get the best of both worlds.

Ten Top Ways for Managers to Motivate Their People
Motivating people is a sure way to get the best from them - yet it is not something for a to-do list. Motivation comes from consistent cultural shifts from within. Managers are the ones who can show behaviours which will make the difference and lead to a team of highly motivated individuals developing your business forward.

Building Shareholder Value Through Your People
By using your best asset, your people, really well, it helps you and your shareholders benefit. Your people have wonderful skills and leveraging this is what makes good businesses truly great.

Succession Planning Values - Time Invested Is Well Worth It
In any business there is a careful balance between the 'day job' and the work you put in to make your business sustainable. If you use a succession planning activity, you will find your jig-saw fits together perfectly. Here's why...

Classic Leadership Styles
Much has been said over the years about leadership styles. Yet research into the best and most practical overview leads to the easiest conclusion (there will always be variables on these, as well as mixes of them), are that there are four distinct leadership styles. With one to avoid as well!

Connections that Count – Making Networking Events Pay Their Way
Networking is booming at the moment with more organisations being formed every week. Many of us, however, attend networking events because someone says it is a good idea or we hope that we will meet someone of interest. Beyond that, few people have a clear vision of what success will look like for them.

Is procrastination holding you back?

As a coach there are two issues above all others that I am asked by people to help deal with more than any others – the first is work-life balance (or life-work balance as I prefer to call it) and the second big issue is procrastination. Perhaps you are not surprised? Perhaps you are a procrastinator yourself? Don’t worry you are in good company and the habit of putting things off until another day is something we all do at some time or another. Why not read on NOW to find out more.

7.0 Entrepreneurship and Small Business Success: Entrepreneurship and Small Business Enterprise Growth in Uganda

Common day definition of entrepreneurs tend to equate it with those who start small business (Drucker, 1993). This is a fallacy. Entrepreneurship is a dynamic process of creating wealth whether in small organisations or large organisations. Entrepreneurship is a continuous search for change, responding to it and exploiting it as an opportunity (Drucker, 1993). Most successful organisations are successful because of the entrepreneurial behaviour of their leaders and the entrepreneurial culture prevalent in the organisation. The key entrepreneurial behaviours include the following :

Dont Network Like This
You’d be surprised how many people are still using networking practices that not only don’t work, but which are turning off potential clients and advocates in droves!

Corporate Connectivity – A Social Networking Revolution
An interview with Jeff Schick, VP Social Computing Software, IBM Corp.

Paint a Picture Get the Sale
Donna had a problem, and she had come to me for help. Her firm offers a complex service to organisations - they help employees deal with workplace changes. Donna and her partner teach employees (in client organisations) new communication skills, coach them on how to handle change, and mentor managers to help them cope with the demands of staff during the period of change.

Guesses aren't good enough... Evaluating PR
Organisations, whether they are small businesses, not-for-profit bodies, public sector organisations or large corporations, need to have evidence that their PR function is making a real impact. They need to see that they are getting good value for the money they are investing. But it isn't easy and many businesses and practitioners won't know where to start.

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