What is more important in an organisation? Is it the strategy put in place by the executives, or the people that execute that strategy? It’s a topic that could be debated back and forth for hours. For those who haven’t read my previous posts, I really consider that any business is all about people. Without people, there is no business.
That doesn’t mean I think it’s more important than strategy. In fact, I think they’re both essential. You might have the brightest team in the world, but if you haven’t any idea where you’re heading, you’ve got nothing. Conversely, all the direction in the world won’t help you if your team isn’t up to the journey.
Your organisation needs to work both angles. Develop a sound, effective strategy, and select the best and brightest people to execute it. Seek them out, develop them, and reward them for their achievements.
Picture yourself in your office. You’ve just received two promotional mail items advertising the same product or service. One of the items is a tri-fold brochure, obviously printed on a cheap printer. The other is a full size, printed presentation folder, containing a variety of professionally printed marketing material. Before you read a word, you’ve …
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I used to have a dislike for the rigorous selection procedures that some companies use in hiring new staff. I’d thought that they prevented me from selecting a candidate I knew was the best fit for the position if they interviewed poorly. I considered them an unwelcome intrusion into the hiring process. Then something happened. …
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Increasing the productivity of your existing staff is one of the quickest and least costly ways to enable business growth. Managers, particularly less experienced ones, often rule out increasing productivity of existing staff, as it can conjure up images of conflict. It doesn’t have to be like that, and below are a my five top …
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When you’re planning for your business, whether it’s new or existing, start at the start. What I mean by that is, you have to have some general plans in place, before you can get specific. Without having that broad strategy and concept in place, any specific plans won’t share the same alignment. The result is …
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People have often spoke of reaching an “escape velocity”, in terms of things like business growth and career development. I like to think of it as “orbital velocity”, as I think it’s a better fit. The term “escape velocity” implies an ever increasing speed, until some point of escape. On the other hand, “orbital velocity” …
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So, maybe that’s not entirely true. However, it is widely considered that procrastination is a negative trait. That’s an outdated concept, and it needs to be looked at in a new light. Think about it differently, and procrastination may just make sense. To an extent, I guess it depends on how strict you like to draw …
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I’ve mentioned before that I’m not often interested in fiction books. I much prefer non-fiction business literature, and I do quite like text books. Despite that, for the last few days I’ve been engrossed in the novel “Up in the Air” by Walter Kirn. I have to admit that I first found this book only …
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Meetings could possibly be the largest waste of time in any modern organisation. It seems like everybody has a tale to tell that involves poorly planned meetings that don’t result in any real outcomes. So, what can you do to make your meetings more effective, making the most efficient usage of meeting time? Here are …
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Where has professionalism gone? There was once a time when employees, managers, and suppliers conducted themselves in a professional manner. It seems these days, people have drifted, and some have entirely lost the plot. It can be seen everywhere, but it really becomes apparent when you pay top dollar to a supplier, only to be treated …
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