Mar 29, 2021 | Uncategorized
It’s normally January that sees staff with itchy feet start to think about moving on. Bored or disillusioned with their current employer, their thoughts start to turn to greener pastures over the Christmas / Hogmanay break. New Year, new job? The question troubling...
Nov 10, 2020 | Uncategorized
In a previous article, I outlined some of the traps in Board papers, including some related to data. But the subject of how data in Board papers can mislead readers is a rich one, so here are five more traps to look out for. Averages Possibly the best known trap, the...
Oct 23, 2020 | Uncategorized
“Board papers are little bit like a bikini; what they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital”. With apologies to Irving R Levine INTRODUCTION In theory, the difficult bit about being a NED is supposed to be weighing the numerous, important and complex...
Oct 23, 2020 | Uncategorized
I have long found that if you are running a professional services or creative business, and aspire to high levels of professionalism, then morale is your secret weapon. With high morale, people will work night and day to get things done; with low morale they can’t be...
Jun 7, 2020 | Uncategorized
In these challenging times, it’s obviously important to grab every bit of new business possible. And Proposals and Case Studies have an important role to play here, except that too many folks make a basic error when writing them. It stems from the desire to be seen to...
May 21, 2020 | Uncategorized
Winning new clients is a long old game, so I’ll cut to the chase. Chances are it’s Experiential, with a big dollop of Insight, although some elements of all are involved. Let’s take a canter through each. Relationship selling was how it used to be done. You got...
May 15, 2020 | Uncategorized
On the face of it, there are huge similarities between significant business documents – Board submissions, say – and new business proposals. The former provides relevant information in a clear and persuasive manner, so the latter is surely the same, but...
Aug 14, 2019 | Uncategorized
I, together with some stellar colleagues, ran a business that enjoyed 13 years of unbroken growth. But no one defies gravity forever and even the best-run businesses will face a downturn, eventually. So come a downturn, what should you do, and when should you do it?...
Feb 6, 2019 | Uncategorized
In the sidelines of a recent, excellent ICSA panel discussion, the question arose “when does an company become too complex”? As the meeting concerned the role of activist shareholders, the first response was “when it starts to erode shareholder value”. The second...
Nov 5, 2018 | Board Papers
Board papers can be lengthy and complex, and this is particularly true for highly regulated sectors – financial and health, for example. But no matter how challenging the papers’ subjects may be – stochastic modelling of early pension redemptions, anyone?...