One of our guru lads over here is Ross Hill, on his Blog is a great piece of intriguing information I think all businesspeople and educators can learn a lot from.
He starts off talking about games and what makes them addictive… Then he goes on to show the comparison to social media (”aint” that the […]

Don’t turn off and stop reading because you are a small business, Don’t stop reading because you believe you have all the bases covered on this one, and just because your people in the HR department say there is no need for such a thing due to no cases of it at this point be […]

For businesses starting out, and those who may have just swapped their “marketing person” to someone new, you need to be aware there is a marketing critical mass.
I figure it as the point where the marketing being done has reached a level where a balance has been reached between the income level in the business […]

There are many types of business primary, secondary etc… but I have just had a thought about other “types” of business and felt it useful to share.
In the most part a business is about creating a device to provide a product or service and make a profit from it, however it goes a bit further […]

https://www.yammer.com/
This is like Twitter, but just for your organistation. If you have a bunch of people with intra company email addresses, they can connect and chat, just like twitter does on a global scale. It works on the premise of “what are you doing now?” as the main question. Then as people use it they […]

Years ago when the “recession we had to have” was on (late 80’s) there was a push at one stage for an Arts Led Recovery. Perhaps it’s time to look at it again and try a fresh tack in the “G.F.Crisis”.
Locally there is a small Arts following with a few commercial galleries and a regional […]

Local paper, classified training section, courses on offer with local accredited training org’s there are free courses in pre apprenticeship training, and various others to assist to up skill people… seems good, fairly non eventful stuff. It looks like the government and trying to boost things along with the freebies (have done for some time […]

Ok so this is my view… but how dare a company employ people and not cover their entitlements when the whole thing goes belly up…
Here’s an example from our local newspaper, on Melba Industries.
The company does not have the funds to cover their staff entitlements now they are being liquidated. As business go along they […]

In tougher economic times the idea of sustainability may take on a fresh meaning, the big car guys didn’t get it, they have put their hands out… many other companies are down the tubes to, they also have their hands out.
Before a revolution kicks in and angry mobs demand “jobs and justice” I am reminded […]

As more companies go down, and an unrepentant writhing takes place as people follow the sense of fear pervading workplaces, I am left to ask… Were these big companies not smart, or perhaps should they have been conservative?
Ok a boom is a boom, bust is what it says and no one wants to go bust. […]

Pacific Brands Australia announced over 1800 jobs to go in the next 18 months.. jobs to go off shore.
Those who  are regulars here will know I have sprouted wistfully about the doom and gloom, however this time I want to take a “positive swipe” at the situation and ignore the nay sayers cutting jobs and […]

On the news this morning more jobs lost 600 here 400 there and that’s just in Australia… so where to from here?
Well people will pull their heads in then even more slowly let them out, I guess the smart money is on businesses, which provide a need for customers, then there’s those which put a […]

For many this might seem like a curious title but I hope it makes sense as you read on.
For many the horror of the Victorian bushfires will be an ongoing battle as they come to terms with personal loss on an unimaginable scale. For those watching from a short distance they are living the horror […]

Your are in the midst of the economic whatsit… and you are doing what?
perhaps you are planning what to do… Pulling your hair out as prices alter before your eyes, competitors cut their margins to keep afloat, petrol prices go up (again) staff are nervous and looking elsewhere, your partners and or shareholders are asking […]

If you are listening to the news you are, doom and gloom at every turn.
Many businesses will give up, walk away and say things like “It was out of our hands…” “We were at wits end…” “It wore us down…”
So make a decision, to stand and deliver or fold under the pressure. The key thing […]

Economic indicators for the global downturn etc are rocking the ’system’ to the core, now more than ever we need to innovate rather than blindly continue to do what we always have done.
Businesses need to reevaluate where they are at, what capacity, scope and skills they have. Instead of running scared and waiting for the […]

With lots of things happening in the world it makes sense to get a perspective on things, some change you are experiencing may be good, some the opposite. Here are a few things which you may find of value in changing times.

Be positive and have a sense of optimism – So things are changing… You […]

How many times have you heard terms like, “Never give up”, “Play hard”, “It’s all about taking risks…”, “Put your money where your mouth is”, “To make money you need to spend money” “If only we can make it through this rough patch”, “Set lofty goals to get results”, “Put it on the plastic…”, “It’ll […]

In turbulent times there are the basics that need to be looked after like revenue needs to be more than expenses, but then again that should always happen, but in doing the basics an asset protection policy is always good too, who would like to loose a good performing asset right? but I am seeing […]

In the tumultuous financial crisis and the uncertainty it causes, there is one thing for certain, Change is happening. Sure it’s not a change that organisations implemented, and for many it’s a change they did not have a contingency plan for but it’s happening and if your organisation needs to do something about it, then […]

When tough times strike my heart goes out to those businesses on the edge, and of course instead of talking about daily things that can trip up a marginal business, we are now talking about bigger fundamental global meltdown type trip ups.
So when the going gets tough how many of the businesses on the edge […]

An interesting letter to the editor in a local paper about Ben Chifley’s (past Australian Prime Minister) idea of a nationalised bank being a must have.. Well we had that in Australia with the commonwealth bank then that was privatised…
Okay so what if We had a bank that had some form of Co-operative approach or […]

In a stand against getting snubbed by some big bands, a Geelong based team put together a music show to set the town toe tapping and grooving to the beat of their own drum… Lets hope they get the support they need to make it successful!

An interesting article in the Melb Age newspaper on the flow on effect to smaller businesses.
In an interesting basic view, if the big banks can’t get money to lend, or they are pulling their heads in “Just in case” then your chances of getting credit of some kind may well be hampered, in the short […]

I have seen a range of TV current affairs shows recently pointing out businesses (reasonable sized ones on occasions), going under and taking investors with them. If you invest in a business it is risky, any sort of business (and I don’t care what glossy brochure or figures they show you…)
So there are risks involved […]

I have just been to see WALL•E the animated film, it was fantastic, the graphics, the story, the whole concept was exceptional. So the environmental message? Yep there was one, and as such I figure on a local basis we can be doing things to prevent a “Wall - E - World” from happening… (hey […]

The USA banks, the market slide, you name it the financial markets are taking a battering with trillions of $$ in value lost… The media is alive with speculation, and sensational headlines.
WOW the guys with the money seem to be in a squeeze, now watch as the rest of us suffer in the aftermath.
But hey, […]

With spring just 11 days young, it’s time to clear out, clean out, seek out, innovate, create, get nasty with “stuff” and make way for fresh ideas, colours, thoughts and so on. Explore the ether, the space, the things I know little about (well to some degree).
It’s fine for me to feel this way but […]

In the “topsy turvy” world of franchise contracts, agreements etc, (which many franchisees have little understanding of) it’s painfully obvious that many of these documents ask the franchisee to jump through hoops, but how about working things the other way?
Over time the franchisor will build a “watertight contract” and expect the franchisee to know a […]

Fast thinking and wisdom can work wonders, I saw this today and thought it’s well worth reproducing here, enjoy!
A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa, taking her faithful aged poodle named Cuddles, along for the company.
One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discovers that he’s lost. […]

Starting a business is a great idea, you think about the possibilities, get emotionally wrapped up in it and then make a start… But there are a few things you may not have thought of, namely how much money you will need to get started and how long you will need to “feed the beast” […]

How about this, an organisation has the following core values as part of it’s vision.

Responsibility and Leadership
Achievement and Excellence
Citizenship and Community
Initiative and Commitment

Sounds great, things to aspire to… one problem they don’t do it, well not all of it, here are some points…

Staff are failing to take responsibility, citing they do not have the resources […]

In our local area, the media are reporting that 500 businesses have failed during 2006.
Even if half of that is true it’s too many, some might be secondary businesses that are operated by a family or an off shoot of a group of investors. Some might be moves to new locations, others could be re […]

In the “game of business” it would pay to know about the important things, what they are. To me my list is fairly short. To you they might be different altogether.

Product and or service - You better have something of value to offer or they won’t buy.
Leverage - Your time, you work hard, then […]

If like myself and other business people I have come across you probably have thought about the ideal business and what it might be like.
Well here’s a list to get you started on thinking about it, feel free to add any points via the comments.
1. It provides value - The product or service is […]

When yo got started in business you probably didn’t figure on how much it would cost to get started, I guess no one really knows until they have done it. and for so many people in business they find they just don’e have enough to really cover their marketing costs to get a decent response.
There […]

So what do you do when things get quiet in the business?
Do you…
- Wonder why?
- Start to do all the little things that you mean to do when you are busy?
- Start marketing?
- Sack some staff!?
- Sit and wait…
- Check how things were this time last year?
- Ask what’s happening?
- PANIC!
- Change things?
- Go back […]

At this time in the morning many are open and ready to go, but there are those that seem to not get in ’til later… It sets me to wondering what business was like for them say… yesterday. Did they not get enough people in the door that they felt it’s not worth it? They […]

A friend and I were chatting, he is to be made redundant, and after many years in his role with a big multinational he stands to get a good pay out. He’s still got plenty of time as an able bodied worker and wants to work… But.
There have been a number of larger businesses fold […]

Current news 26th may 08 Victoria Australia. It was announced today that an aged care facility is in the hands of administrators today, 100+ residents are unsure if they will have a place to live. lets leave the emotions to one side for a moment and look at it from a business viewpoint.
Here is a […]

The weekend has been and gone, and here you are back at Monday, ready to face another week… Firstly are you excited about the prospect of another week? Or is it something you wish would end quickly? Whatever your state of being right now, take a moment to focus.
Grab a sheet of paper, […]

Leaders are an interesting lot, often found wandering, “dazed”, plodding, planning, scheming and making sure everything is in it’s right place for the team to do what the team does best. So in the plodding and wandering the astute leader searches and hunts down exceptional people to be part of the team. They also work […]

The reason people select the wrong person is because they don’t ask the right questions in the interview, they don’t probe to uncover real competencies and capabilities, they don’t explore the person’s true personality and attitude, and they get swayed by enjoyable ‘chats’ that should in fact be probing interviews.
We all like to work with […]

Recently over a very serious business lunch, the matter of grading came up in regards to karate, I suggested in one of those “A-ha” moments, that the same principle could be applied to staff training.
You see the person I was lunching with is a karate ‘nut’ and mentioned his new staff member was like a […]

Think about the leaders you’ve had in your life – that is, the people you’ve respected and listened to, and in many cases followed. School teachers, uni lecturers, people you’ve worked with, mentors, coaches, captains of sporting teams, friends, family.
Why did you see those people as leaders? Why did you accept them as your […]