The role of CEO or MD of a growing business is an adrenaline-fuelled journey. The decisions get bigger, or rather the consequences get bigger. What if... your competitor got serious about buying you...? What if... you could gain … [Read more...]
The Secret to Exporting – the reality
The flavour of the month is export. The logic is unassailable. The economy needs more sales. There’s no-one buying here so export. Sell to people in other countries. Get them to buy our products and services. (So, what’s the … [Read more...]
A UK Mittelstand, Mr Cameron?
David Cameron keeps saying that the UK can learn a thing or two from Germany's Mittelstand. Can we? The UK's medium-sized businesses are told to emulate the Mittelstand. Emulating Germany's medium-sized, mostly family-owned … [Read more...]
Why is Truth Always the First Casualty in Business?
The truth is that truth is a very rare commodity in business. Would you agree that nobody tells the absolute truth in business? Would you agree that there is usually a web of half-truths, deceits, conflations, exaggerations and … [Read more...]
Big Business Interview: Robert Craven
In an age where everyone seems to be obsessed with Twitter and Facebook it could be considered risky to dismiss social media but that doesn’t seem to bother Robert Craven. Business reporter, Liza-Jane Gillespie, talks with the guru about … [Read more...]
How To Compete With the Big Fish
The tendency of most smaller businesses is to feel like a cork floating on the ocean, incapable of influencing how or where the market takes them. This is true in almost every industry. But it doesn't have to be that way. Shark and Fish … [Read more...]
What David Can Teach Goliath – what ‘small’ can teach the ‘big’ businesses
There is a plethora of articles and blogs about what small businesses can learn from large businesses but very few that turn the phrase on its head. So, what can large businesses learn from small businesses? As usual our first dilemma … [Read more...]
Feeling Battered? Shrink Your Business to Happiness
A quick report back from a meeting back in January. Trevor came to talk to me because I have a reputation for growing other people’s businesses. So how could I help him? Trevor runs a smart niche design company designing and … [Read more...]
Owner-Directors Do Not Need Silver Bullet Advice
Owner-managers (the smaller, younger naive businesses) find it almost impossible to sort the good from the bad in the sea of offers of help. Their very naivety excludes them from knowing what they don’t know and what it actually is that … [Read more...]