In the countdown to 2012 are you among the many business owners thinking about getting out of your business?  According to Robert Burton, Corporate Finance Director of accountants Mazars there has been a significant increase recently in the number of enquiries from owners seeking to exit. While there could be many reasons for this upsurge, [...]

Have you taken the necessary precautions to stop yourself worrying about the future of your business – or are you going to continue being fearful and leave things to chance? The words of Roald Amundsen, the famous Norwegian explorer and first man to complete a mission to the South Pole in 1911: “Victory awaits him [...]

Are you dreading or delighted with the prospect of leading your business into 2012? Does your business energise or exhaust you? Do you dream of getting out from under your business and getting a work life balance?    If, like many beleaguered business owners in the December countdown, you are battling more than the atrocious weather [...]

In my previous post, I wrote that “We become the stories we tell ourselves” As a business strategist and executive coach my question to you is “Are you a Possibilitarian?” Are you someone who sees vast new horizons of possibilities or are you hemmed in by doubts, fears and current worries? People performance and management [...]

The primary source of learning how to lead is experience and stories. As a business strategist and executive coach I hear many life stories and learn a great deal about business owners and their leadership strengths and weaknesses by just listening carefully to these stories. What I’ve discovered is that your life story and the [...]

Are you ‘sticking to your knitting?” As a business strategist and executive coach let me remind you that this is the golden rule for business in times of downturn. So why have 53 per cent of businesses spent more time planning new products and services than they did the previous year and 66% invested more [...]

Doubling the size of your business requires far more planning than most business owners and leaders anticipate based on my experience as a business strategist and executive coach. In my previous post the importance of learning from others’ experiences and of creating robust systems and processes which don’t depend on any one individual – and [...]

As a business strategist and executive coach I highly recommend you and your teams sample the ambience of continental cafes where conversation and creativity flows freely – accompanied by the potent aromas of coffee, Paninis and patisseries. Engaging your people in conversations that enable them to discover what they are individually and collectively most proud [...]

Focusing on the wrong things, underperforming management teams and not moving or responding fast enough were the three things a group of business owners would address if they took over running a business of their choice. The biggest change almost all of the business owners would make is to widen the focus of the company. [...]

In today’s uncertain times having a high degree of visible income makes planning for the future much easier. It’s an assured income stream – contracted revenue such as service and maintenance agreements, regular monthly commitments including rental and lease income.  As most business strategists will tell you, the higher the level of visible income, the [...]