The topic of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) is fast picking up. Many family businesses and SMEs in Malta are oblivious to the changes this will bring with it at all levels - just to mention one, investors and finance providers, including banks, will likely start including ESG based criteria to determine whether to provide …
Author: Silvan Mifsud
A Successful Succession
The days where family businesses could afford an amateur approach or a sloppy performance are long gone. In today's world, having a professional approach and a team of people leading the business, who are skilled and motivated, has become a necessity. Yet I still see many family businesses bringing in family members in the business, …
The difficulty of Delegating (properly)
As you might recall I have written various articles on the perils of micromanagement in the past. Many times managers or business leaders who tend to be micromanagers, find it very difficult to delegate and to do so effectively. So, why is delegating so difficult and how can it be done properly? I see this …
Managing Conflict in the Workplace
We have recently delivered a number of training and workshop sessions on how to manage conflict in the workplace.The feedback received was overwhelming. It really proved something we knew, that wherever persons are interacting and working together, conflicts will arise and sometimes it is inevitable. However, what we do to prevent conflict and then how …
Financial Analysis
As I meet various business leaders and business owners, I am still amazed at the lack of proper financial analysis that such businesses undergo to evaluate and track their business performance. I am not speaking about just the issuing of timely monthly or quarterly management accounts. I am referring to what you are doing with …
Sources of Finance
The most popular source of finance for SMEs and family businesses is bank financing. You can read that latest statistics about the sources of finance for SMEs, HERE. Are there however other sources of finance which are not being explored or used enough? The answer is Yes. The first port of call is the Prospects …
Pricing Strategies
As I keep repeating, strategy is not something you do once in a while. It is something that needs to be integral as to how any business leader views the business organisation they are leading. It is a mindset. As we all know, many businesses are being faced by inflationary pressures from various quarters. The …
Culture eats Strategy for breakfast
As the great Peter Drucker once said, Culture eats Strategy for breakfast. Yet I still see a multitude of business leaders that fail to understand that virtually all of the things that annoy them in their business organisation, find their root cause in the lack of attention and work on setting the Structure and Culture …
Tensions in Family Businesses
All family businesses need to balance out the tensions between what I call the "3 forces" that effect family businesses - The force from family business itself, the force from the family ownership and the force from the family system. Having a common mission, high-trust relationships and effective decision-making structures can help to bolster family …
2022 – Challenges facing SMEs & Family Businesses
At the end of 2021, I have circulated a survey asking businesses to outline what they believe will be the challenges they will face in 2022. All responses focused on the following aspects:- Negative impact from Covid and any further restrictive measures Staff retention issues and new employee shortagesSupply Chain issues and rising costs leading …
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A Business Blog for SMEs & Family Businesses 