It has become a constant topic of any meeting and discussion with business owners. The huge headache business owners have in retaining employees and finding new ones. It seems a discussion on a never ending loop as it keeps being repeated, day in, day out. On one hand, businesses have to up their ante, to …
Difficulty in Persuading Others?
From one meeting to another, family business owners all grumble on the huge "headaches" they have with staff members. In many instances, these so called "headaches" are because they are finding it increasingly difficult to persuade staff members on how they can work better, be more efficient, improve their performance or be better team players. …
Maintaining Customer Loyalty during an Inflationary Period
Many businesses are facing on a daily basis, in times of inflation and economic uncertainty, the situation of having customer expectations increase. Research indicates that a common mistake done by businesses is the lack of realisation of how customers expect more openness and transparency in periods of high inflation, rather than less. Conversely, businesses that …
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Dealing with constant change
Today we close Module 2 of the Award in Leading a Family Business accredited course. Today's last session is a tutorial based on a case study of a family business which is at crossroads as to what strategic decision it needs to take, to keep growing. This 2nd module was all about strategy. It covered …
Strategic Foresight
I frequently find myself in conversations with family business owners and whenever I bring up the importance of strategic planning, I often get a puzzled reaction - Why should I spend time in strategic thinking in a world that is constantly changing? It feels like trying to see the future by looking at a crystal …
Strategic Planning
As the 1st Blog Article for 2024, I would like to focus on strategic planning. You may recall that almost a year ago, we as EMCS, together with the Malta Chamber and the Family Business Office had presented a survey, which with regards strategic planning had shown the below situation:- In many family business I …
Being a relevant Leader in 2024
There was a time where business leadership was about getting people to do what you want with clear orders and strict monitoring. That era has gone once and for all, as its been quite a while (some decades) that people require more than just a place to earn a living from work. They want to …
Which Family Businesses Succeed?
A recent research article my McKinsey outlined a number of critical mindsets and strategic actions that are the fundamentals which allow family businesses not only to succeed but to also outperform other non-family businesses. The article is some 15 pages long and knowing how everyone is time pressed I am providing a summary below. The …
Get down from the Hamster Wheel
My constant challenge when advising family business owners and leaders, is to make them understand that spending ALL their time on dealing with daily operational matters will eventually mean that they are driving themselves and their business down a narrow and dark alley. I see many family business owners act like a hamster on a …
Board of Directors Simulation Workshop
Yesterday, as part of the Award in Leading a Family Business Course, we had a Board of Directors Simulation Workshop. Participants were divided in teams, with each team representing a distinct Board of Directors. All teams were presented with a family business case study. The case study was about a family business that had challenges …
A Business Blog for SMEs & Family Businesses 