Whenever one reads about Family Businesses, the very first topic one encounters is succession planning. It is likely to be so, because many family businesses seem to fail or encounter existential problems when they arrive at this stage. However, the so called one million dollar question is, does succession planning exist in a vacuum or …
From soft skills to core skills
In the past few days I was lucky enough to start the process of training all employees of a company in the so called soft skills, with a special focus on Teamwork, Leadership and Communication. It shows the real foresight of this company, who understood that these skills will be needed more than ever, as …
Collaboration
I never cease to be amazed at the whole waste of energy and effort that business go through due to the lack of collaboration. Many business leaders I speak too show a great sense of frustration as change never seems to stick out and deliver what is expected. A lot of hope and effort in …
Being a real manager
There is the general and common thinking that being a manager is something everyone can do. It reminds me of one episode of Fawlty Towers where a certain Mrs. Richards asks for the manager (Click HERE to refresh your memory)....to end up being spoken too by the owner (Basil Fawlty) who is totally inept in …
Empowerment
In the last few days the word empowerment has been used (and I dare say abused) rather extensively....in a total different context than the business world. Empowerment is a concept in business management that has been around for quite some time and hence has been researched rather extensively. The concept of empowerment is that if …
Are you able to receive advice?
This is a hard topic. It is way too frequent that I am asked for advice and then I realise that what I am being really asked for is to agree to the pre-set opinion of who asked for advice. Advice seekers must identify their blind spots, recognise when and how to ask for guidance, …
How will we work?
The pandemic has been with us for over a year. With the increase in the vaccination roll out across various countries, many business organisations are looking at the post-pandemic future and how they will operate in this future. Research is indicating that many organisations are planning a hybrid virtual model that combines remote work with …
The European Super….Flop
You must be living an extremely insulated life if you haven't heard of all the controversy that the birth and death of the so called European Super League brought about. In a nutshell, 12 of the top european football teams, that have all suffered greatly from revenue reductions brought about by the pandemic, decided to …
Making Decisions
One of the reasons why I am against micromanagement and why I advocate the need of proper corporate governance structures, in any business, is ultimately so that as much as possible it is ensured that the right decisions are being made. Yet on a daily basis, I hear a number of so called "wisdom myths" …
Strategic Planning & Family Businesses
This is the recurring situation I go through when I am contacted by family business owners to help them with certain issues they are facing. In the initial meeting, I am normally presented with a mix of operational issues. As I always do, I sit down, listen and write the main points of what is …
A Business Blog for SMEs & Family Businesses 