Just recently, I was out to lunch with the founders and owners of a business. We were happily chatting about all things business until they produced their glossy, corporate brochure with a flourish; their vision statement read: “connecting people… to solutions”. There were two major issues. First, the vision statement really just described the technical […]

Running a business is akin to walking on water. For a business leader, each day presents new and seemingly impossible challenges — just like being told to walk on water, as it were. Entrepreneurial spirit then needs to kick in, with the mindset switching to, ‘do what you think you can’t!’ The archetypal entrepreneur Entrepreneurship […]

A drycleaner in regional Victoria was prosecuted in court for denigrating, humiliating and verbally abusing his employees. He called them demeaning names, threatening to dissolve them in acid and to set the dogs on to them. He imposed fines for all sorts of heinous infractions, such as $6.00 for not replacing the toilet roll holder, […]

In so many law practices, whether large, medium or boutique, the missing ingredient is team momentum. The amazing performers of Cirque du Soleil perform feats of great daring, grace and beauty at an awe-inspiring level. In their performances, there is a momentum required for completing their astounding feats and gaining resounding applause. Similarly in a […]

So many businesses everywhere run amok because ‘anything goes’. In such businesses, the leader runs everything ‘by the seat of their pants’. That was the way I used to do things too, up until hearing about W Edwards Deming. The late Professor Deming was an American engineer, author, academic and management consultant, with considerable expertise […]

What needs to happen when business values have become valueless? Many businesses have corporate values buried somewhere. Their values might be in a constitution, corporate brochure, policy document or even on a boardroom wall. However, they might have no real impact because they are considered unimportant and meaningless. Even if a given website trumpets corporate […]

The aim of any business leader is to become highly effective because mediocrity is an anathema. Such leadership is always shaped in the fiery furnace of experience, happening over a lifetime of learning, full of trial and error. So, with L plates permanently affixed during this lifetime journey, what are the key challenges in becoming […]

There’s nothing much that beats going to the footy at a packed MCG and yelling yourself hoarse as you celebrate each spectacular mark and miracle goal. Footy fans everywhere are on their feet, waving their banners and fist pumping. Which raises the very issue when running a franchise business: how do I get customers to […]

It’s a strange thing for a law practice to conduct a business club. It is a stranger thing for that business club to be named: The School of Hard Knocks for Stressed Business People and Reluctant Entrepreneurs, yet that is exactly how I felt when launching a group to support the legal needs of small business owners […]

All retailers want is to create a happy workplace culture, that positively reflects into a great customer experience. Here are a few tips to follow to create a great workplace culture. A dry cleaner in Australia was prosecuted in court for denigrating, humiliating and verbally abusing his employees. He called them demeaning names, threatening to […]