Category: Business Optimisation

Managers say that Management is a Lonely Place…

Managers, Owners, Managing Directors and all others in leading positions find themselves looking ahead, planning, thinking, wondering and guessing what direction they need to take, what decisions they need to make and how best to navigate the uncharted waters of their business. While doing all this, they need to face their internal teams, lead them, […]
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What Should I Outsource?

Outsourcing had become quite a buzzword that is thrown around and possibly used, misused and abused as a concept. In summary, outsourcing means moving an activity to an external service provider rather than doing it within your company. There are many arguments for and against outsourcing however, in considering outsourcing, it is important to firstly […]
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Successful Managers… at a Cost

Working with businesses has led us to meet a large number of managers who are very successful at what they do. Their staff love them, the numbers look good, customers are happy… essentially all the right messages that a business owner wants to see from his managers. However… when speaking to the manager, we get […]
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Mediation and the Future of an Owner Managed Business

Owner managed businesses make up a good chunk of the economy. Some of these are actually family businesses that are in the second or third generation and have been passed down through time while others are fresh startups that have been started in this generation. In all instances, owner-managed businesses have a number of characteristics […]
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3 Common Pitfalls for Businesses Operating Without a Strategy

There are several reasons why businesses fail. Some fail due to bad management and weak leadership, while some others have failed because of market changes and unfortunate circumstances. However, it is also true that some businesses have failed, simply because they lacked a strategy. In our experience we come across 3 common pitfalls for businesses […]
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Succession Planning in Owner-Managed Businesses

Owner-managed businesses have grown in popularity over the years since technology has facilitated the setup of a business and the delivery of services. Many of these businesses were set up by a person with a vision and possibly with a particular skillset. Throughout the growth of many of these businesses, one sees the organisation grow […]
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Should all Managers Manage People?

As human beings, we are all different and all unique. This uniqueness flavours our interactions and our organisations yet it creates its own challenges to organisational setups and structures. One specific challenge presented by this great variety is in actually defining a manager. Various dictionary definitions of Manager exist yet all focus on the fact […]
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Commitment to Clients is Key to a Business’ Survival

Any business needs clients in order to exist and operate. Clients are the reason for existence. All products and services need to be designed with the client in mind since their whole reason for being is actually to serve the client or to satisfy a need. At the end of it all, clients are where […]
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The Risk and Reality of Indispensable Staff. A Win-Win Option?

Knowledge employees are hired for some knowledge or skill that they have. Throughout their employment this skill grows through training and experience. In parallel with this growth there is a progression within the company where the employee gains status and respect among peers for this knowledge and skill. This respect sometimes leads to promotion and […]
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