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Last week I met with a small business owner who was having trouble “executing” her business plan. It turned out that her “plan” had been developed for her by a trusted advisor and was largely devised from a template which looked predominantly at financial indicators. The “plan” told her that she needed to achieve a […]

In October 2009, I wrote a blog article regarding the increasing risk businesses were putting themselves under when utilising independent contractors in their business.This article was titled Independent Contractors – Benefit or Risk to Your Business? and you can read it again by clicking on the link – I strongly recommend you do. An independent contractor is

During a presentation to a group of business people last month I was asked a question about the importance of long term planning in a business. The person asking the question phrased the question to reflect his own situation where his time on a day to day basis was totally involved in the here and

Ever wondered what successful businesses do differently?  We may have some answers for you in a new white paper! I don’t think anyone will disagree that we are operating our businesses in a very complex environment at the moment.  Uncertainty regarding overseas economies, uncertainty regarding new taxes and charges, a relatively unstable political environment (for Australia) and

Last financial year, the Fair Work Ombudsman commenced prosecutions against in excess of 50 companies for underpayment of wages and entitlements to their employees. The simple fact is that this number is just the tip of the iceberg.  Many other employers have had to backpay employees as a result of underpayment.  Just check out the

Did you know that 89% of employees in Australian Businesses were employed by companies employing 20 employees or less? (Australian Bureau of Statistics 8165.0 2010) When you consider this statistic, you need to wonder why our industrial relations system is designed for 11% of the workforce! It all comes down to some very important factors

Today I was almost involved in an accident in my car. I was driving along the road, the last of three cars travelling along a suburban street. Up ahead was a side street with one car waiting to turn out and another waiting to turn into it. Unexpectantly, the first of the two cars ahead

A recent case before Fair Work Australia has emphasied the importance of employers having a fair and published process in regards to handling disciplinary problems with staff. The case (Michelle de Leon v Spice Temple Pty Ltd [2010] FWA 3497, revolved around the “abrupt and quite unprofessional” manner with which an employee had dealt with

The Fair Work Ombudsman has given advice that award wage employees are entitled to the payment of leave loading on termination of employment. In the past it has generally been accepted that on termination of employment, a departing employee was entitled to the payout of annual leave accruals but not leave loading.  However, in a

Recently I read a blog by a member of a large international coaching organization.  In the blog, the writer quoted W Edwards Deming (a guru of quality management and credited with the rise of Japan as a world powerhouse in manufacturing after WW2). According to the writer, in the quote, Deming said that “that 94%