Posted on May 17, 2010 by Nick
The juggernaut that is the Apprentice rolls inexorably on; this time with the format franchised out to youngsters. Yep, it’s ‘Junior Apprentice;’ or, so far as I or any of my friends can tell, ‘Where The Arrogant Ones In Senior Apprentice Obviously Come From.’ You can probably tell, I’m not a fan. My issues with [...]
Filed under: current affairs, people skills, sales | Tagged: Alan Sugar, business, business skills, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Junior Apprentice, make your mark, make your mark with a tenner, Oli Barrett, run a business, start a business, The Apprentice | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 26, 2010 by Nick
Off to Leicester last week for my annual pilgrimage to DeMontfort University, where the business studies courses include a ritual called Fox’s Lair – a thinly disguised version of TV favourite dragon’s Den. Teams of students put together a business idea, draw up a plan and present it to the Dragons – no, I mean [...]
Filed under: finance, marketing, people skills, presentation, sales | Tagged: business, business advice, business skills, demontfort university, DMU, Dragon's Den, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, finance, Fox's Lair, invention, leicester, market research, marketing, run a business, running a business, small business, start a business, start your own business, students, teamwork | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 12, 2010 by Nick
Look at this merry lot. Is it the last day of the Oktoberfest? A leaving party, perhaps? No – it’s the London Area Communicators Group monthly meetup (run by the inestimable Matt O’Neill). Every industry has networking groups, and I truly believe that these gatherings are the lifeblood of business. When I first started out, [...]
Filed under: marketing, people skills, sales | Tagged: sales, networking, business, business skills, entrepreneurship, small business, matt o'neill, start a business, run a business, running a business, start your own business, entrepreneur, business advice, business networking, LACG, people buy from people, networking skills | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 8, 2010 by Nick
This week, I tried my hand at organising an offsite day. It’s very easy when you’re stuck in the rough and tumble of day-to-day business to get lost; to lose sight of the wood from the trees. Getting everyone out of the office, away from phones and emails, for a healthy open discussion is a [...]
Filed under: people skills | Tagged: business, corporate hospitality, cost cutting, DDR, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, hospitality, management, run a business, start a business, wallace space | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 16, 2010 by Nick
Ructions in the office today. I heard four words which always make the hairs on the back of my neck bristle with rage: “It’s not my job…” One of the things I tell people starting a business for the first time is that the buck stops with them. And that means everything is their job. [...]
Filed under: people skills, service | Tagged: business, company, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, HR, human resources, it's not my job, job, job description, job roles, job satisfaction, motivation, people skills, personnel, recruitment, run a business, staff, start a business | 2 Comments »
Posted on February 22, 2010 by Nick
Corporate reputation matters (just ask Toyota!). It takes very little effort to keep customers happy; yet many companies seem to have such disdain for their clients that they just can’t be bothered to solve little problems effectively. But the customer is fighting back. Thanks to social networking sites like Facebook, blogs (like this one) and [...]
Filed under: PR, current affairs, finance, marketing, people skills, retail, sales, service | Tagged: blog, brand values, branding, business, crisis management, crisis PR, crowdsourcing, customer service, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Facebook, KwikFit, PR, public relations, reputatin management, reputation, run a business, social media, start a business | 3 Comments »
Posted on February 15, 2010 by Nick
I’ve just read this interesting piece from the New York Times, and I’d like you to read it before you carry on here. It’s an interview with George Cloutier, renowned in the US as “The Turnaround Ace”. I think some of what he says is true, and other points are so far off the mark [...]
Filed under: finance, people skills, sales | Tagged: business, business advice, business skills, economy, employee relations, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, fear, finance, george cloutier, invoicing, marketing, motivation, payment, run a business, running a business, sales, small business, staff relations, start a business, start your own business | Leave a Comment »
Posted on January 18, 2010 by Nick
This week, we’ve been interviewing for a fairly senior marketing role on a particular project. With the current economic climate, there’s been no shortage of high-calibre applicants. It’s not the first time I’ve conducted interviews; but it is the first time I’ve been able to sit back and watch. A colleague of mine was running [...]
Filed under: marketing, people skills, tips | Tagged: business, business advice, business skills, economy, employment, employment psychology, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, interview, job interview, listening, recession, recovery, recruitment, run a business, skills, small business, start a business, startup business | 2 Comments »
Posted on December 15, 2009 by Nick
What, I wonder, is the corporate party season going to be like this year? A friend of mine, who works for one of the big merchant banks, tells me that he’s not allowed to have a Christmas party. In fact, his company is so paranoid about bankers being seen as profligate that he’s been told [...]
Filed under: PR, people skills, retail, sales, service | Tagged: business, catering, christmas party, competition, competitiveness, customer service, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, hospitality, marco pierre white, PR, reputation, restaurant, run a business, service, start a business | 2 Comments »
