Lessons from the Olympics Part 1

Manager of the Team GB cycling team Dave Brailsford was the subject of this week’s Radio 4 Profile. This fascinating programme gives us an insight into how he used his concept of “Aggregation of Marginal Gains” to identify every possible source of competitive advantage which in turn would lead to improvement in race performance.

At Team GB, Brailsford appointed a “Head of Marginal Gains” to champion the process of obsessive attention to detail which resulted in changes to bike, clothing and helmet design which, together with changes to processes and procedures, resulted in a very real competitive advantage.
This same concept can be applied to business. By adopting the Continuous Improvement concept of Kaizen, businesses can generate sustainable competitive advantage over their rivals.

So, what can you do in your business to improve your performance  where it really matters?

 

Filed under: News & Topical Tips, Uncategorized

Top Ten Tips for Christmas

1.  GET YOUR INVOICES OUT QUICKLY

Don’t leave your invoicing to the last minute. With all the disruption in the postal system, not to mention the effect of staff holidays and shut-downs on the normal payment run dates, it is even more important that you get your invoices out in time.

2.  STAY ON TOP OF CREDIT CONTROL

Christmas gives late paying customers all the excuses in the world. Don’t add to it by getting behind with your credit control. Remember, wages may be paid earlier in December so you need the cash in sooner than normal.

3.  SAY THANK YOU TO YOUR STAFF

Christmas is a great time to say thank you to your employees and perhaps back it up with a small gift. There are various tax concessions available to help you with a Christmas turkey or a staff celebration. Speak to your accountant and take appropriate advice.

4.  THANK SUPPLIERS AND CUSTOMERS

Your employees are not the only ones who helped you in the year. Say thank you to customers, suppliers and business associates. It may seem a bit cheesy, but a well targeted Christmas card or e-mail would be appreciated.

5.  ENCOURAGE YOUR STAFF TO USE UP HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENT

Depending on your business, Christmas may be a quiet time. Consider encouraging staff to use up their outstanding holiday entitlement. Everybody needs an appropriate level of rest to stay fit and healthy, and carrying-over large amounts of unused holiday entitlement can cause all sorts of problems.

6.  HAVE A GOOD CLEAR OUT

The quiet time between Christmas and New Year is a great time to have a good clear-out in the office, warehouse, workshop or wherever. Remember your document archive – get rid of the stuff marked for destruction in 2011 and archive the next year to make room for 2012 documents.

7.  GET THOSE YEAR-END TASKS DONE

Utilise the holiday period to get your year-end schedules and tasks out of the way. Even if you don’t have a December year-end, you can make a start on things in advance to make your year-end tasks more manageable.

8.  SET YOUR PRIORITIES FOR THE NEW YEAR

Christmas is a great time to formulate your priorities for the New Year. Set targets and milestones to make sure you get off to a flying start and everybody knows what’s expected of them in 2012.

9.  PLAN A STAFF MEETING FOR 2012

With your plans in place for the New Year, why not start January off with a staff meeting to galvanise everybody’s resolve for 2012. Tell them your vision, make your commitments public and set the tone and direction for your year ahead.

10. PUBLISH YOUR COMPANY CALENDAR FOR THE NEW YEAR

Every business should have a ‘Company Calendar’ showing the key dates for the year ahead. Christmas is a great time to plan the year ahead and set the deadlines and key dates for everything from reporting deadlines to appraisal dates.

And finally……. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from

Hard Hat Business Advice!      

Filed under: News & Topical Tips

The Apprentice – A Little Help from Hard Hat

The winner of last night’s Apprentice task chose a woman in a pin-stripe suit and a yellow hard hat to appeal to young business professionals, the target market for their new magazine entitled ‘Covered’.

I am pretty well known on the local networking scene for sporting my yellow hard hat as I help businesses that find themselves between a rock and a hard place.

Team Logic may have won this task, but let’s face it, they only won because the Team Venture made a bigger hash of the task.

One thing that can be learned from last night – If you consult a focus group, then you really should take note of what they say. Once again, both teams failed to grasp this simple lesson. The root of the failures in both teams could be found in the focus groups. The Rugby Club lads made it clear that they didn’t wish to be associated with the soft-porn message behind ‘Covered’. The folks from the Bowls Club made it equally clear that they did not consider themselves a ‘pipe and slippers’ segment of the market. ‘Hip Replacement’ – I ask you…..

Filed under: News & Topical Tips

Telephone Scam Warning

Suffolk Trading Standards  have received a complaint from a Suffolk consumer after receiving a telephone call from someone claiming to be from the Office of Fair Trading.

They told the consumer they had overpaid bank charges and were entitled to over £4,000 back.

The consumer hung up after deciding the call was a scam. Never give out personal details over the phone, if you are concerned you may have been the victim of a scam then contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 50 06.

If you are concerned about the amount of scam telephone calls or letters you are receiving, you can join the Telephone/Mail Preference Service.

These services are free, and it records your preference not to receive unsolicited marketing or sales calls. Details of how to join are below:

Telephone Preference Service  0845 070 0707

Mail Preference Service  020 7291 3310

Filed under: News & Topical Tips, Uncategorized, scam OFT