Sterling Performance

The 12 Most Dangerous Words in Business

Jo Owen — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:23:27 +0000

Don’t worry about the jargon: at least we all recognise it when we hear it. The really nasty language in business are normal words with abnormal meanings. Twelve which should get any alert manager’s bullsh*t detector working overtime include: Just This is used to make a huge request or error seem trivial as in: “Could you just [...]

Credit Crunch Stocking Stuffers

Joanna Higgins — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:29:05 +0000

Tip to the FT: so business and economic forecasts have proved inaccurate? Try this instead, courtesy of Alphaville… A crystal ball that can predict changes in the weather, traffic and the stockmarket? Could there be a better Christmas gift? Or something for the stress bunny — Squeeze the Banker: “Guaranteed to raise employee morale.” (Photo: Shutterchick, CC2.0)

Middle Managers: Stop Fighting the Alligators

Joanna Higgins — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:07:17 +0000

What stops middle managers from progressing? “When you are fighting off the alligators, it’s hard to remember you’re trying to drain the swamp,” says Richard Jolly, adjunct associate professor for organisational behaviour at London Business School. Middle managers haven’t fully grasped the challenge of what it takes to be a senior manager. They are so busy [...]

Queen’s Speech: What Business Thinks

Joanna Higgins — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:28:19 +0000

Broadly, the Queen’s Speech’s focus on restoring financial stability gained broad business approval, as did the aim of streamlining upcoming legislation. But some of the bills raised concerns about red tape and, in the case of the Business Rate Supplements bill, direct costs. Some responses… Management Petra Wilton, policy and research director at the Chartered Management Institute: [...]

What Would You Do to Keep a Job?

Joanna Higgins — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:05:16 +0000

Employees will bend the rules on working hours or salary if it means they can keep their job. But they’ll break them by stealing valuable company data if they are laid off. Some employees have already downloaded company information on the off chance of needing it as a negotiating tool in their next role, according [...]

Recession Recovery: Is it All in the Mind?

Joanna Higgins — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:42:29 +0000

Reading BNET1’s latest find from Bain & Co, it occurs to me that there’s rarely a day that goes by without a new (usually pessimistic) forecast about the economy, an industry, or an individual business. But whose predictions should we heed — how reliable are the analysts and economists now (as opposed to 12 or 18 [...]

BA and Qantas in Tie-Up Talks

Joanna Higgins — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:50:26 +0000

BA’s shares received a boost on news that it is considering a merger with Australia’s Qantas, while it tries to ringfence potential tie-ups with Spain’s Iberia and American Airlines. The merged entity, if it goes ahead, would have a dual listing structure. Why it makes sense: The two airlines are broadly the same size in terms [...]

Top Business Books for 2008

Joanna Higgins — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:53:19 +0000

Stefan Stern rounds up the best business books for 2008. Only a few on Stern’s list tally with BNET’s own top reading list so far — they are in bold. When Markets Collide: Investment Strategies for the Age of Global Change, by Mohamed El-Erian (McGraw-Hill). It was voted overall winner of this year’s Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business [...]

Unilever’s Colour Cuts Could Save Millions

Joanna Higgins — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:02:38 +0000

Advertising Age highlights another recession-busting strategy that has the potential to save billions in packaging. Anglo Dutch consumer giant Unilever (whose CEO , Paul Polman, was one of three Unilever execs caught up in the Mumbai attacks) could save between $13m and $26m in Europe on packaging costs by cutting back on the number of colours [...]

8 Sectors Tipped to Grow in 2009

Joanna Higgins — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:25:29 +0000

We’ve heard a lot about which sectors are struggling. But which industries are destined for greatness? Here are some of the predictions that emerged from a gathering of Silicon Valley and European entrepreneurs at the eighth annual “Silicon Valley Comes to Oxford” event at Said Business School. Biz Stone, co-founder, Twitter: Real-time products… “And more blimps”. Saul [...]