Talk Seminars Blog

Very Good is Not Good Enough

Wise words from Seth Godin when it comes to growing a business:

"...if you're very good at what you do, you won't grow. Because lots of people are good at what you do. No one is going to be busy referring you and sending you business just because you're very good... The only way to consistently grow in B2B is to be better than very good."

How To Succeed in Business to Business

The Corporate Soufflé

More than one-third of UK executives believe their organisations are being "paralysed" by ineffective middle management, cutting productivity by at least £220bn every year, reports Personnel Today.

In a study of 200 managers by Hay Group, it was also found that 40% of executives said their organisation's middle management was the single most barrier to achieving strategic success thus creating a "corporate soufflé", where the middle management structure gives way as individual commitment and leadership ability falter.

Read more findings from the report here...

Women Driving Start-Up Boom

The number of women starting their own business has increased by 9% over the past 12 months reports New Business.

“Women in business are a crucial part of Britain’s economy contributing some £60 billion annually" claimed Karen Gill, co-founder of everywoman, producers of the research along with Nat West.

Promotion is 'Key Driver' For Workers

Workers would be more likely to stay with their current employer if they had better promotion prospects, according to a survey by Manpower, reports the BBC.

Career advancement was the main reason people left to work for another company, followed by the chance to work more flexible hours.

On the other side of that equation, Manpower discovered that holding onto staff was the most pressing human resources issue for employers.

Leadership in The Workplace

A "Leadership in The Workplace" survey released indicates that UK bosses' lack of leadership skills is having an adverse effect on business performance, reports HRM Guide.

Commissioned by a leading firm of Chartered Psychologists, the study was based on responses from 1500 people from organisations of varying sizes throughout the UK about "leadership in the workplace".

• 77% of respondents said their boss was not interested in them
• 90% said their boss did nothing about poor performers
• 79% claimed their boss did not set clear objectives
• 89% said their boss lacked innovation and was unreceptive to new ideas

There are still places available for Talk Leadership in March 2007, which covers many aspects of modern leadership in the Corporate Environment.

Do Leaders Undermine Training?

A recent survey by The Ken Blanchard Companies found that senior managers are undermining the training programmes they have asked for.

They ask their training managers to:

• Initiate learning programmes that produce empowered leaders for the future
• Encourage people to be more productive
• Be accountable for bottom line results showing a clear return on investment (ROI) in training

But about half of the same top managers will then undermine their requests by:

• Failing to set an example of what good leadership looks like
• Refusing to go on training programmes themselves
• Not showing an interest in sharing the responsibility for enhancing the recognition and value of training within the company

More from HRM Guide...

Promoting Talent

Companies where promotion of talent is part of the organisation's culture outperform those where it is not by 67%, a report by  Jackson Samuel suggests.

The report, was the result of discussions with 58 HR Directors of some of the UK's top companies.

Ref. Personnel Today

Increasing Roles for Female Managers

The amount of women in managerial jobs has grown by almost one-third (30%) in the past 10 years, compared to 15% in professional roles, according to a recent report by The Work Foundation.

There has also been a significant increase in 'associate professional' roles (such as nurses and computer technicians) for both men and women. The number of women in associate professional jobs has more than doubled, growing by 57%, in the last decade, compared with 17% for men.

Source: Personnel Today