The commercial and industrial building and construction industry in Australia generated $15.8 billion in 2011–12. The five largest players generated 16% of this revenue, leaving the other 3,100 businesses to compete for the balance of construction work. As there are relatively low bar

Over the years I’ve watched many things get more complicated. Take communication for example: the addition of mobile phones, video conferencing, sms, email, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and websites have enabled us to do business almost anywhere and at any time. But at what cost? There

It’s difficult to imagine that we could pick up any management practices from the horrific spate of bombings that took place in Mumbai on the 26th November 2008. Yet, true heroes emerge in the face of disaster. Amongst them, were the staff at the Taj Palace Hotel...

In the current economic climate the demand for interim managers is increasing as more companies are realising the benefits interim managers can have to their business. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of hiring an interim manager is vital to ensure a successful appoin

What is ‘Design Thinking’? ‘Design Thinking’ is commonly interpreted as the methodology used to approach business problems the way designers approach design problems. But the word ‘design’ in ‘Design Thinking’ seems to get in the way of

The government-owned State Bank of India has been around for 200 years. It’s incumbency guaranteed it a market share of around 35 percent, until the middle of the last decade when their dominance halved in the space of just two years. The turnaround was just as spectacular...

Any business older than five years is likely to have faced the challenge of responding to changes in their business operations, a result of dealing with the impacts of market/industry changes and regulations. Normally businesses make the required changes as quickly as possible to mini

Having interviewed my fair share of people over the years, I’ve been guilty of believing in ‘The Perfect Candidate’. Someone who answered every question with flawlessly relevant examples, and showed no visible area of weakness or development. ...Here are some left field questions t

We know there is no magic formula to running a successful business, but there are some common practises that will point you in the right direction. Most of them can be implemented straight away, it’s just a matter of accepting the need for change. In this week’s podcast Phil Dobbie

The first step in sorting out your brand positioning is realising that you need one. In this edition of the Vantage Performance Podcast Christine Moody, CEO of Vantage Brand, talks through what brand positioning is, who does it well, and what you can do today as a first step towards g

In my last post, I discussed the questions a business needs to raise before it can decide whether the time is right to establish a board. If you’ve decided the time is right, there are a couple of obvious options...

“When should we establish a board that includes independent directors?” is a question I’m often asked by SMEs, in particular family businesses. Each case must be considered on its own merits, taking into consideration factors including business size and what stage of the business l

“When should we establish a board that includes independent directors?” is a question I’m often asked by SMEs, in particular family businesses. Each case must be considered on its own merits, taking into consideration factors including business size and what stage of the business lif

As we head into the new year, we thought we'd share with you our Top Blog Posts for 2012, as voted by you our readers. The Business Strategy Blog has been providing business advice and tips for over five years, and now reaches over 22,000 visitors each year. Check out the list b

Induction, orientation, onboarding - while the terminology may have changed some aspects stay the same; like the need to engage new employees. What company wouldn’t want new employees to quickly understand performance standards and to be effective and productive faster? Not to me