Opening up your own business out of your own home sounds like the dream job, doesn’t it? Because of the benefits of being your own boss and working from the comfort of your couch, more and more people are choosing to pursue this career choice. What exactly does it take, though, to make this new business venture a success? Home business ideas If you’re thinking of coming home to a new business venture, you first need an idea. Spend some time brainstorming what it is you like to do. … [Read more...] about Should I Come Home to a New Business Venture?
Marketing Excellence #TDAD13
Some events are public, some are private. Sometimes we are lucky to be allowed to attend a private event and share.This is a blog on marketing excellence from a trade event somewhere in the South East of England for a group of elite professionals in the marketing space.For commercial reasons I cannot say where this marketing excellence event is happening, or who it is for, but I can share some of the great learning taking place. Marketing Excellence Speakers The lead speakers … [Read more...] about Marketing Excellence #TDAD13
Project Management or Project Leadership #pmot
In the last couple of years we have been asked to run a number of "Introduction to project management" courses for people in businesses. But what transpired was they the either needed management skills training or more importantly project leadership development. Successful Project Management Successful project management in today’s business environment is increasingly complex. Effective management of the intricate “people” side is the glue that holds together a project of any caliber. By … [Read more...] about Project Management or Project Leadership #pmot
Learning to do business overseas – The BILD & UKTI #BILDevent
Today I am attending an event run by The BILD in association with the UKTI.I will attempt to live blog from this event - as long as there is a good data connection ;)The event runs from 10:30 through to 15:30 GMT. Speakers include: Richard Parry - Head of Education Exports and Publishing - UKTIJoy Wilson - Spectrum Training ServicesGraham Snape - International Trade Advisor - UKTI Export for the Learning and Training Market Like any business, there is opportunity for business … [Read more...] about Learning to do business overseas – The BILD & UKTI #BILDevent
Business Trend – Talent Management & Engagement
Business Trend - Talent Management & Engagement Whilst looking for some data on the needs of organizations, I came across this visualisation based on some data from Forum. Whilst not comprehensive or universal, some of the key points here resonated with some of the issues I have seen in clients recently.Forum asked business leaders what their biggest challenges will be over the next 2-3 years. This is what they said: talent shortage, ability of staff to lead change and increased … [Read more...] about Business Trend – Talent Management & Engagement
successful networking at events – 5 key steps
Successful networking at events is one of the goals that many professionals seek to achieve.Love them or hate them, business networking events are here to stay. And in a world where we are increasingly working online, successful networking at events is becoming more important than ever.One of the real successes of late are "tweet-ups" - meetings between people that have engaged on twitter. These can be powerful networking events, as to some extent the "ice is already broken" even if … [Read more...] about successful networking at events – 5 key steps
Winter viruses and how to beat them – Infection control
Some months ago, the RapidBI team were invited to assist a BBC production team in the production of a scene for this BBC documentary - Winter viruses and how to beat themOur brief for the programme Winter viruses and how to beat them was to work to demonstrate how a virus would spread in the real world.In this pre-release clip (below), the BBC together with the Health & Safety Executive's Laboratory (UK) to explore the spread of the winter vomiting bug "Norovirus". In this dramatic … [Read more...] about Winter viruses and how to beat them – Infection control
Do you have complete trust in your employees
There stands a 75 percent likelihood that one of your employees will steal from you this year, while that same figure amounts to employee thefts that business owners will never discover.So, faced with those statistics, do you really have 100 percent trust in each and every worker that enters and leaves your office on a daily basis?With tough economic times, along with the fact that identity theft is an ever-growing problem, more and more small business owners must deal with the fact that … [Read more...] about Do you have complete trust in your employees
Digital vs Conventional Networking
In today’s world, technology is taking over every aspect of our lives. Business and networking have exploded in the digital age. You can send tweets while you are waiting at a stop light (not recommended) or write a blog post from a local diner. Our whole world has made a huge technological turn, and although networking has joined the digital world full-force, some networking is still looming in its conventional state.Businesses really should take advantage of both digital and conventional … [Read more...] about Digital vs Conventional Networking
Informal Learning – ensure learning is shared
It's easy to spend money on training course and conferences, but do we really maximise the learning?Most organizations do not require people to share their learning - why not make it a part of your learning management, to have people offer peer presentations of events attended and start local discussion groups to further develop and transfer new knowledge … [Read more...] about Informal Learning – ensure learning is shared
Innovation Drivers for change
Innovation Drivers Innovation is that buzz phrase that many, many firms aspire to. The look at processes, and hiring innovative and bright people. But are we missing the point? Learning from history - the drivers of innovation Almost every point in history, when there have been problems that needed solving, especially when resources were sparse we have seen wonderful innovation. Whilst we may not like the context, the second world war gives some brilliant examples - Wallis's bouncing bomb, … [Read more...] about Innovation Drivers for change
Diversity calendar from the CIPD 2013
Looking for a diversity calender with the various religious dates all in one place? It’s not often that something for free has intrinsic value, however here is an offer from the CIPD with a difference. The CIPD contribute to a diversity calendar which provides a range of multi-faith days, holidays and festivals. This diversity calendar is being made available on their site for all – members and non-members alike. Diversity Calender 2013 from Diversiton This calendar is a practical and … [Read more...] about Diversity calendar from the CIPD 2013
Post nominal letters and qualifications
Letters after your name (post nominals) Being qualified, and having an education is important. In many parts of the world, this is more important than anything else. The use of post nominal letters after our names on documents and cards is a way of telling the world we are qualified.What prompted me to write this blog was a person who applied to join a LinkedIn group I run. His title and post nominal letters included:Prof. Dr. John Smith MBA, PGDTD, BEd, MEd, MPhil. PhD, … [Read more...] about Post nominal letters and qualifications
Succession Planning or Contingency Planning
Succession Planning or Contingency Planning is one of those things that is often talked about, but often considered too complex for many smaller businesses to understand - or even justify the perceived cost of undertaking such activity.And yes to those in the know, Succession Planning can be one of the most important human resource functions to sustaining business performance. What is Succession Planning? The CIPD define Succession Planning as: as a process for identifying and developing … [Read more...] about Succession Planning or Contingency Planning
In Case of Emergency #999 #911 E123
In Case of Emergency - ICE How many of you have an ICE number in your phone? Do ALL your loved ones?In Case of Emergency, do you know the value of having an ICE number in your phone or purse? Would the emergency services know how to contact your loved ones? In Case of Emergency is not just for the holiday season At this time of year, the emergency services respond to more emergency calls that at any other single time. Unfortunately many of us go out without ID, but in this day and age we … [Read more...] about In Case of Emergency #999 #911 E123
Linkedin groups – Post & make it readable
Using LinkedIn groups effectively Linkedin is a great network, but one of the problems in the LinkedIn groups is the PRESENTATION summary of what is being discussed.Linkedin groups allows titles of posts to be over 180 characters - way too long.Worse - they "hide" the place to start the body of the message, and many users miss it.Even seasoned users seem to either not be aware of the "title" and "body" options inside the LinkedIn groups. Starting a Discussion in LinkedIn … [Read more...] about Linkedin groups – Post & make it readable
Is Your Small Business Paying the Price for Not Outsourcing Payroll?
Small business owners have lots on their plate to accomplish on a daily basis.With that being the case, outsourcing your payroll needs can remove the stress of having to pay employees on time, not to mention worry about whether or not all the necessary deductions are properly covered.Before your notion is to turn to a payroll provider, however, what are some of the things you should look for and expect from such a company?Among them:1. Reliability – Have you ever had to deal with … [Read more...] about Is Your Small Business Paying the Price for Not Outsourcing Payroll?
leadership-and-management-models-download-page-3b
Leadership and Management Models Download PowerPoint Slides – page 3b At RapidBI we use many management and leadership models and through the process of using them we have developed a library of 100′s.These pages have proved so popular that we now offer unbranded PowerPoint slides for you to download and use.Please note many of the models on the slides are copyright – please use appropriately.Go back to page 1 of the modelsGo back to page 2 of the models[wp_eStore_fancy1 … [Read more...] about leadership-and-management-models-download-page-3b
leadership-and-management-models-download-page-3a
Leadership and Management Models Download PowerPoint Slides – page 3a At RapidBI we use many management and leadership models and through the process of using them we have developed a library of 100′s.These pages have proved so popular that we now offer unbranded PowerPoint slides for you to download and use.Please note many of the models on the slides are copyright – please use appropriately.Go back to page 1 of the modelsGo back to page 2 of the models[wp_eStore_fancy1 … [Read more...] about leadership-and-management-models-download-page-3a
leadership and management models download- page 2a
Leadership and Management Models Download PowerPoint Slides - page 2a At RapidBI we use many management and leadership models and through the process of using them we have developed a library of 100′s.These pages have proved so popular that we now offer unbranded PowerPoint slides for you to download and use.Please note many of the models on the slides are copyright – please use appropriately.Go back to page 1 of the models[wp_eStore_fancy1 id=1]Conceptual … [Read more...] about leadership and management models download- page 2a
