Launching a new venture? Here’s how to beat the odds
By Clark Gilbert & Matthew Eyring for the Harvard Business Review “For nearly 20 years the case study used to introduce Harvard Business School’s Entrepreneurial Management course has been Howard Stevenson’s “R&R.” It looks at Bob Reiss, an entrepreneur who launches a venture in the board-game…
Are you using the 7 C’s of Communication? Or is it 10 C’s?
What makes for great communication? According to the methodology outlined in the Mindtools video below, clear and concise communication (oops, spoiler alert!) requires 7 C’s: Clear. Concise. Concrete. Correct. Coherent. Complete. Courteous. Watch the video and let us know what you think – is this…
15 expert tips: How to write a great business plan.
Writing a good business plan can be a make or break step for a SME Business in the fast paced New Zealand market. A strong business plan gives your investors, stakeholders and your team insight into where you have been, what you have learned, the…
Seven Tips to Mining Gold within your Customer Base
Written by Prime Strategies Business Advisor Craig McCulloch. Did you realise that every small business is sitting on a gold nugget that is often neglected by owners? So many businesses focus and spend enormous amounts of money and energy on trying to increase enquiry and…
Pricing Strategy is Crucial for Small Business to Maximize Profits
In general, small businesses tend to under-price their products and services – or they price haphazardly. By not pricing effectively, this effects their profits, reduces the available capital for future growth and sometimes risks business survival. One of the fastest ways for small businesses to…
Are your decision making skills hot enough?
Business Management is full of decision making – and the ability to make a good decision, in a timely manner, using the available information is vital to business success. It would be easy if there were one formula you could use in any situation, but…
6 Steps to better Productivity
By Meridith Levinson for CIO Workplace performance expert Jason Womack says changing the way we do our work to improve our productivity is hard because our processes have become habit, and in many cases these habits have made us successful (even if they drove us to the…
9 smart ways to get the most out of meetings
Veteran financier Ray Dalio has been in every kind of meeting: the good, the bad and the ugly. Here’s how he keeps his meetings focused and productive. In 1974, Ray Dalio founded the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, and it’s now the world’s largest, managing roughly $160 billion. Here…
Improving your business decision making skills
by Srini Pillay for The Harvard Business Review. We are faced with the need to make decisions every day. Should we bring product A or B to market? Which marketing strategy should we use? Of the choices that we have available, who is the best…
Insights into becoming more resilient
One key business skill that is frequently over-looked is resilience. Being in business is an ever-changing journey, as markets wax and wane and industries evolve with technology – and all businesses face challenges that test the mettle of owners and managers. We liked these 8…