Category Archives: Confidential advice

High staff turnover?

Posted on October 19, 2011 by

High staff turnover has its root in poor leadership. Continue reading →

Posted in Broken relationships in business, Bullying in leaders, Confidential advice, High staff turover, managing upwards, Recruitment, Unfair dismissal | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Does the boss need to be good with people?

Posted on January 21, 2011 by

The commonest reason for promotion to manager is: technical excellence and hard work. But if you want to lead people, those excellent technical skills won’t be anything like enough. Even worse, if you work in a business where it’s every-man-for-himself, … Continue reading →

Posted in Broken relationships in business, Confidential advice, Getting to the top, Leadership, Leadership problems, Leadership qualities, Managing people, Personal development, Reluctant leader | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is fraud only in politics?

Posted on January 8, 2011 by

An MP goes to prison for cheating on his expense claims. Judging by today’s Times’s comments the response has been highly charged. “All politicians are corrupt”…”prison’s too good”… on the one hand and “not that bad really” (I paraphrase) on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Are we logical?, Big business failure, Confidential advice, Denial, Dishonesty, Personal development | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Apprentice Mel: Are they horrible people?

Posted on October 28, 2010 by

Melissa Cohen’s exit from BBC’s Apprentice episode 4 is the most dramatic yet. She dispenses with the usual programme etiquette of shaking hands and hugs when she gets fired. Instead she rounds on her “colleagues” in front of Lord Sugar and … Continue reading →

Posted in Broken relationships in business, Bullying in the work place, Confidential advice, Conflict, The Apprentice, TV reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What happens if you mess up?

Posted on October 22, 2010 by

It’s all very well writing about leadership and integrity in business and in the community, but what happens when we get it wrong? What happens when we totally blow it? Is there hope after a disaster? Well it’s true that our … Continue reading →

Posted in Big business failure, Broken relationships in business, Confidential advice, Failure, Forgiveness, Integrity in business, Leader resigns, Saint or villain, You're fired | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Is love a drug?

Posted on October 19, 2010 by

Have you ever fallen in love? Head over heels? Then you’ll know what I mean about “love” in this context being like a strong draught of opiate-like euphoria. “The Times” reported recently that “falling in love” has powerful pain relieving … Continue reading →

Posted in Are we logical?, Confidential advice, Falling in love, Family life, Heart v Head, Integrity in business, Personal development | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Does a mentor have a limited life?

Posted on October 8, 2010 by

Of course they do! Not only are we not immortal, our role as a mentor probably should be limited, or reviewed from time to time. Actually I dislike the term “mentor” but let’s not get tied up in semantics. One person … Continue reading →

Posted in Confidential advice, Driven, Finding success in business, Leadership, Lonely at the top, Mentoring, Work life balance | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Can you tell what I am thinking?

Posted on September 17, 2010 by

Just by looking at me? Or can we be sure our assumptions about a person’s intentions are correct? Like Sherlock Holmes we have brains that get us from A to Z very quickly, and the journey via B, C D etc … Continue reading →

Posted in Are we logical?, Broken relationships in business, Bullying in leaders, Bullying in the work place, Confidential advice, Conflict, Managing people, The presenting past | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How close is a big firm to failing?

Posted on September 15, 2010 by

The bigger you are the harder you fall, or so I was told. Having worked in the Big Four, I can confirm that they are very worried about falling over. And it’s no surprise either. When Arthur Andersen collapsed a … Continue reading →

Posted in Big business failure, Binary thinking, Confidential advice, Failure, Getting to the top, Leader resigns, Lonely at the top | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is busy-ness the enemy of invention?

Posted on September 8, 2010 by

What stops us developing new ideas? What stops us working on our heart’s desire, our latent talent, our real passion? “I’m just too busy right now”. “Working too hard”. “Maybe next year, when I have finished my A levels, my … Continue reading →

Posted in Confidential advice, Denial, Driven, Family life, Heart v Head, Passion is key, Work life balance | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments