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I confess I find my own practical experience matches most of the social science research on why people come to work – as described in Daniel Pink’s Book Drive. Daniel’s book spotlights the big three as mastery, autonomy, purpose. I’ve added another seven that work across the demographic spectrum. Read More

The WSJ did a great book review last week blowing up the myths surrounding brainstorming and innovation – Inside the Box: A Proven System of Creativity for Breakthrough Results. The authors are professors at the University of Cincinnati and Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Read More

One of the most difficult aspects of scaling a business is alignment. You could be the head of a $500m division or the leader of a 25 person manufacturer but you will struggle with alignment. Getting people pointing in the same direction is the essence of leadership. Read More

Way back in 1987 when I leapt from Thomson the publishing giant after a fantastic 5 year spell, to join Barrie Pearson, a one man band, M&A guru I always believed the small guy could win. Today the evidence is overwhelming that if you own a small company you can take on the market leader and win. Read More

t is never easy raising money. There are clearly more options today than ever before but it’s still very tough. Are there tried and trusted techniques to turn investors on? Well over the years we’ve raised a lot of money and made many mistakes on the way. Here are 15 big mistakes most teams make. Read More

Sales professionals are always under pressure to build their pipeline and then crush it! But what’s working to really progress leads all the way to the bank? How do you progress deals in today’s uncertain environment. This post describes what’s working in the teams I’m driving. Read More

Scaling a business gives you options. The more you scale the more options you have. You attract better qualified candidates for openings. You attract better prospects and close bigger sales deals. So where are you you on the grapgh? What's your Scalability score and how are you going to improve it? Read More

In a remarkable announcement covered by the FT, Mondelez International, the former Kraft snack food group, is changing its payment terms to 120 days. Wow, there’s some real arrogance right there. Cash hoarding by large groups is at record levels. But there are tactics to be used by SMBs. Read More

Successful execution requires a contrarian mindset, otherwise we would all be great at it! What do I mean? To successfully complete difficult tasks requires a different approach, a unique perspective, a contrarian mindset. Here are eight powerful examples worth considering. Read More

On May 15th the WSJ posted a piece called Wanted: More Directors with Digital Savvy. The first line read: “Nearly every facet of corporate life has gone digital. But many public-company boards remain stuck in analog mode.” Forget public companies, what about all companies. Read More