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Excerpt from : Secrets of the World Class
By Steve Siebold
• The Middle Class competes...the World Class creates.
• The Middle Class avoids risk...the World Class manages risk.
• The Middle Class loves to be comfortable... The World Class is comfortable being uncomfortable.
• The Middle Class hungers for security...The World Class doesn't believe security exists.
• The Middle Class sacrifices growth for safety... The World Class sacrifices safety for growth.
• The Middle Class focuses on having...The World Class focuses on being.
• The Middle Class has a lottery mentality... The World Class has an abundance mentality.
• The Middle Class slows down...The World Class calms down.
• The Middle Class is frustrated...The World Class is grateful.
• The Middle Class operates out of fear and scarcity...The World Class operates from love and abundance.
• The Middle Class has pipedreams...The World Class has vision.
• The Middle Class denies its intuition...The World Class embraces its intuition.
• The Middle Class trades time for money...The World Class trades ideas for money.
• The Middle Class is problem oriented...The World Class is solution oriented.
• The Middle Class sees itself as a victim....The World Class sees itself as responsible.
• The Middle Class thinks it knows enough...The World Class is eager to learn.
• The Middle Class chooses fear...The World Class chooses growth.
• The Middle Class is boastful...The World Class is humble.
• The Middle Class seeks riches...The World Class seeks wealth.
• The Middle Class believes its vision only when it sees it...The World Class knows it will see its vision when it believes it.
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Coaching used by almost 90% of organisations, CIPD reports
Recent article on Personneltoday.com
By John Charlton, 16 September 2009 15:00
Research to be launched at the upcoming CIPD Coaching at Work conference has found that almost 90% of organisations polled use coaching.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) says more than 500 companies were surveyed for the Taking the Temperature of Coaching report, which found that 51% of them see coaching as a key part of learning and development and consider it 'crucial to their strategy'.
According to the survey, coaching is being used at all levels to build on good performance (23%) and improve poor performance (20%), and also in leadership development (23%).
"It is not surprising that so many are turning to coaching and mentoring to improve performance," says Dr John McGurk, CIPD adviser, Learning and Talent. "When budgets are tightened, it's a relatively inexpensive way to develop staff, and it also has the benefit of being tailored to an organisation's specific needs. As well as this, coaching has great scope to improve employee engagement, empower people and boost morale at a time of great uncertainty.
"At the conference, we'll look at how those using coaching and mentoring can make sure that they really reap the benefits throughout the organisation.
"It's vital that coaching's impact is measurable and tightly aligned with the business agenda, as well as helping individuals to develop. Otherwise, it runs the risk of being seen as something which only takes place in the executive suite."
The CIPD coaching conference takes place on 24 September 2009 in London.
Meanwhile, CIPD research among 100 HR professionals - backed by evidence from its quarterly employment outlook - indicated that transferable and flexible skills are the number one attribute sought by employers.
It claimed that evidence from both pieces of research showed that these skills were the most marketable in the current jobs market, cited as such by 45% of HR professionals polled and 47% of employment outlook respondents.
By John Charlton, 16 September 2009 15:00
Research to be launched at the upcoming CIPD Coaching at Work conference has found that almost 90% of organisations polled use coaching.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) says more than 500 companies were surveyed for the Taking the Temperature of Coaching report, which found that 51% of them see coaching as a key part of learning and development and consider it 'crucial to their strategy'.
According to the survey, coaching is being used at all levels to build on good performance (23%) and improve poor performance (20%), and also in leadership development (23%).
"It is not surprising that so many are turning to coaching and mentoring to improve performance," says Dr John McGurk, CIPD adviser, Learning and Talent. "When budgets are tightened, it's a relatively inexpensive way to develop staff, and it also has the benefit of being tailored to an organisation's specific needs. As well as this, coaching has great scope to improve employee engagement, empower people and boost morale at a time of great uncertainty.
"At the conference, we'll look at how those using coaching and mentoring can make sure that they really reap the benefits throughout the organisation.
"It's vital that coaching's impact is measurable and tightly aligned with the business agenda, as well as helping individuals to develop. Otherwise, it runs the risk of being seen as something which only takes place in the executive suite."
The CIPD coaching conference takes place on 24 September 2009 in London.
Meanwhile, CIPD research among 100 HR professionals - backed by evidence from its quarterly employment outlook - indicated that transferable and flexible skills are the number one attribute sought by employers.
It claimed that evidence from both pieces of research showed that these skills were the most marketable in the current jobs market, cited as such by 45% of HR professionals polled and 47% of employment outlook respondents.
Wednesday, 2 September 2009
So, the Tax people do have a sense of humour
Picked up by my colleague, Giles Brindley, this is superb:
This is a reply received from HM Revenue and Customs. The Guardian had to ask for permission to print it.
Dear Mr ,
I am writing to you to express our thanks for your more than prompt reply to our latest communication, and also to answer some of the points you raise. I will address them, as ever, in order.
Firstly, I must take issue with your description of our last as a "begging letter". It might perhaps more properly be referred to as a "tax demand". This is how we at the Inland Revenue have always, for reasons of accuracy, traditionally referred to such documents.
Secondly, your frustration at our adding to the "endless stream of crapulent whining and panhandling vomited daily through the letterbox on to the doormat" has been noted. However, whilst I have naturally not seen the other letters to which you refer I would cautiously suggest that their being from "pauper councils, Lombardy pirate banking houses and pissant gas-mongerers" might indicate that your decision to "file them next to the toilet in case of emergencies" is at best a little ill-advised. In common with my own organisation, it is unlikely that the senders of these letters do see you as a "lackwit bumpkin" or, come to that, a "sodding charity". More likely they see you as a citizen of Great Britain, with a responsibility to contribute to the upkeep of the nation as a whole.
Which brings me to my next point. Whilst there may be some spirit of truth in your assertion that the taxes you pay "go to shore up the canker-blighted, toppling folly that is the Public Services", a moment's rudimentary calculation ought to disabuse you of the notion that the government in any way expects you to "stump up for the whole damned party" yourself. The estimates you provide for the Chancellor's disbursement of the funds levied by taxation, whilst colourful, are, in fairness, a little off the mark. Less than you seem to imagine is pent on "junkets for Bunterish lickspittles" and "dancing whores"
whilst far more than you have accounted for is allocated to, for example, "that box-ticking facade of a university system."
A couple of technical points arising from direct queries:
1. The reason we don't simply write "Muggins"on the envelope has to do with the vagaries of the postal system;
2. You can rest assured that "sucking the very marrow of those with nothing else to give" has never been considered as a practice because even if the Personal Allowance didn't render it irrelevant, the sheer medical logistics involved would make it financially unviable.
I trust this has helped. In the meantime, whilst I would not in any way wish to influence your decision one way or the other, I ought to point out that even if you did choose to "give the whole foul jamboree up and go and live in India" you would still owe us the money.
Please send it to us by Friday.
Yours sincerely,
H J Lee
Customer Relations
HM Revenue and Customs
This is a reply received from HM Revenue and Customs. The Guardian had to ask for permission to print it.
Dear Mr ,
I am writing to you to express our thanks for your more than prompt reply to our latest communication, and also to answer some of the points you raise. I will address them, as ever, in order.
Firstly, I must take issue with your description of our last as a "begging letter". It might perhaps more properly be referred to as a "tax demand". This is how we at the Inland Revenue have always, for reasons of accuracy, traditionally referred to such documents.
Secondly, your frustration at our adding to the "endless stream of crapulent whining and panhandling vomited daily through the letterbox on to the doormat" has been noted. However, whilst I have naturally not seen the other letters to which you refer I would cautiously suggest that their being from "pauper councils, Lombardy pirate banking houses and pissant gas-mongerers" might indicate that your decision to "file them next to the toilet in case of emergencies" is at best a little ill-advised. In common with my own organisation, it is unlikely that the senders of these letters do see you as a "lackwit bumpkin" or, come to that, a "sodding charity". More likely they see you as a citizen of Great Britain, with a responsibility to contribute to the upkeep of the nation as a whole.
Which brings me to my next point. Whilst there may be some spirit of truth in your assertion that the taxes you pay "go to shore up the canker-blighted, toppling folly that is the Public Services", a moment's rudimentary calculation ought to disabuse you of the notion that the government in any way expects you to "stump up for the whole damned party" yourself. The estimates you provide for the Chancellor's disbursement of the funds levied by taxation, whilst colourful, are, in fairness, a little off the mark. Less than you seem to imagine is pent on "junkets for Bunterish lickspittles" and "dancing whores"
whilst far more than you have accounted for is allocated to, for example, "that box-ticking facade of a university system."
A couple of technical points arising from direct queries:
1. The reason we don't simply write "Muggins"on the envelope has to do with the vagaries of the postal system;
2. You can rest assured that "sucking the very marrow of those with nothing else to give" has never been considered as a practice because even if the Personal Allowance didn't render it irrelevant, the sheer medical logistics involved would make it financially unviable.
I trust this has helped. In the meantime, whilst I would not in any way wish to influence your decision one way or the other, I ought to point out that even if you did choose to "give the whole foul jamboree up and go and live in India" you would still owe us the money.
Please send it to us by Friday.
Yours sincerely,
H J Lee
Customer Relations
HM Revenue and Customs
Monday, 24 August 2009
Discipline is key to success
..put very neatly by Thomas Huxley many years ago. He said,
"Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not."
"Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not."
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Due diligence in the downturn
An interesting article by James Harris, published yesterday on www.mandadeals.co.uk
There is more emphasis on due diligence than ever before. It's also more difficult, reports James Harris
An unforgiving market means dealmakers are being more vigilant. 'It's a product of the economy,' says Alistair Mackie, partner at law firm Holman Fenwick Willan: 'People are expecting the sky to fall on transactions, so due diligence is much more important.'
This has led to some changes. Mo Merali, head of private equity at Grant Thornton, says: 'In the last two or three years, sadly, we've seen a preponderance of vendor due diligence (VDD), which is slightly contradictory. If you're writing a report about a business and being paid by that business, surely there must be doubts as to the report's veracity. Thankfully VDD is much less prevalent now.'
It is not just the balance sheet that is subject to greater scrutiny. According to Merlyn Gregory, manager of diligence services at Calash, all aspects of the business are now being held to a harsher light.
Says Gregory: 'In the past, commercial due diligence was seen as an ancillary service and often had little relevance to whether the deal would go through. It's no longer a matter of conducting a bit of market research; we're expected to look at everything from operations to strategy and people are seeing real value in it. It's not just because times have changed, but because commercial due diligence is a more established market.'
In essence, the change means that the right questions now get asked: 'After we uncover an issue, the price is renegotiated, and this is happening several times, so deals are becoming longer and longer. As things pick up, I don't think people will look at the smallest details as much.'
How much?
Owing to the increasingly difficult environment, assessing value has become a minefield.
Intangible assets, such as human capital and goodwill, have proved particularly difficult to assess. Mackie says: 'People have had to challenge assumptions about businesses' goodwill. Forward sales are difficult to predict; you can't make assumptions about growth any more. Every part of the business is being stress-tested.'
Pension fund investments have also been hard hit. 'Pension funds have taken a real knock on stock markets,' says Mackie, and it might be hard to know how much value has dropped if actuarial information has not been updated.
For the international business, foreign currency conversions are also problematic. As the sterling continues to fluctuate wildly, businesses with European or American creditors may find themselves owing that much more, and as Mackie points out: 'British businesses will find everything more expensive, especially in Europe.'
Merali advises businesses to keep it simple: 'The key focus should be on the cash generation side of the business. It's all about actual earnings; it's hard to trust anything else.'
There is more emphasis on due diligence than ever before. It's also more difficult, reports James Harris
An unforgiving market means dealmakers are being more vigilant. 'It's a product of the economy,' says Alistair Mackie, partner at law firm Holman Fenwick Willan: 'People are expecting the sky to fall on transactions, so due diligence is much more important.'
This has led to some changes. Mo Merali, head of private equity at Grant Thornton, says: 'In the last two or three years, sadly, we've seen a preponderance of vendor due diligence (VDD), which is slightly contradictory. If you're writing a report about a business and being paid by that business, surely there must be doubts as to the report's veracity. Thankfully VDD is much less prevalent now.'
It is not just the balance sheet that is subject to greater scrutiny. According to Merlyn Gregory, manager of diligence services at Calash, all aspects of the business are now being held to a harsher light.
Says Gregory: 'In the past, commercial due diligence was seen as an ancillary service and often had little relevance to whether the deal would go through. It's no longer a matter of conducting a bit of market research; we're expected to look at everything from operations to strategy and people are seeing real value in it. It's not just because times have changed, but because commercial due diligence is a more established market.'
In essence, the change means that the right questions now get asked: 'After we uncover an issue, the price is renegotiated, and this is happening several times, so deals are becoming longer and longer. As things pick up, I don't think people will look at the smallest details as much.'
How much?
Owing to the increasingly difficult environment, assessing value has become a minefield.
Intangible assets, such as human capital and goodwill, have proved particularly difficult to assess. Mackie says: 'People have had to challenge assumptions about businesses' goodwill. Forward sales are difficult to predict; you can't make assumptions about growth any more. Every part of the business is being stress-tested.'
Pension fund investments have also been hard hit. 'Pension funds have taken a real knock on stock markets,' says Mackie, and it might be hard to know how much value has dropped if actuarial information has not been updated.
For the international business, foreign currency conversions are also problematic. As the sterling continues to fluctuate wildly, businesses with European or American creditors may find themselves owing that much more, and as Mackie points out: 'British businesses will find everything more expensive, especially in Europe.'
Merali advises businesses to keep it simple: 'The key focus should be on the cash generation side of the business. It's all about actual earnings; it's hard to trust anything else.'
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Price: Quotes to make you think
"It is unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money; that is all. When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything,because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do.
The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It cannot be done.
If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run and if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.
There is hardly anything in the world that someone can’t make a little worse and sell a little cheaper – and people who consider price alone are this man’s lawful prey”.
- John Ruskin
"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."
- Henry Thoreau
The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It cannot be done.
If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run and if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.
There is hardly anything in the world that someone can’t make a little worse and sell a little cheaper – and people who consider price alone are this man’s lawful prey”.
- John Ruskin
"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."
- Henry Thoreau
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