General

Season of Giving: Kiva 

Leave a Comment / General /

This season reminds us that lighting one small candle of kindness makes the world a brighter place.  My own favourite way to do that is Kiva.  Kiva is a micro-lending service for people who would not have access to fair finance.  Too often their only option is predatory loan sharks.  It’s inspired by Grameen Bank, whose founder, Muhammad Yunus, won a Nobel Peace Prize.  There’s a lot to like about Kiva:  We’re very fortunate in regional WA, and we […]

Season of Giving: Kiva  Read More »

A Coaching Culture 

Leave a Comment / Mentoring, Programs, Strategy /

Here’s something real.  People actually want better coaching from their leaders, and most leaders feel unprepared to give it.  Our Bunbury CEO Round Table had a very frank conversation with an accomplished executive coach.  He has walked in his client’s shoes, as a former executive in the industry he now serves.  He is soft-spoken, realistic and practical, a little self-deprecating about the important work he does.  And he has got evidence.  According to research

A Coaching Culture  Read More »

Governance of Non-Profits: Good Intentions are not Enough 

Leave a Comment / Boards, General /

Here’s two important facts about non-profits:  In the regions, but also in the capitals, non-profits or NFPs are supporting kids, young people, parents, those living with disability, elders, veterans, women, men, and basically all of us.  They supply education, safe spaces, housing, advocacy, social connection, advice, emergency response, wildlife rescue, and every kind of helping hand.  Without them, our communities would cease to function.  And their boards, committees and governing bodies are rich in wonderful, committed human beings who

Governance of Non-Profits: Good Intentions are not Enough  Read More »

Is Family Business Even a Thing? 

Leave a Comment / Family Business /

Is Family Business Even a Thing?  For many regional Australians, a family business is just the default way they put bread and cheese on the table.  Where jobs are few and families work together, family business is normal and natural.  The family farm, the general store, the partnership running a trade or contracting business, the biggest independent brewer in the country…  Across all sizes

Is Family Business Even a Thing?  Read More »

Strategy Is a Promise: Are You Keeping Yours?  

Leave a Comment / Strategy /

“We should view this as a contract, as the company’s commitment on how it will behave.”  That was a quiet bombshell dropped into the conversation recently.  We were having a very honest discussion with a group of key client staff, about taking major strategic growth opportunities without destroying the reason so many good people want to work there.  We were doing the hard work on strategy development, in

Strategy Is a Promise: Are You Keeping Yours?   Read More »

Succession Thinking – A Way Out of the Maze 

Leave a Comment / Family Business /

Feeling trapped?  Too many of the business owner-leaders we speak to can’t see their way out.  The business may be profitable, they may have achieved what they set out to do, but now they find too much depends on their personal involvement.  They may feel stuck, overwhelmed and (often) very alone.   On the business journey, being indispensable to your business

Succession Thinking – A Way Out of the Maze  Read More »

The Four Truths of Business Growth® 

Leave a Comment / Boards, Family Business, Mentoring, Programs, Strategy /

The Four Truths of Business Growth®  We trademarked that phrase because it’s central to how we plan our work with our clients.  Here’s a quick overview.  But first – why grow?  Businesses don’t have to achieve world domination, or be “unicorns”, or generate billionaires, to be successful.  A business that supports a lifestyle you love,

The Four Truths of Business Growth®  Read More »

Business Plan?  I Know I Had One Somewhere 

Leave a Comment / Boards, Family Business, Strategy /

Been to see a business advisor, bank manager, grant body?  Enrolled in a business assistance scheme?  Joined a business support program?  More than likely you’ve been told to write a business plan.  Why?  Did anyone explain that?  And why is that plan almost certainly now on the “must revisit some day” pile, steadily sinking into

Business Plan?  I Know I Had One Somewhere  Read More »