The rise in popularity of this phenomena reflects our desire to stand-out, to be noticed and reap the perceived benefits of fame, fortune or both.

Certainly, the featured individuals achieve a degree of both notoriety and income but others, those behind the scenes and pulling the strings reap even greater rewards.

Why place your destiny in the hands of others?
Take control, find out what needs to be done, identify those with the need and the ability to pay and do it for yourself.

The internet affords the greatest opportunity to achive your objective and all it takes is a mix of knowledge, skill, effort and determination.

Making the rules is much more fun than following them.
-
-

If you have a spare 30 minutes you may find this podcast from the BBC informative and stimulating.

Listen to comments from Sir Stuart Rose of Marks and Spencer, Damon Buffini of Permira, Sir Gulam Noon, Vincent Tchenguiz and Professor Manfred Kets de Vries of INSEAD business school in Paris.
-
-

2010 is the 82nd time the gold statues have been awarded so why then has it taken so long for a women to win?

Let’s hope the publicity associated with this important milestone inspires women everywhere; in business as in life itself, success often comes down to personal self-belief and confidence as anything else.
-
-

The employer expects and the employee agrees to a specific set of responsibilities and the implied associated activity.

In return for the reward, the employee is expected to work for a ‘nominal’ number of hours. On occasion, it doesn’t matter how these hours are spent, so long as the employer ‘sees’ the employee is ‘at-work,’ the assumption, is that ‘the employee is working.’ Often this course of behaviour results in the employee feeling they are paid to ‘attend-work.’

Implicit in many organisations is a feeling that the employee should be at work before their colleagues arrive and ought not to leave first; the car-park-game is born!

If an individual is paid by results, trust is both explicit and implicit for the relationship to prosper. Micro managing the key result areas (K.R.A.s) is ignored in exchange for an expectation of results.

Independent, freethinking individuals are set free by the payment by results model because it allows for creative endeavour. Worker bees on the other hand, loose all structure and meaning; terrified they colonise together, taking comfort from collective mass and soon revert to recreate the status quo environment they find safe.

Let’s be clear, we need both: free-thinking indviduals and worker-bees for our society to function, which type are you?
-
-

Not only does the initial brief inform your activity it also leads to accuracy of the fee quotation and so how profitable the endeavour becomes.

Working for no profit might satisfy the soul but not the mortgage lender.
-
-

A century ago, ships set sail from this Wharf, delivering their cargo to all points of the globe. As you can see the dock has frozen-over.

This image is a metaphor for business conversations we’ve experienced over the last week. Things seem to be on hold; budgets are frozen, investment is halted, marketing and development plans suspended. Whether this is due to post holiday season inertia, pre-election hesitance, impending fiscal year-end or some other reason is any one’s guess.

Until the metaphorical and meteorological thaw sets in, it may be prudent to revise business plans for the ensuing flood. After all, we know from experience, when the snow and ice melt, the water has to go somewhere. Happy planning.
-
-

The Business Artisan theme for 2010 is summed up in one word: Utilisation.

Utilisation of:
skill;
experience;
potential;
capacity;
development;
time; and
opportunity.

OK, deep breath, here goes…
-
-

Brands spend considerable time and money developing a reputation; individuals do the same, the reality of course is how we feel about the brand or person and how that influences our decisions about them.

My 8 o’clock meeting yesterday morning was with a person I have known for 10 years. Without exception he has been late ever time we’ve met. In light of this I was relaxed at the prospect of 5 minutes late, heavier than expected traffic the cause of my tardiness.

Imagine my surprise when a) he was sitting there waiting for me with b) an almost finished coffee. On the basis of my reputation, he had been 10 minutes early.

Two reputations spectacularly colliding and a reality check for us both.

So, what does your reputation say about you?
-

The experiences and opportunities afforded to top talent is often a double-edged- sword. The pressures and expectations can lead to crippling self doubt; the path to the top is not easy, ever.

If you think it is, check out tonight’s ‘Inside Sport Special’ called Mind Games.

Whether you are, or have experienced elite success, the content will surely resonate. Knowing you are not alone is both comforting and helpful in making sense of the ‘dark-thoughts.’
-
-

The three part series reflects a much more realistic picture of business in the UK it seems most of the problems affecting the six featured businesses were caused by ‘people issues,’ in my experience this holds true for most organisations.

The dynamics which affect how we ‘get-along’ with each other, communicating and interacting together is without doubt the single most important and difficult aspect to get right in any organisation. This is not some idealistic wish list, but basic common sense.

So, the sixty four thousand dollar question, how to achieve this cooperative utopia? Let’s start by making expectations explicit, consistently maintaining standards and crucially, having positive role models from the ‘top of the organisation.’ How can business leaders justify paying an employee bonus and at the same time award themselves one?

A leader can’t lead without followers, people will choose to follow those who they trust and respect!