What about leadership needs to change? The leader needs to set a good example regarding their targets and accepting the consequences for not achieving them.

A good article in the Harvard Business Review highlights the challenges of strategic planning. Detailed plans may make managers feel good but too often they matter little to performance.

Master and slave relationship; that’s how a leading transport operator once described many business relationships! Have you ever realised that some business relationships are like that?

Client Learning. You get what you pay for was identified recently by an engineering client.

An overseas manufacturing client was keen to purchase an Australian eastern seaboard manufacturer whom it had known for years.

Great focussed facilitation for South East Business Network (SEBN). A group of Human Resource Managers had hit a barrier, unable to cut through and get their big issues through to chief executives.

First step for being more strategic, clear your head. Five rules identified to help clear your head:

Case Study Carefully framed questions identified as % of sales:

The HBR illuminates the six Prada principles: control through transparency; go where the risk is; give respect to get performance; sell only your own designs; obsess over details and give young managers real responsibilities.

Great new Executive Book Summary from Soundview on "What Matters Now" by Gary Hamel. He asks "What are the fundamental, make-or-break issues that will determine whether your organization thrives or dies in the years ahead?"

In these challenging times it is vital that businesses understand profitability by customer/client.

The excerpt below is from a Harvard Business Review article in May-June 2019 by Siggelkow and Terwiesch. “Thanks to technologies that enable constant, customized interactions, businesses are building deeper ties with their customers. Firms can now address customer needs the moment they arise – and sometimes even earlier.

Some businesses visited recently were found to have inadequate credit control. The owners were not enforcing their terms and allowing debtors up to a year to pay!

Now is a good time to review prices. Some should be increased by the CPI and others by more or possibly less if there are special circumstances.

An article in the Harvard Business Review describes Sir Alex Ferguson's management approach. It gives great insight into his enormously successful methods.

Some businesses owners, particularly road transport operators don't understand how profits are generated and under-charge for their services.