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Being too sure of yourself
Pieter Bruegel the Elder: The Seven Deadly Sins or the Seven Vices - Pride (Photo credit: Wikipedia) We have worked hard to be where we are. We have tried to learn all the demands of the business we...
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Showing us the way with enthusiasms
English: Radio Caroline bus (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Courtesy of Sarah Darling The long and winding road Do you sometimes look over your shoulder and wonder how you got where you are? In terms of...
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Never assume
Happy customers Once upon a time, my first job was with an international and mainly Far-Eastern bank. I wrote a nice letter of application in my best handwriting and was placed in the “Income Tax...
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What the BBC can teach us about management and team work
BBC Broadcasting House, Portland Place at the head of Regent Street, London (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The Head Man (Director General) at the BBC, George Entwhistle, resigned not because he made an...
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“Experts” versus specialists
The other day I tweeted in exasperation: “Hate the word “expert”. None of us knows everything. We specialists do know how to find out what we don’t know when asked to.” I don’t know about you but many...
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The ignorant blunderbuss approach to sales and marketing
Knowing our abilities and our limits My business is helping people with their tax issues, and finding help to support their businesses. I know a lot about how to do that, and that is down to hard work,...
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More haste, less speed, less money?
It is a cliché to say that people are always in a rush these days, but unfortunately it is true. In business, generally, it does not pay to be in a rush. We may make poor decisions without considering...
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Customer service, flexibility and common sense
(Photo credit: Wikipedia) Flexibility Customer service is a hobby-horse of mine, but in a small business or any business, it should have top priority. We can only meet the customer’s needs by being...
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Are you really giving your customers what they want?
If you have had clients or customers for a long time, do you still know what they expect of you? Have you asked asked them recently? The trouble is that it is easy to assume we know what they want. It...
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Just trying to keep my customers satisfied
Jetty & lifeboat ramp, St. Catherine’s Bay, Jersey Paul Simon wrote a song with the title of this post. You and I know that if our customers are not satisfied they will take their business...
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Persistence in strategy can pay off
You know that old cliché “If you keep doing what you‘ve always done, you‘ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten”? Albert Einstein and Tony Robbins are credited with it, as well as “Anon”. It is...
View ArticlePetty dictators
I remember when I was an employee working for a boss who was always right, even when he was wrong. There was no reasoning with him. We underlings were not allowed to have an opinion as to how things...
View ArticleDo keep up!
Has your business changed in the past few years? Mine has. In fact, since I first started working in my profession as a young lad, the entire nature of what people like me do has changed beyond...
View ArticleHere’s not looking at you
Even walking down the street, there are people with whom we have a connection. We exchange glances and we smile. We smile about the weather, their child, our dog, the shop window we peer through. We...
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Encouraging the shrinking violets
Violets (Photo credit: Wikipedia) When we are managing a team in business, we will have one or two people who shine more brightly. They will show their talent and volunteer for difficult work. They are...
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Gym crackers
Our local leisure centre has had a change of provider. One well-known company has taken over the running of it from another. However, they do seem to have management problems under the new regime. In...
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How to lose a customer in one easy lesson
A couple of weeks ago I needed to buy some software and found a company that seemed to offer what I wanted: a single license for a one-off project. I chose them because although I am very happy with my...
View ArticleThe leaky tap – are your customers happy?
We all try to do the best for our customers, but do we know if they are happy? There might be something which they see as having gone wrong with our service, and we do not even know about it. We cannot...
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Learning by doing
Amateur radio station of DJ4PI (Photo credit: Wikipedia) – not my station! How did you begin to learn to do what you do for a living? I started in my first job by being given a pile of basic routine...
View ArticleRude and aggressive clients?
“Most clients and people in general I come across are just rude and aggressive.” That is a statement I saw on an accounting website, posted by an accountant. I am surprised by the comment. Is everyone...
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