Clearly as someone who earns his living encouraging Managing Directors to engage with and learn from their fellow business leaders though MD2MD you’d expect me to be a champion of real world learning; of learning from the experience – the successes as well as the mistakes of others – through joining a peer groups such as MD2MD. But actually this

Recent speaker Robyn Pearce shared a number of time management tips with the MD2MD managing director members of MD2MD. Time management is an interesting and challenging subject to discuss with experienced business leaders as many of the best techniques for effective time management are actually quite simple. Indeed, Robyn came in to some criticism for this.  However, most people rated

Sometimes it’s the simple insights that are the most powerful. This was true for me of one approach, shared by the Time Queen Robyn Pearce at a recent Managing Director peer group meeting she ran for MD2MD. She suggested we should manage our time by looking at our activities through four key stages. You can read Robyn’s tips and thoughts on

This article summarises briefly an approach to delegation that I have found effective, based on the thinking of Kenneth Blanchard in his book, Leadership and the One Minute Manager.  Situational leadership suggests, as the name implies, that there is no one right way of leading (and potentially delegating), and that the right approach depends upon the situation. Different situations may

Business leaders often hear it said that “time is your most precious resource”. For many SME business leaders it is definitely their most scarce resource. I could achieve so much more if only I had more time.  I’m not sure whether finding more cash or finding more time is the biggest challenge facing entrepreneurial leaders today. Both can be sources

The Urgent vs Important grid for managing time Good time management requires thinking clearly about whether activities are important or just urgent, or indeed neither. Stephen Covey in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People suggested we utilise the following simple two by two grid to inform ourselves as we prioritise our activities. Is this activity urgent and/or important? urgent not

Contracts form the backbone of professional business. A contract represents an agreement between two parties outlining the specific circumstances of their dealings. For example, a basic client contract might certify risk and pricing, scope of work, timing of payments and timely review of deliverables. The tighter the contract, the more certain both parties are of their responsibilities and legal accountabilities.

An important part of managing your workforce is knowing when an employee needs dismissing. As speaker Darren Maw discussed at a recent MD2MD event, most seasoned managers and business leaders will have experienced this at one point or another throughout their managerial careers. An employee unwilling or incapable of performing their required duties becomes a drain on your company’s resources,

The recruitment arena is changing. A recent discussion with Mark Denton, Managing Director of Zenopa,  highlighted this shift in recruitment power. Traditionally, employers have always had the upper hand over job applicants. It was the role of the applicant to offer their services to a company and to make a convincing case for their uptake. Recently, however, this traditional recruitment

If you’re still using email to manage team projects, you’re way behind the curve. The project management tools described here enable you to get a bird’s eye overview of your team’s activity, as well as see the finer detail. Which one you prefer to use will be a matter of business requirements and personal taste, but all of them will