Tom's space

Coalition Science “Policy”

tomserpell — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:46:04 +0000

So here is the equation:
On one side are diseases which have a massive impact on individuals, society and the economy, like dementia; and teams of brilliant scientists striving to gain understanding of their structure and causes.
On the other side are cuts to research funding and arbitrary prioritisation of projects with supposedly most rapid therapeutic potential.
These do not balance. Therefore teams of scientists will miss out on essential grants; disband; fail to discover what they know to be essential; and the UK economy will suffer from the waste of their talent and loss of discoveries to overseas institutes. Brilliant. Well done Coalition.

Help wanted with Research

tomserpell — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:24:42 +0000

A client is looking to interview individuals who harbour a secret desire to start their own business. They may be currently employed – or unemployed. Contacts will be treated in absolute confidence – but we would appreciate talking to you – or someone you know who fits the bill.

Sympathy for Public Sector Managers

tomserpell — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:54:52 +0000

Wage freeze; higher pension contributions; huge job losses and public (Press) demonisation. These are the lot of public sector workers currently. One must feel for those responsible for managing them. How do you motivate people facing this sort of attack? It is a good thing so many of them a really committed and vocational. Lets give them our support.

Be honest – with yourself

tomserpell — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:10:02 +0000

Honesty is said to be the best policy but why do I see so much unconvincing b******t from countless companies on Twitter, Facebook etc?
Because people representing their businesses think that bigging things up will convince clients and others that everything is rosy and that theirs is therefore the supplier to deal with? Of course. But in misleading others is there not a risk that we mislead ourselves – that we respond to our own miscommunications by acting as if they were true and by failing to enlist the support which may really be needed. If you are honest about how your business is doing and its immediate prospects, would you deal with it yourself – or would you think “I need to do something differently”?
Perhaps you lack someone with whom you can be honest and who will be honest back – but still on your side? That is what we mentors are for. Think about it – times are really tough – are things as great for you as you claim?

Core Competence

tomserpell — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:23:48 +0000

When competing is tougher and trading is slow, we have two options: broaden our offering to attract more business; or focus on what we do best. I have to advocate the latter. A larger product range or attempted entry to new markets merely stretches resources whilst exposing us to stronger competitors. Focus on core expertise, on proven products or on deserved reputation is a surer platform for success. It is for this reason that I advocate that Eastbourne should become a Centre of Excellence in the Needs of the Elderly – ECENE – based on its long-established infrastructure and reputation; rather than being seduced by the idea that new, high-growth start-ups can generate the growth in a sexier way, when it has no source of such innovations nor reputation or logistics on which to build. It may be tough to stick to the kniting when sales are slow but this is more likely to be effective than ambulance chasing or copying what others, with different capabilities are doing.

This is long-term

tomserpell — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:05:37 +0000

Today’s trading conditions are highly unlikely to improve for the foreseeable future. Contentious? Whether or not you believe this, your business should be ready to survive and preferably thrive despite such depressing conditions. How you go about this depends on your unique situation. There are some options typicallly facing businesses in a downturn: retrench or attack; save or spend. Its up to you – but please have a clear strategy and stick to it until you can see results or a change in external conditions. And if you need someone to talk all this through with – well, you can always try me. I have been there. Good luck.

Back to Work?

tomserpell — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 08:54:22 +0000

Political pundits have been breathing sighs of relief that the UK economy is not back in recession. Whilst this is self-evidently good news, is it true in reality? Looking at retail figures and the number of empty shops in even propserous towns; looking at the near-impossibility of young people and those being chucked off IB finding the jobs they may want; and considering the economic state of those companies to which our SMEs are supposed to direct export efforts, and it is hard to see that we are anywhere but in recession. Yet Government persists in expecting SMEs to recruit more apprentices and staff. As a long-term advisor and mentor to SME owners, I would have to be painting the attractions of anything but doing this. Cash-flow is what will put companies out of business; and is heavily determined by the level of fixed costs they carry. Increasing staff costs is about the last thing they need unless they have sustainable growth expectations. Some do, happily; but most do not. SME owner should do what they would do at home in tough times and live within their means, ignoring Government.

Guardian Letter 050811

tomserpell — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 08:27:44 +0000

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/aug/04/false-economy-of-cutting-charities

Size does not matter

tomserpell — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:34:20 +0000

When it comes to business literature most focus is understandably on big companies and how brilliant they were to get where they are. How relevant are these books and articles to small, life-style businesses? In short, surprisingly so. Although to mimic some behaviours is impractical for SMEs lacking as they must the critical mass of resource to do everything done by larger companies, the principals which guide success are common to any size of business.
All need to differentiate themselves from competitors. All need customers, usually in categories suited to the company’s products. All need financing, preferably by revenues. All need means by which to communicate effectively with those who influence their sales. And so on. Because an SME works on a different scale to a multi-national the complexity of these issues is less but the issues are still there. So the management, often embodied in the owner acting alone, has to have a grasp of all of the issues and needs the skills required to address them. That is the big challenge for an owner-manager – s/he has to be far more versatile than a silo specialist in a corporation. So keep up the reading and absorb more from the specialist support available, I suggest.

Success and succession

tomserpell — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:00:36 +0000

It is a business owner’s prerogative to direct his/her business as seen fit to suit their aims. It is also a director’s duty to act in the interest of the business entity, not merely of their personal interest. There comes a point in a successful business’s life-cycle when the entity must be the focus. For example, when there is a substantial workforce or customer base dependent upon the business, the responsible business leader will be thinking not so much about continuiing to avoid expensive recruitment as ensuring business continuity and succession planning. How well equipped is your business?