Management Matters

The Global Financial Crisis, from its early roots in 2008, has been a tumultuous period to endure – as the name suggests. Australian companies have been faced with global contagion that's influenced our market through European economic bailouts, soaring unemployment rates, and a fall in export sales caused by a high Australian dollar. Many CEOs are worried investors won’t inject money into their company while the world is stuck in what appears to be a sustained bear market period. The same CEOs seem to think it’s better to keep a low profile; playing it safe rather than trying engage with potential investors.

With the Australian business sector stuck with risk-adverse strategies and stifling of creativity and innovation, Ci2012 also intends to submit its findings and results to the Australian government for consideration.

How well do you really know your competitors? No doubt, you are probably aware of your main business rivals but do you have some level of intelligence at your fingertips? How much do you know about what they do, what your customers think about them and how your business matches up? Understanding your competition can give you a new perspective on your own business and is an important step when planning your marketing strategy.

Everyone can become good at sales. It’s true that some people have a natural proficiency for selling while others have to work harder to achieve similar results, but the same can be said for nearly every task or skill.

With the importance of search engine optimisation (SEO) receiving wider recognition, the copywriting landscape is changing. There are new rules writers need to adhere to when producing web copy to attract eyeballs.

When a person enters into a business relationship, particularly with family members, friends and acquaintances, the use of legal contracts is often perceived as a sign of mistrust. It does not have to be that way.

We could turn ourselves a lot smarter by simply choosing the right apps to use – apps that, say, enable networking on the go or get more out of those idle “time fillers” everybody suffers through a working day.

Having just sold a business and yet to find her next passion, she thought she might give the corporate world a go. After two months of day-after-day job hunting, my friend called me with this insight: "I think I'm unemployable".

Two-time MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner recently announced his early retirement. Interestingly, the reason cited was not lost love of riding motorcycles, but his disillusion regarding how the sport is run and managed.

The business world has a new language. Instead of annual plans, three year strategies and sustainable competitive advantage we hear of disruption, uncertainty, speed and ambiguity.

The cost of everything keeps going up, but from July 1, there is a way for small business owners to cut one specific cost. If you have a business credit card, the new credit card reforms can help you make massive savings and clear your debt faster. Chances are, you didn't even know these changes were coming.

Most successful business owners are on the hunt for strategic insights or what I call ‘light bulb moments’ - revelations that allow a business to take its next big step.

If it has ever happened to you, you know what it feels like. Last week our computer network was hacked with a Trojan. Chaos ensued. We had firewalls and anti-virus scanners running and these things still managed to get through. While you can never plan perfectly for a crisis, here are some of the big points that we’ve learnt and may very well be helpful for you and your business. Learn at my expense, rather than at yours.

Actor George Jessel once quipped that, "The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public.” There are some key things to consider when presenting to anyone, be it five people at a pitch for capital or 1,000 people at a TED event. In this video, Dr. Susan Weinschenk reveals the top five things every presenter should know.

Without meaning to, the team at Anthill has been testing the Victoria hospital system over the past month. Between us, we have clocked up four visits to the emergency rooms of various Melbourne hospitals, in the past few weeks. And, as good entrepreneurial types, now that these moments have passed, we’re stepping back and thinking about what we saw and experienced.

30under30 is an Anthill initiative that was launched in early 2008 to encourage and promote entrepreneurship among young Australians. The program provides...

In 2009, I was interviewed by Tim Burrowes for mumbrella and asked to share some of my 'contentious' views about the future of media. I've been heckled at events before (often and willingly) but I've never felt physically threatened, like I felt that night. I had accidentally made some already anxious people very angry. Four years later, what initially caused ire (then dismissed as science fiction), is now making headlines... for real.

I recently met with a company that had attempted to deliver a reward and recognition program. Despite their best efforts and intentions, it failed to inspire staff.

The folks at MYOB love themselves a bit of statistic-y goodness. Their latest number crunching shows online SMEs are fairing much better than their not so digital counterparts.

EOFY — end of financial year — is never fun, certainly not as much as a night out. But despair not. If you start now — and do all the smart things — your next EOFY could be a walk in the park. To set you on the right track, here are top 10 tips from MYOB: