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People quit managers, not jobs [It’s not them, it’s you]

A study of hospital workers conducted by Chilterns University College in the UK found that nurses working for hospital supervisors with poor management styles had significantly higher blood pressure than nurses working for bosses judged as understanding and considerate. As a result, the nurses with bad bosses had a roughly 20 percent higher risk of heart disease. Are you giving your employees heart attacks?

We’re letting our business go to the dogs… in order to increase your productivity.

What do Facebook and dogs in the office have in common? They make staff more productive. Seriously.

NAB’s social media strategy: Create a common enemy [But aren’t ALL banks ‘the enemy’?]

Last Friday night, NAB appeared to have one of those butt-clenching moments when a not-so-corporate tweet went out via @nab, the banking giant's Twitter account. It read: “Sooooo stressed out. Have to make a tough decision and I know I’ll probably hurt someone’s feelings! Arrggghhh.” The message was retweeted over 100 times. We all now know, it was the beginning of something far grander.

Is using an email signature an utter waste of time and space?

Recently, I began to think about the way I read emails, and in turn the way people read my emails. You may think that...

Borders bankruptcy and the not-so-mysterious demise of the ice-barons [What do you think will...

The bankruptcy of Borders naturally got chins wagging at Anthill HQ, prompting us to consider what other big changes might be on the horizon, leading us to create our own short-list of things on the commercial endangered list. What do you think will become obsolete in the next decade?

Lily Wu and Jamie Lee, 2015 Anthill 30under30 Winners

What is the 30under30? 30under30 is an Anthill initiative launched in early 2008 to encourage and promote entrepreneurship among young Australians. Each year, we invite our...

Tequila Shots

Quotes, factoids and other curious teasers to get your creative juices flowing.

Why do head-hunting interviewers ask such strange questions?

We cop a lot of criticism as head hunters and recruitment consultants. Some criticism is justified, some is not. So we thought we’d lift the lid on why we ask the questions we do in an interview to remove some of the mystery, and shine the spotlight on us for once.

Phuong Nguyen and Matthew Alberto, 2015 Anthill 30under30 Winners

What is the 30under30? 30under30 is an Anthill initiative launched in early 2008 to encourage and promote entrepreneurship among young Australians. Each year, we invite our...

Cool Company Awards, 2009 – Nominations Open!

It's on again. Over coming weeks, we'll be scouring the nation for Australia's coolest companies. It's the first stage in Australia's most innovative business awards program - The Nomination Phase.

The 5 qualities every entrepreneur should have and the No. 1 skill they should...

Robert Kiyosaki is an American investor, businessman, self-help author and motivational speaker, who has written 15 books, with combined sales of over 26 million copies. In this Q&A interview with Alex Pirouz, Mr. Kiyosaki discusses what it takes to be successful in business, the No 1 skill every entrepreneur should learn and the five qualities required by every entrepreneur in order to become successful.

Sheng Yeo and Alex Sharp, 2015 Anthill 30under30 Winners

What is the 30under30? 30under30 is an Anthill initiative launched in early 2008 to encourage and promote entrepreneurship among young Australians. Each year, we invite our...

Women entrepreneurs come out in droves for Cool Company nominations

Last year, we were forced to ask the question, 'Where are the female entrepreneurs?' when, according to the nomination form, only 8% of the nominated companies in 2008 were run by women. Of course, our provocatively titled post had our female Anthillians nominate en masse, getting our female contingent up to a more respectable 28%. This year, only one month into the process, nominated companies run by women represent 35% of the total!

Is contracting an industrial designer the right choice for you?

Think you need to contract an industrial designer for your business? Why would you contract an industrial designer when a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) draftsman is available? With a CAD draftsman, you will save money, get your job drawn up and be ready for production. But, are you really saving, are you getting an “edge?”

George Photios and George Pappas, 2015 Anthill 30under30 Winners

What is the 30under30? 30under30 is an Anthill initiative launched in early 2008 to encourage and promote entrepreneurship among young Australians. Each year, we invite our...

SMS payment for school canteen lunch orders now available via Easy Canteen

You might, from time to time, forget to give your kids money to pay for their lunch orders. Or perhaps your children have a habit of using the lunch money you give them to buy lollies instead of the alfalfa sandwiches for which it is intended. Either way, mHITs is hoping both parents and schools will sign up for Easy Canteen.

Qumpit: online queuing, with benefits

Some things in life need to be spelled out very simply before they have any impact. Like learning how to say the name of new business ‘Qumpit,’ a digital startup that aims to provide a physical queuing experience online.

Robert Parton and Chris Hooper, 2015 Anthill 30under30 Winners

What is the 30under30? 30under30 is an Anthill initiative launched in early 2008 to encourage and promote entrepreneurship among young Australians. Each year, we invite our...

The fear of change – Cricket in the snow and other mysteries

Business leaders must learn to preserve the old while ushering in changes. The example of Test match, One Day and Twenty20 cricket is illuminating, writes Kim Wingerei.

How to build a solid online presence and learn from the common mistakes business...

Simon Baker was the CEO and Managing Director of realestate.com.au during a period of massive growth for the Australian-listed real-estate company, increasing the organisation's market capitalisation from $8m in June 2001 to over $600m in June 2008. In this Q&A interview with Alex Pirouz, Baker talks about all the various elements required to build a great online presence, what business owners need to look for when hiring agencies to help them with their online strategy, the common mistakes most business owners make and (most importantly) how to avoid them.
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Five ways to manage your time by managing yourself, with Helen...

Finding the time to tackle everything is one of the greatest challenges faced by business owners. To help time-starved business owners work smarter and not harder, we spoke with Helen Ebdon. The director of Affirming Business and Executive Coaching, she’s a serial entrepreneur who started her first business at age 25. She’s built and run direct marketing and communications businesses and she’s also the creator of the Take 15 Program for business effectiveness.

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5 Ways to get more out of your coffee shop meetings...

Far too much time is wasted in coffee shop meetings. More often than not, the conversation falls off topic, interruptions cause distractions and, before you know it, the meeting is over and you’ve achieved nothing. That’s what Antony Gaddie calls a Coffee and Doughnut meeting. You get a coffee and… zero. He’s the founder of Green Ant Marketing and he shared with us (over coffee) five things that you can do to help you make the most of your coffee shop meetings.

INFOGRAPHICS

New Zealand’s Xero eyes US IPO, further disruption as subscribers increase...

Xero recently held its annual meeting in Wellington, during which the company revealed some interesting details about its future. As has been widely suspected, the...

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