Expand your knowledge, develop your leadership skills, keep up with best-practice and open your mind to new ideas. Read concise, topical business articles from leading industry and topic experts. Review our 18 sections - and many sub-sections - to find the topic that addresses YOUR business challenge.
Browse through our complete list of topic categories below, or find the solution to some of the most common challenges faced by business here:
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Designing Salary Packages
Employers are going to have to get smarter about the total employment package they are offering their staff? What salary package will attract and retain the best people? |
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Engaging & Retaining Staff
What is employee engagement and why is it important to boosting the performance of your team? Equally important, dealing with staff retention issues. What can you do to keep your top talent? |
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Finding & Recruiting Staff
What needs to be done when recruiting new staff? How do you attract the best candidates? What questions need to be asked at the interview to ensure you select the right person for the job? |
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Overcoming The Skills Shortage
In a tight employment market, what strategies can you employ to overcome the shortage of skilled staff for your workplace? |
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Assessing Business Performance
Compare the performance of your business against best practice benchmarks? The balanced business scorecard is one tool to assess business performance. |
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Boosting Business Profits
What factors impact the bottom line? How can these be effectively managed to boost business profits? |
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Growing The Business
What strategies and business models can be adopted to grow the business to greater levels of profitability and overall financial performance? Where can you secure funding for this growth? |
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Overcoming Challenges To Growth
So your business is growing? But what obstacles need to be addressed so that you can achieve your full growth potential? |
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Building Networks
Don’t end up with a hang-over at your next business networking event. How can you achieve new business, get leads, build partnerships and find business solutions? |
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Communicating With Customers
What tips can be followed to help you communicate a clear and concise verbal or written message to your customers? |
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Communicating With Staff
Whether it is communicating your vision, impending changes or delivering a message of praise, how can you be sure your message is clearly understood by your employees? |
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Dealing With The Media
Avoid a public relations nightmare by learning some important lessons when dealing with the media. How can you be better prepared when writing a press release, or being interviewed by a journalist? |
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Delivering Great Presentations
Delivering a presentation does not need to fill you with fear and trepidation. What can you do to combat the nerves, improve your presenting skills and deliver a presentation that will wow your audience? |
Corporate Compliance & Governance
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Board Dynamics & Composition
What role does the Board play in a business? Who should be appointed to the Board? What function should each Board member undertake? How does the CEO interact with the Board? |
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Business has a fundamental role in society and its actions have an enormous impact on social welfare. What is corporate social responsibility? How can ethical behaviour, such as a greener workplace, be strategically advantageous? |
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Directors Duties & Responsibilities
Ignorance is not a defence against failure to comply with your legal obligations as a director. Do you know the answers to some key questions surrounding companies and the duties and responsibilities of directors? |
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Dealing With Bullies, Drugs & Alcohol
Avoid the possibility of increased absenteeism, low staff morale and staff turnover by failing to combat bullies, drugs and alcohol in the workplace. |
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Establishing Policies & Contracts
Employment contracts, policies and procedures should the culture of the organisation as well as the legal requirements. What are the critical policies and procedures? What should be stated in an employment contract? |
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Providing A Safe Workplace
Failure to provide a safe and secure workplace can lead to injured workers and criminal action against the employer. How safe is your workplace? What can be done to reduce the risk of injury and improve the safety for your staff? |
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Balancing Family Relationships
Successful family businesses involve a delicate balance of sound business practices and family relationships. What can be done to avoid conflict amongst family members and sibling rivalry? |
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Managing The Family Business
The management and structure of a family business can be different to that of a non-family business. What are some of the secrets to successfully managing a family business? |
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Planning For Exit & Succession
A well thought through succession plan and exit strategy is essential to every family business. What preparation is necessary to ensure the harmony and continuity of the business through the generations? For non-family business succession practices, go to Succession, IPOs & Mergers & Acquisitions. |
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Doing Business In China
What are the various issues to be considered when operating or conducting business in China – the economy, language, exporting & business environment, cultural & etiquette differences, risk assessment of the business opportunities & more |
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Operating Overseas
Whether you are exporting or importing, undertaking an international business expansion or simply conducting business in a foreign country, how do you tackle the challenges that will present themselves? |
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Decision-Making, Negotiating & Influencing
Decisions, negotiations and persuasion occur in the workplace everyday. How can you be effective in your decision-making, influencing others or negotiating a desired outcome? |
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Delegating Effectively
You cannot be expected to have the time or skills to complete every essential task. But delegating successfully is much more than handing out work assignments. What can you learn that will enable you to effectively delegate? |
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Developing Leadership Skills
Managing a business requires a broad base of business management and leadership skills. How can you develop your leadership skills to their greatest potential? |
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Fostering Leadership Talent
It is essential that organisations create an environment which is supportive of developing leadership talent. Is leadership innate or taught? What can be done to groom future leaders in your business? |
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Nurturing Emotional Intelligence & Thought Leadership
You may not be judged by how clever you are or your financial prowess. How can tapping into emotional intelligence define you as a better leader? What can be done to allow the thought leader to surface? |
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Resolving Workplace Conflict
Do you shy away from situations where you are faced with potential conflict? How can you effectively resolve the conflicts that must be dealt with both within and outside the business? |
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Styles & Qualities Of Leaders
What business attributes, qualities or characteristics are commonly identified amongst successful leaders and managers? |
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Building & Managing A Brand
Great brands deliver positive buying and using experiences. What is the potential, the pitfalls and the risks in creating new brands or evolving existing brands? |
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Creating Competitive Advantage
Finding and creating a sustainable competitive advantage is the holy grail of every business. What is it that makes your business different - and better - than the competition? |
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Developing Marketing Channels
You’ve got a fantastic product, but how can you effectively distribute this product to your target market? |
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Engaging In Direct Marketing
Direct marketing is presenting your offer with a strong message, to a selected audience, with the aim of attracting a response. What are the ingredients to a successful direct marketing campaign? |
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Exhibiting At Trade Shows
Trade show exhibitions require planning, money, time, resources and skill. Are you throwing your money away attending trade shows? How can you ensure your booth will attract attention for all the right reasons? |
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Knowing The Customer
Most of us don't know who the right customers are for our business. How well do you know your customer? Could you build an accurate customer profile? What is your target market? What are the outcomes of market segmentation? |
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Marketing Fundamentals
How well do you know the 4 Ps of marketing - product, price, place and promotion? Do you need a refresher on applying the basics of marketing? |
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Writing A Marketing Plan
It is vital that any marketing plan you write is effective and easily implemented. What are the key elements of writing a useful marketing plan and creating strategies? |
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Budgeting & Financial Health
A budget is a guide to the financial health of the business and a way to quickly identify overspending and potentially loss-making situations. What are some tips for putting together your business budget and analysing the financial performance of the business? |
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Disaster Planning
Disasters can - and do - happen. What steps can you take to ensure your business will survive when confronted with a crisis or a major disaster? |
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Managing Debtors & Cash-Flow
To protect yourself against financial difficulties, what can you do to control or manage cash flow and debtors? |
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Protecting Intellectual Property
How can you safeguard against others stealing your most valuable assets - whether it is patents, designs, copyright or trade marks? |
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Tackling Workplace Fraud
There are many costs to a business when thinking about the consequences of fraud? When is a perk deemed to be fraud? How can you reduce the risk of workplace fraud? |
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Delivering Value
So you want new and existing customers to sit up and take notice of your product or service. What is your unique selling proposition? Is your product or service ‘hitting the mark’ in terms of value? |
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Handling Price Objections & Margins
Price is frequently cited as the reason for losing a sale. How can you counter the price objection, without jeopardising your profit margin? |
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Increasing Customer Satisfaction
Business success can be determined by the ability to nurture a strong relationship with your customers. CRM and customer service tips are some of the tools at your disposal to create loyal customers. |
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Managing The Sales Team
How can you effectively develop and motivate your sales team to achieve great results? What are the attributes and key drivers of top sales performers? |
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Upgrading Selling Techniques
There are many barriers that you will confront when you’re selling products or services. What sales techniques or strategies can you employ to close the sale? |
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Winning New Business
When you're looking to attract new business - whether it's from new prospects or from existing clients - how do you stand out from the crowd? How can you generate leads and referrals? |
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Boosting Staff Productivity
Improving staff productivity is likely to boost the profitability of the business. What steps can you take to get the most out of your staff? |
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Conducting Performance Reviews
Performance reviews are considered by many managers as a necessary - but disliked - task. How can your staff performance management system effectively promote the skills and motivation of employees and also keeps staff results-focused? |
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Incentives, Rewards & Bonuses
The correct mix of incentives, rewards and bonuses can motivate workers to better performance and provide a reason to stay. What are some suggested incentives, rewards and bonuses, and how can they be aligned to your business goals? |
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Managing Flexible Work Arrangements
Workers are pushing their employer to provide flexible work arrangements which includes the desire to work from home. How can you meet these demands, and manage the remote work force? |
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Underperforming Employees
What can you do to address the problem of under-performing employees before they damage the most ardent and dedicated worker? |
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Understanding Generational Differences
We’ve heard about the 'workplace generation gap' and how the diverse needs and attitudes of staff of differing ages can cause workplace conflict and confusion. Get some tips on understanding the motivators for your workforce of Builders, Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y. |
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Working With Teams
How can you gather a group of individuals and mould them into a strong and cohesive team to achieve outstanding results? |
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Creating Future Directions
If you don’t know where you are going, then how can you get there? Writing business and strategic plans can dramatically help you focus on the journey to business success. |
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Executing Plans
Don’t let your business and strategic plans gather dust on the shelf or hide in the filing cabinet. How can you bring your plans to life so that you can start achieving your business goals today? |
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Setting Values, Goals & Vision
Values, goals, mission or vision statements should be more than bland words on a piece of paper. What should you consider when setting your organisational values, goals and vision so that you captivate your audience? |
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Thinking Strategically
Strategic management can bring about positive change in the business. How can you unleash your goals and plans through strategic thinking, rather than intuition? |
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Workforce Planning
The key to successful workforce planning is making sure your business has the right people available for the right roles at the right time - so the right things get done. What steps can you follow when mapping your workforce? |
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Buying A Business
So you want to buy a business? Maybe you want to expand your existing business through an acquisition strategy? Before acquiring a business, what do you need to keep an eye out for? |
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Integrating Merged Businesses
Workplace culture, business systems and role duplication are just a few of the many challenges that must be faced when merging two or more businesses into one. What needs to be done to ensure a smooth transition during a merger? |
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Preparing For IPO
An initial public offer sounds enticing, but in reality it is a huge step and undertaking for any business. It can drain capital and consume resources with stringent reporting. What should be considered before you embark on an IPO? |
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Preparing For Sale
Are you thinking about selling your business? If so, what do you need to prepare your business for sale so that it is attractive to a potential buyer? How can you get the maximum return for your effort in building the business? |
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Succession Planning
Succession planning should be a key part of your business' growth strategy and risk management process. What planning should be done to ensure a smooth transition to the anointed successor? For succession or exit planning in a family business, go to Family Business |
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Coaching & Mentoring
Have you considered securing the services of a mentor or coach as tool for your personal and professional development. What are the benefits of coaching or mentoring, and how can you achieve the best outcome? |
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Developing Talent
It is worthwhile investing in the development and training of your best talent. How can a talent management programme improve your business results? |
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Avoiding Burnout & Stress
Reports of higher levels of stress, mental exhaustion and burnout at work are cause for real concern. Can you identify the signs of stress and burnout? What can be done to avoid its presence in your workplace? |
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Balancing Work & Personal Time
Achieving the balance between work and personal time is something you must continually work at. How can you perform your position requirements without disregarding your personal or family responsibilities? |
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Building Resilience & Positive Attitude
Your attitude will have an affect on your work … and in your life. Why does building resilience help you sustain a positive attitude? |
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Fostering A Healthy Lifestyle
Looking after your health and well-being can bring numerous rewards. How can you create a healthy workplace? What can you do today to improve your health and well-being? |
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Managing Your Time
We all know there is only 24 hours in the day, 7 days in the week. How can you improve your efficiency, get things done and manage your time the way you've always wished you could? |
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Achieving Cultural Harmony
Organisational culture is an important ingredient required to accomplish your business goals. How can you tackle the challenge of creating one friendly, high-performance and cohesive culture from a culturally diverse workforce? |
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Managing Change
We know change is inevitable. Resistance or denial is futile, yet many may follow this path. What steps can be taken to introduce change, and achieve acceptance from those affected by the change? |
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Nurturing Ideas, Creativity & Innovation
Does your workplace encourage creative thought and innovative practices? How can you cultivate an environment that welcomes the flow of new ideas? |