Don’t fire your coach too fast: What Olympians can teach business owners August 19, 2016 As an athlete turned business owner, I’ve twice experienced the thrilling, yet gruelling, journey of building something from the ground up. The challenge of achieving an Olympic gold medal win and starting a business aren’t dissimilar. Many of the lessons I learned through my years as an athlete have been invaluable to my entrepreneurial venture in [...]
High pay red tape likely to cause a muddle, warns new research August 19, 2016 Politicians who wade into regulate pay could wind up doing more harm than good, a report out today warns. The Institute of Economic Affairs' research found previous attempts to rule against high pay had backfired and governments would be better off focusing on cleaning up complex tax systems and closing up loopholes. In particular, the report noted [...]
Chill out? Here’s the career advice of Goldman Sachs’ chief executive August 18, 2016 Handily timed as millions of teenagers open their A-Level results and set out on the next stage of their lives, the Goldman Sachs' chief executive has come out with some sage advice about embarking on the rest of your life – or indeed, for anyone who feels like they are idling away in their career and yet to [...]
How founders can become good chief executives August 18, 2016 Plenty of founders find themselves sidelined, or removed entirely, in favour of leaders considered more capable. Steve Jobs, famously deposed at Apple, managed to return and engineer a remarkable turnaround at the company. Most don’t get that opportunity, and none should rely on receiving it. So how do successful founders adapt to their evolving roles? And [...]
Why spreadsheet skills alone won’t make the finance chiefs of the future August 17, 2016 For those looking to climb to the top of the finance career ladder, a good command of pivot tables on its own is no longer going to cut it, research out today shows. A survey of more than 500 finance directors, chief finance officers and senior partners by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England [...]
Why Edinburgh’s festivals rival the Olympic Games August 17, 2016 | City Talk In 2015, combined attendance across Edinburgh’s festival programme topped 4.5 million people. Only the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup can rival those visitor numbers – and both are held every four years. Collectively, Edinburgh’s festivals are the undisputed heavyweight cultural champions of the world. Every year, more than 25,000 artists from 70 countries, 1,000 media professionals [...]
Named: The “elite” state schools which have become Oxbridge “feeder schools” August 17, 2016 The good news is that if you don't have the cash to fork out for an expensive private school, your children can still get into Oxbridge, after a number of state schools have become "feeder schools" for the UK's top universities. The bad news is that it really is only a few, very select schools [...]
Great expectations: Are ambitious goals a recipe for success or demotivation? August 17, 2016 Tesla chief executive Elon Musk outlined last month an update to the “master plan” he published a decade ago. He was vague on detail, but the car manufacturer is to develop electric cars, trucks, buses, and an app through which customers will be able to lease their vehicle. Next to his other venture, Space X, [...]
How Brexit chilled the jobs market this summer, as employers freeze up on professional hires August 16, 2016 For those who were hoping to polish off their CV during the summer holidays and find happiness in professional pastures new come autumn, recent statistics have been unwelcome. A study released this week by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Adecco discovered the proportion of employers expecting to increase their staffing numbers over [...]
If security breaches are inevitable, what are businesses to do? August 16, 2016 "It's not if, but when your company will be breached.” This is an oft-repeated line in the cyber security industry, and it puts business executives in a catch 22 position. They care about security and know how important it is, but the message they are hearing is: “the hackers will always win”. Bosses are left [...]