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Posts under ‘Decision Making’

Case Study: Stepping Down to Step Up

MSM Software is a UK-based software company providing bespoke software development and support of business-critical systems. Founded 16 years ago, the company has offices in Exeter, Bristol and London. Whilst MSM weathered the first half of the recession well, the completion of a number of long-term contracts in 2012 came at a time when the […]

A cold night in hell . . .

Dr Robert Schambaugh, of the University of Oklahoma School of Chemical Engineering, was known for setting questions such as, “why do airplanes fly?” in his final exams. His one and only final exam question in May 1997 for his Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer II class was: “Is hell exothermic or endothermic? Support your answer […]

Case study | The cost of avoiding conflict

Background: Fifteen years ago, Estelle founded a business in the creative industries. At the time she was clear that she wanted to exit the business in ten years and to structure it in a way that would give her the time she needed to bring up her young family. So she gave a long-standing employee […]

The anatomy of your bad decisions

By Nic Paton Nic writes for Management-issues.com “Most leaders make bad decisions. Even great leaders can make bad decisions.” So wrote Tuck School of Business professor, Sydney Finkelstein, in the introduction to “Think Again – Why Good Leaders Make Bad Decisions and How to Keep it From Happening to You”, the seminal 2009 book on […]

Colouring in for CEOs

By Giles Miskin Giles Miskin is a leadership development expert focussing on behaviours.  He is a regular speaker at Academy Groups and his energetic, intelligent and engaging style stimulates conversation and change.  He is Managing Director of The Colour Works (www.thecolourworks.com), a progressive learning and development company specialising in transforming leadership and team-working performance, inspiring […]

The best decision you will ever make

By Andrew B Morris Being in the right frame of mind is critical in any decision-making process. There’s no point jumping into a decision if you cannot do so from an unbiased and detached perspective. So before you make any big decisions in either your personal or professional life, it’s a good idea to consider […]

Resilience and Growth from the Shadows

By the Academy Team for the Bottom Line Does your business stop when key members of staff take time off? Could you survive the long term absence of a key person? How would you cope with the sudden departure of one of your key people? If your answer is that you’d put your contingency plan […]

Success comes from planned succession

As in many other areas of business life, succession planning (or the lack of it) has a lot to do with attitude. Attitude that starts with the CEO. Can the CEO, for example, outsource talent development and management to others? The report, Why Global Leaders Succeed and Fail, suggests that the answer to this is […]

The Grit and the Pearl – by Jo Haigh

One of our natural and most beautiful gems is formed when an individual grain of sand infiltrates an oyster. This irritant is dealt with not by expulsion but rather a patient approach of layering the grit with a white substance that relieves the irritation, allowing the pearl (something that is then highly regarded) to be […]

2012: Small is Flexible

– By Andrew B Morris Our members have told us that small is beautiful – that they are far more able to adapt and thrive, reacting more flexibly to market conditions. So 2012 can be seen as a chance to grow and enjoy running our businesses. Given the economic conditions as we approach 2012, it appears […]