Blog
It’s The Small Things: PureGym CEO Humphrey Cobbold
PureGym CEO Humphrey Cobbold shares his approach to thinking small in pursuit of business improvement as part of our "It's The Small Things" podcast.
Joining a family business advisory board can unlock new leadership skills
Three business leaders share their advisory board experience and reveal an unexpected perk – advisors to family businesses gain as much as they give.
We used our company’s “why” to steady ourselves during rapid growth
Mojo Mortgages realised growth was making it hard for employees to “buy in” to management decisions being made without communicating across the business.
Our business is global, but managing a team working remotely is tough
As Formula Botanica has grown it has struggled to find people who won’t “wither” working remotely across England, Belgium, Slovakia and Brazil.
Beating a divided culture helped us improve as leaders
Pork scratchings brand Snaffling Pig faced the challenge of reconciling a divided culture among staff – one solved through uniting on the same vision.
We were first in our market, but struggled to define our service
As an early player in the social advertising niche, Mighty Social struggled with how to frame and communicate a relatively unfamiliar offering.
Support your employees
Create an open and transparent leadership style and company culture to improve…
Seek external advice
Turn to expert external advice when you face a complex business issue.…
Structure your approach
Use a reliable and structured methodology to help solve problems and manage…
Improve your own leadership capabilities
Take part in leadership training to improve your own performance and, where…
The power of prioritising business must-dos over can-dos
Business leaders need to manage the tension between investing resources in long-term strategic must-dos with the more immediate and easier can-dos.
The positives and negatives of co-working spaces
Co-working spaces are enjoying explosive growth. We looked at the argument for co-working spaces and how to find one that reflects your company’s culture.
How leadership skills programmes helped founders find focus
Two tech founders pursued executive education to improve their leadership skills. Learning from experts and peers proved to be an invaluable experience.
A flat management structure can empower staff during rapid growth
A flat management structure gets rid of traditional hierarchies and empowers employees. We looked at the benefits and potential drawbacks.
How to find work-life balance in family businesses
Family businesses provide a feeling of togetherness but differences in opinion can wreak havoc on relationships. Business owners share their advice.
Three business leaders explain how they make tough business decisions
Whether it's firing someone or working out who to promote, many leaders struggle when it comes to making tough business decisions. Be the Business found out seeking advice and simply biting the bullet helps.
If you’re not learning from competitors then how can you ever improve?
Businesses adept at learning from competitors are always looking for ways to improve, whether that’s avoiding the mistakes close counterparts make or exploiting industry trends to stay ahead of the pack.
A day in the life of former Cisco CEO Phil Smith
While the average working day of a top-level CEO is hard to nail down, Cisco’s Phil Smith had some tried and tested strategies to ensure his hours in the office and on the road were as efficient and effective as possible.
Increase the opportunity for workplace chance encounters
Swindon-based business Infinity Nation creates lots of opportunities for chance encounters having seen the positive effect they can have.
Challenge the old ways of doing things
When James Calder set up Distinct Recruitment, he remembered the old ways – when bosses typically sat in their own office when he was a young employee – and it was something he wasn't keen to repeat.
Continuous improvement: Why it’s important to not just change for change’s sake
While it may be tempting to fully embrace the continuous improvement mantra, Be the Business found out why change for change's sake can sometimes be damaging and detrimental to progress.
Creating an environment that welcomes suggestions and objective feedback
Businesses which fail to provide a way for staff to provide objective feedback on their working world are missing out on a wealth of insight that would help drive productivity.
Let go of the reins and let the team flourish
Karen McLellan needed to take less of a hands-on role as her firm expanded following a merger, but that meant doing something with her team that she'd never been very good at.
Bosses don’t have to be their staff’s best friends
In trying to be a friend to each of his employees one business leader ultimately found it harder to have the difficult conversations when they did arise.