Building a Business

Whatever the business you are building, there is one constant feature - there aren't enough hours in the day to do all the background reading that would be useful.  In this section we are collecting together an archive of materials on key aspects of building a business, selected from the vast range available. Most of these are written by members, who share their own insights and learnings on particular issues.

If you have experience or views to share, please get in touch.

View Contributors’ Guidelines »

Paul Jackson: How 2009 changed the marketing landscape
View

Paul Jackson writes about the Major Developments of 2009 which have changed the marketing landscape

Philippe Bellande on Five Management Derailers
View

Why do front-line managers fail and what can be done to avoid failure?  Philippe Bellande writes about management derailers

Paul Jackson on The Role and Value of Advertising
View

Paul Jackson, a Board member of the World Federation of Advertisers, outlines the value of advertising in the modern world

Making the Difference Awards Video 2009
John Whittaker on Limited Liability Partnerships
Download A+new+business+vehicle+-+the+Limited+Liability+Partnership-1.pdf

If you are starting a new business, there is a new corporate kid on the block  worth considering as an alternative to the usual shareholder company. This is the limited liability partnership.

Jackson & Smith - Don't focus on motivating, stop demotivating
Download Don%27t+focus+on+motivating+++Stop+demotivating.pdf

Mike Smith & Paul Jackson share some conclusions from their new Employer Brand Strength Audit  which aims to help business leaders address fundamental issues of engagement and motivation.  

Tony Isaacs on Setting up a Consultancy
Download Tony+Isaacs+on+Setting+Up+A+Consultancy.pdf

Many Martians find themselves becoming consultants at some stage in their career. Tony makes some useful and insightful suggestions, from his  experience of setting up SigDiff, for anyone thinking about going down the same track.

Paul Jackson on the Importance of Brands and Branding
Download Paul+Jackson+on+The+importance+of+brands+and+branding.pdf

Brand equity is now a key business asset and owning, managing, developing and caring for brands is a core business competence. In this lucid and persuasive article, Paul highlights ten key rules for all who own and manage brands.

Take control of your company’s share price
Download James+Amoroso+on+Controlling+your+Company%27s+Share+Price.pdf

You control the fate of your company, so why not control its valuation? In this paper James Amoroso reviews ways of ensuring that your company's share price is both fair and stable by offering appropriate communication and financial guidance to the investment community.

CCL Resources on Leading and Building Organisations
Download CCL%2B-%2B45%2Bkey%2Bresources%2Bon%2BLeadership%2Band%2BBuilding%2Ba%2BBusiness.pdf

CCL Resources on Leading and Building Organisations. Here we give you summaries and links to 45 key articles made available by the Center for Creative Leadership

E-marketing - the essentials
Download Darin%2BBrockman%2Bon%2Be-Marketing.pdf

This chapter from "E-marketing - the essentials" looks at marketing tools for web-based marketing, search-engine-based marketing (SEM) and e-mail marketing.

David Drennan on What Employee Surveys can do for Managers
Download David+Drennan+on+What+Employee+Surveys+can+do+for+Managers.pdf

The great thing about employee attitude surveys is that they tell you not only what the real problems are, but where they are

Ralf Meyer de Groot on Wrigley’s Extra
Download Wrigley+Extra+2009-1.pdf

Wie man mit innovativen Marktforschungs-Methoden gezielt und nachhaltig zu einem Segmentanteil von 90 Prozent gelangt.

Richard Baraniuk: Goodbye, textbooks; hello, open-source learning
View

Richard Baraniuk is founder of Connexions (www.cnx.org), a free, open-source, global clearing house of course materials on everything from engineering to ornithology.

The Meeting Magic Method
Download Meeting+Magic+Method+STEP+1.pdf

This new book from Katherine Woods and Kevin Holligan is a practical guide to successful meeting design. Each of the seven steps contains graphic templates with detailed instructions and tips. You can download and use Step One here.

Malcolm Gladwell's Perfect Spaghetti Sauce
View

Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell gets inside the food industry's pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce - and makes a broader point about the nature of choice and happiness.

Joseph Pine on What do Consumers Really Want?
View

Consultant and author of ‘Mass customization’, Joseph Pine's books and workshops help businesses create what modern consumers really want: authentic experiences. In this video, he looks at authenticity, what it is and how to achieve it.

Tim Nicol on Open Innovation
Download Tim+Nicol+on+Open+Innovation.pdf

Open Innovation has been a hot topic for the last 5 years, and is very much on the management agenda as a way of improving innovation success rates.

Helen Cooke on Diversity: Simply another management initiative?
Download Helen+Cooke+on+Diversity.pdf

Maintaining a diverse and inclusive workplace is critical to an organisation’s future success.  A diverse team operating to its full potential is one of the biggest levers an organisation can have to create competitive advantage.

Dawn Franklin on Intellectual Property
Download Dawn-Franklin-on-Intellectual-Property.pdf

In a knowledge economy, your Intellectual Property is your most valuable business asset and, like tangible assets, can be bought and sold. Here are a few key things you need to know to secure your rights and avoid pitfalls.

Allan Leighton on Leadership
Download Allan+Leighton+-+On+leadership.pdf

Fly across the United States and you'll see it everywhere you go. Giant white letters spelling out the name of global grocery giant Wal-Mart on the roof of every superstore, town after anonymous town.
Take a moment to consider which corporate chief decided to display the name of his company where 99 per cent of customers would never see it.

Tim Mortimer on Coaching
Download Tim+Mortimer+on+Coaching.pdf

This article is about the coaching process, the relationship between coach and client and the benefits of coaching.

Poul Weirauch on Uncle Bens: the history of one of our great brands
Download Poul+Weirauch+on+Uncle+Bens+-+the+history+of+one+of+our+great+brands-1.pdf

It started with a technical advantage - it ended with a great brand. This phrase captures the beginning of the great history of Uncle Ben's, the world’s biggest rice brand.

 
Katherine Woods and Ingid Uden on Managing information in meetings: using graphics
Download Katherine-Woods-Ingrid-Uden-on-Managing-Information-in-Meetings.pdf

Managing people and discussions in a meeting is hard enough, but managing all the charts and ideas and agreed actions at the same time presents another, equally tough challenge.  In this chapter from their new book, Meeting Magic, Katherine Woods and Ingrid Uden share some of their principles and techniques.