17Dec
By: Cherry Birch On: December 17, 2019

Around the world there are different forms of greetings and according to one article ‘How’s it going?’ is the most typical Australian way of saying hello.  This is closely followed by ‘How you going?’ ‘How are you going?’ ‘How you doing?’ ‘How are you doing?’ ‘How’s it hanging?’ (not sure...

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10Dec
By: Cherry Birch On: December 10, 2019

All managers want to value add to their organisation – after all it makes you stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons. You have spotted an opportunity for the business or maybe it is as simple as a piece of equipment keeps breaking down and needs...

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05Dec
By: Cherry Birch On: December 5, 2019

I came across an HBR article from 2002 entitled ‘What Makes Great Boards Great?’ and it opens with the following –“ In the wake of the meltdowns of such once great companies as Adelphia, Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom, enormous attention has been focused on the companies’ boards. Were the...

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03Dec
By: Cherry Birch On: December 3, 2019

I have been reading a great booklet published last year by my institute on Communication Skills and I loved one of the quotes it contained. “The spreadsheet gives us dots, but we always need to join them into a picture and apply some paint”. Mike Sergeant, a former BBC...

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26Nov
By: Cherry Birch On: November 26, 2019

2019 has been challenging for many businesses. Business confidence in Australia is low and whilst interest rates are at record lows, global uncertainty and depressed consumer spending have resulted in a stagnant economy. Now whilst every industry is fairing differently, if your business is challenged, then you may find...

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12Nov
By: Cherry Birch On: November 12, 2019

So this final blog on the subject of budgeting is designed to get you to think about how you can improve your commentaries on your monthly results. In previous blogs, I have discussed setting up the budget, communicating it and now you need to report on your performance against...

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05Nov
By: Cherry Birch On: November 5, 2019

Who does not want to improve their profitability? Even Not for Profit organisations need to get value for money and ensure their funds go as far as possible. Most commercial enterprises will concentrate on revenue generation and that is obviously justified. However, I am not here to share the...

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29Oct
By: Cherry Birch On: October 29, 2019

Firstly congratulations! If, like many, you are on an NFP Board and therefore volunteering your time and skills to contribute to a great cause, then further congratulations are in order. However, being a director comes with a number of duties and responsibilities as I am sure you are aware....

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22Oct
By: Cherry Birch On: October 22, 2019

In a couple of weeks’ time, I shall once more be on a plane to San Francisco to join my Bonanza colleagues delivering financial acumen training at the SAP Sales Academy. I always look forward to these trips and the opportunity to work with their new sales executives from...

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15Oct
By: Cherry Birch On: October 15, 2019

I think every manager will know that managing their budget is a vital part of their role, yet rarely is any proper training given to managers in this regard. Of course it may seem straight forward to those who have been running a budget for years , but if...

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