Why productivity matters
Productive companies get more out of what they’ve got, enabling them to increase their profits, pay higher wages and invest in their future. More productive businesses mean a more prosperous country. Discover why productivity matters below.
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Leadership & Strategy
Article
A management structure that provides autonomy and empowerment
Launching a brave and new product meant taking a long hard look at Decoded’s management structure and practices – whatever positives or negatives that uncovered.
Leadership Behaviours
Digital Readiness
Article
Six business leaders share their favourite productivity tools
We’ve created a list of some of the best productivity tools available chosen by business owners for business owners.
Digital Commerce
Sales & Growth
Article
This firm is seeking new revenue streams amidst the chaos
Finnmark Sauna planned to maintain its rate of expansion in 2020, and the founders are using new revenue streams to ensure coronavirus doesn't slow them down.
Sales & Growth
Article
Think local for success with unusual export countries
Red tape, complex regulations and confusion over which authority to approach regarding which issue can make exporting to any country, especially those in the developing world, difficult, time consuming and expensive.
Expanding & Exporting
Leadership & Strategy
Video
Plans, processes and people – the three Ps of successful delivery
John Lucas is COO at Tharsus, a robotics firm in Northumberland. He told Be the Business about the three Ps of delivery: plans, processes and people.
Vision & Values
People & Team
Article
From the coal face: Questioning the CEO about revenue expenditure
When a receptionist asked her CEO how the £172,000 they’d made last month was spent it prompted a closer at the company’s revenue expenditure and a resulting saving of 12 per cent the following month.
Performance management
Leadership & Strategy
Article
SMEs decide if pivots are permanent or passing trends
Some businesses have responded to coronavirus by altering services or doing something completely new. We look at how SMEs are pivoting to protect revenues.
Leadership Behaviours
Planning
Article
Coronavirus: Rent, rates and business property
With the outbreak of coronavirus, many firms are facing the temporary closure of their primary business property. But there are some steps you can take.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Customer feedback keeps Polhawn Fort ahead of trends
Sarah Turpitt, General Manager of the Polhawn Fort stays ahead of the trends by listening to customer feedback and collaborating with local producers.
Leadership Behaviours
Sales & Growth
Article
Focus on what makes you truly unique as a business
When brother and sister team Harry and Leah Lobek decided they couldn’t put off starting a business any longer, the two knew the concept needed to stand out in a crowded market. The end result, London Shell Co., definitely hits the mark there.
Marketing & Sales
People & Team
Article
Implement a flat management structure
Shadow Robot’s managing director Rich Walker was so determined to develop his nascent managerial skills that he joined a business growth development course.
Talent development
Planning
Article
A successful CBILS application: Give banks as much info as you can
When Plastic Card Services set about applying for the government's CBILS funding pot, it knew overdelivering information would be the successful approach.
Planning
Video
A business mentor gave me a sounding board for my ideas and decisions
A business mentor may seem formal, expensive or out of reach, but there have never been more opportunities to access an experienced individual to bounce ideas off in times of need and drive effective change.
Ambition
People & Team
Article
Focus on your people’s talent, and it’s impossible for competitors to copy you
Faced with a personnel predicament after Optimity secured a funding injection, Anthony Impey decided to train up his existing people talent rather than hire cookie-cutter staff.
Talent development
Video
Small changes make a big difference
Tiny tweaks in a business can turn out to be game-changers. See how many small changes you can spot in this video and watch how they can really add up.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Learn how leadership can influence business strategy in the right way
Running a hospitality business is pretty demanding. For the three leaders we met, success is rooted in a strong sense of leadership and a clear strategy.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
A shared approach to a charitable initiative can bring a team together
When Nick Gold, MD of motivational and after-dinner speakers agency Speakers Corner (speakerscorner.co.uk) wanted to introduce a charitable initiative into the workplace he considered two approaches.
Vision & Values
Sales & Growth
Article
Business lessons from a third-generation family farm
Long-term planning and deep-rooted relationships with the local community have helped one family farm through the ups and downs of the food and farming sector.
People & Team
Article
Creating team leaders to maximise sales and profitability – stories from the beauty and hospitality worlds
As a business grows it gets harder and harder to stay on top of all day-to-day activities. Nurturing and empowering team leaders helps take some of the pressure off, as Be the Business found out.
Talent development
People & Team
Article
Why hiring for passion, not just experience, can be transformational
While it may be tempting to de-risk recruitment by prioritising academic achievement and work experience, hiring for passion can help populate your company with the kind of people who will live and breathe the business.
Motivation
Planning
Article
Coronavirus: Controlling fixed costs
It’s always good to control your fixed costs but, during the coronavirus outbreak, it could make all the difference to the survival of your business.
Article
From an experienced leader to a new one
Liz Smith, MD with LG Printing, looks back to her first difficult years as a leader and offers some leadership advice to her younger self.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
What you can learn from Ceviche’s Martin Morales
At a Be the Business masterclass business leaders shared what they learned from the Ceviche story and how they would use it to make their firms even better.
Improve your own leadership capabilities
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Stuck in a lift with 10 business leaders – what would you ask?
Series one of the It's The Small Things podcast featured ten small change champion CEOs, founders and leaders. Take a quick tour to find out was learnt.
Improve your own leadership capabilities