Entries by arthurkirk

Big world, small world

November 26, 2014 /0 Comments/in /by

I have friend who can recall nearly every business in the main street where we grew up and most were locally owned and run. Unfortunately the majority are now gone, or going, having been out-competed by the multi-nationals, nationals and on-line providers. Buying groups have helped some with pricing and margins however product differentiation is still a major issue. However there are signs of a local resurgence which is being driven by social forces. Demand for local food products is one example and we typically see this at both retail and hospitality levels. In addition to local produce we also have access to a huge and diverse global cottage marketplace […]

Who stole our monopoly?

November 26, 2014 /0 Comments/in /by

Technology and the world-wide web have a lot to answer for! Gone are the days where professional service providers held a virtual monopoly over the information and technical expertise that underpinned their service offering. Further, the regulators move to a risk based “self assessment” environment coupled with increasingly sophisticated intuitive technology has changed the game forever. Whilst XBRL, the global standard for exchanging business information and reporting, started with the big end of town this will be the norm for SME’s within a relatively short period of time. The demand for compliance and transactional services will continue albeit at lower margins and volume. Adding insult to injury the competition is […]

Managing ego in your business

November 13, 2014 /0 Comments/in , /by

Manage and mitigate the negative side of ego in your business In his book The Long Term Starts Tomorrow, Nigel Lake addresses, amongst many interesting and important issues, the dangers of the supremacy gene. “The moment that a company starts to believe that its current strength and sophistication compared to its competitors is likely to be genuinely enduring, the rot sets in,” states Nigel. In essence the supremacy gene stifles vision, innovation and the drive needed to continually challenge and develop the organisation’s capacity to remain competitive. The underlying cause of the supremacy gene is ego which is typically driven by the double edged sword of false pride – “you […]