Great story I picked up:
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=665847

Is it the company being picky, or do they have a point?

Two contrasting experiences yesterday.

The first was a conversation with an ex-colleague, who told me with glee how she had just bought a house for £205k that only a few months ago was on the market at over £270k. With a little jiggling of her personal finances and a good mortgage broker she had clinched the deal. Knowing the area I think she has bought something between a bargain and a fair price (the property prices had been unreasonably high).

The second was while watching the news and being “told” how the public is increasingly reluctant to pay for large items, choosing to wait until the price falls further, creating deflation.

Of course, the trick is to spot the bottom of the curve. But how material is the potential saving between now and the bottom of the curve? Is the idea of a bargain always more attractive than the actual saving achieved?

Is there a cost for your time and profit/pleasure foregone you need to factor in while waiting for a deal?

After following this blog for many weeks, and appreciating how much I have learnt from it, I thought I’d share the link:
http://www.financeweek.co.uk/ceos-diary

It’s the story of a CEO facing the same day to day issues and dilemmas that every business manager has.

OK, you may have more or less zero’s on the end of your income and expenditure targets, but the honesty, relevance, and rawness of his story is just great.

It may help to read the blog from the start, so grab a cup of your favourite brew, and enjoy.

I had an email from an ex-colleague yesterday who, in reply to my question asking how they were, replied “peddling faster than ever”.

While glad that they are “busy”, and apparently still enjoying the challenge of their work, I was left wondering whether the extra effort being used was resulting in extra output and benefit to the organisation.

I can still clearly recall the story from years ago, when I worked at IBM, when an employee under threat of redundancy started working every hour he could – to improve his chances of being kept on. Sadly, he was one of the many 100′s (1,000′s?) who lost their jobs, and I suspect one of the main reasons he went was because he had failed to understand that it’s not inputs that matter, it’s outputs. His extra work did not increase his contribution and value to the company.

We have to focus on what difference our work makes, which is a bit more complicated than just working differently (or harder).

After a round of meetings this morning, I am astounded by the potential for doing business that exists. Is it the current financial climate, or are most people too busy to talk to other people? I have found three business opportunities that could make a real difference to two organisations, if they are willing to spend a little time talking to each other and aim high.

As well as asking the right questions, the role of a FD is to suggest potential avenues of activity. I’m not saying which are right or wrong, but often the objective eye and ear will pick up an unexpected solution.

That’s why I love my job.

Responsibility is a great word. It might be mine, yours, or the best of all – someone else’s. We all accept a little ourselves, but expect a lot from others.

Right now, I’m juggling two organisations that have decided to take responsibility for their own financial situation and are prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure they continue their excellent work. And to do this in the face of seemingly never-ending red tape, ignorance, and just plain stubbornness to give a helping hand when it’s needed.

What does it take for someone to take a risk in the name of a good cause? It’s not as if we are short of some good news stories at the moment.

The way I see it, the “bigger” problems in this world are not caused by being helpful, but by being greedy.

At an event I attended last night, I was struck by the view that everyone I spoke to had about the current banking crisis – it’ll be ok…

Nobody was sure why it would be ok; but somehow, by keeping their heads down and working hard, the problems reported in the press and media would pass and the world would carry on as before.

Now this may be true, but it worried me that none were saying that they were using the time to review their finances. When it looks like rain, am I the only one to check that I haven’t lost my umbrella?