Category: Opinion

A black art; a dark science – PR is often akin to the stuff of magicians using smoke and mirrors to leave the audience in shock and awe; often peddled by smooth talking salespeople, masquerading as PR gurus, who will rely heavily on the mystique of the unknown and the unproven world of promotion. Or so it used to be.

The profile of mediation has risen dramatically over the past few years. In 2008, the CIPD Conflict Management survey found that 43% of respondents had used mediation, this jumped up to 57% in the 2011 report. So what explains mediation’s increasing popularity, and why should employers use it?

Yorkshire duo made to eat dog food by Peter Jones and the weird and wonderful world of taxidermy.

In her latest article, Linda Jackson, founding director of 10Eighty looks at how you can unlock the secret of what drives and motivates your employees and channel their career aspirations to the benefit of your business.

Managing a team can be a very challenging role, and one that a lot of entrepreneurs can struggle with. When your business starts to evolve and grow, this should be cause for celebration!

In his latest article, John Richie explores the business benefits of taking a positive and flexible approach to new flexible working legislation.

Earlier this month, as stage two of the Tour de France rolled past our new offices in the centre of York it got me thinking about what businesses could learn from what is widely recognised as one of the most difficult and arduous sporting events in the calendar.

With the OECD upgrading UK growth forecasts to 3.2% it seems we are firmly back into a growth economy. After years of stagnation and worse, businesses are engineered for survival not innovation. Leaders must quickly re-learn the skills to seize every opportunity as it arises.

The use of mobile devices for work purposes is on the up, creating all sorts of new opportunities for the modern worker. In fact, according to a report from Juniper Research, the number of employee-owned smartphones and tablets in the work place could exceed one billion by 2018.

As we welcome back Deborah Meaden, Duncan Bannatyne, Kelly Hoppen, Piers Linney and Peter Jones, we can be sure that we’re in for as many eccentric and unusual business plans and ideas as the previous 11 series’ of Dragon’s Den have delivered to us.

If you have room in your head for only one nugget of leadership wisdom, make it this one: the most powerfully motivating condition people experience at work is making progress at something that is personally meaningful.

As the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow grows looms large, Dr Graham Jones of Top Performance Consulting reflects on the achievements of the world’s best sport performers and their coaches and the lessons that business leaders can draw from them.

Graham Ewart, Managing Director of Direct Healthcare Services, gives his top tips for enhancing your public speaking skills.

Pity the poor PM. Not only has it been revealed that he’s woefully under-paid in comparison to his civil servants (although admittedly he may not actually need the money) but he also had to earn his meagre wage yesterday afternoon by handing out P45s to many of his close colleagues, a task which more richly-rewarded captains of industry often delegate to a hapless HR manager.