Test video with Terry & Alan .

This was initially going to be a test video to see how the sound and light came out with the hand-held camera. However after speaking with both Alan and Terry we decided to put it onto the blog. This was mainly due to the very topical subject matter they were debating. There is little doubt that the next few years are going to be uncomfortable in the UK as we tackle the huge debt that is owed.

Terry and Alan discuss in the video what the future holds for organisations in the public sector when budget cuts force them to rethink their strategies. Will they cut down on training, will that be a good or bad decision? It’s an easy target where money can be seen to be saved at an instant….BUT is that a short sighted strategy? Well we know that it is. Historically cutting back on training creates a less productive and enthusiastic employee. Investing in people helps businesses and organisations stay strong with a committed workforce ready for the challenges ahead.

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London Networking Event

Alan and Grahame went to the Strand Palace Hotel in central London to attend an Internet Marketing lunch organised by a successful online entrepreneur called Martin Avis. It is arranged to allow new and experienced online marketers to mix and exchange ideas. For example Grahame had a long chat with Gary Vurnam who has made over a million with products and ideas he has sold and promoted on the internet. Alan spoke at length with a chap that was just starting out and was unsure of which area of internet marketing he wanted to go down.

It was a long day and at the end we were both brimming with ideas and information. You may well ask what this has to do with our core businesses  Leaning 2 Achieve Ltd and Biz Web Solutions. As with any business you need to be able to sell yourself and promote what you do to others and internet marketing sits at the cutting edge of this. Much of what is used such as video, sales letters and joint ventures are pioneered by these guys and they know what works and what is likely to bomb.

Have a look at our short video called Martin Avis London lunch and you will see how informal and relaxed the whole event was, oh.. and the food wasn’t that bad either.

A Trip To Brighton

Networking is one of the best ways to promote your business. It gives you the opportunity to speak with others about how their own businesses are doing within these tough times and what ideas they have to see themselves through.

Everyone I found to be very open about their business and apart from the odd one or two, nobody was to pushy.

There were business card everywhere and at the end of the event I felt like a kleptomaniac. I am sure I had more than I gave out ummm.

Both Alan and I can really see the advantages of attending these events, My guide would be to be picky about which ones you go to otherwise you will keep bumping into people you have seen before and they already have your card, so choose wisely.

Alan’s presentation at Senior Special Constables Conference

Following the presentation to the ACPO Excellence In Policing Conference Alan was asked to do a similar presentation to the Special Constables Chief Officers conference in October. They have an excellent national strategy which was always intended to run from 2006 – 2010 and Alan’s input was to move the strategy on to its next phase, beyond 2010. This was well received and has resulted in tangible outcomes to be taken forward.

A recurring theme from these presentations, and from discussions with other clients, is that the impending cuts to public service budgets are new to this generation of the workforce. The reasons for this are explained in an article on our performance and strategy blog titled ‘Navigating across the new Performance Landscape’ and can be consolidated into two points:

• We have lived through a sustained period of growth

• The performance culture of the last ten to fifteen years has been focused on quantitative measures

The wise organisations are those planning the development and support for their managers, at all levels, to lead their staff through this financial drought.

Please let us know what you are doing to plan for this forthcoming change, so that we can share it with others – that’s how the best learning takes place.

Performance and Strategy and our Landscape…!!

Okay, it is finally here! Last week we launched our Performance Landscape programme at the Association of Chief Police Officers performance conference. We recognise that performance is a complex subject, so we have designed our programme to help you navigate around an ever changing environment. We use the analogy of animals of the Serengeti because their survival depends on their performance – and so does yours!

Our programme provides leaders, at all levels, with the practical knowledge and tools to maximise performance for themselves and their organisations. For the full picture go to www.performancelandscape.co.uk

I am now going to get my focus back on the blog and writing more about how organisations need to address the financial drought that is going to hit public services in the UK in 2011. Whilst this drought may be viewed negatively, it actually offers immense opportunities for the private and public sectors – if the leaders have the foresight to take them. The skill is going to be for the giraffes of the organisation to see the opportunity and then pass the responsibility for capturing it to those with the right competencies, which may be any of the other animals, such as the lion, the wildebeest, the zebra or even the crocodile. It’s how you use these skills that is going to decide how well you survive the changing landscape.

Performance Landscape launch

Completing the Performance Landscape programmme has taken many months of research and preparation. Not only is the subject matter crucial for businesses and public sector organisations it has to be delivered in a way that stimulates and inspires those it is aimed at.

We were really excited to introduce the concept of this package at the ACPO Excellence In Policing Conference in Coventry on the 21st September 2009. Stephen Berry and Alan Wingrove jointly presented the ‘Strategies of the Serengeti‘ based around the conference theme of Confidence in the New Performance Landscape.

The programme was very well received and the theme of ‘Animals of the Serengeti’ created a lot of excitement with the audience. From what potentially could be perceived as being a fairly dry subject, was made to come alive with the fascinating analogy with the giraffe, lion, elephant and the many other animals. They were shown to run their lives in a more effective and efficient manner than the most intelligent species of our world….. Man.

To find out more about this inspiring programme head over to Performance Landscape.

Public Services ‘wealth warning’

The Performance Landscape is changing for all organisations. However, for the public services in the UK it needs a radical approach for the public to have confidence the services they receive – and real honesty as to what the country can afford, especially post 2011. In his latest article Alan explains this in more depth…

Please click the link:  Public Services article