Comments on: Game of two halves http://blog.interimpartners.com/game-of-two-halves.html Encouraging debate and discussion within the interim management sector Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:48:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Peter Ahye http://blog.interimpartners.com/game-of-two-halves.html/comment-page-1#comment-374 Peter Ahye Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:48:16 +0000 http://blog.interimpartners.com/?p=400#comment-374 Businesses taking decisions based on the medium and long term will be the winners. Holding your nerve is one of the keys to getting through this challenging period. Many businesses I have been involved in focus on the obvious cost reduction programmes. Not many stand back and say,if I were to start this business today what would our processes and supply chain look like. So often businesses are put together over a long period of time and build in inefficiencies. They need to stand back and take some tough but longer term decisions. Whilst hitting short term targets are important, they could really impact on a businesses ability to compete medium term. At some point you must grow sales. Cutting costs justs gives you the breathing space. Invest for the future. Without this the UK economy will continue to suffer from short termism!! Finally think outside the box and don't be afraid to take on the big Boys!! A few years ago I remember asking a Board to diversfy and take on the Big retailers at their own game. It seemed ok for Supermarkets to move in to Non food, but not ok the other way round. Amazon have made the Strategic decision to sell food. Why not, Think positive!!! Businesses taking decisions based on the medium and long term will be the winners. Holding your nerve is one of the keys to getting through this challenging period. Many businesses I have been involved in focus on the obvious cost reduction programmes. Not many stand back and say,if I were to start this business today what would our processes and supply chain look like. So often businesses are put together over a long period of time and build in inefficiencies. They need to stand back and take some tough but longer term decisions. Whilst hitting short term targets are important, they could really impact on a businesses ability to compete medium term. At some point you must grow sales. Cutting costs justs gives you the breathing space. Invest for the future. Without this the UK economy will continue to suffer from short termism!!
Finally think outside the box and don’t be afraid to take on the big Boys!! A few years ago I remember asking a Board to diversfy and take on the Big retailers at their own game. It seemed ok for Supermarkets to move in to Non food, but not ok the other way round. Amazon have made the Strategic decision to sell food. Why not, Think positive!!!

]]> By: Paul Thrustle http://blog.interimpartners.com/game-of-two-halves.html/comment-page-1#comment-338 Paul Thrustle Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:07:57 +0000 http://blog.interimpartners.com/?p=400#comment-338 The economy and the england football team have a lot in common. Beaten easily by competition lying eastwards, fighting amongst ourselves about irrelevant things, good talent left behind, poor talent promoted on reputation, current generation not delivered, next generation abandoned in favour of cheap imports. Its going to take a long hard slog to get back to a decent level. Companies are facing rising costs, be they government induced or market driven, prices will have to remain subdued as consumers have had their fingers burnt. Employment will remain a real issue – unemployment lags the economic cycle so we are looking at much worse to come. the only people recruiting on any serious scale are the investment banks and they are just taking back the people they shed in 2008. There is some work out there for interims but its very specific. A few peole working in the sector have told me general recruitment is in a real dive to the bottom of the market – smaller firms undercutting the established ones, quick and dirty tactics are pervasive as the number of available candidates outnumbers jobs by 200 to 1 for management level roles. Companies are not taking risks on talent or transferabble skills only on exact fits. One chap I know – a good solid manager / exec has made 400 applicaitons with not a single response regarding his applications, he has packed up and gone to a decent footballing nation – Spain. The economy and the england football team have a lot in common. Beaten easily by competition lying eastwards, fighting amongst ourselves about irrelevant things, good talent left behind, poor talent promoted on reputation, current generation not delivered, next generation abandoned in favour of cheap imports.

Its going to take a long hard slog to get back to a decent level. Companies are facing rising costs, be they government induced or market driven, prices will have to remain subdued as consumers have had their fingers burnt. Employment will remain a real issue – unemployment lags the economic cycle so we are looking at much worse to come. the only people recruiting on any serious scale are the investment banks and they are just taking back the people they shed in 2008.

There is some work out there for interims but its very specific. A few peole working in the sector have told me general recruitment is in a real dive to the bottom of the market – smaller firms undercutting the established ones, quick and dirty tactics are pervasive as the number of available candidates outnumbers jobs by 200 to 1 for management level roles. Companies are not taking risks on talent or transferabble skills only on exact fits. One chap I know – a good solid manager / exec has made 400 applicaitons with not a single response regarding his applications, he has packed up and gone to a decent footballing nation – Spain.

]]> By: Simon Gough http://blog.interimpartners.com/game-of-two-halves.html/comment-page-1#comment-335 Simon Gough Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:30:11 +0000 http://blog.interimpartners.com/?p=400#comment-335 Hi Jonathan. Agree with the post. The rising costs are going to be the interesting point to watch as the political cauldron bubbles away. Margins are so tight right now they will have to pass on VAT surely. I can see the people who will try to absorb them will be those wanting to make a statement or the online businesses without the massive infrastructures. Hi Jonathan. Agree with the post. The rising costs are going to be the interesting point to watch as the political cauldron bubbles away. Margins are so tight right now they will have to pass on VAT surely. I can see the people who will try to absorb them will be those wanting to make a statement or the online businesses without the massive infrastructures.

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