The Latest News from PlanA

Business should be pretty easy, but we do tend to over complicate things at times! I was chatting to someone the other day who seems to have found the ‘sweet spot’ when it comes to their business. They have a great team, sell something that customers want and have sufficient cash to make the wheels turn around (plus they are highly profitable).

Leadership is not just about holding a title or managing a team, it's about inspiring, guiding, and fostering growth within your business. I came across this image on Linked In and it struck a note with me. For some, it may be a bit challenging!

As winter digs in and the economy doing it tough, it can sometimes be difficult to stay positive. But fear not, there is always light at the end of the tunnel! So in this latest installment of the PlanA Email Newsletter I look at some inspirational Hawke’s Bay organisations along with some important business activities to undertake so you can stay on top of things and be all set for the uptick.

Over the last month or so I’ve had a few people chat to me about having difficult conversations within their team & haven’t really known the best way to go about them. It’s almost that we are conflict adverse these days. I think part of this is that difficult conversations often bring feelings of fear and anxiety because they involve confrontation and conflict which we don’t like.

Dealing with overdue accounts receivable can be a common challenge for businesses of all sizes and something that often gets put off. So here are some practical strategies to manage overdue account receivables efficiently and also a resource that may help you.

In the cut and thrust of business, it's easy to get swept up in the day-to-day side of things. While that might be the case, it's crucial for business owners to pause and consider the long-term direction of their business.

I was chatting with someone about their focus for the coming year and they said that they wanted to develop structure and processes within their business, with the ultimate aim to look at exiting their industry in 5 years’ time. We started chatting about the various things for them to consider and it reminded me of a book I read a few years ago – Built to Sell – Buy it here!

The year as a ten-year-old used to go on forever, especially in those winter months when there was no end in sight, the thought of sun and summer seemed a distant dream. How I looked forward to spending time with my mates and cuzzies down at the river, going to the pools over the holiday period, and just hanging out.

As I type it is the Monday after the 2023 elections in Aotearoa New Zealand. There is still 500,000 Special Votes to count, but as we know it will be a National / Act coalition, possibly with NZ First as the third coalition partner.

Now I don’t know about you, but towards the end of the campaign I really started to turn off. Everyone seemed to be promising everything, blamed everyone else and the noise became a bit too much.

In the world of business, clarity is the cornerstone of sound decision-making. Whether you're a board of directors, business owner, or a general manager, your choices greatly impact your organisation's success. To get good clarity though, you need to test assumptions. In this blog I’m going to give you three simple things to think about when it comes to getting clarity around your business direction and decisions.