The Devil’s Most Devilish When Respectable
“Little deals often signal bigger things to come.” The other day I heard a young author saying that book publishers had it all wrong, they spent too much time publishing…
The articles below illustrate the importance of risk management. Businesses often end up taking much bigger risks than they intended and you should learn something from that and not do what they do. The future is always uncertain; take small steps forward so you can at least survive if things go wrong.
Why Aviva Needs a Different Sort of Boss
“So, how should they go about recruiting a new CEO?” There has been so much discussion recently about the performance and remuneration of CEO’s that I thought that it…
Up On The Farm
Farmers and their suppliers have rarely had it so good, but who will be left holding the baby? The owners of John Deere, the world famous brand of tractors and…
Hang Onto Your Margins!
“Excessive margins always come with a sell-by date.” The mobile industry is an interesting place at the moment. Blessed with license-based market protection, not available even in the wildest dreams…
A Bird In Hand Is A Certainty. But A Bird In The Bush May Sing
“You won’t get a fair price when you have no other option but to sell.” Sports personalities can be a source of a lot of wisdom. Eric Cantona gave us…
Memento Mori
“One market changing technology is bad enough for market leaders, but what would you do if two came along at once?” I’m not sure if you can buy a…
A Balancing Act
“Borrowing money to drive growth can make you rich, if you don’t take on too much risk.” Terra Firma Capital Partners, led by Guy Hands, is a London based private…
Deal or No Deal?
“Why my neighbour, Premier Foods, has had to go back to basics.” I live across the road from the headquarters of Premier Foods, owners of Hovis, Mr Kipling, Ambrosia,…
Fingernails & Asteroids
"What’s the difference between investment and speculation?” For those with some cash to hand and an entrepreneurial streak it seems that nail bars have been a good investment in recent…
Boxing Clever
"Satisfying both customers and investors is a hard task for a new business.” I don’t work with start-up businesses because there are just too many uncertainties. There is rarely…