If you have a growing business, it’s important to prepare as best you can to safeguard your success — and not inhibit growth by wasting time, effort and profits on fixing problems down the track. Having lawful and carefully-drafted employment contracts and workplace policies may seem an unnecessary task compared to keeping work rolling in […]
Leadership: Have vision, be confident

While Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA CEO Deidre Willmott has worked with some amazing leaders in government and the private sector throughout her career, she’s developed her own style along the way. “I would say that what I have learnt is that a leader has to have a vision. They have to articulate […]
How to support an employee dealing with mental health issues

Tackling mental health issues in the workplace starts with a difficult conversation. Here’s how to make it easier… The annual cost of mental illness on Australian business is in the billions. These numbers do not account for the human cost on the employee dealing with a mental illness or the effects on their colleagues and […]
Contracts of the heart

While some US companies have drawn up “love contracts” for their executives and employees, leading WA businesswoman Diane Smith-Gander does not want Australia going down that track. Despite public scandals and salacious headlines involving high-profile companies, Smith-Gander says every company should have a comprehensive code of conduct that addresses workplace relationships while avoid the issuing […]
Goyder sad to leave Wesfarmers

Wesfarmers Managing Director Richard Goyder says he’s not looking forward to walking out the door of the private company after more than 12 years at the helm but says he’s leaving the leadership in safe hands. Goyder, who is only months away from stepping down in November, has been transitioning Deputy CEO Rob Scott into […]
Banks playing catch-up in changing world, says ASIC boss

Behaviour in the financial sector is driven by culture, incentives and deterrents and has taken a hit with some high-profile cases making headlines, says one of sector’s most respected leaders. Australian Securities and Investments Commission Chairman Greg Medcraft—who leaves the commission in November after taking on the role in 2011—says behaviour has to change. “I […]
How to manage your boss to get ahead

A team’s success is almost always a result of both the leader and team members performing well together. The stronger the relationship between the leader and team, the more enhanced the mutual benefits. More satisfaction with the work, greater ownership and accountability, greater efficiency and productivity, less conflict, more loyalty and of course superior results. […]
How to win at business at any life stage

If there was ever any truth in the adage that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, Sharrie Carter has definitely disproven it. The exercise physiologist and Director of Physical Solutions, a growing allied health business in Perth’s northern suburbs, turned her entire career around at the time many people start fantasising about early […]
The only certainty in business is change
There are smart—and not so smart—ways of taking your team with you when change is on the cards Downsizing, restructuring, and organisational change are all terms that no longer describe a process that a business may implement occasionally—they are now terms used to describe business as usual. The rate of change is only increasing. The […]
Cyber attack a wake up call

Australian businesses should update their Windows operating systems following the devastating ransomware campaign made it to our shores last May. Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security Dan Tehan confirmed the ‘WannaCry’ ransomware campaign had infected 12 Australian small businesses. The ransomware had already wreaked havoc with more than 200,000 European computers including some […]