Top Issues

Brought to you by The CEO Institute, below is a snapshot of the Top Issues discussed by CEOs and business leaders during December 2011:

Business confidence and conditions 

• Chinese suppliers increasingly requiring payment up front - cash flow implications

• Contemplating expansion into either Western Australia or Queensland

• Defence concerns likely to become much greater issue - Australia's plentiful supply of raw materials and food increasingly needed by others

• Difficulties of competing with China - in one case, cost of raw materials here were greater than cost of fully manufactured item ex China

• Great deal of uncertainty regarding the effects of and action to be taken under the ‘Personal Property Security' Act that is scheduled to commence from 31st January 2012

• Impact of mining boom

• Retail and retail related industries are really struggling for both sales and margin

• Support needed for manufacturers by the governments of the day

• Political leadership (or lack of it)

Business building blocks

• Bringing in management skill through potential equity investment

• Buying currency and being clear on context - to make money or risk mitigation

• European situation and what impact that may have on the Australian economy

• Effective expense control and management in business

• Margins coming under more pressure, not always possible to pass on full cost increases

• Restructuring the organisation - maintaining accountability for outcomes is critical for success

• Risk management - all levels of organisation need to work together to share responsibilities

Leadership

• Change management

• Effective cultural change - challenge of managing structural, cultural and process change simultaneously and the importance of understanding organisational values as reflected in behaviours and management's role particularly ongoing timely communications

• How to manage personal balance to maintain energy for the business

• Managing culture following downsizing restructure

• Personal journey of CEO leadership - importance of self-awareness; developing a culture with staff; setting service goals and measuring performance outcomes and having the courage to take hard decisions

• Work/life balance and time management - balance work commitments with personal activities - family, community etc; self management techniques include turning the mobile off out of hours, rotating out of hours work, learning to delegate, taking a firm line on one's time in the work place including the place of unscheduled meetings and being prepared to leave work unfinished at the end of the day

Looking at the future

• Assimilation after acquisition

• Business acquisition and fulfilment of key roles to re-align business

• Business growth strategies

• Great opportunities for acquisitions, some competitors struggling, but asking prices often high

Managing people

• Bullying in the workplace - bullying is not clearly defined and it seems to be a growing issue often associated with managing poor performers who then go on stress leave or raise a bullying claim; exiting bully at the first sign vs engage in the time consuming management of claims

• Challenges of working in an organisation with a conflict-averse CEO and a passive non-performing Board

• Employee engagement - pride in work - how to get engagement as a company

• How to achieve alignment of staff and management with different views and attitudes, particularly where change is needed

• Managing difficult staff - the decision of whether or not to fire and the consequences

• Recruitment - still talent shortage; applicants are choosing their employer by checking them out first; benefits of executive search; use of psychologists

• Seeing a growth in bullying claims

Selling and marketing 

• Direct marketing approach to targeted prospects working well - cost effective too

• Engaging the sales force

• International distributor assessments and appointments with KPIs

• Rebranding as a part of significant culture change

Technology revolution 

• Communication and email management

• Creating an "App" - consider business model first - what's its purpose; is it free or paid; content presentation; back end processing requirements; and data storage requirements

• Distraction of IT in the workplace and the use of mobile phones in factory and even office environments - how to manage this

• Digital world and changing buying behaviours