Remember how the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) wreaked havoc on stock markets, financial institutions and businesses whose profitability and growth forecasts were bedevilled by unanticipated, rapidly unfolding events? While Australian businesses and workers got off lightly, compared with their counterparts in other developed nations and economies, the downturn nevertheless generated a wave of lay-offs, as […]
Launched at the height of the GFC in 2007, Sydney-based print production company Shout Media gained traction by capitalising on increased demand from organisations for outsourced printing. It has thrived, however, by forging collaborative relationships with its clients and maintaining a diverse pool of solutions, responsive to their ever-changing needs. Co-founder and director Greg Vidler […]
Although it’s been one week since World Kindness Day (13 Nov), it’s important for CEOs to realise that being kind should be an ongoing commitment and obligation. Introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, a coalition of over 25 non-government organisations across the world, World Kindness Day serves as a reminder to be purposeful […]
Would your business survive if a recession hit? While I don’t believe Australia is facing an impending recession in the immediate future, it’s not a question of “if” but “when” and there’s no better time to start planning than right now. Small business owners are often too busy to think about contingency planning, but to […]
Have you tried to hire a senior employee lately and have found the talent pool extremely limited? Trying to find senior staff in my industry – interior and architectural design – can be incredibly difficult. The reason for this stems from the GFC. When it hit, many firms in the design community put the brakes […]
Daunted by the prospect of a life spent working for others, one-time lawyer Martin Halphen quit a stable job to become the master of his own fate. Propelled by ‘blind courage’, he purchased a modest fruit delivery business for $100,000, believing, hoping, it would play to his strengths. Despite some ‘hairy moments’, including a seven-year […]
Deutsche Bank of Germany recently decided to cut bonuses for local employees as it struggles to turn a profit in the wake of a large litigation bill. The litigation issue stems from the mortgage market collapse in the lead up to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, resulting in a $7.2 billion-dollar settlement with the US […]
Consumer sentiment has experienced its longest run of pessimism since the Global Financial Crisis and, before that, the early 1990s recession, according to the Westpac monthly sentiment index.
While Australia may have bypassed the worst of the global financial crisis, business is still coming to terms with the organisational changes that were made to adapt to the shifting economy. A survey of almost 3,000 business leaders, managers, and non-managerial employees from Lead Management Australasia found that 63 per cent are feeling more pressure […]
