It’s common for businesses to get so excited about landing a big deal that they gloss over the detail involved in delivering the work. They just look at the revenue, consider their margins and rejoice at the extra money they’ll be making. Then they sign the contract. A big customer will present you with a lengthy contract that has been developed ov…

People are a vital part of any business. In this fourth podcast in our series looking at how to succeed in adversity we highlight the steps you need to take to ensure staff are involved in your transformation process. Michael Fingland, CEO of Vantage Performance, explains to Phil Dobbie the importance of identifying how employees can make a differe…

This is the third of four podcasts looking at how businesses can position themselves for an uncertain economic future. Michael Fingland, CEO of Vantage Performance, says there are many tell-tale signs that we can expect testing times over the next year or so and your business needs to be prepared – either to survive or to capitalise on the opportun…

Michael Fingland, director & CEO at Vantage Performance says when a business is facing challenges there are usually one or two big changes to your strategy that are needed to get the business on the right track. This week’s podcast is the second in a series of four looking at how your business can succeed in the face of adversity. Michael talks to …

This is the first of four podcasts where Vantage Performance CEO Michael Fingland takes us through the process of taking advantage of an economic downturn. In this edition he talks to Phil Dobbie about the need to be prepared. Those that aren’t prepared can easily collapse when there’s a financial downturn. Those that are ready don’t just survive, …

If your business is going through a turnaround it is a time for complete transparency. More than ever before. In this edition of the Vantage Performance podcast, Elizabeth Mawby says that you should be brutally honest when dealing with key stakeholders. That includes creditors, debtors and employees. Elizabeth explains to Phil Dobbie that, whilst y…

Often the directors of a business sense there is something afoot with their business operations, but they don’t have a sense of the magnitude of the issue. In this week’s podcast, Elizabeth Mawby says that it’s often a revelation when the turnaround specialists from Vantage Performance present the financial consequences of the problems a business f…

Cash flow forecasting is the Achilles heel of many businesses, particularly in the SME sector. Elizabeth Mawby, a client director at Vantage Performance, has seen many companies outlining cash flows for only a week ahead. She says, to be of any use, companies need to be looking 13 weeks ahead. Putting a cash flow forecast together is straightforwar…

The CFO you have for the best of times is not necessarily the same person to carry you through tough times. It demands a very different skill set. Some CFOs will adapt, but not all. In this week’s podcast Phil Dobbie talks to Barbara Ould, a director at Vantage Performance, who suggests that when times are tough all CFOs need to step up to the plat…

Vantage director Richard Dunks wrote recently on the Business Strategy Blog about how to avoid the pitfalls when appointing an interim manager. That’s all fine, but our podcast host Phil Dobbie wondered why you’d want one in the first place – after all, isn’t the idea of a manager that they have a sense of continuity within the business? Well, not …

It’s difficult to imagine that we could pick up any management practices from the horrific spate of bombings that took place in Mumbai on the 26th November 2008. Yet, true heroes emerge in the face of disaster. Amongst them, were the staff at the Taj Palace Hotel. The hotel saw six explosions. The staff were able to evacuate guests, with many retur…

The global financial crisis has had a lasting effect – it’s harder now than ever to get a bank loan. In fact, in certain regions the number of approved loans has fallen from 1 in 5 of all applications down to just 1 in 15. Michael Fingland, Director & CEO of Vantage Performance, says banks are just as willing to loan money, but they need to ensure …

The government-owned State Bank of India has been around for 200 years. It’s incumbency guaranteed it a market share of around 35 percent, until the middle of the last decade when their dominance halved in the space of just two years. The turnaround was just as spectacular. By 2010 it had returned to its previous market position, despite fierce com…

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer was widely condemned when she sent an email to her 27,000 employees saying they couldn’t work from home any more. Her argument was that time spent at home was less productive than hours worked in the office. Richard Branson called her decision “perplexing”, given how technology is making remote working easier and more effect…

We know there is no magic formula to running a successful business, but there are some common practises that will point you in the right direction. Most of them can be implemented straight away, it’s just a matter of accepting the need for change. In this week’s podcast Phil Dobbie talks to Michael Fingland, CEO of Vantage Performance about the 10 …

The first step in sorting out your brand positioning is realising that you need one. In this edition of the Vantage Performance Podcast Christine Moody talks through what brand positioning is, who does it well, and what you can do today as a first step towards getting yours right. Vantage Brand delivers the complete brand strategy services includin…

In this week’s Vantage Performance podcast Andrew Birch, a director at Vantage Performance talks to Phil Dobbie about some of the easy ways you can bring cash forward. It’s all to do with how you structure your invoicing, accept payments and follow-up. As you’ll hear, a few simple changes to the way you operate can have an immense impact on the cas…

Your business can be profitable but still hit the wall. Why? Because you run out of cash. That’s why you need to ensure you have a handle on your working capital. Andrew Birch, a director at Vantage Performance, says working capital management can provide the cheapest and easiest form of finance available to your business, but if you ignore it the …

The holiday season is almost upon us: a time when many businesses struggle to stay afloat, with falling income, slow paying creditors and insufficient cash reserves to tide them over into the new year. In this week’s podcast Vantage Performance principal advisor Ian Hall highlights the need to seek additional finance now, not wait until a few days …

Driving improvements in your organisational performance is crucial for your company to survive in the face of increased international competition. Yet many leaders are anxious about change – often using that unconstructive adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. In this week’s podcast Phil Dobbie talks to Barbara Ould, a director at Vantage Perfor…

In this week’s podcast Phil Dobbie asks Michael Fingland, Director and CEO of Vantage Performance, if he can point to an example of a high performance team. He says the most visible display is the pit crew on a Formula 1 race track. They have to quickly evaluate a problem, find a solution, act on it and be aware of any external circumstances that c…

In last week’s Vantage Performance podcast, Susan Morgan spoke about the importance of finding a mentor to act as a sounding board for your ideas. This week Phil Dobbie talks to Andrew Birch, Director of Vantage Performance, who suggests you take it a step further by appointing a board to add some external influence on your business. Andrew says th…

If you think you wouldn’t benefit from the help of a mentor, perhaps you need to take a long hard look at yourself. Behind most successful business people you will find a mentor or two – Richard Branson has six! Sue Morgan is a Director of Vantage Performance who specialises in executive coaching; working with boards, CEOs and business owners. Sue …

Last week on the Vantage Performance Podcast Series we spoke about the importance of ensuring that you have a watertight contract before embarking on a new project. As a supplier to the mining industry – or any large infrastructure based company – the key is to limit your exposure by ensuring risks are considered and costed in your contract. But, w…

As we heard last week on the Vantage Performance Podcast Series many suppliers in the Mining sector work on a handshake deal, without the support of a contract. It’s a situation that’s changing as the industry faces slower growth and a less certain future. That means suppliers need to protect themselves by ensuring they have a watertight contract i…

In this week’s podcast, David Osborne, part of the Vantage Performance leadership team, explains how many mining services contracts push ahead with a handshake and very little in the way of due diligence. Often the details of the contract are overlooked and issues are left unchallenged until it’s far too late. He says the situation is changing – th…

Every company has a business strategy, but not everyone has a brand strategy. Yet a focus on brand helps to position your business in the eyes of your customer or prospects. In this week’s podcast Christine Moody, tells Phil Dobbie that the strategy involves determining your brand personality and what it promises to your customer. The outcome could…

In this edition of the Vantage Performance podcast Christine Moody explains why understanding your brand position is vital to the success of any business. It’s all about finding a customer proposition that makes you unique and determining how that is represented by the personality of your company. Then you need to ensure that this personality is re…

In this week’s Vantage Performance podcast Michael Fingland says that typically only 5-10% of businesses will be planning ahead for an economic downturn. Those that do could easily come out on top when the economy recovers, simply by following a few simple rules on streamlining your business for maximum efficiency. Michael talks to Phil Dobbie abou…

A slowing growth rate in China, record levels of household debt and growing uncertainty in the world economy are all conspiring to create a tough year for Australian businesses in 2013. In the first edition of the new Vantage Performance podcast Phil Dobbie talks to Vantage Performance’s Director and CEO Michael Fingland about business prospects fo…