Many family business owners have a romanticised and over positive view about the value of business decisions based on intuition. It is a common occurrence that when I simple ask family business owners on what basis they take their decision, they reply with a smirk on their face that they can rely on their “gut” in order to decide, based on what they believe is right. Sometimes I even see family business owners trying to push some decisions, even when they are confronted with evidence that speaks contrary to their decisions. Many times I feel that the concept of intuition has become so romantic ..read more

It is a common occurrence that I hear from business owners that they feel disappointed about their managers. That many times they have to follow up or intervene as their managers do not really take fully responsibility of what needs to be done. Many times this is manifested by having managers and their teams show inconsistency in current performance and in meeting business goals and lack of confidence by the manager in their own abilities and his or her ability in leading their team to success. Why is this? Research keeps indicating that the reasons for the failure of managers are grounded in ..read more

Quiet, attentive listening doesn’t always come naturally to us. When we talk over others or just do not take a few minutes to listen – we might waste hours — or months — as we push things in the wrong direction. Why, then, is it so natural for us all to try to dominate conversation? One reason is that many of us have the wrong idea about what it means to be socially skilled, especially with regards a fundamental skill called EMPATHY. As scientists define it, empathy is the ability to share, understand, and care for others’ experiences. But how do non-scientists define this term? One definition ..read more

If one where to sit down and think, you would conclude that Jesus Christ was likely to be the best at drawing up a succession plan. He realised that succession planning is not an event but a journey. Thus, he started from Day 1 building his core team – The Apostles. He spent 3 years intensively training these Apostles, giving them clear guidance as to how to behave themselves within the team, what their mission was all about and how to go about their mission. Then once His mission was over, he gave them the Holy Spirit to encourage and strengthen the training they had all been given, so that t ..read more

As I am just 2 days away from turning 47, I wanted to share a life reflection which is so relevant for one of the main limitations I find in family business owners and leaders. Mindset is everything. If that statement seems too strong, consider that we bring so many basic assumptions to every decision and action we make. Left unexamined, they may unnecessarily restrict us or lead us in the wrong direction altogether. Perception may not truly be reality, but when it comes to how we approach challenges and opportunities, mindset determines the world we encounter and possibilities we apprehend. S ..read more

I spend most of my time running from one family business to another, preaching to them that they need to change. That they need to become more professional in their approach, that their leadership needs to become more strategic and less operational, that they need to become more data driven in the way they decide things and that they need to focus on how they can become more efficient in the way they operate. However, experience shows that for family business to really change, it takes a lot of time. I would not be exaggerating when terming it an “uphill struggle”. So the question I always ask ..read more

I was recently reading a Times of Malta article on publicly listed equities on the Malta Stock Exchange. It highlighted some reasons why Maltese Investors shy away from buying equities (shares). All the examples given find their root cause in Corporate Governance, or in this case, the lack of it. The topic of corporate governance is always a hot one. All stakeholders (shareholders, employees) are always demanding improved governance. Normally the focus is on public companies, with the push being for strengthening their boards of directors and developing more responsive shareholder relations. B ..read more

It has become a constant topic of any meeting and discussion with business owners. The huge headache business owners have in retaining employees and finding new ones. It seems a discussion on a never ending loop as it keeps being repeated, day in, day out. On one hand, businesses have to up their ante, to attract and most of all retain their best talent. The below, are what I consider to be the 5 foundational elements that each business needs to sharpen its pencils on. Balance technical knowledge with attitude and interpersonal skills: People who bring together both good technical knowledge a ..read more

From one meeting to another, family business owners all grumble on the huge “headaches” they have with staff members. In many instances, these so called “headaches” are because they are finding it increasingly difficult to persuade staff members on how they can work better, be more efficient, improve their performance or be better team players. Many employers are actually “afraid” of tackling subjects related to improving performance with their team members, not to have anyone resign their post and leave the company. This ultimately starts a dangerous loop of what I call “performance erosion ..read more

Many businesses are facing on a daily basis, in times of inflation and economic uncertainty, the situation of having customer expectations increase. Research indicates that a common mistake done by businesses is the lack of realisation of how customers expect more openness and transparency in periods of high inflation, rather than less. Conversely, businesses that fail to be more transparent will ultimately lose customer trust. Let us be clear. Building trust with customers is always challenging. This becomes more so during times of high inflation. One customer sentiment research after another ..read more