Link: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25074739-14741,00.html

This is a great little piece from Bernard Salt, for The Australian.
Well worth the read...

I AM reliably informed that in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings the first step is taking ownership of the problem.

In other words there is no chance of sobriety until there is an admission that "I am an alcoholic".

The Catholic Church operates on a similar principle with regard to sinners. First you must confess and then repent your sins in order to have even half a chance of salvation. And what's more, the penance paid is directly proportional to the scale of the sin. Small sins require less penance than big sins. (I sometimes wonder whether this scale needs to be reviewed, because some small transgressions today might be deemed "worth it".)

I think the alcoholics and the Catholics have something to teach the Australian consumer during these trying times.

After a decade of access to easy credit and full employment, we have come to believe that we have a god-given right to spend regardless of the cost and regardless of the debt ultimately incurred. And in a rising employment market, who cares? Next year's income will be greater than last year's, so we can all handle just that little bit more debt.

But now with an economic firestorm bearing down upon us, we are suddenly in a very different mood. "Please save us from our credit card debt and lead us not into temptation but deliver us along the path of righteousness and unto eternal solvency."

Just as alcoholics anonymous have a 12-step plan and Christians have the Ten Commandments to keep them on the straight and narrow, I think wayward consumers could do with is a step-plan leading to fiscal salvation. But I must warn you that such a path is difficult and is lined with temptation and with the empty promises of false profits.

Mark my words, Australian consumers, the likes of Harvey Norman will forever tempt thee with crazy never-to-be-repeated prices on the latest McMansion appliances. Are you prepared to stand fast amid such wanton reductions? If so, then you just might be ready to take on my eight-point plan towards a life of lesser consumption. Or at least it was eight points, but I managed to get the same value out of six points. See how easy this thinking is.

No1: Make the shift to generic brands.
No2: Replace the overseas holiday with a cheaper domestic version.
No3: Ask yourself every day what choice you made to conserve cash that you might not have made last year.
No4: Postpone discretionary consumer spending.
No5: Why stop at postponing discretionary consumer spending? Postpone capital investment.
No6: Cancel your reservation at that glamorous restaurant down on the waterfront.
Read on for detail around each step...

You will appreciate that my six-point plan to fiscal salvation might be regarded as seditious by the Australian Government because it fails to promote spending. But here's my defence. I think this is likely to happen anyway. It might be crudely summarised as the "flight to value" and it will surely surface in every aspect of consumer behaviour by the middle of this year. Oh, and apparently shoes can be worn until they wear out. Extraordinary.

Link: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Business_Technology/Application_Management/Six_ways_to_make_Web_20_work_2294

Over the past two years, McKinsey has studied more than 50 early adopters of Web 2.0 who are using technologies such as blogs, wikis, information tagging, prediction markets, and social networks. They have drawn six insights on how companies can best use these technologies... read on

A sobering reminder of some harsh decisions that have been made already...

Over the last year, companies have cut training spending and staffing; changed training program priorities; moved to coaching, informal learning, collaborative activities, and other less costly training methods; and increased reliance on outsourcing.
One of Bersin's most popular annual studies, the 108-page 2009 Corporate Learning Factbook analyzes a wide range of metrics for corporate training, including: budgets, expenditures per learner, cost per student hour, program priorities, budget allocations, staffing sizes, staff to learner ratios, staff to total spending, technology usage and budgets, and outsourcing spending. The study is based on data collected through an August 2008 survey conducted in partnership with Training Magazine.

This year's research found that the U.S. corporate training market shrunk from $58.5 billion in 2007 to $56.2 billion in 2008, the greatest decline in more than 10 years. Average training expenditures per employee (which include training budgets and payroll) fell 11 percent over the past year – from $1,202 per learner in 2007 to $1,075 per learner in 2008. Staff resources also took a hit. In 2008, large companies employed 3.4 training staffers per 1,000 learners, down from 5.1 per 1,000 in 2007; mid-sized companies employed 4.9 staffers per 1,000 learners in 2008, compared to 7.0 staffers per 1,000 in 2007.

Link: http://acetalentnet.com.au/enews/advantedgefeb09.html

What we know is that if you want to get more work, all you have to do is ask your clients what they want… and they'll tell you accurately because THEY ARE the EXPERTS. Another way we put this, is "you are NOT your client". So frankly, what YOU think, doesn't count.

Bowing to our own learning, and as you will have seen at the end of 2008, we recently surveyed the NETwork.
Here's a little of what you told us you wanted from aCE talentNET (full report due soon)...

82.1% said you want to develop a clearer Marketing
and Growth strategy
60.8% said you want to flatten peaks and troughs of workflow
61.9% said you want find client projects
51.6% said you want to build a business
48.4% said you want get more work
55.8% said you want to increase referrals by spending
more time with clients
73.7% said you want live the consultant life you envisaged & have more control

Given that our commitment to you is to deliver on your wants, needs, desires and frustrations, we've got some pretty special things planned... commencing March, with our first Talent Tuesday of the year - "Selling YOUR Consulting" Masterclass with Elliot Epstein, commonly known for ‘getting people to the next level'… fast. Read on for more details...

Talent Tuesday
Is 2009 going to be kind to you?

Invest in your most important assets - Your people!

Our FR*EE Gift Offer
Two Tickets Worth $1,790!

MUCH MORE TO COME IN THE MONTHS TO FOLLOW...

Link: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Governance/Boards/the_crisis_Mobilizing_boards_for_change_2300

A rather timely article from McKinseys...

Tackling the economic crisis requires a fundamental overhaul of how board members interact. This short essay by Andrew Campbell, a director of the London-based Ashridge Strategic Management Centre and coauthor of Think Again: Why Good Leaders Make Bad Decisions and How to Keep it From Happening to You, and Stuart Sinclair, chairman and nonexecutive director of several companies in the United Kingdom and Eastern Europe, challenges board members not to become complacent based on their experiences during recent, milder recessions. Instead, they encourage a fresh, dynamic approach to the way the board works.

They also invite corporate directors to take a short survey on the role of boards in the current economic environment. A link to the survey accompanies the essay.

To read the full article, click here...