5 Worst Bosses EVER

5 Worst Bosses EVER

by | Sep 27, 2015 | Business

From the head of the FBI, who made secret agents clean up cat poo,to a boss who caused a protest that led to the death of Martin Luther King. This is  a list of the 5 worst bosses ever. 5) J. Edgar Hoover:   J. Edgar Hoover is the ex-director of the FBI, who had to step down because he was completely insane. Edgar would use FBI agents to do anything he wanted, which included cleaning his house, repairing his stuff, and getting forensics to analyze a poo he found in his garden. He believed it was left by a wild animal, and so he set up a trap for it, which killed his neighbours cat. He would give orders to his employees nobody could understand, which consequently led his employees monitoring and arresting people they weren’t supposed to. He also fired employees with small heads. He had dirt on everyone, which he found using illegal methods. He apparently was impossible to fire, as he could black mail every president. According to Nixon, he would have fired Edgar, because of Edgar’s ability to black mail him.  4) George Pullman:   George Pullman created an entire town for his employees, and their families to live in. At first a job that comes with it’s very own state of the art house sounds like a dream, but it came with a catch. Pullman used his workers condition to exploit them for all the money they had. He owned everything in the town. He was not only their boss, but their landlord, and any money he paid them in wages, he took back in rent. He owned...
Ridiculous Business Jargon You Need To Stop Using

Ridiculous Business Jargon You Need To Stop Using

by | Jun 17, 2015 | Business

Business jargon. Does anyone like it? Well, some people must do, or it wouldn’t exist. But there are some phrases used in business that make your skin crawl and signposts the users as lightweights. Here are a few of my (least) favourite examples. Low hanging fruit Okay, we all know that this is another way of saying: pick off the easiest options first rather than tackle the hardest, but really it’s not any more difficult to just say that is it? Let’s touch base No, let’s not touch at all, thank you. Think outside the box What box? There wasn’t a box until you mentioned one. If you mean “be creative, oruginal, and try to avoid doingwhat everyone else is already doing” why don’t you just say that? Repeating a tired old phrase like “think outside the box” is a perfect example of what happens when you’re not thinging outside the box. Am I right? You need to stop using this ridiculous #business #jatgon today Click To Tweet At the end of the day Do you mean “at night”? No you don’t. You mean something else entirely. Back to the drawing board We don’t have drawing boards any more. We have computers. Do you mean we have to go back to the designer’s computer and start with a fresh approach? Or do you actually have an old drawing board hidden in your office somewhere? Hit the ground running Don’t use this tired old line or you may have to start running for real. From me. I don’t have the bandwidth What? Really, what the hell are you saying here?...
3 Common Reasons Why Small Businesses Fail

3 Common Reasons Why Small Businesses Fail

by | Apr 6, 2015 | Business

Businesses fail all the time. Every day, in fact. But behind every failed business is a crushed dream, impoverished founder, or in the case of many small businesses a traumatised family. This post identifies three of the most common reasons for small business failure. Pay attention to these lessons and you could avoid becoming one of the statistics of failure. No Clear USP This ought to be simple. What do you do that’s different from everyone else? Don’t imagine that you are the only business doing what you do. So for clients to choose you over your competitors you need to give them strong, clear reasons why they need your particular approach. If you don’t convey that reason fast enough, they will walk right past you. Your unique selling point needs to convey why you are the best option. Also, consider this: is your product or service something which enough people would be willing to spend hard-earned money on? Under Pricing One of the most common traps that new businesses fall into is to undervalue what they do. Certainly, low prices will attract attention, but experience teaches that it’s likely to be the wrong kind of attention. It’s a rookie mistake to think that being significantly cheaper than your competitors will bring customers running. It is much more likely that clients are bound to wonder if your product or service is worse than your competition’s work. Potential clients will be too busy looking around for the catch, to see that you are in fact the best choice. If you’re cheap, they’ll look for a reason and if they don’t find...