Education is at the source of growth (not just for the individual but also for economies) and, in Australia, the majority of our university graduates are women. We’re number one on the planet in terms of educating women in tertiary institutions – yet the participation rate of those women in leadership roles is dire. So we’re spending the money on education but we’re not getting the return out of our highly educated people. I’ve written before about the economic argument…
They both make really bad gifts…and Australian’s wasted $1 billion on stuff like that last Christmas. Unwanted gifts reached an estimated $1billion in Australia last year. As Kris Cringle buddies are assigned to family members and work colleagues in the upcoming weeks, please remember that what you think is a good gifts can go badly. The research tells us that gifts ranged from the mundane to the outright awkward including: hankies, tandoori spice rub for chicken given to a vegetarian,…
Sometimes – one does get slightly stuck on what to give someone… but if this someone happens to be very important – and her first ever (and maybe only trip to Australia) which RedBalloon experience would be perfect for her trip in December – HELP? Oprah Winfrey is coming to Australia for the first time in December and the RedBallooners are bouncing off the walls with excitement over the idea of sending Oprah on a RedBalloon experience while she’s here….
Recently Business Chicks posted on its FaceBook page an open invitation ‘what would you ask an entrepreneur if you had the chance?’ Well that is para phrasing really… but I thought I would tak on answer the questions posed. Q: Sarah Louise What is the one piece of advice you were given as you were starting out that you would pass onto others? A: Hi Sarah, the one piece advise – or the one question I ask anybody who is…
I usually keep my blogs to share things that I have learned and discovered in the pursuit of building a business. But as a business leader this week of course I have been left bewildered. Recently I wrote about the disgrace of both major parties advertising and promotional campaigns And clearly I was not alone in my alarm. There has been much commentary this week. In fact there is little else in the press. I have just watched the 4…
RedBalloon for Corporate is quite pleased to be nominated for the Human Capital Top 5 Teambuilding Organisation or Incentive provider award – but apparently to take the nomination to the next stage – people need to vote for us… If you are a client, know what we do – or just want to put in a good word… please click to have your say. Thank you.
Trust is such a fragile thing. One knows that to be trusted is to trust. But what if you give trust – and it is not reciprocated. Is it a one off, can never ever be regained? Does trust need to be earned back, or proved? Isn’t this a contradiction in terms. Jim Collins told us that values are the essence of great businesses. But trust throughout business is the basis for all values. No one can be in business,…
I was asked recently my thoughts on parental leave by Valerie Khoo who was putting a piece together for the current issue of Latte Magazine – below are my comments – however she also got interesting comments from The Hon Tanya Plibersek and The Hon Julie Bishop… My comments: “I just wonder if we’re asking the right questions. We’ve evolved from an industrial revolution to an information revolution and have not fundamentally thought out how the community is raising the…
Imagine running a business based on fun - that's what I decided to try when I left a very serious corporate career in marketing to set up RedBalloon...
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Help! Can we please all the people all the time?
Things often happen in threes, and today I have had three curly questions; one from a consumer customer, one a corporate customer and one a supply customer. Is exemplary customer service about having ‘Happy Customers’ at all cost? Does a business need to do everything it possibly can to keep customers ‘happy’ – or is it a case of ‘you cannot please all the people all the time’? I’m tremendously proud of RedBalloon’s growth, and the sheer quantity of customers…