If I looked at your calendar, I could probably tell you a lot about your business. I’d see client meetings, project work, phone calls, staff catch-ups, supplier conversations and a steady stream of...

Most businesses improve. The best businesses never stop improving. There's an important difference. Many organisations launch improvement projects when performance declines, costs increase or...

For many business owners, the word Lean immediately brings one thought to mind: cutting costs. Reduce staff. Cut inventory. Trim budgets. Do more with less. It's hardly surprising. For years, Lean...

Why cash flow, not profit, determines the quality of your business decisions Quick Answer Many profitable businesses fail because they run out of cash, not because they run out of customers. Profit...

Is annual strategic planning enough to keep a business on track? The short answer is no. Annual planning provides direction, but it doesn’t create execution. The businesses that consistently...

One of the most common assumptions about AI is that it will reduce the need for planning. After all, if AI can analyse data, write content, build reports, generate ideas, automate workflows and...

The biggest AI myth in business right now is that AI behaves like software. AI is often portrayed as the perfect employee. It never sleeps. It never takes holidays. It can process enormous amounts...

Most business owners and senior leaders do not lose focus because they lack ambition. They lose focus because operational complexity quietly consumes their attention. At first, the complexity feels...

Most SME leaders are not short of effort. They are busy. Their teams are busy. The calendar is full, the inbox is active and everyone seems to be working hard. But hard work is not the same as...

Most business owners do not have a time problem. They have a decision problem. A priority problem. A control problem. That may sound blunt, but it matters. Because when you label the problem...

Most leaders do not have a time problem. They have a systems problem. That may sound like semantics, but it matters. A lot. Because when leaders say they need to “manage their time better”, what...

Most leaders still think the fuel issue is coming. It’s not. It’s already moving through your costs, your supply chain and your margins. Quietly. The problem isn’t whether it will affect your...

Most leaders think they need better priority management. They don’t. The real issue is how they lead priorities inside the business. This article explains why leaders become the bottleneck and what...

Leadership today does not look like it used to. Most leaders are not short of ideas. They are not short of ambition either. What they are short of is space. Space to think. Space to decide properly....

Most businesses run in survival mode. Weekly firefighting. Monthly pressure. Annual goals no one revisits. What’s missing? A structured 90-day rhythm. When implemented properly, a 90-day cycle:...

You’re working hard. You’re busy all day. You’re exhausted by 6pm. And yet… the big goals barely move. The problem isn’t effort. It’s invisible productivity killers quietly stealing your day. Most...

Most business owners say the same thing, “I just need better time management.” But here’s the truth: you don’t have a time problem. You have a priority problem. Time is fixed. Priorities are not....

What the Mindshop Business Leaders Report 2026 Really Means for Business Owners The Mindshop Business Leaders Global Trends Report 2026 delivers a clear and timely message. The performance gap...

Everyone is talking about AI. Most leaders are still missing the point. The real risk in 2026 is not being replaced by AI. It is using AI to amplify poor judgement, weak priorities, and sloppy...

AI changed marketing in 2025, but not in the way many expected. It did not replace marketers. It did not make strategy optional. It did not automatically improve results. What it did do was expose a...

January 2026 feels different. After the pressure and complexity of 2025, many business owners are not chasing aggressive growth plans or bold transformation agendas. They are looking for something...

2025 was not a year of collapse. But it was a year of pressure. For many business owners, it felt like every lever became harder to pull at the same time. Growth was possible, but not easy. Profit...

Australia’s workforce crisis continues to evolve. It is no longer simply about shortages. It is about capability, cost, flexibility and performance. Many SMEs can fill roles eventually, but too many...

We’ve been sold a lie. “Just delegate more.” “Let go and trust your team.” “Stop being the bottleneck.” Sounds great. But most of the advice on delegation is either vague or downright dangerous....

If you’re a business owner or manager, you’ve probably had days where you’ve been flat out all day but still felt like nothing important actually got done. You’ve ticked boxes, put out fires,...

Growth is often seen as the ultimate marker of success in business. More sales, more clients, more employees—all signs that your business is thriving, right? However, bigger doesn’t necessarily mean...

As we move to the close of another year, (they seem to go faster and faster as I get older) its a good time to stop, prop and reflect on the year that has just passed before you race headlong into...

FTI (or Failure to Implement) is one of the biggest barriers to business success. In the last 37 years as business consultant, I have observed that my most successful clients are the ones that...

In this article, we will explore four essential tips for achieving success in your business this year. By following these strategies, you can kickstart your year with a strong foundation and set...

What do consulting fees, underwear, razor blades and toilet paper have in common? OK, so what do consulting fees, underwear, razor blades and toilet paper all have in common? The real connection is...

In this age of technological advancement, the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been expanding across various industries. It has become a powerful tool for content creators and marketers,...

You go from thoughts to words to actions, and that's a quote from today's guest, Russell Cummings. And as an entrepreneur, you might aspire to conquer the world and spread your wings across oceans....

As we gear up for the festive season, I’m taking a moment to share some thoughts on how you can make the most of the holiday downtime to think about your business. We’re talking about a little...

As we approach the end of 2023, it's time for small business owners and managers to prepare for the runway that will catapult your business into a successful 2024. In Australia, the months leading...

In the current environment, its a great time to be doing some planning with the team but how do you do that when everyone is working from home? On Tuesday, I leveraged the technology and ran a 100%...

We have compiled links to key Australian COVID19 Information Resources. Follow the links. CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER COVID UPDATES COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a new virus. Symptoms...

Trigger Point Budgeting is a simple tool that I've been using with clients for over 20 years. If you refer to the Coronavirus model we've discussed previously, your model is going to be around...

I find that when we reflect on our business and personal performance, there are always areas where we could have improved. I’m sure there are plenty of times when things have gone extremely well,...

In this new environment with lots of people now working from home and coming to terms with what that means, there are some good productivity hacks for remote workers. Productivity is about 3 things...

As we move to a period of less face-to-face contact, there is a growing need to make better use of video conferencing tools like Zoom. However, I'm finding that there is a large number of people...

Hey there! I'm excited to kick off the Lessons Learnt series with you, where I'll be sharing insights gained over my 37 years as a business advisor. Each video will be short and sweet, focusing on...

In the 2024 landscape, Mindshop's Business Leader Success Insights Report emerges as a vital beacon for leaders navigating through the tumult of modern business challenges. This article synthesises...

Marketing is one of the most important and time-consuming activities of business owners as we all want the right image for our business and more of the right clients. We want them to not only see...

Russ was interviewed on OKRs as part of the GTMHub Podcast series on OKRs and performance measurement in business. In this interview, Russ covers a lot of ground like the ways OKRs can help small...

In the dynamic world of business, effective decision-making is the linchpin for success. Yet, many managers grapple with the challenge of lacking a clear process. Fear not, for I bring you a...

Social Media has played a part in most businesses since it was invented but still the sentiment in the business world about social media tends to be divided. There are those who think it’s an...

If you're a business owner striving to efficiently track your sales budgets and ensure they automatically adjust based on actual performance to meet your annual targets, you're in the right place....

As we know, the makeup of teams has changed with COVID19. We've got more people working remotely—working from home or in other offices, working with split shifts with half the team working in other...

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all businesses in one way or another. With no clear end to this crisis in sight, business owners are becoming increasingly anxious as to how to best handle their...

I hope the pressure of the COVID19 situation is not getting you down. The impact of the virus will vary widely across businesses and as a result there is no "1 size fits all" solution. Some...

2019 is almost over and we’re in the last minute sprint to the Christmas break and some holidays. However, it's also a great time to stop, prop and reflect on the year that has been. I work with a...

In many businesses, particularly in service businesses, clients often cannot tell whether you are any good at what you do - there are no benchmarks. Consumers often only find out how poor a supplier...

The issue of mental health is one that comes up multiple times a day. Over the last few years, I have noticed the increase in the number of my clients who have employees experiencing mental health...

In our first article on this topic, we highlighted the process for defining the apps and tools you will require in your eco-system of apps for your business. If you missed that article, you will...

I find that many people have apps and tools that they use that don't work with each other, don't work across platforms and are actually a "pain in the neck" as they increase complexity and reduce...

Doing business in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) environment requires business owners to always be one step ahead of the curve and continuously think of ways to successfully...

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, learning new skills are necessary to stay relevant. Regardless of what your role is in a business, you will very quickly go backwards if you are not...

Creating the ideal organisation is considered to be much like finding the Holy Grail – hard if not impossible. But this didn’t stop Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, experts in Organisational Behaviour,...

One of the many obligations for all enterprises – big, small, not for profit or private is making a profit. And everyone involved in these enterprises know that a policy of maintaining the status...

How does one steer a person to their potential and then guide them to see a problem as an opportunity? It could be said that personal optimism and pessimism are the defining difference, or maybe...

The one question you need to be able to truly answer… “Why would someone buy from me and not the person down the road?” Easy to ask, difficult to answer. Put another way, are you clear on what makes...

Many family businesses suffer from “loneliness at the top” and a lack of external input and this can compromise business growth and performance. One option that I would obviously advocate is using...

This article is about understanding the stakeholders in your business and how we can influence them What is a stakeholder? According to BusinessDictionary.com, stakeholders in general are “…a...

It is not a new idea that smartphones and mobile applications are the latest buzz in the cellphone world. These kinds of devices and applications are already a part of almost everyone’s personal...

1. When did you last complete a competitor analysis? Almost all business leaders are aware of their direct competitors but when was the last time you actually completed a formal analysis by way...

Businesses are under increasing stress as markets are increasingly volatile, clients are more demanding, talent is scarcer and change occurs in faster and shorter cycles.  To survive and thrive...

You can use Social Media as an important part of marketing and sales efforts in your business to produce new leads and higher conversions. Or you can spend a lot of time on it for no result. How do...

At the end of 2012, Mindshop (www.mindshop.com) conducted a global survey of business leaders involved in various business programs and groups across the Mindshop network in Australia, NZ, UK and...

The start of the year is a great time to develop plans for the coming year and this year, I’ve come up with a few simple steps that will help you get the ball rolling for 2013. 1. It's...

Every New Year brings a fresh start, a new life, a new outlook or perspective. And for most people, the New Year usually brings to mind a bunch of resolutions they would like to accomplish and...