The Golden Age For Young Entrepreneurs

There was a record number of over 600k new start-ups last year, which is expected to be surpassed in 2016. As Lord Young expressed in his 5 year report on small businesses in the UK, ‘we are in a golden age for small firms’. It is not just well established professionals starting their own businesses, but internet savvy students are also turning their backs on the corporate life after their studies and setting up their own companies.

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What Makes a Successful Leader?

What makes a great leader is often debated with countless ‘Top 10s’ and ‘Leadership blogs’ yet the answer is far from straight forward.

“Debate is common about which leadership style is most effective. The answer of course… it all depends” Thomas Kohntopp

We have taken inspiration from events and leaders who have paved the way in terms of leadership in 2015, take a look.

Inspires

Leaders inspire their team by doing the ordinary things well, whilst continually striving to achieve the extraordinary. Tim Peake is a stand out example of inspiring others during 2015 he became the first British astronaut to go to the international space station. Millions of people around the world watched in admiration as his soyuz rocket launched into space. Tim Peake dreamt of going to space and his courage, commitment and belief has seen him achieve his ultimate dream. Selected ahead of 8,412 other applicants, he spent 6 months in training, learnt Russian and relocated his family before embarking on his journey to space. His 6 month stint at the international Space is sure to inspire millions of people to pursue their own dreams and ambitions. Read more…..

IoD99

It began as a pilot scheme at the end of 2014, with only 99 applications accepted. Due to the success of the initiative, IoD took the decision to accept 99 new members every quarter during 2015. Members benefit from IoD support and advice, as well as free networking events with fellow IoD99 members. Read more…..

Lord Davies Report

26.1% of Women on FTSE 100 Boards

In March of this year Lord Davies released the now annual report on improving the gender balance on British boards. The document reviews and establishes steps that need to be taken, in order to achieve diverse boardrooms. Lord Davies CBE former banker and government minister, in 2011 set out his vision to change the landscape of UK Boardrooms. Since then records have been broken, most notably the eradication of all-male boards within FTSE100 companies. In today’s news  Lord Davies announced that the 25% target of women in the boardroom had been achieved.

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IoD Under The Spotlight

The annual Institute of Directors convention took place last week at the Royal Albert Halls, attended by members and a variety of business leaders. The event set out not only to inspire, but provide attendees with the tools to grow their businesses. The day included a selection of talks, panels and debates full of high profile contributors. The host at the landmark venue was Lady Barbara Judge (CBE) she was appointed chairman of the IoD earlier in the year, making her the first women to hold this position.

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Salford Professional Development will be hosting an IoD open evening on Monday the 16^th of November.

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How do you create the right company culture in your business?

The way we are working is changing, and so is the environment that we operate in. Leaders are becoming increasingly aware that they can shape the performance of their employees, by creating the right company culture. One way of doing this has been to renovate offices into spaces that encourage engagement, and collective thinking among employees.

Here is a list of 6 of the best offices, we have come across. Please comment below with offices and businesses that you feel should be added to this list.

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An introvert is generally the quiet type of person, who takes a step back from centre stage compared to the confident qualities of an extrovert. Being an introvert, like myself, it can feel like an impossible task to stand up and be noticed in an office full of outgoing characters, especially when you’re eager to search for career opportunities!

That’s not to say being an introvert is bad for business though. Far from it. After all, high profile leaders such as Warren Buffett and Barack Obama identify as being introvert, so we’re in good company.

I came up with a few interesting tips and ideas that introverts can check out in order to help them stand out from the crowd and keep the career opportunities flowing.

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If you had no further training since you left your educational institution 10 years ago do you believe you are best suited to that promotion you’ve had your heart set on? Continuing Professional Development is fundamental to career progression, you may have soaked up all that extra knowledge through years of experience but without that qualification to formalise your practices you are leaving yourself vulnerable on the career ladder.

Continuing professional development not only helps you climb the ladder but also keeps you up with the changing demands of the workplace, as Albert Einstein once quoted “we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them“. Thousands of people enter our doors each year to find the solution to their problems or to fill a gap in their library of knowledge.

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