Decisions, Decisions: at the Core of Leadership?

“Pretty much anyone can muddle along when everything is going swimmingly and according to plan. The time that leaders really earn their pay is when the going gets tough. This is when the real qualities of a leader will out and true leadership gets displayed.” General Lord Dannatt.

Alan Leighton’s (ex Mars, Asda and Royal Mail to name but 3 previous employers) book: “Tough Calls – Making the Right Decisions in Challenging Times” explores the range of decisions that business leaders have to make. He goes on to look at how to make this variety of decisions and then follow them through.

Conveniently packaged into 4 decision types (see below), all decisions are seen as having certain common traits. Amongst these, ‘decisiveness’ is highlighted and by this, the author recognises the need for the decision, once made, to be followed through. The leader must show the tenacity to see things to a conclusion, perhaps in the face of opposition. This is underpinned by a belief in what they are doing and overcoming any resistance through a constant referral to the goal, in a manner that others find attractive and persuasive.

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Wither or Whither the UK Economy?

The budget has come and gone. The government has effectively given up on its original plan to remove the UK deficit in 5 years and will have added about £600BN of additional debt to that of the Brown era. Total debt stored up within the UK economy is c.£3TRN when you take everything into account.

Will doing more adjustment to regulation, trimming a tax here or there, wind up soft tax targets that you think you can extract more out of and still keep the electorate sweet; will all this solve the structural problems of the economy, or even get the conservative party/coalition re-elected?

Highly unlikely say the bookies (Labour currently 5/3 on favourites for being the largest party at the ext election.

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EU sugar quota reform: 2015 v 2020? Is it time to give sugar beet a caning?

On the day 27 associations issued a joint open letter imploring the EU to keep to its word and scrap widely despised sugar quotas across the bloc in 2015 – not 2020 as the sugar industry wants – Tate & Lyle Sugars jumped into the debate by saying neither plan would fix a “dysfunctional” market.

An article written by Shane Starling for Food Navigator.com on 28th February, highlights the political and industry tensions between supporting European grown (mostly beet) sugar and cane based sugar produced across a number of mostly developing countries in hotter climates.

The full article can be found at:

http://www.foodnavigator.com/Legislation/EU-sugar-quota-reform-2015-v-2020-Is-it-time-to-give-sugar-beet-a-caning

 

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