The twice yearly NAB charitable giving index was recently released, showing that Australians again increased their overall charitable giving by 6.5% for the year to February 2016. http://business.nab.com.au/nab-charitable-giving-index-indepth-report-12-months-to-february-2016-16416/ The report notes that factors such as, “…a resilient economy, strong employment growth…and lower levels of consumer anxiety helped support the charity sector and the ongoing generosity […]
Time keeps on ticking…
It is the modern worlds rarest of commodities. One that we never have enough of, yet long to be able to fritter away. One that we are all striving to make better use of, yet should we actually just give it away? I’m talking about…….time. There’s a huge amount of literature being written about how […]
Embrace the cult of the individual
The term “one size fits all” is quickly becoming a turn off for consumers in a world where data availability is personalizing our every experience. It’s the old corner café mantra “know each of your customers by name”, but in operation for big business. Where before businesses with large customer numbers may not have had the […]
Punching the productivity card
Do you take your breakfast to work or buy it on the way in and eat it at your desk? Is the first thing you do when you get to work to check your Facebook/Linkedin or spend time checking the local news website? In my experience both of these activities are common practise in the […]
System integration – concept independence
I’ve recently been advising the digital division of a telecommunications company on part of their payment system infrastructure. At the same time my startup business is deep in the throes of building a new platform to complement our existing business. In both cases part of the challenge is how to integrate a new system into […]
The business of everything
We live in a commercial world. Nearly everything in our lives today is run on the business principles of return on investment, cost minimization, and increasing profitability. This includes many things still considered community services like education, the arts, hospitals, transport, sports, your local kindergarten fete, and religious activities. The idea of community service runs […]
It’s so much more than taking the payment.
Way back in the deep, dark history of financial payments (say 7 years ago) it was a straightforward world where financial institutions enabled payments for merchants and customers. Business was simple, effective and profitable. As a financial institution (FI) you established an account with a customer, merchant or individual, checked their credit worthiness, and then […]
Too big to pivot
Over at my startup, Pleezpay.com, we’re currently working through a minor “pivot” for our business. A pivot for a startup is where you shift from the premise of your original business in order to chase a specific opportunity (that’s us), or because customer feedback has told you your original premise isn’t working. It’s common with […]
Short term success in the long term
I once heard of a senior manager in a business who, when meeting a new hire into the business welcomed her, pledged his support when she needed it and then said, “Come back to me in a week and answer this question: how will you know you’ve succeeded this year?” It occurred to me that […]
The Gordian Knot in business
“An intractable problem solved with a bold stroke” – Legend has it the untie-able Gordian knot, an ancient riddle, was solved by one of history’s iconic leaders, Alexander the Great. At just 30 years of age Alexander the Great commanded one of the largest empire’s in ancient history, stretching from the Ionian Sea on the […]