Career Development And Change Advice Blog » Change Management

Foreign Takeovers: Opportunity or Threat?

Harry Freedman — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:00:30 +0000

So Cadbury have finally agreed to be sold to Kraft and another British company falls into foreign hands. At least that is how many of the media are presenting the story. And of course, as facts go, it is true. Car manufacturers, utility companies, football teams, banks and now chocolate makers, the list goes on, all under new, non-British ownership. But is it as black a day for Britain and our economy as some commentators suggest?

Change is a fact of life and as such we ought to look at its benefits whilst guarding against its dangers. Throughout history great civilisations have come and gone and it is certain that the West will not endure as the world’s economic stronghold forever. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the lives of people who live in once great nations are blighted. The stress levels are lower than ours in Greece, Egypt and probably even Rome even if quality of life is arguably no higher.

Britain led the world into the Industrial Age and was at the vanguard of capitalism. Little wonder then that our great economic institutions are vulnerable to takeover, our industrial cycle is coming to an end.

The real issue is not how bad or good it is for British companies to fall into foreign hands. The real issue is how to ensure that this change is a positive force for good.

It is true that in the early days of a takeover there are often job losses. That is likely to be the case at Cadbury and the future holds little consolation for those who are now facing redundancy. But as investment comes in and the new owners seek to grow the company, possibly with greater focus and drive than the outgoing management, new jobs and opportunities will be created. Inward investment creates opportunity, not only in the company that has been bought out but in the economy at large. As we struggle to emerge from recession our entrepreneurs will reap the benefit of this investment, allowing them to create even more jobs and opportunities.

Change is always difficult. But there is nothing inherently bad in foreign companies taking over British ones. What really matters is how we respond to it.

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Breaking Down The Comfort Zone

Harry Freedman — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:05:34 +0000

We are in the middle of an office move, having been in the same premises for five years. Although a lot has happened in that time, it was not until we started sorting through all the papers and records that we began to realise how much has changed, and how much we have changed, both as a company and as individuals.

Even something as mundane as an office move can be an educational experience. Not just because we can look back through the piles of papers waiting to be sorted or thrown out and see how our decision making and working styles have changed. But also because of the window it opens onto how we behave when we are evicted from our comfort zones.

It is far too easy in any working environment to drift along doing what is easy and comfortable. But when you are surrounded by packing chests and boxes, when you cannot access the e-mail you need to reply to, when you can’t remember the name or number of the person you are supposed to phone, you begin to realise just how routine driven most working lives are, and presumably therefore, how many opportunities are missed.

Far too often we respond to work situations without thinking too deeply. One event is similar to another and so we respond in a similar way. We may fail to spot the crucial difference that contains the opportunity we are about to miss. But when we look back at how we reacted to n equally similar situation some years ago, we can see gradual shifts in our routines and behaviour; sometimes for better sometimes for worse. A disruption to our routines allows us the opportunity to review things afresh, from outside the comfort zone, and to either change our working patterns or to validate them.

The other great lesson of a planned disruption, like an office move, is that it helps us to respond to an unplanned disruption, like a sudden influx of high priority work or redundancy. It makes us think on our feet and helps us react to new situations.

An office move is a disrupting process. But it can be a valuable one. And of course it leads to a fresh, new working environment and the opportunity to grow through even more change.

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Career Energy Energisers

Harry Freedman — Fri, 01 May 2009 05:34:27 +0000

One of the immediate effects of the credit crunch and the need for businesses to economise was that companies slashed their training budgets. Now that we are seeing the first tentative signs of recovery, businesses are tentatively looking at training again; after all to survive in the new economy companies will need to be fitter and their staff will need to be engaged and skilled. But training is still expensive and it takes people out of the workplace for extended periods of time, just when their presence is most needed. Which is why we are introducing Career Energy Energisers.

Energisers are a new concept in training. They are short, sharp, learning based interventions delivered over a lunch period or before or after work and rarely lasting more than an hour an a half. They cover a range of topics, to meet both institutional and personal needs.

At an institutional level Energiser topics include old favourites such as Leadership Development and Team Working together with subjects that have become even more important as a result in the change in the economic climate, including Employee Engagement and Managing Restucturing. On the personal level topics include Career Management, Team Working and Achieving Goals.

The concept sounds simple but of course the proof lies in the outputs. To deliver a 90 minute session to 20 people and ensure that each person leaves with at least four new learning outcomes is no mean feat. Our consultants and trainers have been working rigorously to devise the Energiser sessions effectively, and to develop the skils they need to deliver them effectively. And it works. Initial market testing has found high levels of interest amongst our customer base.

Career Energy Energisers will be formally launched in the next few weeks. In the meantime if you are interested in learning more, please call us on 0845 226 1616.

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The Importance Of Personal Branding

Harry Freedman — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 06:27:32 +0000

After several years of expansion and recruitment, large parts of the public sector are now going through a period of restructuring, with many people being made redundant. In part this was planned; reshuffling the organisational structure of public sector bodies is nothing new, but this time the scale and speed of the restrucutre has been profoundly affected by the recession. And of course, as with all organisational change, the biggest impact will be on the people who work there.

Learning to live with workplace change has become a hot topic in recent years. From a career perspective the most important issue is how a restructure will impact on the consistency and integrity of your CV; in other words will the job you are given as a result of the restructure enable you to be seen by colleagues and prospective employers as you were before? This question has led us at Career Energy to emphasise the importance of Personal Branding.

Personal Branding means understanding yourself in a market context. Who are you in your working persona, what are your unique strengths and personal qualities that make you the peson you are? Just as every successful product is packaged into a unique brand, which leads people to buy it, so every individual can present themselves in a unique way which emphasises their desirability, both at work and in their personal life.

The key to surviving a restructure is to be aware of and to work on your personal brand. To ensure that the role you move into is consistent with what you have done in the past and with where you want your career to go. Change can be unsettling, particularly when it is imposed from outside. Personal branding allows you to maintain your individuality in the face of external upheavals.

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