There are times in the life of most businesspeople when an unexpected opportunity arises.

Atos Consulting believes that the creation of SSCs is a good development that must be continued, because SSCs contribute to the quality and efficiency of organisations.

In the sobering wake of the Stern report, the rallying cry came from the very top.

Collaboration between retailers and manufacturers is increasingly important in today's competitive marketplace, according to a new joint survey released today from DemandTec, a leading provider of on-demand optimization solutions for retailers and consumer products companies, and Booz Allen Hamilton, a global strategy and technology consulting firm.

I don’t know about you, but all too often, life seems to revolve around what you do, rather than what you are.

American industry has and continues to go through many changes.

Is your business led by a board that provides clear strategic direction? Many boards just react to events rather than proactively guide their organizations towards the achievement of corporate goals.

For some time now I have, at intervals, come across the influence of this book and have never thought to look for the source or follow up the reference.

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Developing, revising, and maintaining a school business plan is now a major concern for everyone involved in school management and many Heads, Bursars and business managers now find themselves under considerable pressure to find new ways to plan and come up with truly innovative solutions to recurring questions. There are many ways and approaches which have much to offer to schools in individual circumstances, but from my own experience, I have found that “mind mapping” is both an innovative and a productive problem-solving tool. So, what is Mind Mapping? Mind maps are simply a tool for displaying and connecting information ideas by representing information visually instead of in the traditional linear written way.

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Have you ever had a potential client ask you to write a proposal or give a presentation only to respond with "Thank you for doing this and we'll get back to you at some time in the future if we decide to do something"? All that wasted time for nothing. If only you'd known they were going to say that before you wasted all that time writing the proposal.

Mobile payments -- or m-payments -- refer to any payment made through a mobile phone, whether in-store or remote.

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Before I give you the answer, you need to empathise with the problem, so bare with me! This client’s challenge is no different from the one we’ve all faced and continue to grapple with in SME consulting firms…How to get the consultants in your firm to have the machine-like discipline to consistently and persistently play their part in business development. You know the scene… Get on the phone, call your contacts and arrange some meetings The pipeline is running dry, feast is about to turn into famine and you respectfully ask your consultants to call their contacts, arrange some meetings and develop some leads.

You know the story, there’s been little else discussed in the financial press over the last few weeks…the US sub-prime crisis has hit global equity markets like a bombshell, the uncertainty is driving irrational behaviour in the credit markets and corporate financiers are getting nervous.

The Equiteq Marketing ACTION Plan OK, we know the acronym is abit cheesy, but who cares if it helps you take steps to change your business! Here’s what it means… A = Actionable Offers C = Channel Diversity T = Trusted Advisor I = Indicator Improvement O = Outcome Orientation N = Needs Led Putting this into 100 words about what a good marketing plan would deliver: You magnetically attract prospects because your language is more about them and their problems (N) than you and your services.

Whoever said "Profits are an opinion, cash is fact" certainly had her or his head screwed on the right way around! This is a sentiment echoed by most consulting firm owners I meet.

I have spent the past several decades working on the challenges of making business development really live up to its name.

"Current wireless networks are being touted as a 'silver bullet' to provide citizens, local businesses, and government agencies with internet access," said Chris O'Brien, a partner in Diamond's Public Sector practice.

It is important to use technology smartly; in many situations technology is allowed to dictate operational methods which can drive a wedge between the company, its staff and its clients.

Consumer-directed healthcare plans don't have a reputation for being particularly consumer-friendly.

Frequently the thinking goes like this: * “The process is too overwhelming and I don’t have enough time.” * “No one wants to read anything I have to say.” * “I’m not going to get anything out of this.” These common worries and misconceptions must be cast aside, because writing and publishing articles is one of the most significant things people can do to help their business.

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There seems to be two approaches to this kind of analysis.

The driving forces behind business intelligence today include savvier, demanding customers with a lower patience threshold as well faster moving business operations and tighter regulations on maintaining historical data about the business.

Watch the street artists in London’s Covent Garden, and you won’t have to wait long before the crowd is entertained by a juggler, with an amazing ability to keep any number of balls, flaming torches or knives in the air with ease.

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There are times in the lives of most business people when a compelling opportunity presents itself, often in circumstances where you least expect it. Perhaps an important existing customer asks you to quote for an order that wildly exceeds current capacity or a synergistic competitor’s business comes up for sale. Maybe a business that has clearly proved its viability in one area demonstrates the potential to be replicated in a half a dozen demographically similar regions or countries. Years of work that has gone into an agency or franchise might be rewarded by the offer of a major expansion opportunity from the prime manufacturer. It may be that an invention or technical development within your business shows unmistakable promise, if only you had the funds to expose it to a wider national or international market or develop and exploit it fully. It may simply be that you find yourself in a situation where natural succession, a change in ownership or shift in the parent company’s management focus opens up an opportunity for you to mount a management but-out. “What heights I might reach”, you ask yourself, “if only I knew where to find the funds”. The first point to dwell upon is that a business operating in a recognised format such as a limited liability company is more likely to be taken seriously. Ideas, plans and ambitions are all very well but start-ups do not usually fare well unless proposed by someone with a recognised track record of success and a formal structure on which to build. How much? If, by funds, you mean sums measured in some hundreds of thousands of pounds, it’s possible that you (or your colleagues, family or partners) will have sufficient personal or business assets to act as security for a conventional loan arrangement with your bank. The assets of a corporate acquisition you wish to make may themselves constitute part of the collateral base, rather like taking out a mortgage on a house you wish to buy. Ask your bank if there are existing financial products available that would release sufficient cash from your business to make outside funding unnecessary from gearing up on assets or cashflow. If, on the other hand, your plan needs sums measured in millions, beyond the reach of your available security, what you will need is an injection of equity alongside the bank funding.

We really do live in a virtual world.

How do we turn things around so that the vast majority of public sector employees in developing countries commit to public service excellence? How do we change the pervasive mindset, the predominant paradigm, from one of entitlement to commitment? It’s a tall order, and we cannot afford to underestimate the task before us. Today, in many public sector institutions, there are real gains to be made in transforming a common mindset of indifferent public service, of abject complacency, in many ministries, to one of invigorated service and pride.

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While some mergers fail because of deal factors, including weak business cases and overgenerous premiums, many fail because of the lack of a sound post-merger integration plan.

Scores of new alliances are born every day.

Years ago, while I was working my way through University, I worked on a road paving crew.

The answer to all three questions is, almost certainly none! If that’s the case the questions you must ask yourself are; how much business are we losing, how much damage is being done to the company image and how much damage to the brand, and, are our competitors better in this department than we are? First meetings are so important.

Deloitte defines Generation Y, or "Gen Y" as they are known, as people born between 1982 and 1993 who are entering the workforce for the first time with primary, secondary, college or graduate education.

A few years ago there was a large hospital on the West Coast of Scotland that with the rest of the Primary Care Trusts at the time found itself in debt to the tune of 9 Million pounds.

“Despite many initiatives and projects undertaken to develop mobile payment solutions, nothing compelling has emerged, until now,” said Cees de Jong, senior vice president, global markets development and operations at Atos Origin.

A summary of the study's findings follows below. Legal frameworks At the legal and regulatory levels, Booz Allen's review identified a wide variability in the maturity of the frameworks that govern regional insurance markets.

Forget “phishing” for bank account passwords.

For consultancies, clients coming back to them time and time again can be seen as the reward for doing a good job - delivering the project on time and to budget.

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In a recent article by Mick James, quoting Steve Tappin (ex-CEO of Edengene, now Managing Partner – Heidrick & Struggles) he put forward the notion that the recruitment industry needs to be more entrepreneurial and more innovative.

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However, the real challenge lies in providing an environment which is rich enough to allow competitive comfort and luxury that not only rivals Western hotels, but equally sets a new global standard of quality yet conservative enough in taste while maintaining the aesthetic and spiritual balances and the etiquette so highly cherished by Muslims.