What a woman can do ... on the board

Written by Mark Leftly of the Independent (Business Section) Sunday 26th April 2009

David Gold clearly knew what he was doing in more ways than one when he made his daughter, Jacqueline, chief executive of his naughty lingerie and sex shop chain, Ann Summers.

According to research this weekend by legal consultant Employment Law Advisory Services (Elas), having at least one woman on a board reduces the risk of a business failing by more than 20 per cent. Also, more than 80 per cent of companies with women on their boards are optimistic about surviving the recession in good shape.

Apparently, women executives are more frugal, responsive and flexible.

Peter Mooney, the head of consultancy at Elas, said: "Our research shows that firms with women in the boardoom achieve a 10 per cent higher return on capital than those firms run entirely by men. Time and again, we see women directors doing well within their sectors."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/showing-what-a-woman-can-do-on-the-board-1674155.html

I know we have members of the male persuasion, but I liked this article.

Shelley

Are you calm under pressure?

Let's face it, we are all under pressure. Finances, family, work and social life can all take a toll on the brain and body. And that's just everyday stress. Additional factors such as an exorbitant repair bill, an unexpected illness or the random individual who has made it his life's work to push your buttons, can wreak havoc on the nervous system. But learning to cope with these situations by staying calm, can keep you in control and avoid the pitfalls associated with acting on emotion.

In a recent APA survey 'Calmness under Pressure' was considered the second most important attribute present in the armoury of a PA.

Do you feel under pressure in your job, your life or your relationships. In the latest of its Knowledge Zone series APA has just published a series of tips for PAs to help them increase their own calmness and how to help others around them.

Gareth

Photograph: As a former professional pilot myself I admire enormously the recent performance of Capt. Chesney "Sully" Sullenberger who, under enormous pressure landed his aircraft on the Hudson River without loss of life. Not only a hero but a Master of his Art.

Members should go to the Knowledge Zone in the website for more information.

Another Pandemic Alert

PAs like Scouts and Guides should always be prepared. News of the new pandemic developing in Mexico and already reported to have hit the US and possibly even the UK could create a problem for businesses. After the last round of Avian Flu, UK Government created a website specifically for advice and updates and it is definitely worth keeping tabs on. See the link below.

It is well worth business leaders thinking through a strategy to protect employees, including having the whole workforce vaccinated (at private expense if necessary), ahead of it becoming a national emergency.

Please see: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/news/piayplanningtips_eng.html

APA

Who wants to be a Billionaire?

The recession has wiped £155 billion from the fortunes of Britain’s richest 1,000 people, equivalent to more than a third of their wealth, a fact revealed in the 2009 Sunday Times Rich List, published today, and is the biggest annual fall since it was first compiled 21 years ago. The number of UK based billionaires has fallen from 75 to 43. The Rich List’s combined wealth adds up to £258.27 billion, compared with £412.8 billion last year.

The UK’s biggest loser is steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal who has seen £16.9 billion evaporate as a result of the collapse of the world steel market this year. Now worth £10.8 billion, Mittal remains the richest person in Britain. Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich’s surviving £7 billion (down 40%) makes him second richest and the Duke of Westminster is the richest Briton and continues to occupy third position overall with a fortune of £6.5 billion.

Sir Richard Branson is reported to have a diminishing £1.2 billion (down 56%) and Sir Ken Morrison of supermarket fame has bucked the trend and seen his fortune increase to £1.6 billion.
Tim Waterstone, founder of the Waterstone’s bookshop chain attacked the recent announcement of a 50p tax band and described it as a “disincentive to entrepreneurs”.

What will the next year bring?

Gareth

The logo used above is that of the UK Entrepreneurs Club - it could be worth PAs checking it out for their Boss.

Open Planning

The first time you move into an open plan office you may find the environment confusing, disabling or downright scary. If you have been used to working in a cell, then moving to a cellular office can appear overpowering and for some it is one freedom too far.

In the open plan office, you co-workers are more accessible. There is the opportunity for more open communication. However, there are some things that make this layout less than ideal. Some of those things are beyond an individual’s control, but there are some things you can do to make life easier for them and for those around you.

APA has written, with external guidance, a useful guide for those who manage an open plan office or employ people and deploy them for the first time into this type of arena. If you don’t have a guide it may prove a useful addition to your staff handbook.

Carly FAPA

APA Members can download a copy from the Knowledge Zone of the Members area of the website.

Even the mighty stumble

Microsoft sales fell this year for the first time in the company's 23-year history. Sales revenue for the three months ending in March was down six per cent to $13.65 billion (£9.33 billion) compared with the same period last year.

Microsoft has grown to be the biggest software company in the world, due largely to the popularity of its Windows operating system. These somewhat predictable results reflect cautious consumer spending as the global recession worsens rather than any failing on the company's part. Overall profit fell 32 per cent to $2.98 billion (£2 billion), with the falling sales compounded by $290 million (£198 million) paid out in severance packages after the Company announced 5,000 job cuts in January this year, 1,400 of which were lost immediately.

Microsoft confirmed that despite the results, they still planned to release the Windows 7 system in the next financial year.

APA

No green shoots just yet

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reversed its forecasts for the world economy, predicting a 1.3 per cent fall in 2009, rather than the 0.5 per cent growth it initially predicted in January. The IMF believes the UK economy will fall by 4.1 per cent in 2009, and another 0.4 per cent in 2010, contrary to the chancellor's predictions in the Budget.

As a result, unemployment in the UK is set to rise to 9.2 per cent by the end of next year.But the IMF figures show other countries will be affected even more seriously, with Germany, Japan and Italy all forecasted to see their economies shrink by 5.6, 6.2 and 4.4 per cent respectively.

The IMF calls this downturn "by far the deepest post-World War II recession". It says the UK recession will be "quite severe" because "it is being hit by the end of the boom in real estate and financial services". It does however suggest the world economy will grow in 2010 by an estimated 1.9 per cent.

Gareth

Light Relief

A bit of trivia I found recently and may serve as an antedote to the Budget!

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.

Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do. Polar bears are left handed.

Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.

The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley’s gum.

American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating 1 olive from each salad served in first-class.

Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.

Shelley

Budget 2009 - APA overview

This was a most uninspiring Budget with the Chancellor attempting little more than to tinker around the edges of all the usual areas of activity. In the current economic environment it is not surprising that this is a financially taxing rather than a giving budget and this is witnessed most by the introduction of the 50% tax band for those earnings over £150,000. APA believes this is excessive, penal and unlikely to inspire the owners of small businesses at a time when the investment and risk associated with the operation of a small enterprise is at its highest. Increased fuel tax duties will also burden smaller businesses.

But there are some positives, APA supports the Chancellor's focus on jobs in the Budget and does see this as a boost to small businesses that now sustain and create the majority of jobs in the UK economy. Any incentives here are welcomed. All businesses will welcome the temporary increase in the main rate of capital allowances and the exemption for foreign dividends. We are pleased that the temporary right to carry back losses for three years is being continued, as well as the scheme to make it easier for businesses to agree time to pay tax liabilities. These measures will be particularly useful for small businesses.

APA

APA Members can read more by going to the knowledge Zone in the Members area of the website @ www.paprofessional.com

Profits soar for Tesco

The supermarket chain Tesco has reported underlying annual pre-tax profits of £3.13bn, an improvement of 10% on the previous year. Its sales topped £1bn a week for the first time with group sales coming in at £59.4bn. Chief Executive of Tesco, Sir Terry Leahy said that he was confident the retailer would "continue to make good progress even in the current global economic environment". The profits are the highest on record for a UK retailer.

So what do PAs think? Tesco is certainly getting bigger but is it getting better? Is one-stop shopping the answer to town centre parking issues and grumpy shopkeepers or are we missing out on choice and high quality? Share your views with us.

Gareth

DNA - PA

I work for a pharmaceutical company and am amazed daily by the things that cross my desk and people explain to me. Only last week I spotted another ground-breaking announcement.

“Once upon a time, researchers knew that DNA contained four nucleotides: A, T, C and G. Then they found a fifth. And now they've found a sixth. The discovery helps to explain why species with very similar genetics can be so different. Humans and chimpanzees famously share 96 per cent of their DNA. The newly discovered nucleotide, called 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, like its forerunner, helps turn genes on and off, but in ways that researchers didn't expect.”

The truly amazing thing about science is that, ‘we don’t know what we don’t know until someone discovers it.’ Think about that for a minute and ask yourself what has been invented or discovered over the last 100 years that has change our lives for the better; Unravelling DNA has to offer the greatest advance for the future (D), Penicillin has changed the treatment of illnesses (D), the aeroplane has changed the way we travel (I), the computer has changed the way we do business and live our lives (I) and microwaves have changed cooking and communication. The pace of knowledge is growing exponentially. What don’t you know today that you will know tomorrow?

Just a thought!

Sarah Tiddy FAPA

Ahead of the Budget - who knows?

The Government could defer several of the tax increases it announced for 2010 and 2011 due to the deepening recession, according to chartered accountants MacIntyre Hudson.

In the pre-Budget report in Novemeber, the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, announced it would raise the income tax band for staff on a salary of more than £150,000 for 40% to 45% by 2010 but Patrick King, tax principal at MacIntyre Hudson, explains Darling could postpone the increases, but announce steeper tax rises in future years to finance government borrowing.
King said: "In November Darling announced a fiscal stimulus for 2009, with tax rises starting to kick in from April 2010. At the time he was forecasting the economy would return to growth by mid-2009. He has already conceded this forecast was wide of the mark, and his Budget is likely to predict Britain will remain in recession for the whole of this year, and possibly into early 2010.

"Even if the UK sees growth in 2010, it is likely to be unsteady and anaemic at best. Against this backdrop, the tax rises already announced for 2010 and 2011 will take money out of the economy at a time when it will still be weak, a policy that both the chancellor and the prime minister have previously set themselves against."

APA

Treat me kindly

Hi APA Bloggers,

Well I have to say it's brill to have the opportunity to share my thoughts with you. I have been set up today (thanks to Colin) and had my instructions from Gareth and am ready to go. And so this is my first APA blog.

I have just watched Supernanny USA and heard a fab phrase that really made me laugh, the Mother shouted at one of her kids, who was bullying her younger sister, "Don't torture the Hamster!" It made me think about a recent incident in the office and how one of our juniors was under considerable pressure from others, especially one Manager who was setting the pace. We had to take drastic action and moved the Manager - eventually out of the business.

I hate bullying and wondered if others had good solutions to stop it which we could all share.

Aimee Lewis FAPA

First Puppy lands book deal

For all those who, like me, thought Bo Obama was definitely ‘one-to-watch’, you will not be surprised to learn that the newest resident of the White House, is already to star in his own children's book. Despite having lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for only a matter of days, a Virginia publisher has already pounced on the opportunity and announced Bo's first book.

Mascot Books has confirmed that Bo: America's Commander in Leash by Naren Aryal and illustrated by Danny Moore is expected to be in stores next week. The book features Bo enjoying a series of adventures, including stealing the president's letter opener, playing on Sasha and Malia Obama's swing set and pouring green dye into the White House fountain on St Patrick's Day - as well as serving unsuspecting vice president Joe Biden a burger. This comes in the wake of President Obama and his wife announcing earnings of $2.66 million (£1.78 million) last year, the majority of which was earned through President Obama's two books.

So Bo is the first real dog in modern times to turn into a cash cow and Mascot Books has given us all the perfect demonstration of seeing and seizing an innovative opportunity. Well done to them!

Gareth

Hopeless times for home owners

Falling house prices mean that two million households have either negative equity, or too little equity to finance a house move, lenders have said. Negative equity is the situation where someone's house has become worth less than their mortgage.

Research by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said two thirds of the 900,000 homes in negative equity had only a modest shortfall of less than 10%. But this is fewer than the 1.5 million estimated to have been in this position more than a decade and a half ago. Of the households currently in negative equity, about 270,000 have a shortfall of between 10% and 20%, and about 30,000 have a shortfall of 20% or more. In those most extreme cases their negative equity amounts to an average £28,000 for first-time buyers and £37,000 for other home owners.

The CML carried out its research by looking at data supplied by its members. With house prices dropping by about 18% since the middle of 2007, the fall in prices has already outstripped the national price drop experienced during the early 1990s house price crash.

My PA in the mid-90’s had negative equity in her property and it place enormous pressure on her family circumstances. It was tough to watch and even tougher to live with.

Gareth

Time for a reality check.

Our intention when we launched the APA Debate was to create a platform to air some of the issues in the news, in government and in general that may be of interest to practicing professional PAs and to give them a forum to share their opinions, frustrations and successes. It's early days but the level of readership is impressive and the responses growing daily.

So, tell us how we are doing. Are there other subjects you would like us to address. Is the balance of the content OK; is it too casual and quirky or too straight laced. And does it add value and would you recommend it to other PAs in your business or your network of friends as a fun read? We would value your thoughts.

Gareth, for all at APA

CV Bloopers!

Monster, the employment website, reminds us just how important it is to make sure we check, double check and even triple check our CV before sending it to a potential employer. Here are a few notable howlers from its own experience

· As a security guard it is my duty to pervert unauthorised people.
· My job involves processing clams.
· My interests including cooking dogs and interesting people.
· I was responsible for dissatisfied customers.
· In my roll I didn’t have lunch.
· My role included coaching and mentioning.
· I am a prooficient typist.
· I left my last four jobs because the managers were completely unreasonable managers


Hopefully I haven't made any mistakes like these above, although there were jobs I never got an interview for... I wonder, Shelley

Excess costs kill business

There is one outstanding business truism coming loud and clear from this year’s series of ‘The Apprentice’ and Sir Alan Sugar is right to keep banging it home: Managing costs mobilises profit.

Contrary to what Finance Directors would have you believe … business financial management is very, very simple! There are only three fundamental variables; Sales less Cost of Sales = Gross Profit, GM less Overheads = Net Profit. Crude maybe but none-the-less true. And life’s exactly the same. If you always have one eye on the balance of this simple equation as a business leader then you should survive. And I believe a PA should be as equally well versed in reading a Profit and Loss statement as his/her Boss.

In any project, like the one in last night’s show, where the two teams were charged to created and sell toiletries for profit, once the mistake had been made (which Nick Hewer pointed out at the end of Day One) then the team should have quickly focused on the minimum price the product could be sold at to make money. It amazed me when they seemed surprised by their loss when it was announced in the Boardroom.

We have all seen great businesses, with great products, go broke and wondered why, well last night was the classic demonstration of commercial unreality.

Gareth

Puppy Power

America's first family has chosen a six-month-old Portuguese water dog to be the first pet.

President Barack Obama’s daughters, 10-year-old Malia and seven-year-old Sasha, have settled on a black and white pup, to be called Bo, a White House official reported. In an imaginative way the Washington Post described Bo as having "tuxedo-black fur, with a white chest, white paws and a rakish white goatee". The president and first lady had previously confirmed their choice was down to either a PWD or a Labradoodle because they were considered good pets for children who have allergies, as Malia does.

Is the first pet set to become the breed-of-choice for the fashionable dog owner about town?

Gareth

Sickness in the workplace - are we getting better?

Five years ago the Confederation of British Indusry (CBI) published this statement.

"British Bosses are reporting that more and more of their staff appear to be skiving off with faked illnesses and many firms are taking new steps to crack down on malingerers. Research by the CBI suggests that workplace absence is on the rise for the first time in five years. In the previous year (2003) we were off sick on average for 7.2 days up from 6.8 the year earlier. It costs UK businesses £11.75bn a year. The CBI also estimates that 15% of all illness was due to people taking days off when they are not really ill."

So, five years on have things changed? Please let me know your views.

Shelley

Downturn hits home - outside London

Cities in the Midlands, the north of England, Scotland and Wales are suffering the most in the current downturn, research has shown. Despite the current crisis being seen as a problem emanating from the City, analysis of official figures shows the largest increases in jobseekers' allowance (JSA) have been felt in Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow and Sheffield.In Birmingham, 12,383 more people began claiming JSA between February 2008 and 2009, the Work Foundation said on Tuesday.

The sharpest increases meanwhile were felt again in the Midlands, the north and north-east of England, and Wales, with Wear Valley and Blaenau Gwent top of the list. Naomi Clayton, the foundation's senior researcher, said all the cities named in today's research were in the "eye of the storm" from previous recessions they are yet to recover from.

APA supports calls from the Work Foundation for regional specific measures to be introduced in next week's Budget. "Policymakers ignore how recessions play out locally at their peril. It is to be hoped that the forthcoming budget focuses much more attention on the large cities - Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham - that can drive the recovery, as well as recognising which areas need the most support to survive and prepare for better times," Ms Clayton said.

Unemployment hit two million last month for the first time under New Labour. Analysts expect the total number of jobless to exceed three million this year before levelling off and eventually falling.

APA

A very happy Easter to all APA Members and our Blog readers.

APA

Managing Mr. (or Ms.) Angry

According to Jerry Deffenbacher, PhD, a psychologist who specialises in anger management, some people really are more "hot-headed" than others are; they get angry more easily and more intensely than the average person does.

These traits are often present in the profile of a Leader or Entrepreneur. There are also those who don't show their anger in loud spectacular ways but are chronically irritable and grumpy. Easily angered people don't always curse and throw things; sometimes they withdraw socially, sulk, or get physically ill.

People who are easily angered generally have what some psychologists call a low tolerance for frustration, meaning simply that they feel that they should not have to be subjected to frustration, inconvenience, or annoyance. They can't take things in stride, and they're particularly infuriated if the situation seems somehow unjust: for example, being corrected for a minor mistake.

In their working life PAs experience a range of reactions from people in the workplace. Knowing how to manage anger in others can be one of the most valuable tools in their armoury.

APA Members can visit the Knowledge Zone to learn more about anger management in the workplace.

Gareth

Power napping pays

Why Power Nap?
Because it's a powerful benefit for both you and your Boss!

While small children typically take naps in the afternoon, UK culture generally frowns upon mid-day sleep or 'power naps' as they are sometimes called. However, even in those who get enough sleep (and especially those who don’t), many people experience a natural increase in drowsiness in the afternoon, about 8 hours after waking and power napping can be the cure.

Research shows that you can make yourself more alert, reduce the stress of the day and improve cognitive functioning with a nap. Mid-day sleep, or a ‘power nap’, means increased patience, less stress, better reaction time, increased learning, more efficiency and better health. Sounds too good to be true but it can really work and with age it is even more effective.

All you have to do is find a quiet and comfortable corner; admittedly not always easy in a busy office, divert the phones and ignore the email and have 10-15 minutes head-back, eyes closed relaxation - and if sleep follows ... even better.

Try power napping and tell us if it works for you.

Gareth

APA Members who want to know about the benefits of sleep and how a power nap can help can go to the Knowledge Zone of the Members area of the website for more information.

This article was inspired by a piece by Elizabeth Scott of About.com

Tentative rise in business confidence

Several business confidence surveys published this week indicate that sentiment, though still weak, may have stabilised in some sectors of the economy, adding weight to the argument of those that contend the recession is reaching a nadir.

On the back of recent gains in share prices, which last week took the FTSE 100 above 4,000 points for the first time since the middle of February, there are signs of optimism. But businesses say that trading conditions are still largely fragile and that more severe job cuts are likely before the economy starts to grow again.

APA

From a report in the Independent Business section by Alistair Dawber 6th April 2009

Quote of the Day

We have today added a 'Quote of the Day' element to the Blog - you will find it on the left-hand side if you scroll down the page. These things can be cheesy, tiresome but sometimes so very relevant and worth storing for future use in the office.

I particularly like the one today (8th April 2009) from Mark Twain who said "It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them." We all must know someone who fits that category whether it be in the Oscars, company awards or even exam results.

If you have any sage words of your own, feel free to share them with us.

Gareth

Parents flexible-working rights extended

From April 2009, businesses are required to consider flexible-working requests from more of their employees, a change in the law that is likely to boost home working.

Legislation dating from 2003 allowed parents with children under the age of six to request flexible-working conditions from employers, who were obliged to "seriously consider" such applications and reject them only if there were "good business reasons for doing so".

The law has now been extended to parents with children up to the age of 16, making approximately 4.5 million more employees eligible. Six million parents and carers are already covered by the law. The change is designed to make working conditions more family-friendly, the government said in a statement.

More than 95 percent of all requests for flexible-working conditions from working parents and carers are accepted, according to government figures.

The role of PA has always been seen as an anchor and someone who is needed to be about the office. APA would like to know how flexible employers are with their PAs and whether you can operate as effectively at a distance?

Gareth

APA Bloggers wanted

If you are a Fellow of the Association of Personal Assistants (FAPA) you can request authorship rights and post to this blog to share your views with PAs from around the english speaking world.

Please join us and share your knowledge, experience and good humour with like-minded people who are keen to learn.

Every one is free to respond to articles posted by simply clicking on the word 'comments' at the end of each item.

APA

What does your car colour say about you?

Psychologists have revealed that the colour of your car could say something significant about your personality according to a report commissioned by a major supermarket.

Silver is still the most popular colour so far this decade but is definitely in decline as the number of black and red cars increases. More than 30% of buyers still choose silver, while blue, in all it’s different variations, comes in second at 26%.

So what do the colours suggest about you as a person? The survey suggests the following in order of numbers sold:

Silver: a driver who wants to give the impression of wealth and prestige
Blue: peaceful and serene drivers who value relationships over money
Black: a desire to stamp authority on other road users
Red: passionate and a little wild, likes to take charge of any situation
Grey: a sign of stability and reliability
Green: a conscientious driver who tries to smooth over tense situations
Purple: a self-assured driver with a love of all things beautiful
Yellow: confident and not afraid to let out one's inner child
Gold: a desire to express independence
Orange: a sign of a happy person who enjoys being unique and craves attention

APA would like to know what car currently turns your head. What is the car of choice for the modern PA-about-town?

Gareth

Creme the jury is still out

News from the Board is that APA will probably not be attending Crème this year, after two years when return on invest was not great. "The event organisers traditionally adopt a fairly inflexible approach to stand pricing; which we think are excessively costly in these days of lavish discounts, and when our Members are telling us they are not particularly keen to incur the costs inherent in visiting London," says Gareth Osborne, Director General.

Instead, we are in discussions to stage our own event at a major new sporting venue in the Midlands in 2010. We have already approached sponsors, who seem keen to support APA and potential exhibitors (although it will be more Conference focused with a few well chosen exhibitors present) are already asking for prices to start planning budgets. Watch this space as our plans are unveiled later in the spring.

Gareth