Teryl @ Work

Three favourite business words that open up lots of discussion. And so important in running the Accsys business, because they come up every single day, in one way or another. Principles Like many businesses, we built up a set of Policies and Procedures, trying to clearly define the principles by which we run our business.   Much as I loved the Nordstrom model (see below), we realised it was necessary. Then once we started using them every day, we recognised that they were simply guidelines, needed constant updating and were almost impossible to seamlessly implement. We found that almost everybody believes that the rules are for other people and their circumstances are the exception that proves the rule. Precedents In South Africa, the Family Responsibility rule is very clear, and yet we are constantly asked to expand the rule.  We recently had one staff member ask to take 10 years of Family Responsibility in one as he had never used it before....

As a business, resolutions are an informal way to get us all thinking about what we want to achieve in a fresh year. Of course, there are a lot of funny personal and business resolutions. One of my favourite’s this year was on Ellen, when a young lady wanted to get past Level 183 on Candy Crush.   It took an Harvard Graduate to assist her! Not to mention the young woman who was resolving to be more patient with her children and drink better wine.   At Accsys, our business is about providing software people management solutions, so we thought it would be a good idea to define some of our people management resolutions (in no particular order). We resolved to: ·          Spend more time with people and less with systems ·          Encourage and reward innovative thinking ·          Embrace consistent management processes across t...

..or what used to be known as New Year's Resolutions. Each year brings its highs and lows, and the eternally optimistic human race believes that we get a fresh start each January 1st.   Belief is a strong driver, and optimism is capable of delivering very good results. So, with that in mind, in January 2014 I decided to try and give myself some good advice.... Enjoy more special family and friend time, have got a bit too chilled and lazy over weekends – Did quite well on this one until March. Remain passionate about what matters, but not angry when things go wrong – my execs tell me about 50% success rate! Be upfront about issues, deal with them quickly, and avoid continual negative comments, frustration and feelings (mine) – Same as above Delegate 3 business tasks that I have been hanging on to - Done Set aside formal time to deal with personal issues every week eg doctor's appointments, checking bank statements, sorting out hom...

Everybody talks about how important a good CV is but how do you define good? The CV Clearly a good track record with excellent references is key, but so is the way it is put together. Take the time to do a personalized covering letter for each company Set it up as a standard with some career highlights Align some of your skills with their requirements as per their job specification It takes time, but personalise your cv for every opportunity It’s not a complete rewrite Highlight the skills that are most relevant to the position you are applying for Bullet points and short paragraphs are easy to read Place your most current employment first Check that your references are available Include special interests, achievements and leadership outside of business, (charity and industry bodies) Read it carefully and run spelling/grammar checks Get an objective person to read it, if possible A photo can be good, my preference is at the back with the references, but this is sub...