A couple of weeks ago I began the process of trying to sell a business in which I have a significant stake. Then, out of the blue,  I heard that the government funding we have been getting for 20 odd years has stopped completely, thus reducing the value of the company by quite a bit.

Then news came through that a client charity will lose almost half a million of government funding in December, which means they can no longer carry out their work - that of getting homeless people back into housing. I hope they can find another agency to take over the work. Three thoughts:

1.  I hope this new government with its big society aspirations doesn't focus its efforts into the big agencies; there are multitudes of small local charities doing great local work and providing great value for money. They don't pay the big salaries that the bigger agencies seem to want to pay for a start (and don't even attempt to tell me that you have to pay big salaries to get the right calibre of people. Absolute bunkum as well we know).

2.  These cutbacks will damage many of us, some can ill afford it, but for others it will give an opportunity of reviewing the activities the charity carries out and, if appropriate, going back to its roots. I can think of a number of charities which seem to have forgotten what they are there for.

3.  Always remember the Attributes for Excellence:

A bias for Action - make meetings short and meaningful

Stay close to the customer who is King

Delegate always to the lowest possible level: Mistrust kills

Be hands on, and always be value driven

Stick to the knitting

Simple form, lean staff, no passengers

Simultaneous loose - tight properties

Have a good week. Daryl

3 comments

Comment from: Doug Geater Childs [Visitor]
Doug Geater ChildsI know it is my failing but what exactly is the meaning of

Simultaneous loose - tight properties.

Thanks for your help.
12/07/10 @ 07:47
Comment from: Daryl [Member] Email
DarylLoose - tight, I think originated from Tom Peters when he talks about successful organisations. Loose means there is a lot of freedom, people have a lot of flexibility, rules are kept to a minimum. Tight means that the team is bound tightly together with unwritten rules that are absolute in importance. An example might be that you can pretty much wear what you want to (loose) but you are expected to be passionate about service quality and handling complaints well (tight). So from the outside it looks pretty free and easy, but if you don't race to answer the phone when it rings, the team don't see you as belonging. Hope that helps. Thanks for your interest.
23/07/10 @ 16:16
Comment from: lessons for piano [Visitor]
lessons for pianoFunny where a search engine leads you, and how I have even more questions about Signs of the Times (Daryl's Charity Blog)
20/11/10 @ 16:38