Tony Featherstone is a former managing editor of Business Review Weekly and Shares magazines. He is a specialist writer on small companies and entrepreneurs for The Age online, The Australian Financial Review and BRW. Tony's blog looks at the human side of entrepreneurship and business failure, a topic poorly understood in this country.
Email him at tony@xpressinfo.com.au
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A management challenge for the ages
Tony Featherstone Reporting to people much younger, or managing those much older, is beyond many employees.
Who is responsible for a healthy home workplace?
Tony Featherstone As more companies encourage workplace flexibility, their safety policies may not be keeping up.
The bias of head office
Tony Featherstone "Out of sight" could mean out of a job for more employees who work in satellite offices.
Are double degrees worth it?
Tony Featherstone Too much education upfront and not enough during one's career is a risk to young employees and industry.
Do parents get a better workplace deal?
Tony Featherstone Risks of more favourable treatment compared to singles, non-parents.
Has workplace flexibility gone too far?
Tony Featherstone Companies should question whether entitlements are out of sync with a challenged white-collar employment market – and rorted by staff.
Do companies still need to hire uni graduates?
Tony Featherstone Technology is forcing a rethink of business models and recruitment processes.
Cash-only is the new black for more businesses
Tony Featherstone It's gone way beyond tradies, restaurants and service enterprises that offer generous "discounts" for cash payment.
Watch out for fudged resumes
Tony Featherstone Students and street-wise job seekers will always find ways to cheat the job-application system.
Running a business on the side
Tony Featherstone Work and personal time has never been so blurred, but entrepreneurship is all or nothing.
Six ways to resurrect the conference
Tony Featherstone Six ways to make industry events more engaging and productive.
When documents get lost for too many words
Tony Featherstone Six tips to avoid the soul-destroying process of documents going round and round an organisation for review.
Stop monkeying around with Chinese business
Tony Featherstone The Lunar New Year was an example of not enough retailers embracing other countries' traditions.
Does having 43 universities add up?
Mergers are needed among second-tier universities so the university sector can rid itself of some dead wood.
Separating real clients from the rest
Tony Featherstone Six tips to avoid pretend clients and other time wasters.
Farewell to the farewell event
Tony Featherstone The gold watch is long gone but is a simple farewell lunch too much to ask?
Do you suffer from back-breaking work?
Tony Featherstone Lower back pain a bigger problem for business as an ageing workforce sits for more hours at a computer.
Why do customers get lost in the mail?
Tony Featherstone Poor record-keeping and information management still a problem for business.
Time to get serious about seniorpreneurs
Tony Featherstone Governments must prepare for higher numbers of older business owners.
Should weekend work be restricted?
Tony Featherstone There's a lot to be said from a productivity perspective for banning staff from taking work home.
Why flexible working can hurt your career
Tony Featherstone Why do so many managers still have an antiquated 'bums on seats' mentality?
Do marks still matter?
Tony Featherstone Are companies placing too much emphasis on the wrong things in recruitment?
What Malcolm means for SMEs
Is he all talk or will the Prime Minister really be able to save our start-ups?
Why do unis neglect small business?
Tony Featherstone There's an opportunity to help millions of enterprises collectively become more innovative.
Lessons from the Ashes humiliation
Tony Featherstone Leadership changes across sporting codes provide management insights.
Are you caught in an online trap?
Tony Featherstone Companies are purposely making it too hard to cancel online purchases.
Why aren't councils supporting start-ups?
Tony Featherstone They're flat out innovating a footpath, despite a pressing need to foster creativity, collaborative networks and entrepreneurship.
Why are business events torture?
Tony Featherstone They are supposed to be exciting and engaging, so why are they so deadly dull?
Has outsourcing gone too far?
Tony Featherstone Problems emerge when outsourcing is driven by a cost-cutting obsession and companies forget about the value of permanent employees.
