Opinion

I overheard this sales dialogue on an airplane recently. "He (the customer) has never responded to one of my emails and never calls me back."

In a world where a Sri Lankan-based company can provide unlimited tech support for $149 a year to a business owner in Sioux City, Iowa, no company can escape the new realities of global competition or hide in its local markets anymore.

If Peter Slipper was “an accident waiting to happen”, as some people are saying after the event, why can't it be said that the Western Australian property market is “a boom waiting to happen”?

Next month's state budget has taken on a fresh significance after a new poll reveals a resurgent Labor party.

The controversy engulfing the big health union exposes issues of governance and accountability.

A tighter lending market, dominated by the big banks, may open the door for a return of smaller, more friendly lenders.

Sweeping generalisations devalue the worth of most commentary on fly-in, fly-out work practices.

By aiming for more knowledge and clarity, we can make our charitable giving easier.

The PM cannot keep relying on the fact she is a single woman, an atheist and childless to help her discount her political woes.

I got an (unsolicited) email offering a webinar to teach me about how to measure, and the importance of measuring, the ROI (return on investment) of social media.

When a business is doing well, owners and managers can sometimes lapse into feeling too comfortable.

If a country has one world-class industry in a sea of international trouble why would you want to hobble it or, at worst, close it?

Julia Gillard jets in for an exclusive fund-raising dinner next week, which will be a test of her fence-mending skills.

Two court battles involving government agencies competing with private operators expose anomalies.

The shale-gas boom in the US has slashed power prices and a new report explores the next energy game-changers.

Improving the effectiveness of Australia's federation is a widely shared goal but there has been little progress, unless you count an ever-expanding bureaucracy.

An insider's view on China, that it is not always what it seems, challenges Western thinking.

Canberra has ‘plagiarised' a successful Queensland development approach.

There are no two companies that train alike.

Research has consistently shown that people who are intrinsically motivated are more satisfied in their work, have greater commitment to tasks and have lower levels of absenteeism.

One of my favourite sayings in business is that everyone has two jobs – the one you do and improving the one you do.

Comrade Colin has a pleasing sound to it, but it is unlikely that the Western Australian Premier, Colin Barnett, really has developed communist tendencies despite his curious threat to stage a rare

Colin Barnett certainly does not want blame for the Commonwealth's share (of energy price rises) lumped on to him as well in a pre-election year.

It is worth borrowing from demographers to help categorise the three distinct groups which clash over the resources boom.

WA's minerals industry faces profound change as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto opt for ‘bulks'.

The state government has won high praise for its planning reforms but the industry, and Labor, say it needs to do better.

The distribution of Australia's population has changed markedly over the past 55 years, driven by interstate and international migration.

A £625,000 Hackett asset sale helped fund landmark additions to the University of WA.

Engagement is such a buzz term in human resources circles.

i'm celebrating my 20th year of writing about sales, networking, loyalty, trust, attitude, leadership, business social media and personal development.

Many managers proudly declare they have an ‘open-door policy' that allows any employee to speak with them at any time of the day.

If you are serious about driving a company out of business there is a guaranteed way to succeed; charge more for your services than competitors.