In a nutshell VET is education and training for work.

In these uncertain times the smart business owners are thinking about their business and how it will be placed in three to four years time when we come out of this current enconomic situation. Past experience proves that those who have motivated and engaged employees will have an edge over their competitors.

If you are serious about continious learning for your employees then you need to find out about available training in the workplace and how it can (a) develop your people and (b) improve the overall performance of your business in the longer term.

In any business there are employees who might not have had any formal training since school days and there are those who have started but not finished a diploma or degree course. VET training enables you to develop the skills and knowledge of just about anyone who is willing to learn.

VET exists for a range of reasons.

• To provide a pathway from school to work
• To develop and recognise competencies
• To equip workers with up-to-date skills that are transferable
• To support a registry of providers and audit them for quality

Only accredited providers are able to issue nationally recognised qualifications. You must use a recognised provider for the employee to gain qualifications that are recognised across Australia.

The trainers themselves have to hold a current Certificate IV in Training and Assessement ( TAA40104)

I have found that there are many people conducting training and programs that might not be delivering the best outcome and value for you and your employees. Seek advice before committing to spending on training, but also ensure you maintian continious training at the same time.

This week I attended a workshop held by the Geelong Chamber of Commerce on what it takes to be a good leader. The panel comprised three excellent leaders from the Geelong area.

Not surpisingly the the following question came up Are leaders born or made ?

The concensus of the panel was that both is the right answer. However, I am convinced that they are born and that the cream always rises to the top. I also believe that potential leaders can be further developed into being great leaders. In my journey through life I have come across strong natural leaders in all areas.They just have something in them that is different. It starts at home then it is seen at school, at work, amoungst friends and at sport.

Each year I facilitate a program called Mindshop Excellence where we take six year ten students during work experience week and place them in a business for a week to teach them problem solving skills, working in a team and presentation skills. Over the years there is always one student in the group that fits naturally as the team leader and the other kids also know who it is and are happy to be lead.

In all walks of life people assume leadership roles. Many times I have seen people who come to work just do their job day in and day out without raising any awareness of leadership. But outside work they are leaders in their community, on the kindergarten committee, the local church, the local sporting club, etc etc.

Business leaders need to search for and recognise the potential leaders in their staff and then set about nurturing that talent by mentoring, coaching and a program of continious learning. If you do not make the effort someone else will benefit through them in the future.

Today the media is full of articles about Richard Pratt and the one article that caught my eye was on the front page of the Australian. It spoke about Richard's son Anthony taking over the leadership of the business.

A few years ago, in my own manufacturing company, we were buying approx one million cartons a year from Visy. They were a fantastic company to deal with and the attitude of the employees was always positive. They set the benchmark for customer service and how to build relationships.

The media will probably try to make something out of the price fixing case that the ACCC launched against Visy. To me its a redherring as I experienced blantant price fixing in the industry I was operating in and the authorities turned a blind eye. Don't Forget that there were two companies involved in this. What action did they take against the other?

Let's celebrate the good that the Pratt Family has done over the years and the joy they have bought to many people.

Many leaders of private companies should follow the lead of the Pratt family when it comes to succession. The three Pratt siblings have all been heavily involed in the business for some time and the passing of their father, when it happens, will not cause any interruption to the effective management and progress of the business. This unfortunately is not what I can say about some privately owned companies I have worked with in the past.

I have first hand experience of this within my own family. Our father could not let go and when he died in his seventies he left behind a very difficult family business situation. The end result was the sale of the business which was a waste of the years of effort he and my mother put into the business making it one of the best in Geelong.

There are many great examples of family companies who have succeeded in getting the succession strategy right and its not hard to do.

In recent days we have seen examples of You Tube videos that have severly dented the reputation of a US fast food chain and an AFL football club.

Given the many other serious examples we have seen about unacceptable social behaviour, it make you wonder what goes through the minds of some who put these up on You Tube.

The real issue for those in business is how can you control this behaviour within your employees. There is probably nothing you can do if someone wants to do it regardless. However if you have the right protocols and training regarding your internet policy it can become easier to action instant dismissal.

By right training it also implies that you constantly reinforce the company's internet policy by regular reminders and appropriate signage. It's not good enough to just do the initial training or have it in the staff policy manual and not revisit it.

Seek clarification from your legal advisors before it is too late. Check your position if the employees do it outside work hours but damage the company reputation.

It can take years to build a rock solid reputation for your business and only a day or so to ruin it.

I am continuing the theme on culture as it so important to your success.

A couple of weeks ago I also attended a business network meeting at Mason Sier Turnbull  lawyers in Mt Waverly here in Melbourne at which The CEO of the Hawthorn Football club was the guest speaker and he gave us some insights into the culture and vision at the club.

The Grand Final win last year was a direct result of never losing sight of the goals set for the club some five years ago. The key to their success was preparation and the changed  internal culture that was embraced by all stakeholders connected to the club over that time.

To effect a change of culture in any organisation you need to have a belief in the vision for the future, great communication tools, a plan, a timw line of three to five years and thw ability to win thw hearts and minds of everyone, internal and external. 

Research I saw some time ago from Harvard University suggests that it takes three to five years to change the culture in an organisation. The CEO of Westfarmers has stated on numerous occasions that it will take them that long to change the culture of the Coles group they purchased. I only hope some in the press understand the importance of what he is saying and stop looking for short term miracles.

In private companies the internal culture is more directly influenced by the owners and directors than in large companies as they are so much closer to the staff on a daily basis. It can become a situation of monkey see, monkey do. Your staff will react exactly to the behaviour you exhibit.

I always say that in my journey over the years I have visited hundreds of privately owned enterprises and, after meeting the first few people, you can smell the culture. Its the way people talk, how they move about, the physical environment, the way they dress, etc etc. I becomes obvious what the culture is like in a very short time. It's a sad fact that if you have to spend your working day in a business that is disfunctional, you will attend work but leave your brain at home. The business leaders set the standard for the rest of the staff and that can be a frightening thought when I think of some I have meet in the past. Thankfully there are many who do it right an dlead by example.

How do your people act when you are not there?

I once saw a definition of culture that stated; Culture is what people do when no one is looking.

The much discussed topic of internal culture in companies from small to large is one that is close to my heart. When I visit a company for the first time I conduct what I call the smell test. You can sniff out the culture in a business or get a gut feel for it as you walk around and when you watch people and their behaviour.

My experience tells me that the culture within any business is driven initially by the leader and the senior managers. A great internal culture is pervasive throughout and  is reinforced by all staff and is just the way people act and do things without having to think. It just comes naturally.

An example is the diffrence between Qantas flight crew and Virgin Blue flight crews. At one airline sometimes you get the impression from the staff that we, the customer, are an interuption to their day and at the other, the attitude is different and very obvious.

Westfarmers know that they have to change the culture they inherited when they took over Coles. They have the best example in place with which to follow in Bunnings. The internal culture is the key difference when comparing the two business units. Because business is all about people doing business with people.

Generally a positive culture starts with the word Trust. It is also essential that everyone in your business can clearly identify with the vision for the future that you paint for them. If they can see the end destination, see how they fit in, trust you to lead and make the right decisions, engage them along the way, then you will gain an advantage over your competitors.

Vision, strategy, plan, engage, measure and reward, that's my war cry for moving to a higher level of performance.

I have often stated there there is nothing new in business techniques or business strategy and I see that this has been a recent debate in the USA.

For example, Dale Carnegis's book How to Win Friends and Influence People was written in 1936 and is just as relevant today in 2009. I notice that my copy was written in 1964 and that was the year I attended my Dale Carnegie course. By the way, I re visit my copy every year.

A  workshop last year at Harvard was conducted to work out what the new trends will be in business strategy and management thought going forward. The problem is that no one can come up with any new management techniques. I quote from a Harvard Business web site The foundations of "modern management' were laid out by McCallum, Taylor and henry Ford , all of whomwere born before the end of the American Civil War in 1865.

So what is new?

I don't think its rocket science as I believe business is all about people doing business with people.

You can have all the think tanks in the world and bring together all the recognised management gurus and in the end its all about the people who work in the business.

Enage your people, win their hearts and minds, reward them for innovation and thank them for doing their job. Maybe its that simple. Encourage their development, thats the sign of great leadership 

There has been much written over the last two days about Kevin Rudd losing it with a flight attendent over being served a wrong meal.

This is not the first time we have read about him losing his temper in the work place. There were also similar stories about previous ministers as well. The issue I have with this is that if you do this in your work place you will very quickly find that employees can bring an action against you. Is it one rule for Parliamentarians and another for us in business?

It takes me back to a time when I was a senior manager at a large Muti-National company where shouting and swearing was normal practice for some of the executive directors. I could never reconcile the reason for this being allowed to happen by those in charge. To me its like a sporting coach who shouts and screams all the time, after a while the team members just turn off and do their own thing and lose total repsect for the shouters. In fact I have seen employees go out their way to sabotage the system as a form of revenge.

A leader must command and not demand respect. There is no excuse for business leaders to act any other way.

In these uncertain times, my experience is, that those who resort to temper trantrums and blaming everyone else is showing that they are incabable of being effective leaders.

I have also seen some shocking examples of bad behaviour by family members in family business. You will never achieve success if you do not win the hearts and minds of your employees. It is 2009 not 1960. The world and people have changed.
Those coming through your business now want to be mentored not micro managed, they want a challenge in their job and they want to be recognised for doing their job well.

This does not mean you should not hold people accountable. If they are not up to the task then they have to go. If ever you want to read a book that is on the mark regarding leadership then I recommend The leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner

In this downturn the big companies are cutting back heavily on training and personal developement and will pay the price in three to five years time. This decision is short sighted, I am amazed that they have not learnt a lesson from previous set backs in the economy. Then I guess the baby boomers have been sent packing and the knowledge and experience is not there to point out the obvious.

It takes an enlightened management to see that the continued investment in training will reap huge rewards when we come out of the current situation. After all, people are still your key asset and when companies start to realise that they have cut far too hard in FTEs, those with the engaged and committed staff will take the high ground.

The great private companies that I know use continuous training as a key strategy to gain a advantage over their competitors. The one key bullet for your sustainable competitive advantage ( SCA ) is your people. Anyone can buy the best equipment, have great marketing, good products and services and effective processes. Its your internal culture and people that set you apart from your competitors. As Jim Collins asks in his book Good to Great, " what can you be best in the world at ?"
If your answer to this is "our people" you will come out of the downturn in a much stronger position than most of your competitors, have great employee engagement and have retained most of your customers.

Invest in training and you will be repaid many times over.

This morning I attended a business breakfast that is part of the business network of the five Northern councils in Melbourne. 

Paul Stoddert ( Of Minardi fame )  was the guest speaker. He spoke about his observations on the current business environment and the need for people to be positive and to stop adding to the negative speak that has overtaken the business press. As I have mentioned before, the facts are, many are suffering and consumer confidence has dropped which results in a sales decline. Even if our business is suffering, we need to watch our own attitude and the way we present to our employees. We have to show a positive face.

He did make a comment that the banks have stopped lending to business. Well, this is not entirely true. At my table was the managing partner, nabbusiness, in the Northern area of Melbourne.  What John McGilp said was that money is available for private business but you have to jump a few more stringent hoops to get it. My observation is that unless you can present a viable business case, backed up by a professional business plan showing clearly that the business has a strategy to achieve its forward targets and can afford to meet its financial commitments you will struggle to refinance or obtain additional funds.

At the end of the breakfast I also met Justin Tucker from the St George Bank who has a portfolio of business clients and he backed up exactly what I have stated.

There is a question on our web site that asks if you would build a house without a set of plans or make a movie without a script. Its that same with a business plan.The banks are now insisting on proper documentation and proof that your cash flow is positive backed up by a quality management team.

Finally, Paul Stoddard was indeed an entertaining speaker and has an interesting story to tell.