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Being able to recognise where your team members are at will assist you to effectively guide them, teach then and help then progress.

Following on from my first blog on Guidance Points for Leaders, I found another document in my Army files with another 27 guidance points for young leaders from the RSM.

In the induction process for my first posting, as I was about the be put in front of 30 soldiers that would be mine to lead, I was given a 3 page document that I still have with me today.

That forceful style of negotiation you see on the movies should stay there. In the Army, they taught us that the best negotiators were creative problem-solvers and that’s exactly true for business. I wasn’t born a natural at negotiation and I firmly believe that you don’t need to be. Anyone can be taught it - of course, like any art form it takes practice but that’s what this set of rules is for. Read these, absorb them, apply them in negotiation situations and you’ll notice a difference immediately. Yes, they’re military tactics, but ultimately they’re habit-forming tactics that anyone can learn.

​Business partnerships can be fraught with danger! I have had two business partnerships - both have ended (luckily I have been married for eight years, and my wife is still supportive of me!). While I have been lucky that they have been reasonably amicable towards the end (not too much spent on lawyers!), I now know what I would do in the future so here are my tips to avoid the pitfalls of doing business with someone - or solve that problem along the way.