It turns out the average retirement age for Australians is the highest it's been since the 1970s. With apparently 20% of new employment since 2019 being people aged 55 and above!
The co-founder and CEO of Koda Capital, Paul Heath, spoke on the ’15 Minutes with the BOSS podcast’ about the biggest mistakes he’s made in his career. He spoke often of change, and the impact that change can have on the people in your organisation.
McKinsey expects gen-AI programs to cost $3 in change management for every $1 in development and reports that only 15% of companies surveyed attribute meaningful earnings from gen-AI activities. Large corporates have certainly developed compelling use cases. Out-of-stock monitoring (Woolworths), prediction of high-risk centres during extreme weather events (Suncorp) and streamlining of mortgage applications (Westpac) are but a few of many examples.
2023 saw a decline in the overall headline deal value both globally and locally, no doubt driven by the rising interest rate environment and concern about an economic slow-down.
Charlie Munger, who passed away on 30th November, was one of the most influential business leaders and investors of the last 60 years. The businessman, and philanthropist along with his Partner Warren Buffet epitomised a no-nonsense rational approach to life and business.
I recently spoke to Mick Spencer from Gravity Seltzer. During our conversation Mick was very honest about failure and spoke about how he had been on a journey and had eventually figured out what he was best at and what he needed others to do who were better than him at certain things.
A glance at last Thursday's front page of the AFR and you might be forgiven for thinking ethical business is dead. The calls for Richard Goyder to resign amid claims of unethical customer treatment with the “Ghost Flights” scandal and the illegal sacking of 1,700 workers at Qantas. The leaking of confidential information from treasury to its clients by PwC and we haven’t even turned a page yet!
As we contemplate a new year, we wanted to share with you some of the more practical reoccurring themes that Oasis has encountered while completing over 500 business sales. While I would hope that most of these you have already heard about in one form or another, I am reminded that repetition is the mother of skill.
Having established that the odds are not great; that the potential buyer that knocks on a seller’s door is the most strategic acquirer for the business (Lesson #1). And that in any event, getting in the ring with a large corporate, without a clear strategy and some input is not optimal (Lesson #2). The question then becomes, if there are many more sellers than buyers in the Australian market in the next decade (Lesson #3), how do you find genuine strategic interest?
Companies are concerned about the implication of a hybrid working policy on productivity levels, loyalty, team-cohesion, and longevity.
The burning questions are:
Should work-from-home continue post-pandemic?
If so, on what basis?
Is hybrid work good or bad for business?
Many entrepreneurs that were contemplating a sale or retirement in the next few years have had their plans thrown to the wind by the experiences of the last twelve months.
Entrepreneurship is a subject among several others which were tackled when I was interviewed by Anthony Moorhouse who himself is an entrepreneur and was a client of Oasis for over
Following the gradual recovery in global M&A markets through 2024, the outlook for 2025 suggests solid grounds for optimism. According to Goldman Sachs' Investment Banking Outlook, the recent reductions of interest rates and improved market conditions as well as the greater certainty resulting from the determination of the US election is expected to support increased deal activity, particularly in the middle market segment.
When you think of entrepreneurial success, you might picture a lone wolf conquering the corporate world. But what if the secret to success is collaboration? Kelly Jamieson, co-founder of Edible Blooms, sat down with Mike for the Troubleshooters Podcast over a year ago to share her inspiring journey of building a thriving business with her sister. A year on, I have been reflecting on the invaluable insights she shared.