This is ‘Yuan’ way to reach the overseas market – Baidu and PayPal in partnership – by Andrew Goodfellow

In an effort to catch fellow tech giants Alibaba and Tencent this deal between Baidu and PayPal will allow the firm to grow their payment coverage overseas and will no doubt see China’s Singles Day revenues rocket even further. I’m sure the average Chinese shopper would welcome the move away from being tied to mobile wallet payments in a country that isn’t that taken with our old ‘flexible friend’ the Credit card.

- Andrew

Viacom could be ready to throw some big bucks at Scripps in an all out cable war.

This huge deal with Scripps would create a $24.9 billion cable network and could push the firm further away from competing heavyweights Netflix and Amazon. Will Bob Bakish’s plan backfire or will it save the day for the likes of MTV, Nickelodeon, and Paramount Pictures? I hope this deal does go through because from a selfish point of view I hadn’t thought about the fallout If Nickelodeon goes down the pan….how will the kids remain entertained on a Saturday morning?

- Andrew Goodfellow

What can Women In Consulting learn from the BBC gender pay gap report? by Catriona Cookson

The publication of the BBC report last week created much debate around the earnings of its “top talent” ranging from the chuckling over “How can Gary Lineker be worth £1.8m to watch the football and ask Alan Shearer if he thought it was a valid claim for a penalty?” to the disbelief and anger of the omission from the list of two very talented and tenacious journalists Sarah Montague and Emily Maitlis, meaning they earned less than £150,000 per year.

Many companies throughout the UK will be gearing up to releasing their own gender pay gap findings and PwC (which has been very transparent in publishing their findings) has just released its latest figures:

http://www.consultancy.uk/news/13676/pwc-use-gender-pay-release-to-court-new-talent

showing their gender pay gap has reduced from 15% to 13.7 % since last year, and when adjusted for job level this shrinks to 2.9%.

However, the bonus figures released from PwC show that men take home 37.5% more in bonuses! From what I see, all new graduates into consulting earn the same and you can rest assured that all the consulting firms will be very diligent in ensuring their female consultants’ pay keeps pace with the men as they progress through the firm.

The new intake of young women into consulting ( and indeed their more experienced colleagues) may like to keep in mind the comments of Emily Maitlis – “Women sit there waiting for things to come to them and not realising that actually all the men are running off asking for them. You don’t get something because you sit politely and are well – behaved”

Could this contribute to the bonus variation? To all our Women in Consulting, I say …you’re worth it, you know you’re worth it and sometimes you just need to make sure you tell the person sitting in the Big Chair with the bonus pot, you’re worth it too!!!

Are randomness and uncertainty playing an increasingly greater roles in determining business success?

I for one have felt a little uneasy at times over the past 12 months but I think this just makes us more robust. In my mind, the world keeps turning and the UK workforce has always had the ability to bounce back…..unless there’s something crazy on the political horizon…..surely not?!!

- Andrew Goodfellow

Goal Setting

Do you have a clear idea as to what you want to achieve this year? Do you have a 5 year plan?  Are your clear about what your objectives are at work? Do these align with any personal plans you might have now and for the future?

To succeed in making any of the above into reality, it is really important to set your goals and have a plan in place as to how to achieve them. Goals provide focus and direction, they give shape and clarity to vague ideas and provide a pathway to getting where you want to go.

The problem usually lies in the fact that most people have no idea how to translate what is in their head into a clear action plan and find it difficult to do this on their own.

So – here are some steps to help you on your way:

1. Motivation : your goals must be important to you, and you must feel that there is value to you in achieving them. If you aren’t motivated, you won’t have the impetus to achieve them
2. SMART goals : you should be able to apply the SMART litmus test to each of your goals: Are they:

• S  pecific :       Clear and well defined
• M easurable : Include precise information against which you can measure success
• A ttainable :   Make sure it’s possible to achieve the goals you set; no pipe dreams
• R elevant :      Goals should fit with your life and the direction you want to head in
• T ime specific: Give yourself realistic deadlines

3. Put your goals in writing. This will make your goals feel real and tangible, and will give you something you can refer back to.
4. Make an action plan. After all your hard work in framing your goals, you need to break them down into manageable,  bite sized chunks. As you tick each off each step along the way, you will have a sense of moving forward and feel that much closer to the end-game.
5. Stick with it! Don’t give up – goal setting is an on going activity so give your self reminders to keep on track, set aside a regular time to review where you are up to and congratulate yourself each time you achieve a step along the way!

By following these five simple steps in the Goal Setting toolkit, you will be able to translate ideas into action, and have a far better chance of making them reality. Unless you spend the time really understanding what you want, why you want it and how you are going to get it, the chances of achieving your goals will be much reduced. So give it a go! Who knows what you can do when you put your mind to it.

To help you, here is a Goal Setting Template

If you would like help in setting your goals, contact Liz at : bltcoaching1@gmail.com