12 August 2019 FT — Articles to Read

12 August 2019

 

Question: According to MSN: Money, what are five (5) signs it is time to sell your business?

 

Global banks cut 30,000 jobs as investment climate darkens – Pg. 1

  • Almost 30,000 lay-offs have been announced since April at banks including HSBC, Barclays, Societe Generale, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank. Most of the cuts have come in Europe, with Deutsche accounting for more than half the total, while trading desks have been hit hardest
  • Bank executives are under pressure from investors to cut costs and protect profits
  • Banks are also bracing themselves for the so-called Basel IV rules, which will increase their capital requirements and make trading less profitable

 

Too much loyalty does neither firm nor employee much good – Pg. 12

  • Loyalty is one of many ways in which our instincts to identify with a peer group and conform to authority, shapes and also warps our ethics. Team bonding can lift people to extraordinary performance.  Yet, studies also find that being in a group makes us less likely to go to a victim’s aid
  • Our sensitivity to social cues can even persuade us to deny the evidence of our eyes….
  • Toxic leaders are often accomplished crowd psychologists
  • Postmortems on scandals – US bank Wells Fargo is an example – typically reveal an evidence trail of workers who voiced concerns that managers ignored or tackled with half measures
  • Given that studies find that a strong sense of fairness predicts principled dissent, promoting employees who put fairness before loyalty might help to combat blinkered thinking

 

Answer: (1) The ‘right’ offer has come along; (2) You have taken your business as far as you can; (3) You have nothing left to invest; (4) The market is shifting; (5) Lack of motivation (Prof Note: One of the greatest aspects of P(Gain) has been the support of others and the unending market of opportunities.)