What kind of 'Secret Santa' are you?

via Management Today

'Tis the season of giving and all that. But what does your 'Secret Santa' gift say about you?

This week, in offices across Britain, Secret Santa will be bringing joy and laughter to thousands of bright-eyed and pink-cheeked work colleagues as they celebrate the festive season. With budgets ranging from £1 to £20, thoughtful staff will find the perfect little gift to kick off the Christmas period. Ah, isn’t that lovely.

Well, either that or there will be tears, tantrums and inappropriate tinsel-lined undies flying across the office.

That’s the thing about ‘anonymous’ gifts, they can be personal, pointless or even a bit poisonous. So, what does your Secret Santa gift say about you? And what subliminal messages are betrayed by your reaction to the big reveal?

We asked Kevin Chapman, head honcho at Tinder-Box Business Coaching, to unravel the mysteries of the Secret Santa present.

‘Secret Santa is all about office dynamics,’ he explains. ‘Every present is a reflection of a relationship and even though we are tightening our belts, Secret Santa seems as popular as ever because it is a chance to express something from one to another.

‘Whatever that expression is, when you know the true intention behind it, you have the choice to do something about it.’

Intrigued? Here are the four most popular Secret Santa personality types. What kind of Secret Santa are you?

Secret Santa Style

The secret assassin

Gift given: A book. E.g. a dummy’s guide to management (may blow the £5 budget)

Intent: To tell you something they want to say every week.

Message: Read your colleagues better, listen more and ask others what they think of you.

Secret Santa profile: Sits coldly, like a World class poker player, as the gift is opened.

Secret Santa style

The quiet admirer

Gift given: Luxury biscuit selection (never goes over budget but looks for a bargain)

Intent: To say they admire your style and to thank you for not exposing them

Message: I want to be your friend, let’s go out for after work so I can get to know you better.

Secret Santa profile: Sits quietly blushing in the corner. Of course everyone has their suspicions about who the gift is from.

Secret Santa Style

The festive joker

Gift given: Over-sized, flashing Reindeer earrings

Intent: To make everyone laugh…

Message: I’d work better with you if you lighten up a little at work.

Secret Santa profile: Laughs loudly as you open the gift. Shouts, 'Brilliant or what!?'

 

Secret Santa Style

The weary worker

Gift given: Toiletries

Intent: To be seen to be joining in

Message: No message, we don’t really have a working relationship.

Secret Santa profile: Will be sitting at the back of the room grumbling that they will be the only one coming in between Christmas and New Year.

Stat of the day: 5th

Britain's ranking in the table of the world's most charitable countries. What a generous lot us Brits may be suffering the twin indignities of pay-busting inflation and austerity measures that would put Ebeneezer Scrooge himself to shame, but it seems we’re still giving as generously as ever. According to the Charities Aid Foundation’s World Giving Index 2011, the UK is now the fifth most charitable country in the world.

Above us in the 153-nation ranking are the US at number one, followed by Ireland and Australia. According to the organisation’s findings, 79% of Britons give to charity each month (up from just under a quarter last year), while 28% of us volunteer each month, and 63% ‘help a stranger’.

What’s interesting is that worldwide, the number of people helping strangers increased by 2%, while those volunteering went up by 1% - but giving to charity fell by 1%, which suggests that we’re not the only ones feeling the squeeze.

Britain's youngest small businesses add £360m to UK economy

via Management Today

Nicknamed TOTs by Henley business School, these bright young ventures are going gangbusters, turning over more than £360m and creating 70,000 new jobs over the next 12 months.

The acronym may be dire (TOT stands for Twelve months old, Optimistic and Technologically-minded) but these bouncing baby businesses are one of the few good news stories for UK plc.

According to the latest Henley Business School small business research, the TOT, a new breed of agile and tech-savvy British business, is growing quicker than the average start-up and raking in the pennies with uncharacteristic speed.

HBS surveyed 253 start-up business owners (11-16 months old) in October and found that over half of TOTs (51%) predict they will increase revenues by 30% or more in the next 12 months. That’s an extra £30,000 to £75,000 in turnover per firm. If just 10% of firms started in 2011 achieve ‘TOT’ status, it will add a minimum of £360 million to the British economy.

TOTs are also creating jobs to service this growth. The study reveals the average TOT employs four permanent staff, with the majority (89%) planning to recruit at least two to three more over the next year.

The top five ‘TOTspot locations in the UK are:

London 3 to 4 new jobs created per TOT
Manchester 3 to 4 new jobs created per TOT
Liverpool 3 to 4 new jobs created per TOT
Leeds 2 to 3 new jobs created per TOT
Bristol 2 to 3 new jobs created per TOT

So, what does it really mean to be a TOT? Mobile technology is at the heart of these zippy new firms. Nearly all TOTs (98%) rely on smartphones for emails, organising their day and accessing business apps like Salesforce.com. They also use social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to promote products, network with potential customers and get real-time feedback. The benefits of this approach have been highlighted by Accenture which claims companies that invest early in social media reap returns as high as 20 to 1.

Henley Business School’s Professor Dominic Swords says: ‘TOTs have made it through the teething phase and have a different mindset that will challenge traditional businesses. They see opportunities in challenges, showing the benefits of a positive attitude in winning market share and leading a growing business.’

And these TOTs are no fools: ‘They’re realistic about the challenges they face,’ adds Swords. ‘82% are developing strategies to manage the risks and uncertainties in the future.’

TOTs may be small, but they have global ambitions. Nine out of ten TOTs export goods and services to markets around the world - 49% trade with Western Europe and 44% with Eastern Europe. And they are keen negotiators too, bartering for cut-price stock, services and suppliers: two thirds (77%) refuse to commit to any long-term contracts or leases. It’s all about being nimble and running rings around the dinosaur businesses, they say.