“If I want the job done properly then I have to do it myself.”

How often have you heard that one … probably said by a manager, frustrated by the lack of expertise of some staff member?

Image courtesey of Wikimedia Commons

Why, you may wonder, has the worker not got the expertise? Why must the harassed manager carry so much of the burden?

Several years ago I was working for a major international financial organisation when they offered a Time Management course for senior executives. All agreed the course would probably be useful. But attendance was optional and when the day arrived only four, of over forty, of these senior people turned up. The reason? Go on, you know already, don’t you? Yes, they couldn’t spare the time to attend!

Why are staff at all levels – from the most junior to the most senior – so ‘time poor’ in today’s business environment?

Where, it appears, too many people seem to be taking on an inordinate workload … and not handling it well. Could it be that, to use a common modern phrase, rather than working harder they need to work smarter?

Direct traffic in Google Analytics 

During Google Analytics training delegates frequently ask what does direct traffic means? Here's our concise answer to help all beginners - if you're already familiar with Analytics basics you may be interested in our Advanced Google Analytics training in Brighton, Sussex.

We run SEO training and frequently blog on all things SEO e.g. optimising Facebook for Google and do MicroSites work?; do get in touch if there's some SEO information you'd like to see covered.

The Top Twitter Tools for Marketers    

32 Twitter tools for everything you could think of!

Most of us have woken up to the importance of social media for marketing by now. But whether you're a social networking pro or newbie, the volume of tools can be intimidating. When you do devote time, social networks like Twitter don't always makes things easy for business users. Here we focus on Twitter to suggest key ways marketers can use it and we guide you through the best apps.

Read on for various handy tools: all of which will save you time and help you realise Twitter's potential, none of which will help you take shortcuts or spam your way to online marketing success!

Are you a new trainer? Does the idea of training a large group bring you out in a cold sweat? Is even picturing them naked just not helping to calm your nerves?

Well sweat no more and banish those nudes from your mind. There's a simple way to face groups and deal with the various challenges they may offer.

All it takes is an understanding of the dynamics of group development. Once you know how groups of people function and develop, it becomes simple to deal with them and simple to teach them.

We explore the subject of group development in depth on our Brighton-based Train the Trainer Course, which is the ideal course for those new to training looking to build their knowledge and confidence in the discipline.

So when facing groups in training, what you need to remember is that all groups will go through four stages of development. Here, I'll outline what those stages are and how best to deal with them from a trainer's perspective.

If you're not happy with the default layout of the chart you have chosen, Excel allows you to edit it. First, click on the design tab at the top of the ribbon, under the "chart tools" heading, (this is obtainable by selecting your graph). This will give you a range of options, including changing the chart type, the colour, and which information it displays on its X and Y axis.

In our example, select is layout 5. Excel 2007 will change your graph so that it now shows a main title, a title for the Y axis and a table of all the information used in the graph underneath the X axis.

In order to change the main title and the Y axis’ title all you need to do is to double click on the title itself and retype it.

Congratulations you got the promotion, you are now a manager but what does this mean?

Everyone has the intention of being good at their job and with the correct training and support every manager old or new can be a great manager!

Image courtesey of Wikipedia

Join one of our Management Skills for New Managers and gain the skills to take you forward in your career.

FAQ: Is training tax deductible?

At Silicon Beach Training we're commonly asked whether training is taxable 

or vatable so thought we would explain the general UK tax rules for both self-employed and employers here. Many business owners and HR managers presume that any costs incurred on training are tax deductible, however there are some exceptions depending on who is paying and what the purpose of the training is.

Once you've cleared up your tax confusions, have a browse of our many IT, Business and Management training courses: we offer SEO Training, Photoshop Training, PRINCE2® Training, HR Training and Train the Trainer Training.

Once you're happy with the chart type, you can also change the style so that the colours and fonts fit with the image you want to portray.

Again - select your chart and look at the "design" section of the ribbon. You will find the chart styles section on the right hand side of the ribbon. For more options, click on the “More” arrow as indicated below:

In our example, select layout 42 at the bottom of the list. Excel will then automatically apply this to your chart, like this: