The festive season is upon us and the annual question of gifting etiquette looms ever present. Work colleagues – do you give or not give? How much should you spend? Are you going with silly or serious? Is it appropriate? Phew. What a minefield. So what can you give that won’t cost you a penny […]
Read more
Walk down any UK high street at this time of year and you will be bombarded with seasonal offers, treats, ideas and temptations. And one thing that always stands out in the shop windows is the vast amount of glittery dresses and sequined jumpers. It is the party season! Office parties, team parties, events for […]
Read more
For your final =mc insight of the year, we sought advice from the leader of one of the biggest enterprises known to wo/man. Among other things, this inspirational figure is responsible for running a worldwide manufacturing and distribution service as well as maintaining a large and demanding supporter base. He manages a team of thousands […]
Read more
When organisations are experiencing change, we’re often called upon to help smooth the transition using various tools, techniques and training programmes to address the challenges. So you’d think that now things are changing here at =mc, we must be excited, full of beans and finding it all plain sailing, right? Not exactly. Just because we […]
Read more
If the answer is nothing, then be warned… I had the honour of convening a panel discussion about Women in Fundraising at this year’s IoF Fundraising Convention (#IOFFC). I was both shocked and inspired by the debate. The panel was honest, the audience was forthcoming, and the discussion produced very useful suggestions. What fascinates me […]
Read more
It’s well recognised that project management is an essential skill for all of us these days – even outside work. Inside work, there is the added dimension of project governance – who sets the parameters for any project and who’s ultimately accountable – and this usually falls to a senior manager. This person will often […]
Read more
7 Common problems for emerging managers – and how to overcome them Stepping into management is fantastic – sort of. A huge achievement and a massive career change, yes – but which for most of us is also pretty daunting. You’ll find plenty of blogs and articles online to help with the change, but where […]
Read more
Imagine the scene: a trendy-yet-affordable restaurant in Kings Cross, a selection of delicious tapas to share, bottles of wine, and 10 well-known leaders discussing challenges they face and sharing solutions in how they overcome them. Who wouldn’t want to be a fly at that table? What could we learn? What might inspire us? At a […]
Read more
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Read more
There is something about the summer that brings on the desire for a team away day. Maybe it’s because it’s too hot to do all the usual things, managers want us to get together, get outside and have some fun. Or maybe the extra daylight inspires us to dream of a new way of working […]
Read more
There is something about the summer that brings on the dreaded team away day. Maybe because it’s too hot to do all the usual things, managers decide it’s a good time to get everyone together, get outside and have some fun. Or maybe the extra daylight inspires us to dream of a new way of […]
Read more
Bernard Ross, =mc Director and co-author of the best-selling book Change for Good – using behavioural economics for a better world blogs about why the ‘identifiable victims’ principle is important to fundraisers. Maybe like me you were in one sense glad to see the attention the Thai boys trapped in the cave got. And at […]
Read more
As a Learning & Development Consultant at =mc I have supported many organisations – from MS Society to the University of Reading to WWF UK – in developing their project management. Probably like many of you reading this, I also juggle several projects in the office. And like some of you, I have the advantage […]
Read more
Behavioural economics quiz This quiz comes from Bernard Ross and Omar Mahmoud’s latest book Change for Good – Using Behavioural Economics for a better world. It is based loosely on work by Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize winning economist, and his talented colleague Amos Tversky. Their work is the inspiration for much of the book. (The quiz […]
Read more
They’re just trying to rationalise. (Tell you rational-lies!) Fundraising consultant Bernard Ross gets serious in part two of this #BlogOff, fighting the ‘no’ corner in the battle of whether you should listen to your supporters – or not. Read the opposing view from Dana Segal here. Fundraisers are an emotional bunch. They care a lot […]
Read more
In this #BlogOff, fundraising consultants Bernard Ross and Dana Segal go head to head offering different answers to one important question: Should you listen to your supporters? Dana says YES… It’s been a few weeks since the recent GDPR influx to my inbox; proclamations of love and a desire to keep in touch came from organisations […]
Read more
“Being a manager means I have more on my plate than ever and trying to keep up with my own workload as well as those of my team is a big job. I’ve got too much to do and not enough time to do it all. What can I do?” On our management training programmes, […]
Read more
In the Influential Fundraiser training, =mc uses its powerful five stages of influence model and teaches you the 15 tools you need to learn to apply systematically and sensitively for success. These techniques have been used to secure at least six £1M+ gifts in the last five years, as well as countless smaller ones. You […]
Read more
Working in a matrix should make us more flexible, productive and effective. So why am I finding it long-winded, hard and messy? Matrix management is when reporting operates along both task and people lines. We are hearing from more and more people in the NFP sector that their organisation has developed a matrix structure. This […]
Read more
Working in a matrix should be empowering, agile and developmental. So why am I finding it confusing, hard and messy? Put simply, matrix management is about dual reporting lines. Someone based in a regional office might report to the regional manager – the geographical line – and to the head of their department who’s based […]
Read more
Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of calls lot about providing training and advice for managers in two specific areas. One call, often delivered in a slightly worried and urgent tone, asks for training on managing change. Another, usually slightly more upbeat call, asks for a workshop on creativity and innovation. What strikes me as […]
Read more
Negotiating with others, whether it’s at home with a partner over household chores, or at work with a colleague about help with in a project, is part of everyday life. And reaching an amicable agreement isn’t always easy. People often tell us they walk away from these situations feeling they either haven’t achieved what they […]
Read more
We’ve all been there. After a long day at work, in meeting after meeting, you look at your phone and see that dot. The FEAR begins. The one that tells you there are 87 unread messages. And you are itching to look at them – but you have to get off home. You get in, […]
Read more
In this blog, =mc’s newest Learning & Development Consultant Georgina Wright blogs on the exciting journey from extinguishing fires to preventing them. Why am I dealing with this issue again? Why am I hearing the same complaint that I heard before? Why are people unhappy about what that their manager keeps doing? Why are managers […]
Read more
In this halloween blog, Bernard Ross, =mc Director gets right to the heart of what fundraisers fear the most… In Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness, the ‘hero’ Kurtz finally confronts his own demons. His final words? “the horror, the horror”. (Note carefully introduced pretentious reference and avoidance of plot spoiler.) As Halloween approaches I […]
Read more
Help! It’s all changing! Hardly a week seems to go by these days without someone asking me about change and how to manage change at work. The world is changing, our sector is changing and our jobs are changing. Whether you’re a manager driving change in your organisation, or a member of staff implementing change, […]
Read more
In this blog, =mc Assistant Director and L&D consultant Yvette Gyles shares three top tips for giving memorable, impactful presentations that you can enjoy, rather than dread
Read more
When we put together management training, we like to involve potential participants in the design. This co-creation approach has some real benefits – participants are engaged early on, and we can understand exactly what their management challenges are and ensure the training is tailored to meet their needs. We also find out what their teams […]
Read more
Whether you are a fan of the ‘to-do’ notepad, post-it piles, scrap paper, a bullet journal, or =mc’s Action Sheets – sometimes even looking at the number of things that need to be done can be utterly overwhelming. And make you hate the list that itself seems to be nagging at you. When you’re up […]
Read more
In this guest blog, National Arts Fundraising School alumna Fiona Mason, now a freelance writer, arts consultant and Development Manager for Pacitti Company, shares her story since attending the School. It’s a bright, crisp November day in 1998 when I arrive at the country house hotel outside Bath, Gloucestershire, for the National Arts Fundraising School […]
Read more
=mc Director Bernard Ross bucks against the latest fundraising trend… and with good reason. Sometimes I feel like I’ve been transported back into the arts and culture world of the 1970s. To be honest it’s not all bad. I mean I could live with the bad hair, the purple nylon velour loon pants, and even […]
Read more
In this guest blog, Kay Burnett, Creative Projects Development Manager at Northern Broadsides shares her experience on the National Arts Fundraising School. Right – Kay Burnett on NAFS 2017 Working for a company that has a small core of four full time staff means that we all wear many different hats. So, when the issue of […]
Read more
=mc Assistant Director and L&D specialist Yvette Gyles blogs on the pros and cons of appraisals… A few weeks ago I was having dinner with a number of ex-colleagues, all in HR and working in the City in various commercial and professional services companies. Ever one to take advantage of a situation, I seized the […]
Read more
Help! I need to manage my stakeholders and I don’t know where to start. As a project manager it’s important to know and understand who your stakeholders are and how to manage your relationships with them. People can make or break a project so handling your stakeholders well is essential. At =mc we define stakeholders […]
Read more
I was recently sent an interesting report on crowdfunding by a participant on the National Arts Fundraising School – and specifically a scheme that’s been successfully run in Plymouth. At first the results look really impressive – and the follow up up report reinforces this. But after an interesting debate at the school I decided […]
Read more
Guest blog: Caroline Notman, Director of Development & Alumni Relations, St. Aloysius’ College The National Arts Fundraising School will be in it’s 30th year come 2018, having trained over 1,300 fundraisers helping them to raise £300M+ for their organisations. One of the most rewarding parts of running the School is hearing from past Alumni, how […]
Read more
In this blog =mc‘s Director Laura Slater shares practical tips on how to become an outstanding project manager, and introduces the highly effective =mc Systems Model. What skills do I need to be a good project manager?
Read more
What’s the Big Idea? If you want to have a good relationship with your colleagues, managers and leaders at work, the best thing to do is to perform your job well. But there will be times when you need to actively influence someone – to get help or resources, to get buy-in for your ideas, […]
Read more
In this guest blog, Meg Abdy, Director at Legacy Foresight shares insights on legacy fundraising for arts organisations. Legacy Foresight and Arts Quarter LLP recently teamed up to research legacy fundraising in the UK arts community, building on previous surveys in 2010 and 2012. We looked to explore current levels of investment in legacy fundraising – both […]
Read more
As fundraisers we often think we’re very clever – using sophisticated techniques from marketing, from neuroscience and from psychology to share and organise our powerful and engaging messages. When we’re feeling down about our low response rates – clearly the failing of our unsophisticated audience – we can always go into our spam folders to […]
Read moreNeed a quick answer to a specific challenge? Not sure what you're looking for or haven't time to search? Send me a message and we'll get back to you as soon as possible with an answer.
Or if you'd prefer to speak to someone, call 020 7978 1516.
Yvette Gyles, Director
The National Arts Fundraising School is the UK’s only residential fundraising training programme designed exclusively for the arts and cultural sector.
Click to find out more about the School and how to book.Follow @MgmtCentre on twitter.
© 2020 The Management Centre (UK) Ltd. All rights reserved - Company reg no: 11521146
Thank you for visiting the =mc website today.
We are all experiencing dramatic changes due to Covid-19. =mc are very much here for you and your colleagues across the non-profit sector.All of our training programmes are now available as online learning.
Visit our Learning and Development page to find out more about our safety measures for future face-to-face training.
If you’d like to speak to an experienced consultant about the challenges you’re facing, and how online learning could help you to navigate those, contact us here or call 020 7978 1516.
Take care and stay safe,
The Management Centre Team
Thank you for visiting the =mc website today.
We are all experiencing dramatic changes due to Covid-19. =mc are very much here for you and your colleagues across the non-profit sector.
All of our training programmes are now available as online learning.
To understand the differences between online and face-to-face learning, visit our Learning & Development page here. There you'll also find details of how we can work with you to ensure face-to-face training is run safely, when it's appropriate to do so.If you’d like to speak to an experienced consultant about the challenges you’re facing, and how online learning could help you to navigate those, contact us here or call 020 7978 1516.
Take care and stay safe.
The Management Centre Team
Sign up to gain tips, tools, training and events exclusively for you from =mc.
