I can be very argumentative and very stubborn: in that, we are incredibly similar and we have lots of arguments in the board room, if we both feel we are right But often we are able to change each other’s minds. I think he was very pleased when I came in, because his natural flair for business has rubbed off on me: I lived at home until I got married, at 28, and I have most of his traits.We are both very aggressive. I wanted to concentrate on the displays and make them bigger: there were lots of areas we could expand into, such as the corporate market and millennium displays. KAREN HADDON AND HAROLD BERLINSKI
KAREN HADDON: I was at stage school until the age of 15, then in a TV series for two years After that I made a record with my sister, Maxine. By being able to identify, manage and eventually “re- negotiate” that key relationship, both parties were able to increase co- operation and set it back on track.Five principles can be applied to assess the quality and likely long- term success of any relationship between organisations or individuals.Commonality: are there common goals and objectives, and a sense of shared culture which acts as a basis for resolving differences of opinion? Are these differences seen as negative or as enriching the relationship in a framework of common goals?Parity: what is the balance of power in a relationship and how is it managed and used? Do the parties have different types of power, such as financial, political, and veto rights? What level of participation and involvement do the parties have in decision-making and how does this affect individual morale? Are the deliverable benefits for both parties clearly defined and perceived as fair?Multiplexity: what is the “breadth” of the relationship? Is there a shared knowledge of the extent of the range of skills and experience that individuals or organisations can contribute? Is there sufficient knowledge of a department, an organisation, a role or a person, so as to develop and build the effectiveness of joint working?Continuity: is there sufficient contact between key parties to the relationship, and how are any changes, such as career progression and new personnel, managed without undermining the quality of existing relationships?Directness: how do the parties communicate and what is the style and level of skill involved in their communications? Is the amount and quality of information exchanged sufficient to enable a better understanding of the key issues?Our approach is based on the belief that all companies with ambitions of growth and success want to manage their key business relationships for the maximum and mutual benefit of all involved. They must also re-define the way in which they manage relationships at both a strategic and operational level, in particular managing expectations.
We are developing a “relational audit” approach to this area. But if companies are to reach a higher level of success and consistency in this area, they will need more than legislation or corporate governance regulations.
KPMG and The Relationships Foundation believe that the key to business success in the new millennium will be the successful management of stakeholder relationships. The steering group has identified the principles which many leading UK companies already practise – a recognition of their corporate responsibility to the society in which they operate. For the pessimistic, the party had become a wake for an alliance whose time and credibility were exhausted.Nato, which had prided itself on never having engaged its troops in any conflict on the continent of Europe, and on keeping the peace through the deterrent force of military strength, is marking its 50th anniversary at war. In the three weeks since the anniversary on 4 April, the mechanics and the purpose of the gathering have been transformed.
The favourite cliche in Washington was that a birthday party had become a council of war. Images of hundreds of thousands of deported people, burnt homes and destroyed villages recall images we hoped never to see again.”
These were the words of Javier Solana, the Nato secretary-general, opening the inaugural session yesterday of what had been planned as a celebration of the alliance’s first half-century. The shareholders have nothing to complain about.”
Mr Leschly’s pay was the subject of new controversy earlier this month when it emerged that his total package, including salary and share options, has been worth pounds 93m in the nine years he has headed the group.Last year his pounds 1.9m salary was boosted by an award of shares worth a further pounds 8.5m under SKB’s long-term incentive and share options programmes.Mr Leschly argued that the market value of SKB had risen from pounds 8bn to pounds 50bn over the same period.
He also said the company had “co-operated closely with its major shareholders” in setting remuneration policy, pointing out that 95 per cent of SKB’s sales were outside the UK while its management competed on a global scale with US and European rivals.He said the response from institutions had been supportive, even though one or two big shareholders, led by Standard Life, were unhappy with the way incentive schemes were framed. “We will be debating this next week, and we always listen to what our major shareholders have to say,” Mr Leschly added.He said SKB expected to get approval to start marketing its biggest-selling drug, the anti-depressant treatment Seroxat, as a treatment for social phobia.He also said he expected to receive US approval in May for its next blockbuster, the diabetes treatment Avandia. There are 100 million sufferers of type two diabetes worldwide, of which 16 million are in the US, and the market for treatments is put at several billion pounds.But SKB has stopped work on the development of its herpes drug, Famvir, as a treatment of hepatitis B as clinical trials had not shown the hoped- for benefits. For the same reason, idoxifene is not now being developed as a treatment for osteoporosis, but its trials in advanced breast cancer are continuing.. PRUDENTIAL’S premium income hit pounds 2.5bn in the first quarter, a rise of 32 per cent over the period last year, chief executive Sir Peter Davis said yesterday.
