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Resources:
 Organisations
need internal controls to ensure effectiveness, efficiency and
compliance with laws and regulations, business policy and values
and ethics.
Elstar
has developed a summary of the components of an internal controls
regime - see
Resources.
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Resources:
Supporting
the SME sector, Finance Gofer
provides user friendly step by step Guides, know-how, tutorials,
templates, Q&A, useful websites and factsheets which subscribers
can download and personalise to suit their needs. Content is
contributed by experienced experts, quality controlled by rigorous
peer review and the in-house team. There’s lots of free
content available to registered users and members can access premium
content via a monthly subscription.
As
an expert contributor, Steve Rothwell has provided guides on
business subjects as diverse as: strategy planning and
implementation; business continuity; meeting planning; business
process definition. Have
a look at Finance Gofer here. 
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Resources:
 Guidelines
for business processes mapping have been published to the web via Elstar's
blog: Peace of Mind and also as mind maps at BiggerPlate
and There's
a Map for That. The maps are designed to share experience
and tips with anyone interested in mapping business processes. They
include Word templates in 2007 and earlier versions that may be
downloaded from the Elstar website - see Resources.
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Business:
 Steve
Rothwell has been invited to become a MindJet Trusted Voice.
MindJet are the company behind the premier mind mapping software
MindManager. The MindJet Trusted Voice programme is dedicated
to promoting mind mapping for business and personal applications. More
to follow ........
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Resources:
The
IAF publishes "The Handbook for Working with Difficult
Groups. The book aims to answer key questions:
Read
more at Elstar's blog: Peace of Mind
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Business:
Steve
Rothwell is working with a local police force to review policies and
procedures for information and records management. The work is
varied and involves different skills including project planning,
documentation and process mapping.
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Business:
Steve
Rothwell has achieved recertification by the International
Association of Facilitators as a Certified™
Professional Facilitator.
 Facilitation
is a profession rapidly taking its unique place alongside those of
consulting and training. This
is a specialist skill that can help deliver improved results you
need through a mix of leadership, process, coordination and coaching
skills. The
International Association of Facilitators (IAF) was formed by a
group of professionals in January, 1994 to develop and promote these
skills. Since then the IAF has grown to over 1500 members in
more than 63 countries.
Certification
is based on rigorous peer review of knowledge, experience and
demonstration of skills. The IAF Certified™ Professional
Facilitator designation indicates attainment of these core
competencies and offers clients an assurance that those who are
certified are qualified to design and provide group facilitation
services. Introduced in 2008, re-certification aims to protect
this assurance by requiring facilitators to undergo assessment every
3 years.
To
find out more about IAF Certification click here.
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Business:
Steve
Rothwell is working with a local police force to implement the
Management of Police Information (MoPI) Guidance. Commissioned
by the Force Information Management Department, a gap analysis has
been done, comparing the current position with the requirements of
the guidance. From this a plan has been formulated and policy,
processes and implementation options are now being developed and
tested. To
learn more about the Management of Police Information and the IMPACT
Programme see the NPIA web site and try these links: MoPI
and IMPACT
Programme.
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Business:
bCisive
2.0 is here! Explore the new user interface, build presentations and
work toward better business performance.
The
leading tool for structured thinking just got a whole lot better.
bCisive
2.0 offers a redesigned, more comprehensive Building Panel, giving
an improved user experience and making it even easier to get
started. The new version also allows you to:
- Save
time developing slide shows with the new in-product Presentation
and export to PowerPoint features
- Present
complex arguments more rigorously using new co-premise
capability for grouping statements that rely on each other to
hold
- Find
and fix typing errors with the Spell Check
See
the
bCisive™ web site for more information.
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Business:
Elstar
Consulting use the Business Decision Mapping (BDM) technique when
facilitating group decision making. Developed
by Dr Tim van Gelder of Austhink, BDM provides a common language and
toolset with which a group can quickly and concisely review a
problem, consider the options and debate the pros and
cons. BDM aims to support your
decision making process, making it easier, more reliable and more
accountable.
Using
the bCisive™ decision mapping tool, we ensure that your decision
making is easy to follow and communicate to others.
See
the
bCisive™ web site for more information.
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Business:
Steve
Rothwell is now a member of the Business Continuity Institute. The
Business Continuity Institute (BCI) was established in 1994 to
enable individual members to obtain guidance and support from fellow
business continuity practitioners. The BCI currently has over 4000
members in 85+ countries.
Professional
membership of the BCI provides internationally recognised status as
this valued certification demonstrates the members’ competence to
carry out business continuity management (BCM) to a consistent high
standard.
Elstar
Consulting can help you complete a risk-based analysis of your
business and develop a business continuity plan.
Visit
the BCI web site to learn more.
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Business:
Marcus
Alexander of Appleby Associates asks, "Are the mixed messages
from business in 2008 down to attitude?". In a
time of uncertainty, Marcus suggests that the simplest and most
effective action plan is one of "choosing the right
attitude". He goes on to recommend four tips to help retain
focus:
* Identify and thoroughly understand your real competition
* Understand your company's economy
* Train yourself and your team
* Seek advice about business matters and regulation See
a mind map of his article
or click here for the
article in full. If you are a MindManager user click here
to download the map.
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Business:
Elstar
Professional Facilitation is now a member of the Quality
Directory. Centred in the Berkshire and Oxfordshire areas,
the directory has a firm policy to independently vet businesses to
ensure they offer a quality service, value for money and peace of
mind for you. See
a typical entry - Reading, Berkshire - here.
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Conference:
Steve
Rothwell, a certified
professional facilitator with the International Association of
Facilitators (IAF), attended the IAF European Festival of
Facilitation in Edinburgh. Over
200 members attended the 3 day festival which included renowned
guest speakers Toke Paludan Moeller
(co-founder and CEO of InterChange, a Training and Consulting
company; former Chairman of the Board of the Danish Entrepreneurs
Association; a professional conference organiser (PCO))
and Sandra Janoff (co-founder of
Future Search).
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Press
Report:
Steve
Rothwell, principal facilitator and director, spoke to the Business
Editor of the Reading Chronicle........
More
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Note:
you will need Adobe Acrobat reader to view the file.
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