May 2009
Some of the biggest names in personal development have contributed top tips for successful living to www.mygoalsbuddy.com, the blog recently launched by management consultant and coach Mervin Straughan.

 

To date, twenty-three experts, chiefly from the United Kingdom and the United States, have agreed contributions with more expected to do so in the coming weeks.

 

The site features tips on setting goals and staying on track and allows readers to declare their goals publicly. It also invites goal setters to state the image, song, piece of music or words that will inspire them to success.

 

Mervin said: "We're talking about the big-name speakers and authors who grace the shelves of the personal growth section of the book retailers. Readers will enjoy putting into action their invaluable advice which appears each week on a gamut of personal growth matters."

 

But it's the speed at which the leading names have responded that has pleased Mervin so much.

 

He added: "The courtesy they have shown me probably explains why these experts are so successful in their field. The speed at which they have responded and the words of encouragement for the blog have given have been fantastic."

 

As for the images and sounds that goal setters have listed, Mervin said: "These have been truly inspiring. The pick of the crop so far include winter sunlight breaking through trees, an ocean drive to the soundtrack of Bruce Springsteen's Thunder Road and a mother seeing her baby daughter wake each morning."

 

January 2009
Mervin Straughan, of StraughanConsulting Ltd, has launched a new website that helps goal setters achieve their intentions - by telling everyone.

 

www.mygoalsbuddy.com invites users to declare publicly their short, medium and long-term goals or resolutions or simply to take inspiration from what others have written.

 

Users are encouraged to include words of support to previous goal setters and to state the image, song, piece of music or text that will motivate them.

 

Inspirational images and songs to date include an ocean drive to the sound of Bruce Springsteen's Thunder Road, sunlight breaking through trees and a mother seeing her baby daughter wake up each morning.

 

Mervin, a management consultant and qualified life coach, said: "Some of the goals and images have been truly inspiring.

 

"It's a free-to-use website and gets goal setters to nail their colours to the mast. Users say that, once they have declared their goals on the site, they feel committed to action."

 

Personal Social Responsibility, the latest book by CSR Consultant, author and professional speaker Arvind Devalia is a powerful guide for responsible business. Mervin Straughan, who provides the foreword, caught up with Arvind on its release.

 

Thumbing through Personal Social Responsibility, the reader is struck by the string of endorsements that read like the thoughts of a Who's Who of ethical commerce and industry.

 

But while such quotes convey the gravitas that this book deserves, Devalia's latest offering is an astonishingly simple read for such a weighty topic, thanks to a systematic approach. Having said that, a word of caution - it's no walk in the park and for good reason.

 

Described as the hard-nosed business person's guide to corporate social responsibility, it packs a punch. It has to.

 

Working in a similar vein to Devalia's Get the Life you Want published three years earlier (check out the number of five-star ratings by reviewers on Amazon), Personal Social Responsibility is a call to action.

 

Corporate social responsibility has been gaining momentum in recent years with organisations recognising the bottom-line benefits of a responsible approach and working with various stakeholders to create a sustainable business - employees, customers, suppliers, the community, the environment, investors and so on. However, personal social responsibility is used less frequently in business circles.

 

After providing an overview of the fundamentals of good business practice, Devalia cuts to the chase.

 

This is an appropriate point to issue another word of warning: if you prefer to point your finger at government departments or any faceless groups about the state of society, this book is not for you. This is about personal impact, asking us as individuals who we are, what on earth we're doing on this planet and whether or not it will be a better place when we leave it.

 

The thrust of his argument is that everything we do matters - and makes either a positive or a negative impact on everything around us.

 

Devalia draws on a familiar idea to make the point: "A butterfly flapping its wings in Regents Park causes turbulence and havoc in New Orleans - now you know what really caused Katrina."

 

"The time has come when we cannot just rely on others - each one of us has to do our bit. "

 

But while the phrase Personal Social Responsibility may not be in common parlance, yet, Devalia is sure it soon will be.

 

"A year ago, with a friend, I came up with the phrase "Personal Social Responsibility". But searching online, it seems that though the phrase might be in use in some places, it has not really taken off yet.

 

"But I feel that PSR is an idea whose time has come.

 

"PSR is all about doing to others what you would like others do to you. It is about recognizing how your behaviour affects others, and holding yourself accountable for your actions. For example, contrast someone being well mannered with someone being rude."

 

Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder and chairman of Cobra Beer summarises neatly describing the book as a powerful manual for those concerned not just about doing things right, but doing the right thing and that it's not just good enough to be the best in the world; you have to be the best for the world.".

 

According to Devalia, a PSR aware person will:-

 

 

The book's final endorsement picks up on the urgency for us all to act now and comes from swimmer and environmentalist Lewis Gordon Pugh who says: "More than ever before, we need world-changing answers and we need them fast to solve the challenge of climate change. This book and its powerful questions will help you and your company find the right answers before it is too late."

 

 

"Make your life and your actions count from today. Make things happen.

 

"Come from a place of being socially responsible - you owe it to our future generations."

 

 

 

StraughanConsulting has helped eighteen companies join forces in a groundbreaking consortium designed to deliver a full corporate social responsibility (CSR) service to businesses.

 

The CSR Consortium will provide strategic and tactical expertise to enable organisations to make the link between responsible business practice and improved financial performance.

 

The pioneering "one-stop shop" will cover key business areas such as stakeholder strategy, people strategy - including leadership, diversity, development and socially responsible recruitment - performance management, health and safety, environmental management, organisational change and supply chain management. It will also focus on community engagement and regeneration and customer service.

 

Media agencies with a keen involvement in the CSR agenda have been also brought on board to ensure that clients' messages are communicated responsibly.

 

The companies are: Abraxas Business Solutions Ltd, Abeceder Ltd, Acquire Resources, Breathing Space HR, Brian Daniels Consulting, FWA Consulting, Ideas into Action, Ixabiso, Matchpoint Recruitment, MH Safety, PeopleProfitPlanet, Primeast, Quest Public Relations, SaltaSustainable, Silverleaf Ltd,, StraughanConsulting, The Ark Design and Print Ltd and Walton Environmental.

 

The consortium is the brainchild of Mervin Straughan who came up with the idea at the beginning of 2007 and began identifying consultancies that shared common values and ones that could collectively reflect the full breadth of the and depth of the CSR agenda.

 

He said: "The CSR Consortium draws on a vast array of private, public and voluntary sector experience.

 

"This unique marketing initiative will help us to demystify CSR and assist companies in integrating the relevant strands into their operations and culture. Through this process, companies can realise and reap the powerful benefits such as improved recruitment, retention - and profitability.

"There isn't a week goes by without some business research emerging about the impact of a responsible approach, often warning that businesses that fail to recognise and act on the opportunities will be caught out."

 

Further information about this press release is available from:

Sharon Cain, MD, Quest Public Relations 01423 564192

Mervin Straughan, StraughanConsulting 01423 750304

 

 

 

Management consultant Mervin Straughan has become one of the first coaches to qualify under the new national occupational standards for coaching.

 

His new coaching certificates were awarded by Newcastle College, a Department for Education and Skills Beacon College that is recognised as a model of excellence across the sector.

 

Mervin launched StraughanConsulting to provide strategic corporate social responsibility and corporate communications advice as well as a corporate coaching service to help employers get the most from their people.

 

He set up StraughanConsulting after senior communications management roles with organisations that included steel giant Corus and Yorkshire Electricity

 

Mervin said: "I've been coaching managers and non managers since 2002 and having certificates that meet the new national standards is a firm endorsement of my approach."

 

 

The year 2007 has seen the launch of StraughanConsulting, a consultancy specialising in strategic services for corporate social responsibility and corporate communications. A third service, corporate coaching, has also been lined up to help professionals reach their potential.

 

Director Mervin Straughan, who has held senior management roles with Corus,Yorkshire Electricity and Business in the Community, said: "Businesses are asking about the strategic importance of corporate social responsibility or responsible business practice as itis sometimes known.

 

"Thereis a lot going on at tactical level but organisations need to develop a strategy that underpins business performance. Thatis because responsible business practice touches every aspect of business. Bosses know thereis a lot of individuals and groups taking a keen interest in how responsibly their organisation is run."

 

"And weire hearing from communication professionals who are too close to the action and who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to assess the organisationis current profile and where it is going. We will be assisting them with our communications strategy service. We also have several partner agencies and consultants who can advise on implementation"

 

According to Straughan, the growing service economy means that a brand's reputation will depend even more on its people, people who need to be highly motivated and working to their potential.

 

He added: "All too often, managers and staff with enormous potential hit a plateau and begin drifting. With a systematic goal-setting approach, we help them to help themselves in having more positive professional and personal lives. The two are inextricably linked."

 

For further information, please contact StraughanConsulting at info@straughanconsulting.co.uk or by telephoning 01423 750 304.