The Strategy Blog.
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Management is about to get much harder
There are many schools of management theory. My very first experience of being managed was when I first started in a buying department and was told by my boss that I needed to be in before she was, and couldn’t leave until she did (even if that was 10pm). I’ve…
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“When someone does a side project it takes away from our strength…”.
Metallica is one of the big four bands of Thrash Metal. They are a worldwide phenomenon. In the US alone they’ve sold over 50 million albums. Their eponymously titled 1991 album sold over 20 million worldwide. Their new album, a collaboration with Lou Reed, is out this autumn. I know…
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We need global brands to lead the way with good citizenship.
Facebook has signed up to the AA ‘childhood’ review panel. Last year’s report from Ofcom indicated that nearly one in five 8 – 12 year olds has a Facebook profile despite the minimum user age set on the website. A worldwide report from America’s Consumer Reports claims that there are…
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The 4th Estate versus the 5th Estate
People are starting to call Twitter the 5th Estate. The “Estates” are the forces of power in our nation. Traditionally, dating right back to medieval notions of status and hierarchy, the first 3 estates of the nation are clergy, noblemen and the commons. In the eighteenth century, as printing technology…
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Can you greenwash fur?
AA Gill, a journalist who likes to give the appearance of courting controversy whenever he possibly can, has been to Denmark and looked into the resurgent fur trade. His article in June 26th’s Sunday Times Magazine is not suitable for the sensitive animal lover. Gill isn’t fond of mink as…
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Don’t waste time
The other day I was in a scheduled 2 hour meeting when the organisers spent the first 10 minutes sorting out the room and the technology. Then the Highest Paid Person in the Organisation (the Hippo) gave a 15 minute introduction which could have taken 2 minutes. That’s 23 minutes…
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Invest in Change
I didn’t miss my annual trip to the swanky Grove hotel (just outside glamorous Watford) this year after all. Earlier this month I attended a really interesting meeting at the Founders Forum with Microsoft. The main reason everyone was there was to watch internet millionaires gather together to look at…
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Attitudes to corruption differ across the globe. Attitudes to sponsorship money do not.
Just how “beautiful” is the “beautiful game” of football these days? Is the game still beautiful when it pretty much tolerates diving and penalty baiting and requires huge amounts of cash to pacify morally questionable prima donnas? Most fans would probably still say “yes it is”, especially following Barcelona’s performance…
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Singles are the new albums; short stories are the new novels.
Book lovers are polarised on the Kindle, ipad and e-readers generally. Some authors I know have taken a violent dislike to the concept. Partly because I think they have a love of the physicality of books which is a reason they started writing in the first place. Partly because of…
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Google Zeitgeist – The Uninvited
May 15 marks the start of Google’s annual Zeitgeist event when the great and the good of the world gather at an exclusive hotel just outside Watford to hear brilliant speakers and to network. I’ve been to the previous two events, and indeed blogged about them here. Sadly I’m not…
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Are you going live this summer?
The line-up for the Capital Radio Summer Time Ball has just been announced, to considerable excitement amongst some people I know. Wireless is in the diary, and we’ve got tickets too for Feis this year. (Formerly known as Fleadh I have no idea how you pronounce either, but its in…
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Lessons from waitressing – sounding like you understand stuff (when you don’t) doesn’t get you a tip.
We had lunch in our local café last weekend. The waitress had a brilliant, excellent English accent. Her education had clearly been very thorough in that respect. However her vocabulary was extremely limited. A table nearby asked for the bill – she didn’t understand. Then they tried asking for the…
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