Category Archives: Blog posts
James Hunt: enjoy life while you can
Twice in the last week, I have watched Rush the new film about Niki Lauda and James Hunt. James was the first ‘celebrity’ I ever met. As a schoolboy in the 1970s, not only did I meet him – but … Continue reading
Work. Partner. Home. Three decisions in life you have to get right.
In life there comes a time when, like me, you’ve had more than you’ve got left. When this happens, you can look back at decisions you – and your contemporaries – have got right (and, I’m afraid, wrong). In my … Continue reading
Ability. Application. Attitude. Three ‘A’s for a successful career
Good luck to students who receive their A Level results today. If you have achieved your aims, good on you. If not, please do not despair. The longer you live, the less important they will be. Take it from … Continue reading
Marketing = consumers = customers = cash
And so, as we enjoy our short, hot summer, a new generation of university graduates return their rented gowns and mortar boards and head off into the big, wide world. The lucky ones know what they want to do and … Continue reading
Security: erosion of the rule of law 2
Recently, I was invited to meet a television production company at well-known studios just outside London. Having supplied its colour, make and registration number in advance, I was directed to park my car just outside the studios. After the meeting, … Continue reading
CRM: erosion of the rule of law 1
More and more companies are spending more and more time and money on Customer Relationship Management (CRM). This is based on the theory that happy customers will buy more products more often (repeat purchasers) and, because they are happy customers, … Continue reading
Strategic thinking: be decisive but keep an open mind
In life, there are only three decisions you need to get right – and one of them is where you live. In a TV programme called Escape to the Country, couples are helped to move house from an urban to … Continue reading
Strategic thinking: some people don’t get it, do they?
Watching the BBC’s The Apprentice, I am reminded of a show in last year’s series when one of the contestants endlessly repeated ‘What’s the strategy? What’s the strategy?’ to a team leader who had no answer. Quite clearly, he didn’t … Continue reading
Gagging clauses: what every business must learn from the BBC
Last week Stuart Hall, a BBC broadcaster, ‘admitted 14 charges of indecently assaulting girls, one aged nine’. It emerged in what the BBC call a ‘Respect At Work‘ review, that ‘some behaviour appeared to go unchallenged by senior managers, with … Continue reading
Understanding the importance of trust
When I joined the advertising business, there was a new buzzword called ‘marketing’. Few knew what it meant. At Ogilvy & Mather, where my career was born, we had a guy – yes, one person in the whole agency – … Continue reading