The Pursuit of Fairness
Posted on | May 19, 2010 | 1 Comment
Originally published on Fresh Business Thinking earlier today.
In the Election campaign that ended earlier this month, two of the three main Political Parties in the UK included the concept of fairness in their slogans. The Liberal Democrat manifesto talked of “change that works for you – building a fairer Britain”, and the Labour Party proposed a ‘future fair for all’. As was to be expected in manifesto slogans, both are very aspirational, even idealistic. Despite the loss of seats that both parties sustained, it is clear that people do respond positively to the idea of fairness but are maybe not clear on what it means in practice.
Renewing business plans
Posted on | May 12, 2010 | No Comments
Whatever the size of your business, you have a finite capacity which is determined by the resources you have. There will be a limiting factor to how effectively that resource can be used. A manufacturer may be limited by machine capacity, a retailer by shelf space and a services company by human resource – by its people. In my case, my limiting factor, as a one person operation providing writing services, is my time.
One of the aims of an effectively run business is to maximise the use and profitability of the resources at its disposal, hence the need to review and revise plans from time to time and to make sure that usage really is effective.
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Politics and the English Language Revisited
Posted on | April 22, 2010 | 1 Comment
Tonight, in Bristol, the leaders of the three main parties will debate on live television. We now know that the performance of each leader in the debate can change perceptions and may change the course of the election.
I tweeted an audioboo by one of the BBC’s political correspondents, Chris Mason (@ChrisMasonBBC), on the interesting use of language around the potential for no single party to have an outright majority of the House of Commons. Is this a ‘hung parliament’ or a ‘balanced parliament’?
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Tags: Communication > George Orwell > Language > Leader Debate > Politics > Writing
The Leader’s Journey – Bringing it all back home
Posted on | January 21, 2010 | No Comments
The process of change is one that fascinates me. From the moment we decide that something needs to change until the final satisfying feeling of change completed – or not – , we are, in effect, on a journey. That journey has no clear destination, can be quite difficult, maybe dangerous, and, at the end of it, there is no guarantee that where we reach is any better than where we began (if, indeed, it is a different place at all).
How can mythology help us to understand this process and, in particular, that thorny question of why, after trials and tribulation and much effort on our part, the change we thought we wanted to make simply doesn’t happen. One tool is the Hero’s Journey (also called Monomyth), developed from the book Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. Campbell analysed the mythology of many cultures and discovered that their stories followed a similar structure – one that seemed to satisfy our innate need for a journey and a resolution. It is possible that it can be applied to change making in business, so let’s try.
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‘Childish’ Behaviour
Posted on | November 17, 2009 | 3 Comments
I have a confession to make. A few days ago, I behaved in a way that I’m not proud to admit but i’m going to use it to make an important point about communication. I could have de-personalised the experience and talked about a mythical friend of mine but decided it is more important to draw personal conclusions than to spare my blushes. So here goes.
On a recent Sunday night I booked a course online. Not just any course but one with excellent presenters. To be honest, I expected it to be fully booked and I would have been fine with that. It wasn’t, so I went ahead and booked and began anticipating being away for a week amongst a small group with a chance to explore an area that has always been a passion of mine -crime fiction.
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Getting Social Media embedded in Business
Posted on | November 17, 2009 | No Comments
Every significant new technology to reach the workplace has the same reactions. Some love it and propose it as the answer to everything (but you have to truly believe) and others see it as the thin end of the wedge and nothing but moral and financial ruin can come from it.
Right now the technology in the spotlight is Social Media (and Twitter in particular).
The BBC reported (on October 26th) a survey commissioned by an IT vendor that claimed “Staff who use Twitter and other social networking sites while at work are costing UK businesses £1.38bn every year.”
“The popularity of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook has grown considerably over the last couple of years, however with it has come the temptation to visit such sites during office hours,” said Philip Wicks from Morse. “When it comes to an office environment the use of these sites is clearly becoming a productivity black hole.” It added that companies should think about protecting the reputation of their brand.
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What’s Your Story Presentation
Posted on | October 22, 2009 | No Comments
As delivered to Business League Falmouth today.
Content, Conversation – and a question of ROI
Posted on | October 22, 2009 | 3 Comments
This has been a busy week and an interesting journey into the world of Social Media. I was glad to hear a consensus on the importance of having good content and on developing conversations and also in the development of communication that engages people around their own interests rather than forcing them to move to the agenda of the communicator.
On Friday, I went to Like Minds (#likeminds), a conference (or maybe an unconference) about ROI and Social Media. Social Media has a buzz about it and the event was at capacity (around 200). The speakers had come from the US, from London and from much nearer to the venue in the centre of Exeter. There were equally well-travelled people in the audience.
In the aftermath, there is much debate and not a little confusion about ROI. I thought Olivier Blanchard (@thebrandbuilder) explained ROI very well. It is about cost reduction or profit increase set against the costs of achieving that result. To me, ROI is a much more global concept and is best viewed across departmental or Company performance rather than against one activity.
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Looking Deeper to Generate Ideas
Posted on | October 21, 2009 | 1 Comment
In a recent article, I wrote about the need for regular content in order to tell your story to the audiences that you need to inform and influence. We all know that writing regularly is very important but people often ask me – ‘how can you generate good content when you can’t think what to say?’
You may know that barren feeling when clarity is elusive and inspiration disappears. Even professional writers know it. Whether you call it ‘writers block’ or something else, there is no point waiting for it to be replaced by inspiration. It needs to be stimulated by one of a number of methods.
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Cultivate your Network – Grow better business
Posted on | October 5, 2009 | No Comments
This article was written for Fresh Business Thinking back in March 2009. Recent events brought it back to mind and I thought it would be worth adding here.
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During an interview for another article this week, it became clear to me that gardening is a good metaphor for networking and that they are governed by some of the same natural laws. In my view, it is worthwhile paying some attention to them. I’d be interested in your own additions to this list
Starting Out
Getting the measure of a new networking group is like taking over a garden. You need to spend some time working out what is already in place, which parts are worth spending time on and which can be safely left to their own devices. Too often, people join networks and feel that they have to be listened to without realising that being listened to is what others there also need. If you aren’t listening to others, more than you are talking to begin with, you are missing vital information about the best ways to work within the group.
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