I recently completed the Three Peaks challenge with fifteen of my fellow colleagues from work. We had to climb Ben Nevis, Scafell and Snowdon within 24 hours including the travel between the…
The phone line is dead. Should someone tell BT?
One interesting ‘in the small print’ pieces about BT’s fibre to the premises (FTTP) technology is that if you don’t also have a BT copper phone line then the rental for the…
Surely we should have reinvented the train by now?
An interesting article in the Times today on HS2 and the proposed suggestion to cut its top speed by 40 mph from 225 mph to 185 mph reducing the energy it consumes.…
Working lunch or afternoon beer?
For me that five minutes in the day when I get to leave my desk and grab a sandwich is my opportunity to reflect on my day so far and what tasks…
The Victorians would be appalled by BT’s short-sighted behaviour
I recently completed on a new flat in London. Nothing too fancy, just somewhere I can lay my head during the week, and maybe where I can enjoy some of this property…
Business guru or celeb
They say the media corrupts and feeding the ego of a ‘successful’ entrepreneur is surely one of the worst examples. Ultimately a business founder has a vested interest in making their company…
A wish and a prayer
At a recent awards dinner Dr Mike Lynch spoke about the difficulties in investing in new businesses and supporting innovative and growing companies. Since his departure from Autonomy he has created a…
Is being an entrepreneur a good thing?
I have always considered what I do, in terms of starting and running a business, as the role of a businessman and not one of an entrepreneur. My view has always been…
Our demands will only get greater
With Netflix announcing tests of streaming ultra-high definition video (aka 4K) next year, you have to wonder who is going to see the benefit. It is ironic that with millions of pounds…
Unions out of touch with reality
Having grown up in the eighties the impact of unions and their significance has only reduced as I have grown older and today that has been reinforced as we see situations like…
Payment terms start to slide
I wrote back in October 2008 about larger companies bullying small businesses with ridiculous payment terms and contracts. Well it seems the practice is alive and well with the likes of Marks…
Waitrose work hard to lose customers
I have written before about the power of a brand and the loyalty it can create, but this too can go against the business. Customer care, quality of product and reliability are…
Should a leader be a visionary?
With news that Steve Ballmer is going to step down as CEO of Microsoft and shares in the business jumping at the prospect, it got me thinking as to who makes a…
What is an award worth?
As the holiday period draws to a close there seems to be a plethora of award entry forms hitting my desk. It seems to be the time of year when award ceremonies…
BT works hard to maintain their bullyboy reputation
For the past few weeks the news has been full of reports with regards to rural broadband and the Broadband Delivery group (BDUK) which was setup by government to help feed funds…