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…
Too much choice
With the Atom a distance memory my recent efforts have been involved in working out what car to replace it with. Nice problems to have I can hear you cry. Well the…
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…
Atomless
Last week I waved bye to the Atom after taking the difficult decision to sell the car. Weirdly it was easy to make the decision to put the car on the market…
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…
Set a clear vision
One of the hardest challenges I find in running a business is coming up with a clear strategy. As a founder or MD people want to see a clear and bold vision…
Cars are taking a pounding
With the recent good weather, well the bank holiday weekend only, saw the Atom dust off its winter cover and managed 250 miles buzzing around four counties (Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire).…
Give women a chance
With Baroness Thatcher having her funeral this week I thought it was interesting to read all the related ‘women leader’ articles that appeared. I am not going to argue positive or negative…
Proof that not all old technology is dead
News that China is investing heavily in the use of thorium in a next generation of nuclear power stations should not come as much as a surprise. The technology will provide clean,…
More risk and more money is required
With the government today announcing some amendments to their Start-up Loans scheme it got me wondering how actually useful these types of schemes are. I can completely appreciate where the government are…
Bad car design in the name of safety has become an epidemic
Something that has bothered me for a number of years and that I haven’t shared, has been the placement of wing mirrors on cars. Ok stay with me, honestly I haven’t gone…
Tax avoidance or the problem with a global economy?
I have been quite interested over the past few weeks on the on-going press interest into multinationals that have been trading in the UK and dodging UK tax payments. Well that is…