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…
Small is definitely more
Currently being carless I am enjoying spending the weekend in a mixture of vehicles being kindly lent to me by my understanding family. One such car has been a Fiat 500 which…
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…
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).…