That ‘capable, most extraordinary politician’ Caroline Lucas has announced she is stepping down as leader of the Green Party. It says here this is ‘part of a strategy centred on challenging the Liberal Democrats at the next election.’
I wonder if the Greens will succeed in this objective or, indeed, if they are aware of the strategic opportunity that is staring them in the face?
In the recent London Mayor elections Jenny Jones, the Green candidate, did beat the Lib Dems. But will her party overcome their prevailing image as a bunch of environmental dreamers as out of touch with the needs of today’s world as a Woodstock hippy stick-in-the-mud awaiting the resurrection of Jimi Hendrix? Read More »
So, in my last post, we were talking about my old teacher’s conviction that everyone is special at something. It brought to mind a story a friend of mine told me about his brother.
I met Tom Wilson through cricket. He is friendly, sociable and gregarious. Good player too. The story he told me was about his brother, Robert, about whom his family were extremely concerned.
Robert didn’t like cricket (which is certainly a concern). In fact, he didn’t like any sport at all. He didn’t like reading. He didn’t like music. He didn’t like art. He didn’t like pubs. Robert didn’t like anything. He just sat in his room all day looking at the ceiling. It was a struggle for the family to coax him downstairs to eat or watch TV. Read More »
Last night, I watched a TV programme called Safari Vet School with my teenage daughter. The show features a group of young vets helping to protect endangered animal species in a South African game reserve.
Whatever panics and dangers they faced, the local Head Vet, Dr Will Fowlds, exuded an extraordinary air of calm professionalism. At the end of the two weeks, he took them for a moment’s quiet reflection overlooking miles of unspoilt, distant African landscape.
‘This view has been here all my life. And it was here, one day, that I realised something very important and I hope you have learnt too: it is very difficult to interact with people around you or achieve your full potential until you understand who you are and what your weaknesses are; what you are good at and what you are special at.‘ Read More »
My Dad died ten years ago today. As the eldest of his four sons, it fell upon me to give the eulogy at his funeral – the hardest job I have ever done.
You are unlikely to have direct interest in my father as a person but there are two facets of his character, and his life, that you might care to consider.
How many of today’s leaders would have volunteered to rebate all income earned outside their salaried job back to their employers, to the extent that by the time of his retirement my father’s employers were ‘earning’ more from him than they were paying to him?
If you have anti-colonial feelings, please consider the possibility that a great many British ‘expats’ were good people who made a positive contribution to the people and communities they lived with and in. I am proud to say my Dad was one of them. I hope you agree: Read More »
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to meet George Galloway. In fact, given the opportunity, I would rather not. I have a personal rule to avoid meeting celebrities. In general, I have found them more willing to talk to other celebrities than ‘normal’ people so what is the point?
By his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother, we can be safe in describing George Galloway as a ‘celebrity’. As to whether appearing on this show was a wise decision, or whether he made a prat of himself when he did, these are matters for us to judge on a personal basis.
They are certainly not views we should publish. It is on the record that George Galloway has litigated for libel on more than one occasion and we do not want that. All I can do is point you to Google and YouTube to make up your mind on a cornucopia of subjects as far apart as Iraq, the Tiananmen Square massacre or pretending to be a pussy cat.
The Daily Mail asserts that ‘Galloway’s victory is the last thing Britain needs’. I disagree with this. I think George Galloway is just what we need. Read More »
First published 12 March as a guest on US ‘Switch and Shift - Future of Leadership‘ series:
As you may know, this year, to honour Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee, the rest of the world has generously invited us to host the Olympic Games in London. On behalf of my Queen and I, I would like to thank you all.
Diamond Jubilee? If you did not know, that is sixty years on the throne. Or, as she may see it, sixty years of hard work. By any definition, that is a long career.
For the whole of this time, The Queen has lived by her mother’s well-worn mantra: ‘Never complain. Never explain.’ Read More »
The following was first published on 27 February as a guest post on the US ‘Switch and Shift – Future of Leadership‘ series:
Thirty years ago, I first met Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Records. His reputation was reclusive, perhaps even aloof. People knew about him, but they didn’t know about him if you follow.
I had directions on how to find his houseboat moored on a canal behind some trees in North London. It was a cold, still day as the partly hidden old gate creaked open onto the toe-path. I found the houseboat. I looked through the window. A pretty young lady was feeding a baby, holding it gently to her breast. Young as I was, I had never seen this before. She looked up, smiled and pointed to a rickety ladder and upwards. Read More »
It does get lonely, this blogging business.
My career has been in the much more collaborative world of marketing and advertising, where I am used to researching opinion, sharing knowledge, knocking around ideas, listening to other people’s thoughts and making innovative judgements based on the team view.
The over-arching theme of all my posts is that the talent and creativity in marketing and advertising could be better used for the benefit of society as a whole, rather than restricted to gorillas selling chocolate and meerkats insurance.
Thus it is frustrating, by definition of the medium, to be forced to progress, all on one’s own, from ‘insight’ to ‘strategy’ to ‘execution’ – and then find one is judged at the executional rather than strategic level (often by people who are even more sad and lonely than you are). Read More »
In June last year, I posted an insight to solve the NHS problem which, given the cost of the NHS is forecast to increase from £130bn in 2015 to £260bn in 2030, is a big one.
At the time, David Cameron had stepped in and put the Bill on ‘pause’.
This must have been a bore to Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, who had dreamt up a Bill without, it seems, due research or consultation with the medical profession.
Today, we now find this Bill, more formally the Health and Social Care Bill, is back in ‘forward’ mode or, more accurately, ‘slow forward’ mode. Read More »
Two days. Two media channels. Two writers.
Alain de Botton is an eminent philosopher who has written ‘How Proust Can Change Your Life’, ‘The Consolations of Philosophy’ and ‘The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work’. Last week, he tweeted: ‘What used to happen to outrage before the net gave it a home?’
Charles Vallance is the V, some say the brains, of VCCP – anointed last week as ‘the most ‘in-demand’ shop’ (viz advertising agency) in London. Last week, he published a column in Campaign magazine headed: ‘The web is stifling radicalism at a time when it is needed.’
Two clever geezers. What are they on about? Read More »
