Blog Archive
2009
In these recessionary times, companies around the world are cutting back on bonuses and cash rewards because they can’t afford them, with the exception it seems of certain banks.
Found this great, two-part article on the BBC News site. Commissioned by BBC2’s ‘Working Lunch’ programme, executives and entrepreneurs are asked about the literature that has inspired them in business.
Within organisations and the community people look to their leaders for guidance. Their messages are often powerful, inspirational and influential. So what happens when your leader communicates a controversial issue? Recently a Parish Priest openly supported and encouraged desperate people in need to steal.
Watching Chris Hollins win Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday evening provoked a great conversation amongst my friends gathered to watch the final. How we all love to see an underdog win, how an engaging personality could triumph over real talent, how small and vibrant won ahead of tall and elegant and then one person said ‘I think it was the journey he took….’.
I went to a Christmas carol service on Saturday in Lichfield cathedral. Not through any great sense of religious conviction, but just because it’s a nice thing to do at this time of year. And the carols – sung by bright young things with hopeful faces – were great.
Barnardo’s have always created great adverts. Adverts which communicate the lives of those they strive to help. And their recent TV spot titled ‘Turn Around’ is nothing less than brilliant.
CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) has been around for many years. In fact, since the 50’s when the phrase was first used by academics and business leaders to identify and articulate the impact of global businesses on society. (I imagine the phrase was near strangled by the booms and busts of the 80’s and 90’s when the environment was not at the forefront of a businesses strategy).
I’ve just received a really nice set of postcards from Two Sides Paper featuring six illustrations by Holly Sims.
Illustration has always been close to my heart, having been an avid Beano and Dandy collector as a small boy. Its ability to share and communicate stories is, I suppose, what draws me in (if you can excuse the pun).
Congratulations to Bill Bryson, whose book A Short History of Nearly Everything has been declared the top selling non-fiction book of the decade.
Apparently London is becoming a breeding ground for innovative new words and phrases. In fact, it’s becoming a new world leader in the production of slang. That’s according to linguists, says the BBC.
I loved this clip from the TED series which features Sir Ken Robinson giving a highly entertaining yet profoundly moving talk on creativity, and the effect on creativity that our education system has.
A wonderful piece of storytelling
It was a complete coincidence, but I started to read Animal’s People just a few days before I heard on the news that this week is the 25th anniversary of the Union Carbide chemical factory disaster in Bhopal, India.
I was amused to read an article in The Times today relating to a slating Facebook posting by the daughter of ousted General Motors Chief Executive Fritz Henderson, giving the company’s management a piece of her mind about the enforced exit of her father from the organisation.
Welcome to our new website! Please have a browse, watch the film with the volume turned right up, post a comment to let us know what you think of it or just quietly ponder!
I’ve been getting hot around the collar about the issue of board alignment this week, sparked in part by a masterclass with Intuitive Brands where the subject came up in the discussion.
Thanks to Helen Love at Intuitive Brands for this little gem. As I pursue my quest to de-jargonise business communications, please feel free to have a go…
When 26 was set up six years ago, the aim was to promote the value of writing in business, in life, in all its diversity. That’s what made Oona King such a great choice of speaker.
I enjoyed a recent presentation by Steve Martin, CEO of the steel manufacturing Clugstone Group. He is one of the few, gutsy CEO’s prepared to be filmed ‘going undercover’ by Channel 4, in order to mix and work with employees on the front line of his steel construction company.
I was touched by this poem ‘Lost Generation’ by Jonathan Reed. It speaks of the negative, cynical viewpoint of a Gen Y individual, yet on reaching the end – and you have to follow the instructions – a message of positivity and a statement of intent shines through.
Thanks to John Simmons, a leading writer from the writers’ group 26, who has generously contributed to our blog, referring to an interesting example of successful storytelling this month relating to the announcement that Rio de Janeiro has won the right to stage the 2016 Olympic Games – a ‘gold medal’ of prizes for the best story…
Some very clear themes and topics of concern emerged from this year’s Employee Engagement and Employer Brand conference organised by Osney Media. It was particularly interesting to hear David Macleod and Nita Clarke, authors of the government-commissioned Macleod Report, speak on their key findings regarding employee engagement from the extensive research conducted across numerous organisations.
Apologies. It’s been a dry old month on the blog front, I know, but the new term is starting and we’re raring to go. And what better subject to start with than the old chestnut of trust in organisations. I’ve written about this before, but it deserves another mention as a timely report has emerged from the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) that shows that a third of our workers don’t trust their bosses, and labelling CEO’s as those who are trusted least. Not surprisingly (and it’s not new news), line managers came off better in the trust stakes.
Good Lord, is this really true? Has employee engagement come to this? It’s enough to make anyone choke on their cornflakes as they open up their long-awaited copy of this month’s HR Magazine. There’s one thing to have a ‘dress down’ Friday, but this really takes the biscuit…
The story of Dave Carroll’s broken guitar caught my eye this week. It shows just how far consumer power has come. United Airlines managed to break the little-known singer’s prized guitar while he changed planes in Chicago – the mishandling could clearly be seen from the plane window. After a year of trying to get compensation, Mr Carroll decided to use the best assets he had – his (repaired) guitar, his singing voice, and YouTube.
The government-commissioned MacLeod Review of Employee Engagement provides interesting reading and pulls together a myriad of statistics and case studies which all point to the consensus that engaged employees are more productive, efficient and are a major contributor to high performing businesses.
I was delighted to shoot in the only all-girls team yesterday at Peter Jones’ Fourth Annual Clay Pigeon Shoot in aid of the Peter Jones Foundation at the Royal Berkshire Shooting School as a guest of leading executive search firm Taylor Bennett. Heather McGregor, MD of Taylor Bennett and who also masquerades as the FT columnist Mrs Moneypenny, is a great shot and much fun to be with, as were the rest of the team. We came 4th out of 23 teams – no mean feat with some pretty daunting stands and high, fast birds and some equally competitive gents to contend with! But I digress…
In the political maelstrom that Britain is currently experiencing, much of the mud-slinging that’s been levelled at the Labour party this week has focused on the PM’s personality and style of leadership. It raises questions for many about leadership communication – how different personal styles influence people, and the importance of authenticity in order to maintain credibility.
Unless you’ve been living on planet Zog, you can’t have failed to notice the huge publicity Susan Boyle, contestant on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent, has attracted. Famed for her bushy eyebrows and the voice of an angel, the singer is tipped to win the competition. But what if she had been an investment banker, or a politician? Would Britain be behind her in quite the same way? What has touched the hearts of the nation? Is it her looks? Is it her voice? Or is it her personal story which has propelled her into stardom?
I’ve just finished reading a great book called ‘Ghost’ by Robert Harris. It’s an engrossing thriller about a Ghost Writer employed to write the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister responsible for waging a highly controversial war in the Middle East. (The book is fiction but you would be entirely forgiven for assuming the PM is based on Tony Blair).