• Net Zero and The Law of Horse Manure

    Net Zero and The Law of Horse Manure

    Catastrophic predictions that spell dark days for humanity are nothing new. The Times predicted in 1894 that in 50 years time, every street in London would be buried under nine feet of horse manure. It was the crisis of all crises. There was, to be fair, some evidence for this. As urban populations rapidly increased… Read more

  • The Gravitational Pull Of Business As Usual

    The Gravitational Pull Of Business As Usual

    The interior secrets of black holes are guarded by a one-way light-trapping boundary called the event horizon. This horizon is the point, according to NASA, that the gravitational influence of the black hole becomes so intense that not even light is fast enough to escape it. A very different horizon exists in many organisations, except… Read more

  • Does Social Housing Need To Find A Richard Branson?

    It’s May 2008 , and Helena Moore and I have just left the stage at the European Customer Management World Conference. We had just presented to an audience that included John Lewis , Microsoft and some young startup outfit called Facebook. People who we would now recognise as experts in marketing their product and selling their… Read more

  • Top Tips for Meetings: No.1 – Don’t Have Them….

    About 18 months ago I visited a multinational company specialising in networking equipment. There I sat , marvelling at some of the most state of the art communications systems on the planet: HD Video seamlessly linking multiple sites , one in a different country. Phones with tablets attached to them enabling employees to collaborate and problem solve… Read more

  • HEY , Where are you? – Why your company needs to Google itself

    I recently explained to a group of managers why they should google themselves. After the initial “what, me? I’m not famous!” responses,  they see their search results , look intrigued, and then get it – the dangers of a badly curated digital footprint. But although many of us have gotten into the habit of doing… Read more

  • 5 (More) Social Media Mistakes To Avoid

    Earlier this week I shared the post ‘Five Social Media Mistakes To Avoid’ by Heather-Anne Maclean. The following mistakes were chosen as her Top 5: 1.  Failing to use a photo or avatar for your profile 2.  Not completing your bio 3.  Having too many networks 4.  Not writing professionally 5.  Failing to be human.… Read more

  • 5 Surprising Customer Service Experiences ( and what they tell us )

    If you put “Customer Relationship” into Google you will most likely get a diagram like this. Which doesn’t look like any relationship I’ve ever had. Another January, more High Street woe , more stories of how customer service is declining. My belief ? Service is actually improving in the UK. But far too slowly compared… Read more

  • Why Your Social Media Should Follow The Customer – Not Your Opening Hours

    Can you imagine launching a business in 2013 whose opening hours are Monday to Friday between the hours of 9.00am to 5.00pm? I’d love to see THAT pitch on Dragons Den. It would be insane. I can’t think of any successful business model still in existence that operates in this way. In the years following the… Read more