I was asked recently to be on a panel for a great event organised by the 6th formers at William Hulme School, in Manchester. I had not been there since the old days when I used to kick goals through the posts on their front field for Ruthin School. As someone who failed dismally as an academic it was nice to be asked to contribute so I jumped at the chance. The line up consisted of 3 politicians, myself and another business person. One of the big topics concentrated around university fees and whether or not the £9,000 is fair. There seems to have been a massive cultural change over the last 10 or 15 years. Blair popularised the idea that everyone should go to… Read the Rest »
It seems like a lifetime ago when I arrived in Manchester. What a city, what an era. Bloxham was selling posters in Afflecks Palace, Ferguson had just arrived at United, Tony Wilson was giving the Factory a whole new meaning. Tim Bacon was a barman in JWJohnsons, Oglesby was at Cheadle Hulme where only weeks earlier I’d been playing against him on the great British rugby fields. Bruno was holding centre stage at the French Restaurant, at the then Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, Midland Hotel. I was the cheeky piano player busking my way through life. I had never been so poor, but I had certainty that something good was just over the horizon. I learnt pretty early on that it was never going to… Read the Rest »
There is a famous cliche, “What goes around comes around.” We’ve all heard it and no doubt said it. Even to a man considered by Forbes as 13th most powerful man in the world as recently as 2010. It looks as though Murdoch’s luck is running out. And the “unlucky for some” placing will be difficult to hold on to, with people queuing up to enact revenge. One of the problems Murdoch faces, is his empire in the UK holds people accountable irrespective of whether you are rich, powerful or popular. He was one of the untouchables. With his TV channels and Newspaper coverage he is a powerhouse, a man who set standards and invariably changed the world. But then along came the Internet. I… Read the Rest »
Last week was undoubtedly a great week for Manchester. With both Manchester’s Premiership football clubs reminding the rest of the world that top class football is alive and well in the Northwest. Yet in spite of history being made last weekend and the 1st and 3rd places confirmed today, Manchester United and Manchester City were completely outplayed and overshadowed on the Internet with news circulating that a premiership football player put out a super injunction to prevent his name being published in an English Newspaper. The irony is, even though no one is allowed to publish information about the football player, the whole world seems pretty confident of who it is thanks to the Internet. Tonight a Scottish newspaper effectively ended the anonymous court order… Read the Rest »
I was quoted in the press this week commenting on the budget and the recent changes the chancellor has made. Whatever my politics and whatever my beliefs, what is plain to see from where I am sitting, there is a brighter horizon approaching. I am ever the optimist and I have been wrong more times than I have been right on most subjects, however it does feel as if the mood in the board rooms of businesses is continuing to lift. It is difficult to ignore the politics in other parts of the world, there are so many countries and people fighting for a myriad of causes. It certainly is a reminder to us all how fortunate we are in the UK. Yet back here… Read the Rest »
When we set up UKFast in 1999, no one really knew what to expect. There was huge excitement at the birth of a new industry which was reflected on the stock exchange and the first internet millionaires were created without really producing any viable products. A massive downturn ensued and people thought, that was that. Back in 2001 after the bubble burst, no one could have predicted how technology would evolve at such a pace. In a decade everyone’s lives have changed. The internet is bigger than TV, Radio and Press put together and it’s just the beginning. Google came out of nowhere, (or rather a garage in San Francisco) to challenge Microsoft with alternative ways to search the net providing innovative ways to advertise… Read the Rest »
How many people can say that they never make mistakes? I occasionally joke with myself saying, “with all the errors I have made over the years, by now I should technically be the smartest person in Europe.” Of course I am not and my own ability disproves my theory. You dont have to make mistakes to learn, the smartest amongst us learn very quickly to avoid pitfalls, however there is no better way to solidify in your mind, when you get that inevitable thought, “well I never want to do that again.” Yet even though it is a tried and tested method of learning and an important part of our evolution process, I know as a business person we live in fear of making mistakes,… Read the Rest »
I have just returned from a business trip with my wife and business partner Gail. Its ironic that I have just been half way around the world to Fiji on a business summit, to realise that the answer is inside of me. I went to learn about business and the “next step.” Every year Gail and I go to the place where we spent our honey-moon. Rangalli Island in the Maldives. It is a 3 week break, the first 2 weeks as a family adventure with our 2 daughters, and the last week really having a focus on ourselves and the business. It is a time when we look at the skills we are going to need to bring into the business to continue to… Read the Rest »
Jim Collins recently sent me his latest book, How The Mighty Fall, which I have not managed to prise off my wife yet. If he’d written a British version of this book, it would have to feature BA. British Airways. How on earth has the greatest British brand fallen out of the skies to such depths of despair? I asked a couple of members of the BA staff, does BA stand for Bloody Awful, after the worst experience I have ever encountered of substandard behaviour by representatives of BA. I was checking in proudly to my first class seats at the BA counter in Manchester, when I met the second rudest woman I have ever had the misfortune to meet. We had telephoned the night… Read the Rest »
I recently blogged on the topic, do you diversify or remain specialised? I forgot a fundamental principal which we now adopt before venturing into the unknown. The 3 circles. You may have come across Jim Collins a lecturer at Stamford University, he is an authority on the study of successful businesses. He predicted and charted the growth of some of Americas biggest businesses and when challenged as a young lecturer by a student not much older than himself on the success of Apple (a then unknown) he decided to put his formula down on paper and test it amongst other great fortune 500 businesses. One of the things he found with his research is that all of the businesses which grew at a faster rate… Read the Rest »
