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Of all the words written and spoken about the BBC in recent days, two phrases struck a chord. The first was the PM saying that he didn’t think that the corporation was facing an existential crisis; and the second was the call for someone to get a grip.  Both points were, I felt, wrong.  Firstly, I do believe that the BBC is facin...

Size, as they say, isn’t everything.  Almost 50 years after the publication of Schumacher’s seminal work Small is Beautiful the debate about appropriate size is beginning to take root. Actually, as with many debates about size, that statement is itself a bit of an exaggeration. In reality, the current debate is more abo...

There’s been a spate recently of major high street chains going to the wall.  Of all the many reasons behind their demise, one stands out: their inability to compete with internet retailers.  Retail, of course, isn’t the only business that is struggling to face the challenges of disruptive technology; whilst the death of newspa...

I’ve been thinking rather a lot about democracy recently, which is odd as it’s something that one tends to take for granted rather than consider in any depth. However, just like London buses, suddenly three democratic prompts all came along at once.  The first was in the form of a rather foolish “entertainer” who seemed to b...

As the season’s festivities fade into the background, the task of writing thank you letters looms large.  Ideally, one likes to have completed the task before the 12^th night has passed and all the decorations are safely back in the loft.  Only then can we get back to being grumpy about January with its (already) broken...

Interest in the Scottish referendum is finally beginning to pick up south of the border.  Previously it seemed that many in the South saw it as a little local difficulty in a far off country of which they knew little.  Now, it seems, many are beginning to realise that a “Yes” vote will have far-reaching consequences outside Sco...

There’s nothing quite like a dose of fresh sea air to clear the mind.  Even better when it’s a bracing East Coast breeze mixed with a Siberian blast.  Add in a group of 200 writers, thinkers, and general clever clogs and the resultant mixture is a heady cocktail.  I was fortunate enough to be part of this year’s Names not Nu...

I recently relooked at some predictions I made at the start of the year. I wrote that I thought that we’d start to see internal communications focus less on the concept of employee engagement and more on employee well-being. It seemed to me to be rather pointless trying to interest and engage people in strategy and values if they w...

Once every few weeks, or so it seems, there’s another article in the newspaper about sleep.  Each new article, based on the latest (scientific or otherwise) survey tells us whether we should be getting more sleep, or less sleep; offers advice on getting better sleep, or how to live with less sleep.  Sleep is one of those subjects...

One of the most extraordinary aspects of modern life is just how much of our attention is dominated by electronic screens.  Be it smart phones, TVs, tablets or desktop computers, these devices play a disproportionate amount of time in our lives.  We use them for working, socialising, learning and for entertainment; in fact, such is...