Your commute to work can help change the world as the UK strives to meet the UN’s ambitious goals November 26, 2018 Are you cutting back on your use of plastic bags? Do you opt for the bus or train, or walk when going on a journey rather than taking your car? Have you ever spoken out when you’ve seen a glaring example of gender inequality? If so, then you’re already contributing to an ambitious global plan [...]
Ditch expensive Christmas TV ads and switch to influencer marketing instead November 26, 2018 Last year, John Lewis spent £7m on its Christmas ad campaign. This year, it announced that its profits had crashed by 99 per cent. Debenhams also warmed the hearts of the Christmas consumers in 2017 with a sumptuous, but expensive, festive ad. In June, it announced that it would see its third consecutive profit slump. [...]
Executive pay is undermining the public’s faith in capitalism November 26, 2018 Question: what connects the leader of a York-based housebuilder with a car executive in Tokyo? Answer: both have recently been embroiled in scandals over top pay. Carlos Ghosn, chairman of Nissan, is under criminal investigation in Japan for under-reporting his remuneration to the Tokyo Stock Exchange and misusing company assets. Nissan removed him from post [...]
To lead the digital revolution, London must ensure that no one is left behind November 26, 2018 This week, I will be meeting leading businesses, charities, educators, innovators and investors at a Digital Skills Summit at the Mansion House to look at how emerging technologies are transforming the way we live, work, and communicate with each other. Building on my mayoral programme – Shaping Tomorrow’s City Today – the summit will consider [...]
America’s call to kick China out of the WTO is in no one’s interest November 26, 2018 China has “misbehaved” when it comes to global trade. That’s according to one of Donald Trump’s key economic advisers, who suggested last week that China should be evicted from the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It’s a clever move from the US administration, which conflates its dissatisfaction with multilateralism with the President’s putative trade war. If you [...]
DEBATE: Do we need tighter rules to prevent unpaid internships and improve social mobility? November 26, 2018 Do we need tighter rules to prevent unpaid internships and improve social mobility? Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chairman of the Sutton Trust, says YES. In many sectors, young people early in their career are expected to “pay their dues” by working in a series of unpaid internships. The experiences and contacts gained really do help [...]
Public speaking 101: Stick to what you know November 23, 2018 "The problem with your method”, the head of organisational behaviour of a tier-one investment bank tells me, “is that our bankers are often asked to speak about subjects that they know little about. Can you help them with that?” My client was referring to the main premise of my presentation training: that in a presentation, [...]
We live in a material world, so let’s embrace Black Friday – and freedom November 23, 2018 Today is Black Friday: a day that conjures up images of keen shoppers scrambling to be first in the door at 5am to secure that half-price LED 50-inch TV, while scrums of people fight tooth and nail for the last discounted kettle. This is how we usually characterise this annual sales fest, ever since Asda [...]
We all want to end childhood obesity, but Sadiq Khan’s TfL advert ban is a load of junk November 23, 2018 Childhood obesity in London is becoming an epidemic. Research has demonstrated that London has the highest rate of childhood obesity of any major global city. By school year six (age 11) almost 40 per cent of children are classed as overweight or obese. We all agree that something has to be done. The question is: [...]
Breaking up is hard to do, so why not put a ring on audit? November 23, 2018 Never have there been more eyes on audit. Sir John Kingman is examining the Financial Reporting Council and how audit can best be regulated. The Competition and Markets Authority is investigating competition and choice in the listed audit market. The BEIS Select Committee announced last week that it too will scrutinise audit, and the Audit [...]