Sorry not sorry: End the apology culture in business October 15, 2019 When David Neeleman, the founder of American airline JetBlue, published a YouTube video entitled “Our Promise to You” in 2007, it was the first corporate social media apology. The video set the standard for modern crisis management. Snow storms and bad planning had forced the airline to cancel more than a thousand flights, affecting over [...]
Warning: The conveyor belt of global growth is grinding ever more slowly October 15, 2019 Where has all the growth gone? It’s the biggest economic question that we face – not just in Britain, but throughout the world. Ignore the stresses and uncertainties caused by Brexit, or Donald Trump’s trade war, or whatever the latest problem of the day is. The bigger picture is that the world just isn’t growing [...]
This bland and disappointing Queen’s Speech is no remedy for our broken politics October 15, 2019 “Civilisation is a hopeless race to discover remedies for the evils it produces.” So wrote Jean-Jacques Rousseau, maybe somewhat cynically. Yet, listening to yesterday’s Queen’s Speech it is hard not to glimpse a thread of truth in Rousseau’s words. Longer sentences to make up for increased crime exacerbated by past cuts and the progressive breakdown [...]
DEBATE: Is Nicola Sturgeon overplaying her hand by demanding a Scottish independence referendum next year? October 15, 2019 Is Nicola Sturgeon overplaying her hand by demanding a Scottish independence referendum next year? Iain Anderson, executive chairman at Cicero Group, says YES. Sick and tired of being sick and tired of endless elections and referendums? I think most of us are. So when I heard Scotland’s first minister say this weekend that the SNP [...]
Want to ensure Britain’s future prosperity? Stop taking wealth creators for granted October 15, 2019 Last month, the UK reported record numbers of people in employment. With all the Brexit noise, it was easy to miss this incredible news. But a healthy jobs market is of critical importance to society. As a barometer of success, employment is for some (including me) more important than any other figure, including GDP. And [...]
Young Londoners ‘held back’ by lack of entrepreneurial role models October 15, 2019 The majority of young people in London may be being held back due to a lack of relatable entrepreneurial role models. Read more: Despite the doom and gloom narrative, female entrepreneurship is on the rise A new survey by Entrepreneur First revealed top business icons such as Lord Alan Sugar and Sir Richard Branson no [...]
Farnborough Airport sales soar to £80m ahead of Macquarie buyout October 15, 2019 Farnborough Airport has revealed that its revenue rose 23.2 per cent to a record £80m last year fuelled by a boost in business travel which saw nearly 4,000 more flights take off and land there than in 2017. According to its accounts for the year ending 31 December 2018, there were 30,729 take offs and [...]
Musical shares: Why Merck Mercuriadis believes the old ones are always the best October 14, 2019 Merck Mercuriadis has a party trick. If you tell the veteran music mogul-turned City slicker your favourite band, he’ll name an older band that influenced them. Like a Spotify algorithm, but in real life. Mercuriadis’s encyclopedic music knowledge is hardly surprising. Over his career he has managed artists including Morrissey, Beyonce and Elton John, and [...]
Sports Direct calls for probe into Nike and Adidas October 14, 2019 Sports Direct called this evening for a competition probe into the market dominance of sportswear brands such as Nike and Adidas. In a statement, the company said top brands “use their market power to implement market-wide practices aimed at controlling the supply and, ultimately, the pricing of their products”. Read more: Corbyn kicks up fresh [...]
Boris Johnson stays mum on Arcuri conflict of interest allegations October 14, 2019 The London Assembly said last night it would not publish the latest letter sent on behalf of Boris Johnson regarding potential conflicts of interest while he was mayor of London. The prime minister was forced to send a letter to the assembly’s oversight committee last week to clarify his relationship with businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri – [...]