The Notebook: James Ashton on his new book, microchips and bullishness
Book-writing novices need know one thing before putting metaphorical pen to paper: submitting that manuscript after months of toil is certainly a punctuation mark in the author’s journey, but far from a full stop.
That’s because once your ideas are organised, polished and have been passed along to the editing process it is time to consider how to find an audience for them.
The natural extension of the philosophical question “if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” is that “if a book is written and no-one reads it, has it ever been published?”
Consequently, there is much hard marketing that goes into shifting hardbacks, which starts with glossy, colourful covers designed to leap from the shelves and ends – well, never really.
I’ve only ever published in lockdown, when launch parties extended to a simple glass of fizz at home. So last night in Waterstones off Leadenhall Market was a chance to push the boat out with friends and family for ‘The Everything Blueprint’, my tale of the UK’s great technology success, the microchip designer Arm.
The promotion kicked off long before the first bottle was opened, with a string of social media posts teasing milestones in the story and generous endorsements secured from Sir James Dyson and veteran venture capitalist Sir Michael Moritz. Then there was a well-timed newspaper serialisation and the now obligatory video of author opening box of books and cradling the finished product for the first time.
I’d like to think the story sells itself, but why leave that to chance? I could do worse than follow the playbook of Arm’s founding fathers who were great salesmen. They went global from the off to find customers for its designs that are today used 30bn times a year to power smartphones, car systems, laptops and data centres. If only I could shift that many copies.
A worthy prize
Far from the non-fiction section, I celebrated another title, ‘The Boy with Flowers in His Hair’, which won our 10th annual Oscar’s Book Prize on Tuesday night. The £10,000 award celebrates the best in picture books, which are vital to spark a child’s love of reading and all-round curiosity. Oscar was our son, who we lost in 2012, and his is a glorious legacy. Our prize will always be 45 years younger than the Booker Prize but our chosen category is no less important.
Arm’s story is a reminder that business success is often unpredictable. Warren East, who attended last night’s launch party, was the company’s chief executive when rival chip giant Intel was intent on extending its dominance of the PC world into Arm’s mobile heartland.
When East joined a conference call with Apple in April 2008, he was convinced Arm was about to be ejected from the iPhone in favour of Intel. In fact, Apple wanted to forge a tighter relationship that continues to this day.
The business of politics
One theme of the book is how microchips became the commodity that underpins the global economy rests, which explains the US-China tensions centred on Taiwan.
But it also highlights human quirks. In all likelihood Arm and Nokia would have found each other eventually, but first contact came because a Brit who worked for the company in Oulu, northern Finland, was sent Arm’s first brochure as a joke. A colleague back home thought its headquarters, a barn, looked just like a sauna which the Finns would enjoy.
Bullishness on capital markets in short supply
I’ve always thought business people are fundamentally optimistic and, back at my day job, the latest Quoted Companies Alliance Small and Mid-cap Sentiment Index proves it.
Despite stubborn inflation, political uncertainties and new technological challenges, directors are more bullish about the prospects for the UK economy and their own businesses than they were six months ago.
Less welcome is the fact that one in three were concerned they would face a takeover bid during the next 12 months – a reminder that UK equities are on the whole going cheap.
Meanwhile, one in seven are likely to consider delisting and one in six are likely or fairly likely to move their primary listing. Not so optimistic for London’s world-leading capital markets.