People who are unemployed tend to think in 1-7 days because of the frequency of benefit payments. Employed people tend to think in 1-4 weeks because that is how their salary is paid. Self-employed think in...

Over the last few years I've journeyed with someone through the breakdown of their marriage, the imprisonment of a child and at times the near collapse of their business. Throughout this time there have been very dark moments however the person I've journeyed with has remained incredibly hopeful about the future. It is completely normal to face set backs...

Guangxi describes a central idea in Chinese society about the dynamic of personal networks of influence. The words connection and relationship do not sufficiently portray its deep cultural implications...

The book Predatory Thinking tells the story of two explorers who are walking through the jungle. Suddenly, they hear a tiger roar. One explorer sits down, takes a pair of running shoes out of his backpack and begins to lace up. The other explorer says, "You're crazy, you'll never outrun a tiger". He replies...

Many people aspire to serve in public life and some dream of being a Member of Parliament but only a small minority make it. I'm always surprised by the highly talented, experienced and committed people who are never elected to Parliament. The main reason why is there is a large degree of...

"Can I offer you some feedback?" Was the question that one audience member asked following my keynote speech. To be really honest, for every part of me that was interested to hear what they had to say, there was a part of me that wanted to run for cover at what was about to come my way...

It’s the end of the pitch process and everyone breaths a sigh of relief. All the hurdles have been jumped over. The best in your business have been on the pitch team. Procurement have put everyone through their paces. It has cost weeks of peoples time and the cost to the business has been hundreds of thousands of pounds. Now it’s decision time...

Have you ever heard it said about someone that, ‘They couldn’t organise a **** up in a brewery’? Being quintessentially English I prefer to say, 'They couldn’t deliver a bunch of flowers’ or 'They couldn't deliver a box of chocolates'. Unfortunately we all know people like it, they are full of hot air about what they are going to do but they never do it...

A high street bank was undergoing major restructuring, the third in as many years. Talk of ‘restructuring' had become synonymous with a reality that thousands of people were going to lose their jobs. There was a feeling across the bank that these restructuring programmes were never done well. As a result employee engagement within the bank had dropped to an all time low...

At the Bird family allotment I had planted 20 asparagus crowns which I have been caring for in preparation for the first harvest in three years time. One weekend a friend asked me what was poking up from the soil, I explained they were the beginnings of the asparagus tips. There was a moment of tangible silence...