A while Waterstones was in the news for demanding cash from publishers to place books in prominent positions. Does this matter? I am not sure, but for me it undermined their position as an independent bookshop. OK they had been bought by WH Smith, but I liked to think that they still had that independent … Continued
The WEF report contains some interesting data. All of these stats are from 133 countries included in the report. Global Competitiveness Index GCI 2009–2010…………………………………………………13th out of 133 countries GCI 2008–2009 (out of 134)………………………………..12th GCI 2007–2008 (out of 131)…………………………………9 Basic requirements…………………………………………….26 1st pillar: Institutions …………………………………………21 2nd pillar: Infrastructure…………………………………….20 3rd pillar: Macroeconomic stability………………………71 4th pillar: Health and … Continued
Gary Halbert was one of the best copywriters ever. He has a great site, now run by his family that gives away all his secrets. Go here and then scroll to the bottom and read the Newsletter Archive. This is a video of him in 2004 about a year before he died talking about the … Continued
We’ve been banging on for ages about the simplicity and value of competencies. Yes, I know, they are so 80’s. However, even McKinsey can see their value in delivering performance improvement
Renowned Advertising guru David Ogilvy gives a brief speech on the importance of direct response marketing. This was filmed way before the internet was invented and yet the things David Ogilvy is talking about in this video are more relevant today than they were 10-15 years ago. Why? The internet allows you to know precisely … Continued
A fascinating article about how Google works from Wired Magazine. They have so much data that mathematicians, statisticians and economists are making important decisions about how the business is run. They test everything and measure everything and then check everything. In 1923 Claude Hopkins wrote a short book called Scientific Advertising. Nearly a hundred years … Continued
Here are the 10 things Jeffrey Fox, author of How to become a Rainmaker, recommends: 1. Send a handwritten note. 2. Clip and send an article of interest. 3. Talk to a satisfied client and ask who else you might help. 4. Send a thank-you gift to someone who referred you. 5. Give your business … Continued
I had heard about this invention, but seeing it in action is great. Will governments and NGOs have the political will to look at this invention. There are lots of vested interests to stop this happening. This was shown at the TED conference in Oxford earlier this year. They have some inspiring speakers. [ted id=”613″]
The skills we learnt at school won’t equip our children going forward. Logic and left brain thinking are no longer as critical but we need to be inventive and shine at ‘artistry’, ’empathy’, ‘big picture thinking’. Today’s pace and nature of change call for a shift in the way we think about education, argued Daniel … Continued
We like this organisation – it has many fabulous speakers. They are holding their conference in Oxford this week. TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along … Continued
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