Looking at Premier League football in England from a business perspective is quite difficult. The beautiful game is no doubt about big business – but is big business  increasingly just a rich man’s toy? The World Cup as business Let’s think about the basics of running a good business.  A good product sold at a competitive price and  delivered to the satisfaction of its customers.  And, of course, makes a profit. Do you... Continue reading

Hayward at the World Economic Forum in 2008 Image: World Economic Forum. Well, it was bound to happen, he’s gone, Tony Hayward has left BP as Chief Executive and everyone can now breathe easy. If only PR was so simple. Scandalous payoff? Firstly those who pushed for his removal from office are now equally troubled by the size of his payoff. Payoffs are big news! He’s taking away around a £1m salary cheque and over £10m... Continue reading

The news that Tony Hayward has stepped down in the light of the mistakes BP made in managing the crisis of the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, is significant if perhaps not unexpected. Hayward, it seems, is being painted as a poster boy for leadership failure in the media and elsewhere, but whilst Hayward should shoulder some degree of personal responsibility given his role as CEO, the focus on him as BP’s... Continue reading

Business in the Community has published a report about a number of careers that are not attracting people from ethnic minorities.  Banking and finance is one of the key sectors with low representation. BIC’s research talked about a significant number of people who say that banking and finance is ‘not for the likes of them’ – and that this sector has the lowest number of role models from ethnic minorities. Whilst I am not... Continue reading

Well, the government has spoken.  Austerity is upon us!  The public sector must cut and save – there’s little disagreement. My problem is the balance between the economics and ideology of policy making. Let’s look at some examples. 1. Brand Yorkshire disappearing Firstly, the RDAs.  Controversial since their foundation, they were perceived as bloated quangos – perhaps an easy target for government cuts.  Yet the... Continue reading

I meet more and more successful entrepreneurs who seem to be able to create real entrepreneurial opportunities and exploit them by using their networks. Interestingly, they are so good at this they create new networks if their existing ones can’t deliver. Combine this with the intrinsic ‘network power’ of the Internet and things could get very interesting! I can think of three good examples of the former and hundreds of people... Continue reading

Vince Cable says the banks must get lending, as ‘they have been accumulating reserve capital beyond their requirements’. Businesses should be wary. Don’t think this means funding is finally about to be released. In fact, my recommendation would be to make sure you do everything possible to secure medium-term funding requirements now. While credit conditions have eased somewhat in recent months, businesses are still repaying... Continue reading

What do Lord Triesman and the Duchess of York have in common?  There may be several things, but the obvious one is their embarrassment at having been caught on tape saying things which, when released into the public arena, cause them damage. Lord Triesman felt compelled to resign as Chairman of the Football Association last week after being taped apparently speculating that some countries who were also bidding for rights to host... Continue reading

With all the talk of hung parliaments, national interest and stable government it is easy to forget that the ‘enterprise show’ must go on! Small businesses provide nearly 60% of private sector jobs and over 50% of UK turnover. Over half a million people start their own business each year. We are clearly an enterprising nation. So, what might the new Conservative – Lib Dem coalition mean for small businesses and entrepreneurship? If... Continue reading

Official election monitors from Commonwealth countries were at the UK General Election last week, presumably hoping for hints as to how to run free elections efficiently.  Instead they were shocked and believed the integrity of the result was at risk because the system is based on trust rather than security and proper identity checks, according to The Sunday Times. Ballot system open to abuse Observers from countries such as Kenya,... Continue reading