To Sell or not to sell ...

This week a company I really admire sold/partnered with Timberland, leaving behind their independence which they held so dear to partner to get bigger.
The way Howies have communicated with their customers over the last 10 years has been nothing less than sheer brilliance they understand who there customers are and how to envision them to dream of a better world.
Even their statement about partnering was threaded with a certain Howies charm.
I will be fascinated to see how the brand grows and develops over the next few years.

You can find out more about Howies by visiting: http://www.howies.co.uk/page.php?xPage=posting.html&id=557

The Tories strike back with tosser campaign?

This week the Conservative party launched a campaign focused on alerted people to the perils of getting into to debt. Very admirable and a clever campaign, but the Tories have a big mountain to climb to convince the public of their change of values have a look @ http://www.sort-it.co.uk/

Tv killed the radio star but what is next

Read this interesting article today

How will we watch TV in 10 years? Leading figures from the television world have given their predictions for how TV will evolve in the coming years - and what it means for viewers.

The way I use iTunes and You Tube now I would have never imagined it even five years ago who knows what the future will hold ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6146244.stm

Being Intentional …

I have been listening a lot over the last few weeks to some Podcast interviews by www.catalystspace.com an organisation founded by Leadership Guru John Maxwell focused on developing young leaders and helping them achieve all their potential.

This months interview was with Kevin Carroll the author of the highly successful Rules of the Red Rubber Ball. He is the founder of The Katalyst Consultancy where his “job” is to nurture and care for the individual and communal inner spirit and to inspire new ways of thinking. He was raised by his grandparents in Philadelphia, Kevin joined the Air Force and then landed a job as the athletic trainer and physical education teacher at The Haverford School in Philadelphia, which quickly led to his job as the head athletic trainer for the Philadelphia 76ers. While at the 76ers, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight tapped Kevin to bring his unique experiences to the sneaker giant and help inspire their creatives. Although no job existed at the time, Knight encouraged Kevin to “hang out” and create the job that would add value to the company. Kevin accepted the challenge and stayed for seven years as “Katalyst.” He was instrumental in helping Nike develop a deeper understanding of athletic product performance, team dynamics and interpersonal communication. He was also the inspiration behind the Lance Armstrong wristband phenomenon. Kevin left in 2004 to found his own brand, The Katalyst Consultancy.

What struck me about Kevin and other people I have heard on this Podcast is they are so Intentional about all their actions and who they work with it has inspired me to continue to seek out the most creative people and companies to work with that I can …

You can find out more about Kevin @

http://www.katalystconsultancy.com/

What would you do with £10

Not many businesses draw up and deliver plans to give money away.
True, there are some clever marketing strategies that allow for customers to win small amounts in their packets of crisps or sweets, but in these campaigns it seems fair to assume the odds are stacked against the consumer.
And in an economy where so many businesses have to answer to shareholders, it's a brave board of directors which recommends giving away a hefty chunk of profits for no apparent gain.
Except that is, where the business is based on a different model such as a social enterprise.
We are fortunate here in Merseyside to have some very fine and successful businesses operating in this way.
The government says there are 55,000 such initiatives across the UK founded with a social purpose and reinvesting profits into the community.
Some people may be surprised by that figure.
It we are to believe messages emerging from HM Treasury, it's a figure which will grow when the Chancellor moves along Downing Street.
Mr Brown has already described this sector of the economy he oversees as a new British success story.
And it looks set to continue.
In the past week a major initiative has been launched to engage young people in initiaives that could create more social enterprises.
Make Your Mark With a Tenner, is a groundbreaking competition that gives 10,000 UK teenagers the chance to show what they can achieve with £10 in just one month.
The private venture is supported by Andrew Reynolds, Patron of The Prince's Trust and founder of The Entrepreneur Channel, who has donated £100,000 to give teenagers the chance to prove they are tomorrow's top socially minded entrepreneurs.
The competition begins on January 29th 2007 and will run for a month, after which the £10 loans are returned and the participants can decide what to do with their profit - keep it or develop their idea to make a positive contribution to society.
Participants will be asked to write 150 words on their experiences: based on the stories submitted, one hundred winners will be chosen; 50 winners will be those who have made the most profit and 50 will be those whose project has made the biggest social impact.
The latter 50 winners will also be eligible for a further £1,000 each, from another fund for young social entrepreneurs.
I hope there is a strong representation from Merseyside schools. As I said, this region is blessed with some really innovative and successful social enterprises.
Let’s have more – and let’s recognise their valuable contribution to our communities and our economy.
Check out the details at http://www.makeyourmarkwithatenner.org/

Make Your Mark

TODAY we find ourselves at the end of Enterprise Week 2006. If the publicity machine driving this Enterprise Week has not made itself heard to you, I'm sure it's not for lack of effort on the organisers' part, but more to do with what our broadcasters and editors believe we want to see and hear.

Their website www.starttalkingideas.org is packed full of events and information on enterprise.

Enterprise Week is a big event. And it's an important one too for a country with an economy that owes so much of its strength to the entrepreneurial spirit of our great industrialists, inventors and downright opportunists.

For example, more than 20,000 pupils, students and employees have this week joined the UK's biggest ever, live enterprise competition. The Make Your Mark Challenge is intended to unleash young people's enterprising ideas on a massive scale, and is backed by leading entrepreneurs and TV programmes like Hollyoaks and Newsround.

Make Your Mark Challenge is Enterprise Week's mass participation flagship event. This year nearly 3,000 teams from schools, universities, further education colleges and workplaces are taking part, making it twice the size of last year's challenge.


And the action is not confined to schools and colleges. Some of the UK's most recognised companies, including British Gas, Royal Mail and Cafédirect are among the 136 teams taking part in the workplace challenge

And here in Merseyside we are playing a major part too.

The campaign "Make Your Mark in Liverpool" was launched at a high profile event at FACT in the city centre this week.

On display were some of the region's best young talent including singers and performers and a demonstration of a computer game developed by students at St Margaret's High School with the support of local real-time interactive 3D software solutions company Lateral Visions.

The campaign aims to promote enterprise culture for young people.

So, why does it matter? Because we need bright ideas and entrepreneurial talent to drive our economy, arguably more so now than at any other time.

The week's not over yet, so ask yourself what your business has contributed.

Did you know......

The AIDS epidemic has become the greatest humanitarian crisis in history? ... By 2010, over 100,000,000 people will have been infected by the HIV virus.... 40 million children, women, and men have already died from AIDS.... More women and children are infected with HIV than men....

AIDS is the #1 killer of adults under the age of 60 in many countries.

What can be done? 1st December 2006 is Worlds Aids Day you can find out more @ www.worldaidsday.org

Log on and see what you can do.

What a difference a day makes

APART from the results, one of the most interesting aspects of yesterday's US polls has been observing how the campaign has unfolded.

With so much of our own domestic party political activity reflecting the US, it's fair to say much of what the American electorate is subjected to today, we will experience tomorrow.

Perhaps the most striking example has been the transformation of the way our major parties now stage their annual conferences.

With each passing year, these become more and more like the rallies so favoured by both camps across the Atlantic. It's also fair to say that the explosion in media technology has transformed every aspect of mass communications - and election campaigns and polls themselves are no exception.

The sophistication of modern communications means political campaigners have very little, if any room for manoeuvre when they are out on the road.


Under the gaze of a dozen or more lenses and microphones, their every utterance is beamed instantly to ever-growing audiences. If they fluff a line, they risk everything. Ask John Prescott all about campaigning on the streets with a posse of media representatives in tow.

And as well as being able to communicate so widely so quickly, the politicians are advised by strategists who can exploit the immense power of these sophisticated information services.

Though they are never likely to admit to making policy decisions "on the hoof", it's undoubtedly true that our politicians and those who surround and advise them, can and do use the web and others modern communications to gauge public reaction and perception.

For example, have a look at www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006

Throughout the US campaign, this CNN site has provided an extraordinary range of detailed coverage, comment and analysis of every aspect of the American campaign. Now, with results posted, the site adds a further dimension to its coverage with a mind-boggling interpretation of voting patterns across the country.

And why, some may ask, is this so significant?

Well, when the most powerful nation on earth goes to the polls it's as well to stay awake.

Think of five factors that are going to be most critical to your business next year and I am pretty sure that whatever your list contains, the colour of the US political map will have a bearing.


World oil reserves and supplies for one are inextricably linked to US-led demand. Higher taxation to curb global warming seems almost inevitable, so what will the US decide to do?

And, arguably most critical of all, where will the US War on Terror lead the world's economy?
America's own voters have made their point. It remains to be seen who was listening and how they will respond.

Happy Clappers

If you are around in Liverpool City Centre this Saturday 28th October at 4pm, at the bottom of Bold Street in the area between the old Lyceum Post Office and Waterstones bookshop, why not join one of my friends Sean Hawkridge

{from the sidelines} is a new commission by Sean Hawkridge for Liverpool Live, the live art strand of Liverpool Biennial 2006 coordinated by Bluecoat.

The performance will involve a number of people gathering in the space at 4pm and on cue bursting into spontaneous applause for a couple of minutes before dissipating back into the crowds.

The work is intended to be subtle and spontaneous - lifting peoples heads a little, cheering them on from the sidelines, like the Dads at all those football matches, like the end of the marathon, like the lap of honour...

If you want to be involved contact:

Sean Hawkridge
live@from-the-sidelines.com
www.from-the-sidelines.com

Question time at 7am!

I am a huge fan of Question Time and yesterday morning I was up bright and early to be on the panel of the Merseyside Economic Forum for The North West Business Insider.

The event created a platform for discussion on key regional issues: Regeneration, governance, transport, finance and commercial property.

My fellow panellists included:

- Lesley Chalmers, chief executive, English Cities Fund
- Dave Moorcroft, director of economic development, The Mersey Partnership
- Matt Johnson, managing director, Mando Group
- Vici Ladeji, director, Eventa Management

We debated topics including:

Branding: "Merseyside" v "Liverpool City Region"
Business support - Is there enough? Is it the right kind etc?
Attracting business to Liverpool - which industries and how to attract corporate HQs

A early start but a good way to start the day discussing issues that matter to Liverpool.

Hope is a place

HOPE Street has seen more than its fair share of Liverpool's history over the years, and after the success of last Sunday's Hope Street Festival, I've a feeling another chapter is being written.

It's a street that has seen a good many famous faces and feet tread its pavements. The Queen on several visits to one of the street's great institutions the Philharmonic Hall; a Pope (John Paul II) on his visit to the cathedrals at each end of the street; a Beatle to his old school, and a US Secretary of State and her former Foreign Secretary host.

That's not a bad A list to be going on with. Add in the numerous stars and celebrities who frequent many of the street's other attractions, and you begin to realise what a significant part of Liverpool this is undoubtedly is.

As long as I have lived and worked in Liverpool, Hope Street has been synonymous with the city's arts and cultural scenes. This obviously has a lot to do with places like the Phil and the Everyman. But increasingly, I am sure, it is about small establishments including the Unity Theatre, the street's fine and famous restaurants, the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts and Blackburne House -itself one of Liverpool's often overlooked success stories.

Also in this mix is the fact that so many of the surrounding residential properties are fine examples of Georgian splendour which have, or are being, lovingly restored. In short, it's a city centre hot spot.

That was certainly the impression given to guests and visitors at the weekend.

The street looks at its finest now that new fixtures and fittings have been installed (what town hall types refer to as public realm), and at the weekend traders, residents, musicians and artists combined to create a wonderful, cosmopolitan atmosphere at their festival.

By the end of the day, official estimates declared 10,000 people had attended. That is a significant number by anyone's standards, and one which should encourage those behind this year's event who deserve the success they worked so hard to deliver for so many.

As I strolled along Hope Street on Sunday it occurred to me that what was unfolding in front of us went a good way to symbolise the regeneration taking place across the city centre and waterfront.

It's hard to imagine it could have happened 10 years ago. Go back another decade or so and the area which hosted such a wonderful event on Sunday was more troubled still.

So, Sunday marked the re-awakening of one of the city's most historic quarters. Others will follow, and in so doing spread more prosperity and business opportunities.

As they do though, let's not forget other parts of the city where investment, economic development and regeneration have still to make their mark. Communities here must have similar opportunities.

Trombone player wanted

Intrigued by the title me to it’s the name of a Short Film Series from Marcus Buckingham, best-selling author, expert on outstanding leadership and management practices.

So what is it all about The odds are that you – like most people – are not playing to your strengths at work most of the time. Recent polls reveal that less than two out of ten people – the actual figure is 17% – say they spend the majority of their day "playing to their strengths". Even if you devote 25% of each day to all those things you don't like to do, or that bore you, or frustrate you – your non-negotiables – this still leave 75% of your time at work to fill with activities that call upon your strengths. And yet so few of us do.

I am half way through the series so far and really enjoying it and have been surprised by some of the simple techniques there are to help recognise my weaknesses and improve on strengthens and made me think that I do not have to be great at something for it to strengthen me.

If you want to find out more why not visit http://www.marcusbuckingham.com/Film/

Happy watching.

Don’t turn off the lights

NUCLEAR power stations have been given the nod by our Government as it wrestles to tackle the challenges of securing our energy supplies in the coming decades.

It’s understandable that the nuclear option has been so widely and fiercely debated in recent months. Sanctioning the design and building of I new nuclear power plants does after all amount to a fundamental shift in UK energy policy. And going nuclear is a big step for many Labour Party members too.

Putting aside the admittedly huge and important questions about how our future energy supplies are to be generated, there are some pretty important issues facing the SME sector in terms of energy provision too.

According to the Federation of Small Businesses, the needs of small firms have for too long been overlooked when decisions are taken over the future of UK power supplies.

To date, says the Federation, the debate has tended to focus on larger users of energy and domestic consumers. Outside this loop lie the UK’s SME sector and its 13 million employees.

By anyone’s reckoning that is a significant number of people. Certainly, too many to be written off or left to feel disengaged from such a critical debate and process.

The FSB says it broadly supports the Government’s recently published Energy Review. Note the word “broadly” there. Support may be forthcoming, but the Government would be unwise to bank on getting it for nothing.

It’s interesting to see and hear, via the FSB, where their members feel the hardest handicap in the energy stakes.

They are campaigning for recognition of the special position of small firms in the energy market. These firms, it’s said, are under particular strain in a volatile energy market, Adding to the gravity of the situation are unclear pricing policies for small firms (without the buying power clout of a bigger businesses, especially in the manufacturing sector) and poor standards of service from some gas and electricity suppliers.

Interestingly, small firms say they do not enjoy the regulatory safeguards that domestic users receive. Nor can such smaller businesses afford or justify retaining n house energy experts in the same way as major consumers can. Although an expert who can identify and implement energy efficiencies may soon turn out to be worth his or her weight in savings.

For those 13 million people working in the SME sector, these are important issues. It would be reassuring to think the Government would take note of what is being said from this quarter. In other words, broaden the debate so that small firms and their representatives are included along with strong consumer lobbies and the big guns of British industry.

If Ministers choose not to listen they may find energy use dropping for all the wrong reasons. After all, firms driven out of business don’t use gas and electricity. Let’s not hear a chorus of last one out switch the lights off.

Every Little Helps…

Tescos announced yesterday that it would be incentivising customers to re-use their carry bags by offering one club card point per re-used carry bag.

Many people are cynical towards Tesco and think this is a very small gesture, but listening to Sir Terry Leahy Tesco Chief Executive explain that incentives do change customer behaviour and surely if they reduce environmental impact then why not I can’t help but agree.

The first major retailer to really get smart about re-use of packaging and their environmental impact I believe will be the one who will be the leader in the years to come.

One fascinating company who are on the rise in UK are http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/ a US based Founded in 1980 as one small store in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market® they are now the world's leading retailer of natural and organic foods, with 184 stores in North America and the United Kingdom. To date Whole Foods Market remains uniquely mission driven: they are highly selective about what they sell, dedicated to stringent Quality Standards, and committed to sustainable agriculture.
They are a brand to watch in UK retailing.

The Dragons Return

How good can things be second, third or even fourth time round?
In the coming weeks thousands of people will be packing their bags and heading for their holidays.
Many will be returning to previously discovered locations hoping for a repeat dose of relaxation in slightly familiar surroundings.

Image Source

www.bbc.co.uk

It’s a strange phenomenon that, in an age when we have more opportunity to chose from more holiday destinations than ever before, so many or us decide to return to old haunts.
Until, that is, things change or we return home with anticipation and expectation unfulfilled and high hopes dashed.
Then the misgivings set in and holiday planning is never so simple again.
Similar thoughts came to my mind at the weekend when the week’s TV guides trumpeted the return of Dragons’ Den to the BBC schedules.
Like many others, I was gripped by the first series – fascinated and horrified in about equal measure by the quality of the entrepreneurs parading their wares before the Dragons, and the reaction of those same, sometimes snarling beasts.

The programme has many attributes. It provides an insight into the minds of the contestants (lest we forget that that is what they are) and, of course, it allows the Dragons pretty wide scope to display themselves as nasty, intimidating bosses.
Whether viewers find the programme captivating this time round will depend to a very large extent on the calibre of individuals on both sides of the Den.

The entrepreneurs need to display bucket loads of innovation, flair and determination.
The Dragons need to be tough, uncompromising and ruthless if the programme is to be a ratings hit.
And that, in some respects, is the rub.
Nurturing entrepreneurship throughout the country is a serious business with serious opportunities and equally serious rewards.

Ask anyone who is struggling to gain recognition and support for their business idea whether a series like this will help or hinder their chances.
I’d guess some may be encouraged, others disheartened by the fall out from Dragons’ Den.
According to the publicity handouts, viewers are in for an entertaining time, with Dragons apparently sniping at each other as well as their helpless interviewees.
If you are watching when that happens, remember, it’s prime time TV entertainment. And that can be a world away from the cut and thrust of everyday business in the SME sector.
Whatever else the new series of Dragons’ Den does it must not undermine the efforts of our next generation of entrepreneurs.

A play list for a wedding

My sister in-law is getting married today, I have just finished putting together a few bits of music for the reception they include:

Groove Armada – Join Hands
Zero 7 – You’re my flame
Norah Jones – Nightingale
Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
Madeleine Peyeroux – Careless Love
Lux – Northern Lights

God Bless America

I watched a fantastic short film the other day called “Rich” part of a series called
NOOMA www.nooma.com with Rob Bell, the teaching pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan.

There’s a popular bumper sticker that reads “God Bless America,” but hasn’t America already been blessed? It’s easy for us to fall into a mindset of viewing “our” world as “the” world, because it’s all we generally see.

We’re constantly bombarded with images of the latest styles and models of everything, and it can easily leave us feeling like what we have isn’t enough because we see people that have even more than us. But how does what we have compare to what most people in the world have? Maybe what we have is enough; maybe it’s more than enough. Maybe God has blessed us with everything we have so we can bless and give to others.

You can purchase Nooma in the Uk @ www.eden.co.uk/shop/features/nooma_54395.html

Source Image and Textwww.nooma.com

Sports Day

It was our companies’ annual sports day and bbq yesterday was great fun couple of IT guys decided to play with the kid’s toys!
It was lovely to get out of the office and have some fun.

Image Source
Sam Birch

When was the last time you thought of your customers

Went to a fascinating seminar tonight by Ralph Ardill Founder of the Brand Experience Consultancy it was part of a series of design business seminars I have been involved in organised by http://www.futuresnetwork.org.uk/

The two most interesting points he raised for me where:

For a night club to be successful it has to have a door policy and what is the policy in my business.
The other bold statement was don’t be afraid to walk away from the client relationships that is not working.

Image Source

http://www.seminare.ch

He has given me lots to mull on.

Flying away this summer think again

Well it has been another gorgeous day I listened to an interesting “Thought for The Day” on Radio Four this morning about our responsibility to climate change and how our embrace of low cost travel is continuing to destroy our environment through increased C02 emissions.

It is easy to pop out a re-cycling box but not going on holiday well there’s another story all together but that is one of the changes to

Image Source

www.bbc.co.uk

life style our generation simply have to start considering if we are to stand of chance of looking after this amazing planet for our grand kids.

May challenge to myself is understanding more about how I can be creative in my own personal and working life at reducing my carbon footprint.
I had better get reading http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/default.ct

Golf Open

Well I had the wonderful opportunity to watch the Golf Open at Royal Liverpool Hoylake yesterday it was fantastic to see over 35,000 people out on the course enjoying the play and sun.

Saw Tiger Woods but after waiting an hour he over shot the green!

Made me think I should pick up my clubs again.

Image Source

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/rob_stanger/07/18/lesson.tee/

Wildflowers

Off to the National Wildflower Centre www.nwc.org.uk this morning with some friends sounds boring but it is great. The building is stunning as well.

Image Source

www.visitknowsley.com

Hope is a place

I have been involved in a really interesting project recently called http://www.hopeisaplace.com/ the site has been developed to get peoples thoughts and opinions of this arts and cultural neighbourhood of Liverpool. I had lunch there today and sat outside in the sun.

Some places to visit when you are there include:

http://www.liverpoolphil.com/
http://www.everymanplayhouse.com/
http://www.hopestreethotel.co.uk/
http://www.60hopestreet.com/ (My favourite restaurant)


If you get chance why not have a play around on the site.

My playlist

Don't know about you but my ipod has changed my life I am currently listiening to:

John Martyn – Solid Air
John Smith – Matchbox Man
Nick Drake – River Man
Nitin Sawhney – Tides
Portishead – Sour Times

PS Helen if you are reading this get blogging!

Google just keep getting it right

Last week I customised my Google homepage. It allows you to put all the links you use on your Google homepage so I spent a hour on Saturday morning busily customising my preferences. They never cease to impress me with not only the quality of content they provide but the simplicity in which I can use it.

A walk in the park

Had the pleasure of a day off today with the kids enjoyed walking round the park in the sun and playing on the swings.









Image from :
www.seftonparkliverpool.info/Pictures.htm

Everything is Spiritual

One of my heros Rob Bell Pastor of Mars Hill www.mhbcmi.org has just started a tour in the USA called Everything is Spiritual if you fancy being inspired download one of his sermons from the site I guarantee it will change your life.
He founded a church in Grand Rapids Michigan about five years ago and
now has a congregation of over 10,000.

Image Source

www.livingwaterchristian.org

The Def Jam Story

On Saturday nigth there was a fantastic documentary on radio two http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/index.shtml?logo about Def Jam one of worlds most influential rap and hip hop label fascinating story well worth a listen.

Image Source

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/2/2e/180px-Defjam.gif

Channel Four Change the rules

Channel 4 yesterday became the first major UK broadcaster to simultaneously broadcast its programmes on television and online.

Think about that statement. It has some pretty amazing implications for the way we communicate. C4 may be the first, but they will most certainly not be the last to offer this service to their customers. Similar arrangements are being put in place by the other major broadcasters.

In short, more and more PC screens will be doing the job of TV screens.

So, you may ask, what does that mean for my business?

The answer, I believe, is quite a lot. Apart from any potential personnel issues over how best to encourage staff to stay tuned to their work in hand rather than the Big Brother house, it’s yet another example of the massive diversification of the communications sector.

I’ve said before, when the phrase digital highway was first coined, I am pretty sure very few people actually realised the scale, and scope of the digital age that beckoned.

C4 yesterday opened a new route on this highway. And there will be plenty more to follow.

In business terms, C4 clearly believe they have a valuable route to market. For them, it’s a call on whether they want to extract public as well as commercial value from their media system.

The technology – and legislation - that allows them to do this could have benefits for business. Think about the commercial application of this sort of technology. Think too about the opportunity it may give you to target very specific audiences with key sales messages.

Technological advances like this may sometimes appear limitless. If you’ve thumbed through any national newspaper magazine in recent months you’ll have seen dozens of adverts for TV’s described as being “HD Ready”.

For the uninitiated that means High Definition – a quality of TV picture the like of which we have never seen before, according to the words in the adverts.

I’ve seen some demonstrations of HD and have to say there is a clear difference in the quality of the image, and I can imagine it will catch on. While C4 are spreading their on line service, Sky TV, and others, are investing millions in HD technology.

As sister companies under the massive Murdoch global media banner, it was no surprise to see Sky TV and The Sunday Times joining forces to promote HD technology in last weekend’s edition of the newspaper.

Nor, I suspect is it any surprise that these advances in technology – including the new set top box for HD reception – come to market during the middle of one of the world’s largest televised events currently taking place in Germany.

Make no mistake TV technology is changing fast. – At a pace that leaves many viewers in the BBC camp. And that’s Bewildered, Baffled and Confused.

The trick is to make sure you – and your business - are not left there while the rest tune in elsewhere.

Embedding Enterprise

Spoke at a an event today in London about entrepreneurship and how we make Uk more entrepreneurial some high level thoughts:

1. Inspire under graduates more
2. Make enterprise part of the curriculum
3. Get more business people working closer with schools

Met some inspirational people doing some great things

India Graduates Each Year

Engineering degree holders 1,000,000
Engineering diploma holders 16,000,000
Software professionals 840,000
(UK 6,000 IT new professionals per year)

Source http://pdixon.blogspot.com/

Blackberry

I read an interesting article today about Blackberys! I have had one for a year or so now and still weighing up whether it controls my life or I benefit from it. My summary today is my mobile phone company benefit most.

Image Source

www.utexas.edu

Saturday

Well today has been nice caught up with friends home from New Zealand and hang out with family ...

The battle of the brands

Stand by for the battle of the brands - aka the World Cup!Players representing their countries in Germany may consider themselves to be approaching a high point of their careers - especially those who survive to the later stages and even the final. But in terms of career development and satisfying professional ambitions they are far from alone.

The reputations - and I dare say careers - of some of the most talented and ambitious brand managers and marketing maestros in the world will also be put to the test. Not only during the next four weeks, but for a much longer period when sales performance and market share, rather than goals for or against, are being measured in corporate boardrooms all over the world. In terms of brand management, profile and awareness, Germany 2006 must be about as big as it gets. If you doubt me, take a look around almost any supermarket, petrol station forecourt or off licence and you'll soon see evidence of brand promotion linked to the World Cup. In these outlets, the battle for market share looks every bit as fierce as the challenges likely to face England as they make their way through Group B and, hopefully beyond. And yet while brands like Sainsbury's; BP and Threshers are fighting for success by association,

I can't help but think the real battlegrounds are the sports retailers all over the world where brands like Nike and Adidas stand to win or lose so much. Football's coming home for Adidas: the German company has had more than 100 people working full time on its World Cup activities for two years. Bear that in mind when you watch the TV coverage. Adidas estimates it will achieve football sales of 1.2bn Euros this year alone. If that sounds impressive, consider how successful arch rival Nike has been since making its first charge into the World Cup during the 1994 event hosted in its home market of the USA. Nike football sales are said to be worth $1.5bn a year. The last time the pair went head to head in front of a football audience was during last month’s Champions League final between Arsenal and Barcelona. The finalists are both sponsored by Nike – but Adidas is one of the tournament’s main partners and sponsors.

The next few weeks provide a challenge for small businesses too – especially in a region like Merseyside where football is a passion. In real terms, productivity will probably drop in the coming weeks – but weigh that against the near delirious state the nation will find itself in if England actually do bring the trophy home. That really will be good for business.

Matt Johnson is Managing Director of Mando Group a Liverpool based Web Development and Design Consultancy www.mandiogroup.com

Welcome to my blog

Well it late one Friday night and after hearing http://pdixon.blogspot.com/ speak on Wednesday and thought I would set a little blog up for myself.