Business is business

Business is business, so the saying goes yet not all businesses are the same. This may seem an obvious thing to say, running a sweet shop is very different from running an airline for example, yet it is a common held belief that principles apply across all business. Indeed there are some that do, the … Continue reading Business is business

‘Tis the season to be planning

One of the odd things about running your own small business is that you have very little time to plan. It is an irony that in an offering that is based upon helping other businesses to plan and strategize better it is something that I find hard to make time for. This, I feel is … Continue reading ‘Tis the season to be planning

Cyber 101 boot camp #3

This is the third and probably last blog that I will get out of this year’s fantastic cyber 101 boot camp that was held at the end of November.  The focus of the afternoon was on business function, making sure that you had the right processes, people and, of course, access to money.  Once again … Continue reading Cyber 101 boot camp #3

Wash your hands

I learned a lot at last month’s North East Fraud Forum conference, it was a great event. One of the things that has stuck in my mind though was a simple but clever idea from the police presenter. His issue was that the word fraud somehow downgrades or sanitises what it actually is. Fraud is … Continue reading Wash your hands

Cyber 101 boot camp #2

I said that I would get a few blogs out of the fantastic Cybere 101 boot camp that we held last month. Here is the second.  The format of the event was quite different to anything that I had been before, with a mixture of presentations and mentoring. It was a game of two halves, … Continue reading Cyber 101 boot camp #2

More holidays than Thomas Cook

I’m going to have to stop using that joke, the one that goes ‘He has more holidays than Thomas Cook’. Perhaps I can insert the name of another travel agent, Hays would be a good fit. Not that the demise of the UK’s oldest travel company is anything to laugh about.  The passing of any … Continue reading More holidays than Thomas Cook

The 32 Hour week

‘Of all Labour’s stupidities, the four day week stands out’ at least according to David Smith in his economic outlook in The Times. OK, but how would he know? According to Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-born economist, public official and diplomat, ‘The only purpose of economic forecasts is to give astrology a better image.’ Nobody can be … Continue reading The 32 Hour week

Barclays AI Frenzy Fraud event 

Artificial intelligence, if there is such a thing, is not something that I think I am involved in, yet last week I  took part in my second event on the subject. The first was when I hosted a session put on by Durham University at Proto in Gateshead and the second was last week at … Continue reading Barclays AI Frenzy Fraud event 

Worse than the product

I have no particular company in mind but my experience of over a quarter of a century working in senior positions within IT has taught me one thing - IT companies often seem worse than the products they sell. Let me explain. How many times have you been in a sales or pre-sales meeting when … Continue reading Worse than the product