The Olympic room in The White Swan in Alnwick was a magnificent location to get our Rural Cultural Business Innovation Programme underway. Justin and I have seem to have been planning this for ages and now the day had finally arrived. We had been working with the Creative Fuse Partnership and other creative, digital and … Continue reading Rural Cultural Business Innovation Programme day 1
Selling Levi Roots
The highlight of the North East Growth Hub’s Scaleup North East Launch , apart from the exciting programme itself had to be the keynote from Levi Roots. Yes I had heard of him, his appearance on Dragon’s Den and his hot Reggae Reggae Sauce. Other than that though our paths had never crossed. Why would … Continue reading Selling Levi Roots
What is your superpower?
What is your superpower? Mine, I think, is in being organised. I have the happy knack, or the annoying habit depending upon your perspective, of being able to dismantle a heap of things to do and reassembling them into a logical set of tasks. Whenever I have something to do (and I mean almost whenever) … Continue reading What is your superpower?
Scaleup North East
The United Kingdom is ranked as the third nation in the world at starting businesses yet is ranked as thirteenth when it comes to scaleups. I learned this at The North East Growth Hub’s Scaleup North East Launch at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, in Newcastle’s Stephenson Quarter, behind the Central Station and just next to … Continue reading Scaleup North East
Chair of Socitm North East
My tenure as chair of Socitm North East has come to an end. It had to happen some time anyway and with me no longer in the thick of the public sector, it is right that someone more able takes over from me. That person is Neil Arnold from Northumberland Council, who continues to be … Continue reading Chair of Socitm North East
Ethics and Carillion
The subject of ethics in business is never very far from my mind these days. I am reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, which gives an exciting ride through some of the pros and cons of big business and its detractors, and had my first meeting with the board of the North East Initiative on … Continue reading Ethics and Carillion
Things will find their own level
Stephen was telling me about a conversation he was having with a friend who had been in marketing for longer than he cared to mention. The subject of new media came up and his friend hit the roof. ‘Don’t talk to me about new media’, he said ‘there is no such thing - there is … Continue reading Things will find their own level
What is government?
You would think that this is an easy question yet I have asked it many times to some of the brightest brains in the region (well, university students) and it has left them dumbfounded. It seems that government, like digital, is one of those words that we use over and over again yet don’t really … Continue reading What is government?
The organizations we deserve
Businesses must operate within the law and within ethical principles. Ironically that is what the law states yet in the sordid grapple for money, status and power sometime things go awry. Motor manufacturers meddle with their emission figures to make their cars look better, online taxi firms undermine the working conditions of their employees to … Continue reading The organizations we deserve
A visit to Port of Blyth
Just before the end of the year I visited a couple of places that I had passed many times but had never been to. The first was the Nissan Factory, an iconic place for the region. Is it in Washington or Sunderland? It could well be in both as it is a sprawling mass of … Continue reading A visit to Port of Blyth
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 