Tag Archives: human behaviour

If you can whistle, you’re not tone deaf

  My late father’s only sister, my Aunt Hetty, died last month. My earliest memories of her are of Kenya and a different world. For the first 17 years of my life, ‘home’ was Hong Kong where I was born. … Continue reading

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Why things can only get worse in 2014

  The dawn of a New Year is a looking forward to what is to come and for reflection, a time for taking stock. There are two things we know will happen during 2014: First, a relentless, inexorable, incessant and, … Continue reading

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A master class in the art of chairing a meeting

  Lord Kingsdown died last month. He was best known as Chairman of the NatWest and then Governor of the Bank of England. I knew him as Robin Leigh-Pemberton and through playing cricket on the private ground at his estate … Continue reading

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The difference between a product and a service

In my last post, I shared my experience of pouring hundreds of cans of beer down the drain in Vietnam due the high level of care Heineken take to ensure that every can of their lager meets their strict quality … Continue reading

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How the UK Government ignored the most basic law of advertising

The Rt Hon Theresa May, Secretary of State for the Home Office has announced that she wishes to create a ‘hostile environment‘ for illegal migrants to Britain. But early attempts to do this run the risk of alienating those of … Continue reading

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Max Mosley: are you an amateur or a professional in life?

These days, television programmes come round and round like race cars on a track. Gone are the days when, if you missed them, you missed them. And you can pause and rewind programmes too which means, if anyone says anything … Continue reading

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James Hunt: enjoy life while you can

Twice in the last week, I have watched Rush the new film about Niki Lauda and James Hunt. James was the first ‘celebrity’ I ever met. As a schoolboy in the 1970s, not only did I meet him – but … Continue reading

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Work. Partner. Home. Three decisions in life you have to get right.

In life there comes a time when, like me, you’ve had more than you’ve got left. When this happens, you can look back at decisions you – and your contemporaries – have got right (and, I’m afraid, wrong). In my … Continue reading

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Strategic thinking: some people don’t get it, do they?

Watching the BBC’s The Apprentice, I am reminded of a show in last year’s series when one of the contestants endlessly repeated ‘What’s the strategy? What’s the strategy?’ to a team leader who had no answer. Quite clearly, he didn’t … Continue reading

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Understanding the importance of trust

When I joined the advertising business, there was a new buzzword called ‘marketing’. Few knew what it meant. At Ogilvy & Mather, where my career was born, we had a guy – yes, one person in the whole agency – … Continue reading

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