As individuals, most business leaders buy into the concept that climate change is a real thing; and that the problems are man-made, and we need to change our behaviour to avert the worst consequences of it. Yet, somehow, when it comes to setting this business strategy, this very real imperative can get lost behind the challenge of responding to immediate market […]
“Nation Of Shopkeepers” – But can we be productive too?
The phrase a “nation of shopkeepers” is often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte and it’s generally assumed he used it in a negative sense. In reality, there is very little evidence that Napoleon ever said this and, if he did, he would have probably been meant it positively; echoing Adam Smith who used the expression in “The Wealth Of Nations” to describe the extent to which trading […]
Disappearing jobs and our ‘lumpy’ future
FOR the last few years all we have heard about is how many jobs are going to disappear as the robots take over. Oxford, Ernst & Young, McKinsey, the World Bank and the rest are all telling us that any repetitive job is vulnerable and about 30% of actual jobs across 60% of fields are […]
Mind The Gap – Time To Look At Productivity
Much has been written about need to improve productivity in advanced economies; and whilst the productivity gap has been highlighted as a particular concern in Britain (especially since the last recession) there are few counties where it does not feature on the political agenda somewhere. Companies are rightly being encouraged to invest more to raise […]