“This is a non smoking flight. All toilets are fitted with smoke detectors as well as cameras for the captain’s personal pleasure. If we catch you smoking we’ll assume you’re on fire and extinguish you…” These were the exact words of the Kulula Airline hostess as she went through the health and safety briefing ahead…
Arriving at the station the other morning I overheard a conversation between two young women. It went something like this: First woman “How did your hot date go with that good looking guy?” Second woman “You know what, it was OK. But all through the evening he talked about himself and I just listened.” First…
Last week three guys who recently established a business in London wanted my thoughts on the recruitment of their first member of staff. Whilst they were naturally concerned about the costs associated with employment, greater uncertainty surrounded the management of the new recruit?“We’ve got to make sure the new person knows how to do…
A friend of mine complained bitterly the other day about the ten pages of ‘minutes’ she had to write for the quarterly board meeting she recently attended. “It takes me hours to write these up and half the time I can’t make sense of my own notes and who said what” she said. “I’m…
Towards the end of my first full year of business in York I arrived at my office one Monday morning to find the whole place had been ransacked. Cables were ripped out walls, paper was strewn over the floor and my beloved computer was gone. As I swore and cursed loudly, the landlord eased his…
Tired of wasting time answering PPI calls? Fed up with learning yet again of an accident you can claim for, yet it never happened? According to a recent Which? Survey, the volume of unwanted phone calls has become more than just a nuisance – especially for people trying to run small businesses. So I…
The truth of the following story may well be in doubt, but the lesson is clear. In 1995 it is alleged that this conversation took place, just off the coast of Newfoundland, between a large US naval ship and a Canadian maritime officer. What the tale teaches us is the fact that it’s very easy…
Running a small business in this harsh economic climate is hard work. If you’re making a profit you’re doing well. We all want to find new customers, protect margins and keep overheads as low as possible. And training staff is one overhead that is typically trimmed by all businesses in times like these. Training is…
Not long ago I was travelling on the London Underground and caught sight of this advert at Kings Cross Station. The image made me chuckle. More importantly for Vodafone, it got my attention. Unfortunately, so many print ads fail to perform like this Vodafone ad. In fact vast amounts of money are wasted by businesses…
Conformity is a real business problem especially in the field of marketing promotions. In fact it’s a disease that left unchecked, sends companies to the wall. When you’re promoting your business, you naturally want your message to stand out, be remembered and ideally go viral. Yet, so many businesses camouflage what they say because they…
