Category Archives: Business

The smartphone is the sun and everything else orbits it…

From Ben Evans’ blog “Content isn’t King” ….  the device is the phone and the network is the internet. The smartphone is the sun and everything else orbits it. Internet advertising will be bigger than TV advertising this year, and Apple’s revenue is larger than the entire global pay TV industry. This is also whyContinue reading “The smartphone is the sun and everything else orbits it…”

Dental associates; workers or self-employed? The tide is turning…. from JFH lw

Laura Pearce, Senior solicitor at JFH law has written a an informative blog post on the changing position of associates in the eyes of HMRC. Since the Central London employment tribunal handed down its decision in the Uber case on 28th October 2016, the courts have been awash with claimants seeking to gain worker status.Continue reading “Dental associates; workers or self-employed? The tide is turning…. from JFH lw”

Obsess Over Your Customers, Not Your Rivals

From HBR, worth a read and then asking yourself some questions…. The starting point of most competitive analysis is a question: Who is your competition? That’s because most companies view their competition as another brand, product, or service. But smart leaders and organizations go broader. The question is not who your competition is but what it is. And the answerContinue reading “Obsess Over Your Customers, Not Your Rivals”

Nice piece on the practical elements of leadership from the HBR

Use High Standards to Motivate Employees Employees constantly watch their leaders to understand what kind of people they are. So one of the most important things leaders can do is to insist on high standards. While low standards lead to low commitment, high standards are energising, even for the most self-motivated employees. But choose yourContinue reading “Nice piece on the practical elements of leadership from the HBR”

Playing the “What If” game.

I delivered my presentation, “Is Dentistry Making You Sick?” in Gloucestershire a couple of days ago and introduced a game that I suggest participants play with their teams and partners. It’s called “What If” and the rules are simple in the extreme, you come up with the most unlikely thing that you can imagine andContinue reading “Playing the “What If” game.”

“Jeff, what does Day 2 look like?”

Another post via the essential Benedict Evans’ Newsletter. This is from Jeff Bezos‘ (Amazon founder & CEO) annual shareholder letter: “managing Amazon and change in a large company”. Well worth a read. “Jeff, what does Day 2 look like?” That’s a question I just got at our most recent all-hands meeting. I’ve been reminding people that it’sContinue reading ““Jeff, what does Day 2 look like?””

They shopped until they dropped and then they stopped….

On the very rare occasions I am in large shopping “malls” (usually visiting a John Lewis – predictable I know) I wonder, “how do these places make any money”? Interesting article in the New York Times about the changes in US retail via Benedict Evans’ Newsletter where he says: Is American retail at a tipping point? (Arguably,Continue reading “They shopped until they dropped and then they stopped….”

The Weekend Read – Deep Work by Cal Newport

This is a “must read” for anyone who feels they are getting overwhelmed or even too distracted by 21st century life. Subtitled, “Rules for focus success in a distracted world” it does exactly what it says on the cover. I regularly hear complaints from my clients that they are having problems focussing on the mostContinue reading “The Weekend Read – Deep Work by Cal Newport”

Now that’s one way to ask for feedback

  I love reading reviews on Amazon, the 4 & 5 stars tell me something but the 1 star reviews sometimes make me fear for the survival of the human species, “couldn’t get the lid off, “arrived without batteries”, etc. I often wonder where the gap between expectations and reality started as they are soContinue reading “Now that’s one way to ask for feedback”