I had two conversations with recruitment consultants the day before yesterday. One chinwag was engaging, challenging and positive (Do I get extra points in the ‘buzzword bingo?’). The other was like discussing nuclear physics with a chimpanzee. There’s never much point, especially when the other person thinks you’re the chimpanzee and try as you might, […]
Apes, Recruitment Consultants and Metaphors. Read More »
Meg Whitman announced today that she’s seeking the Republican nomination in the 2010 California Gubernatorial election. A political ingénue, it’s the first time she has sought public office but she has a distinguished business career behind her. Most notably as eBay CEO for the decade that saw it become one of the most successful internet
If Meg Whitman runs California like eBay… Read More »
Last Thursday saw a great event held by the tireless Emma Jones and Enterprise Nation, champions of British homeworking. The great and the good (and a few folk like me who fell through the cracks) came together to hear predictions for the year ahead. Find out all about what 2009 holds for us all on
Enterprise Nation: Home Enterprise in the UK 2009 Read More »
John Prescott and Stephen Fry are not cut from the same cloth. One a Labour politician, former Deputy Prime Minister and trade unionist. The other a bipolar homosexual with a criminal record and a fondness for Oscar Wilde. One known for mangling the English language and the other a sesquipedalian champion of erudition. Each much
John Prescott & Stephen Fry: Authenticity is all that Counts Read More »
Overheard in the pub: First Man: Seen that Andrew Lloyd-Webber programme with Graham Norton? Second Man: The Eurovision one? Yeah. Bollocks innit. First Man: Nah. I reckon Lloyd-Webber’s the man. He knows his stuff. He might win it for us. Second Man: Win it? All block-voting these days. Even Ireland can’t win it. All East
Brighton Scenes #6 Read More »
LabourList is warming up in advance of a full launch. Some Tory voices have been pretty disparaging (maybe they’re a bit scared?) but I can see it gathering momentum. One thing that needs a bit of work is the ‘community management’. So here’s my advice to Derek Draper, who’s leading the charge… Hi Derek, Good
To Derek Draper re: LabourList.org Read More »
It is traditional for the outgoing President of the United States to leave a letter on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office for his successor. As the great and the good gather at the Capitol in Washington D.C., this picture has been smuggled out of the White House showing George Bush’s letter to Barack
Bush’s Letter to Obama Read More »
Stephen Robertson Director-General of the British Retail Consortium was the Eeyore of business yesterday as he spread doom and gloom across the media. Offered a chance by interviewers to say something positive, Robertson would effortlessly bridge and make a point even more dire than the one before. Don’t we need some cheerleaders as the downturn
British Retail Consortium doesn’t like good news Read More »
Tom Watson, the member for West Bromwich East and Civil Service Minister, is a rare politician: he gets the web. And I don’t mean just as a campaign broadcast tool (viz Obama). He gets it as a utility and a potential agent of change and engagement. In recent weeks, this has become more important. With
Tom Watson: MP 2.0 Read More »
Shouldn’t eBay be recession-proof? eBay in Germany has been a phenomenal success over the past decade and for much of that time DE was in actual recession or not enjoying growth like the US and UK. (It’s a shame the team that made that happen have been let go because I’m sure there were lessons
eBay in 2009: Boom or Bust? Read More »
We don’t have the wilds of Scotland, the wilderness of the moors in Devon or Yorkshire, Northern Ireland’s moody mountains or deserted beaches like Wales. No brooding hills as you see near Malvern or Manchester. We lack the drama of the Lakes, the chocolate box rolls of the Cotswolds and Dorset. We don’t have a
The Beauty of Sussex is Underrated Read More »
The arrival of a new Doctor is always a bit harrowing. I can remember each regeneration since Tom Baker turned into Peter Davison (admittedly dimly) and as a result can remember occasions when the next Doctor wasn’t equal or better to his predecessor. But Matt Smith seems like an excellent choice and it’s just a
Little Hopes for the Eleventh Doctor Read More »
Sometimes I get contacted by a journalist looking for a view or quote. Here’s a Q&A I did earlier today. Do you agree? How do you think the recession will affect eBay businesses? eBay sellers are retailers and, as we’ve seen in the headlines, retail is one sector that is being affected by the economic
eBay and the Recession Q&A Read More »