I have to admit that when I first heard that The Great British Bake Off was moving from the BBC to Channel 4 I wasn’t optimistic that it would survive the move or that the new presenters would be able to pick up where the original team left off. Having watched the first few episodes […]

In calling the snap general election Theresa May rolled the dice and hoped (perhaps even expected) to emerge as a stronger leader with a more stable government on the morning of 9 June. Instead, in the early hours of the morning it was becoming clear that the gamble had spectacularly backfired. The Conservatives is still […]

If anyone doubts the value of media training they only need to listen to Nick Ferrari’s recent interview with Diane Abbott on LBC, during which she failed to accurately state how much it would cost the country to employ 10,000 additional police officers. Her truly toe-curling performance was lambasted on social media and ended up […]

In private, the BBC bosses must be kicking themselves for sacking Jeremy Clarkson, because it is now quite clear that they shot not one golden goose, but the entire flock. At the time of Clarkson’s dismissal they no doubt felt fully justified because he had assaulted a colleague. No-one condones aggressive or violent behaviour, but […]

For many companies social media plays an important role in helping to market and promote businesses. We’ve all heard about those marketing campaigns that ‘went viral’ within minutes of being launched and there are many start-up companies that have relied almost entirely on social media platforms to take them from the garden shed to city […]

Recently on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, was being interviewed about ‘dodgy donors’. Presenter Jim Naughtie asked Mr Umunna 5 times if the Labour Party would repay any donations that turned out to have come from someone who was avoiding tax. Five times the shadow business secretary avoided the […]

I am on my third reading of Dale Carnegie’s excellent How To Win Friends & Influence People, which I can’t recommend enough because it gives such powerful insights into how we humans operate. First written in the 1930s, in a very accessible style, Dale Carnegie explains what we can do to get the best out […]

In today’s world of consumer electronics we’re all encouraged to have the latest piece of kit and to upgrade to the latest iterations of operating systems and software applications. As someone who has been using Apple products, on and off since the early 1990s, I have always felt that their products are more stable, more […]

Stylish websites, creative brand identities, innovative marketing campaigns and fantastic photography all count for nothing if your customer service is poor. The one thing that stands out above almost everything else, no matter what sector you’re in, is customer service. Perhaps the only time poor service is tolerated is when an exceptional bargain is on […]