The End …

… of the nearly year, parliamentary pantomimes and the end.

2007 seems to have been a nearly year. Lewis Hamilton so nearly won the F1 World Championship, England nearly qualified for Euro 2008, Chris Huhne nearly became leader of the Liberal Democrats at the second attempt and the Government lost nearly everything in sight.

Talking of the Lib Dems, Christmas is considered to be the pantomime season, but actually the best show can be seen most Wednesdays throughout the year – yes it’s Prime Minister's Questions, otherwise known as PMQs. There have been a number of highlights. Tony Blair’s farewell performance was a masterpiece, although sadly we were deprived of the final moments by some idiot BBC director deciding to cut to something far less interesting or important.

Blair was a consummate performer, which made the new PM’s performances seem even more inept.Tony B would turn up with a neatly prepared folder of briefing notes, to which he referred only fleetingly. Gordon Brown arrives with a great untidy wad of scrawled notes that he continually shuffles through in desperate search of an answer. And when angered by the questions fired by David Cameron, the whole pack is thrown down onto the despatch box in a show of petulance.

However, often lately Cameron seems to be a blunt instrument battering away without too much success. Certainly nothing like the success of that stingingly cruel but effective jibe from Lib Dems acting leader, Vince Cable when he accused the PM of turning order into chaos and transforming from Stalin to Mr Bean. Sheer pantomime magic!

Well, that’s it for this year. In fact that’s it for Random Ramblings in its current form. From January it will become a monthly newsletter that will feature a business commentary, articles and advice; in fact whatever comes along during the month that I think might be of interest. In the January edition there will be details of our next Towards the Perfect Business Workshop with a big money saving offer for early bookings.

To be added to the circulation for the new monthly Random Ramblings, click here.

Now it just remains for me to wish you a very Happy Christmas and a successful business year in 2008.


David Wike

Archbishop skewers Balls…

… worldsourcing and size matters.

The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr John Sentamu is the 97th Archbishop of York and may well be one of the more colourful holders of that post. Appearing on the Andrew Marr show on BBC TV on Sunday morning, he ranted about the shameful situation in Zimbabwe and the lack of leadership shown by other African nations in the effort to remove Robert Mugabe. After accusing Mugabe of robbing people of their identity Sentamu removed his dog collar, a symbol of his identity, and cut it up in front of an astonished Marr. He said he would not wear one again until Mugabe is driven from power.

Then the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls was interviewed on various education issues including SATs. At the end of the programme, Archbishop Sentamu wagged his finger at Ed Balls and said, "If you want to fatten a pig you should feed it, not keep weighing it." Priceless! The only answer that the Secretary of State could come up with was, "That's very interesting."

The BBC has been a rich source of information this week, in this case from their website business pages. William Amelio, CEO of Lenovo, a global PC company, wrote an article that summed up very eloquently the way business is heading in the 21st century. He talks about ‘worldsourcing’ replacing outsourcing. Outsourcing is about lowering costs by shifting non-essential operations to a contractor in order to cut costs. With worldsourcing, all aspects of business - including materials, human talent, innovation, logistics, infrastructure and products - are sourced wherever the best is available.

Amelio sums up: “Worldsourcing is about increasing value and quality, not just lowering costs. All parts of a global enterprise are worldsourced to where the best resources, talent, ideas and efficiencies exist.”

In this new world, nationality is not important. Amelio continues, “My own company presents an example of worldsourcing: I am an American chief executive based in Singapore. Our European President is Dutch and based in Paris. Our chairman, who is Chinese, works from the USA. Meetings of my company's senior managers looks like the United Nations General Assembly.”

He says, “We have just opened a global marketing hub in India and announced a new manufacturing plant and fulfilment operations centre in Poland. Our European operations hub is in Paris, we have fulfilment centres in North America, and factories in China, India, and Latin America.”

Not all companies are operating on the scale of Lenovo, but even quite small businesses are going global. As an example, a few weeks back we ran a business workshop. One of the participants owns a website design business. He had three employees, two of whom are based in the Philippines. So it’s no good being parochial any more. We can try to stem the tide, but King Canute demonstrated the ineffectiveness of that approach. The alternative is to embrace ‘the new world’ and look for areas where we in Britain can provide the ‘best’ solution to a particular element of business. This requires us to be ever more entrepreneurial, more innovative, more enterprising, more creative and more flexible. It means that we have to free our young people to learn, not just to pass exams.

When we talk global companies, we tend to think big. It used to be thought, and indeed still is in some quarters, that big is beautiful, that economies of scale win the day. In a recent article, management guru Tom Peters comments on research carried out by Professor Pankaj Ghemawat at Harvard University's School of Business Administration. This demonstrates that, more often than not, big does not equal beautiful in the business world, or indeed, in the world in general. Depending on what data you look at, the order varies a little, but nevertheless, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Ireland, and Denmark are right at the top of the GDP per capita league. None is exactly a large country, so it seems that Alex Salmond’s Scottish National Party might be on the right track in seeking to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK!

It is only a short while ago that John Reid famously declared that the Home Office wasn’t fit for purpose and it was split into two to try to make it more manageable. And on reflection, merging the Inland Revenue with Customs and Excise to form HM Revenue and Customs, hasn’t proved to be an inspired move!

For 2008, think small!


David Wike

Take a risk …

… recruit chimps not graduates, letting go and wandering about.

The new boss of the Health and Safety Commission, Judith Hackitt, has said that she wants an end to an over-cautious approach to H&S matters. Apparently she is in the habit of writing to local authorities and others to ‘warn’ them not to take an over-zealous approach to protecting the public or their employees. As she rightly points out, there is a serious job to be done in improving safety in the workplace and avoiding unnecessary or excessive risk. But banning playground games of conkers or requiring Father Christmas to wear a hard hat in case a decoration falls off the Christmas Tree is unnecessary and not helpful to the cause. Well done Judith!

A Japanese study has shown that young chimpanzees have better memories than university students. Probably because they spend less time in the students’ union bar I would think. I wonder if old chimps get to the top of the tree and then can’t remember why they are there?

My excuse for a faltering memory is that there is just so much in there that the ‘hard drive’ is getting a bit full. I read two interesting articles today. The first suggested that having a to do list might not be that helpful. We tend to clutter these lists with things that we would like to do or that we feel we should do rather than just listing the things we must do. As a result we are likely to suffer the ‘can’t see the wood for the trees’ syndrome. It was suggested that we should have a let go list alongside the to do list. On it we should identify what doesn’t really need doing or what could be delegated.

Once we have cleared most of the stuff off our to do list we will then have time to look around and to see what is going on in our business, in the businesses of our competitors and with our customers. Yes, the second article reminded us of the benefits of wandering about, of talking to people, watching people, looking at how processes work in reality as opposed to in theory. By listening and watching we will truly understand what is going on in a way that we never will if we remain in our offices.

Going back a good few years, when I worked in the motor industry, I had to go to a meeting near Dusseldorf. I drove there. My marketing colleagues flew there, as did delegates from Paris, Munich and even Brussels I think. They seemed amazed that I should have driven. OK, so I was out of the office for a little longer, but that drive brought home to me the differences between driving on one of our motorways or the French and Belgian autoroutes and the German autobahns. The speed differentials experienced in Germany just do not exist in other parts of Europe. I then fully understood why our German sales company put such an emphasis on high speed stability and brake performance. Finding a large Mercedes, BMW or a Porsche going 30 or 40 miles an hour faster boring down on you tends to make you dive for cover into a gap in the traffic in the slow lane. The only snag is that the truck that defines the front of the gap is going 40mph slower than you. Given good stability and excellent brakes you might survive. The warning signs along the autobahn suggest that plenty don’t.

You can read about these things, you can be told about them, but there is nothing like experiencing them first hand to appreciate the significance. So whether you get out and about on foot or by other means, do get out and find what life’s like outside of the confines of the office.


David Wike

From Empire …

… to the new world of skills, enterprise and can do.

In a speech to the CBI, Gordon Brown said that decisions on key national infrastructure projects will be handed to a new independent body and streamlined. If that means that desperately needed improvements to the road, rail and airport network will be speeded up and free from the Government meddling in the details, hurray!

As more and more top ex-public servants ‘come out of the woodwork’, an article in The Telegraph at the weekend reveals just how much the Labour Government has tried to micro-manage the UK. It makes the fascinating contrast between today and the days of empire. At the height of the British Empire when we ruled a quarter of the world, there were just 99 staff in the Colonial Office which administered everywhere except for India, which had its own administration. How on earth did this work? Quite simply because there were local administrators in each territory who were trusted to get on with things. Without the benefit of modern communications there was little choice but to give them this responsibility.

Compare that 99 at the Colonial Office with 92,000 at HM Revenue and Customs today! At the CBI conference when the Prime Minister said Britain needed "the most far-reaching change in our occupational industrial and employment structures for more than a century", I don’t think he was referring to government, but perhaps he should have been.

Gordon Brown went on to say "If the best welfare is no longer the benefits you have today but the skills you gain for tomorrow then the inactive should, wherever possible, be preparing and training to get back into work." Not exactly plain English but I think we get his drift. He pointed out that we have six million unskilled workers in Britain today but it is likely that within a few years we will need only half a million. So what will the other 5½ million do? Well, it is predicted that we will need five million additional skilled employees within the next ten years, so those currently unskilled will need to be ‘upskilled’, to use a horrible piece of jargon.

So what do we mean by skilled? “We are not looking for students with a degree or even A levels, we are looking for young people who are reliable, hard working, trustworthy and can work as a team player; we would welcome anyone who is able to contribute and who would not be frightened to put forward ideas. We have a training policy to teach the skills needed and have a number of staff that have taken NVQs and other training opportunities. We are really looking for staff who are interested in developing to reach their full potential.” So said Westons Cider Human Resources manager at The Enterprise Imperative day earlier this year run by Midwest Rural Enterprise for teacher development.

This backs up comments from the Federation of Small Businesses that I reported two weeks ago in Random Ramblings, “that those managing a small company are not generally 'hung up' on education and are more interested in hiring people who have the basic necessary skills and who will fit in.” So it seems that the challenge for teachers is to instil in their students a need to develop a ‘can do attitude’ and a willingness to learn ... and keep on learning.


David Wike


Midwest Rural Enterprise is a community interest company supporting the Business Link Volunteer Mentor programme in the West Midlands. David Wike is a member of the mentor programme.

Speaking, Spam, Spam ...

… Spam, clay on our boots and is the customer always right?

On Monday evening I was at a speaking competition. For those of us who have been used to getting up on our hind legs to give business presentations, speaking publicly doesn’t hold any great fear apart from a few butterflies before standing up. But the learning from watching and listening to other speakers is invaluable to developing one’s own performance. Perhaps like many other things, we can pick it up as we go along and think we can do it quite well without ever having had proper training. However, there is nothing like some structured coaching to initially disabuse one of that idea and then to build on any innate strengths we may have to develop us into a competent performer.

You will note that I have used the words ‘performance’ and ‘performer’. Whenever we stand up to speak there should be an element of a performance to make the whole thing come alive. And most importantly, we should pitch our delivery to suit the audience and the occasion. We should be sensitive to them and react accordingly.

I am sure that none of us likes junk mail, cold calling and spam emails. This presents a dilemma for those in business because we want the potential customer to know about our products and services, but we should want to avoid alienating them by bombarding them with unwanted advertising. How do we know that it is unwanted? Well, possibly we don’t, but we should be sensitive to any feedback that indicates that may be the case. I have had two phone calls recently where I was politely trying to indicate that I wasn’t interested. In each case the caller didn’t take the hint so I had to be a bit more blunt, but hopefully still polite. In both cases I was treated to what amounted to abuse.

I have also had a call from someone offering a business service. I asked for the details to be emailed to me so I could study them at my leisure. Nothing arrived but the same guy called me again a week or so later. I reminded him that he had promised to send information and he said that he would do so. A couple of weeks on and I have heard nothing. Hopeless!

On Saturday evening I was at a dinner and was talking to a very senior executive of a major motor manufacturer. He said that one aspect of the job that he enjoyed was visiting the styling studio to look at progress on new models. We both agreed that talking with the designers, the smell of the clay, and indeed, coming out of the studio with clay stuck to your shoes was a highlight of the new product development process. Developing a new product that is sufficiently forward thinking to be exciting and to have longevity is a challenge because you also need to design something that isn’t so unfamiliar that the customer feels uncomfortable with it when it first appears.

This led me on to thinking about whether the oft repeated statement that the customer is always right is, in fact, always right. My view is that customers are not always right but they do pay your wages. However, I do think that we do the customer a disservice if we do not try to gently lead them towards our way of thinking if we are sure that we are right. As a simple example, if we try on an item of clothing and the sales assistant always says, “That suits you sir.” or something similar, we soon start to discount their ‘advice’. If on the other hand they suggest that we try something else as, “I don’t think that’s quite right for you sir.”, their advice is genuine, it has value and we are likely to go back to shop there again.


David Wike

Attitude, paperwork ...

... and leadership.

In my 29th August Ramble I discussed business associate Trevor Gay’s view that employers would be well served by recruiting for attitude and training for skills. In other words, put more emphasis on a ‘can do attitude’ and a willingness to learn, rather than on academic qualifications. Therefore, it is interesting to note comments from the Federation of Small Businesses “that those managing a small company are not generally 'hung up' on education and are more interested in hiring people who have the basic necessary skills and who will fit in.”

A spokesman for the FSB said, "For an employer, once you get past the key stages of a potential employee being well presented, on time and having good communication skills and a good basic knowledge of reading and writing, adding up, that kind of thing, what they are looking for is people that will fit into their business.” Interestingly he goes on to point out that many small business owners are not well qualified in an academic sense and therefore take a more open attitude to job application candidates.

I wonder how many large organisations miss the opportunity to recruit really capable people because of an insistence on degree level qualifications or the ability to pass a set of ‘aptitude’ tests. By applying these standards they would have denied themselves such talents as Richard Branson, Alan Sugar, Duncan Bannatyne and John Major. Quite simply, qualifications prove an ability to pass exams. They give little indication as to suitability and capability to do a particular job.

I am sure that we all agree that we need to keep on improving, to keep driving standards upwards. But extra pieces of paper do not achieve that. If we take education and health, the government has ploughed in record amounts of investment over the last ten years. They have raised target and put in new targets where none existed. There is no doubt that there have been improvements. But ten years on we have hospitals that are positively dangerous places to visit and students leaving school who, by the government’s own admission, are not adequately prepared to meet the challenges of the modern economy.

So being a simple soul, without spending years researching it, I conclude that paperwork, be it in the form of certificates for this that and the other, or new targets and policies, or even lots of crispy twenty pound notes, do not make a positive difference. The only thing that makes a difference is People. Leadership is about encouraging, motivating, inspiring; it is about trusting people to use common sense and use their own judgement. It is about making them responsible for themselves, making a real contribution and not being ‘passengers’.


David Wike

In from the sun …

…. long distance commuting, grumpy old man, perfection and cheese.


Good grief! It is forecast that 1½ million of us Brits will be commuting to the UK from sunnier climes within the next ten years. I know several people who travel for a couple of hours each way to get to work at the moment and I think they are barking! But commuting from abroad? Well, perhaps it’s not that daft. Come to think about it I do know someone who lives in Spain but works in the UK for four days a week. And that is the key, increasingly it isn’t necessary to work 9 ‘til 5, Monday to Friday. The Internet and mobile communications have meant that going to the office is more of a habit than a necessity for many people.

In fact, to balance out the effect of all this long distance commuting, most of the rest of us will have to work from home to offset their carbon consumption. I am sure that most employers still suspect that those working from home don’t pull their weight. I’m not at all sure that is true, but even if it is, just think of the savings that could be made by not needing anywhere near so much office space. Investment tip – don’t buy offices to rent out!

As a self-confessed nit-picking perfectionist and grumpy old man, I am constantly frustrated by the inefficiencies and incompetence of many organisations. Of course, there are many excellent businesses around, but I’m sure that even they could find opportunities to do just that bit better. After Manchester United won the treble in 1999, a reporter asked manager Sir Alex Ferguson what he thought of the team. The reply was, “We need to improve”.

Today, along with Trevor Gay (Simplicity is the Key), I will be running a business development workshop entitled ‘Towards the Perfect Business’. I know that none of us is ever going to achieve perfection, but unless we have that single minded determination exhibited by Sir Alex, we will become less competitive over time.

I have just re-read ‘Who Moved My Cheese’ by Spencer Johnson. It tells the story of two mice, Sniff and Scurry, and two mice size ‘little people’ Hem and Haw. The live in a cheese maze and live well of the cheese in their ‘cheese station’. One day the cheese runs out so Sniff sniffs out the whereabouts of a possible new supply and Scurry leads the chase of the two mice to find the new cheese. Hem and Haw don’t want to believe that the cheese has gone for good so stay put. Time goes by but they still cling to the belief that ‘somebody will do something’ to return things to the comfortable way they were.

Eventually it dawns on Haw that the cheese will not be returning so he sets off into the maze to find new cheese. There are many blind alleys and dead ends and haw is frightened to go on. He is tempted to turn back to the familiar but cheeseless place he has left behind. But he continues forward, encouraging himself with a vision of a bountiful supply of new cheese. Eventually he finds it along with the mice, Sniff and Scurry.

Of course, cheese is a metaphor for a good income, food on the table, a better way of life, greater personal fulfilment and so on. Have you noticed that so many say that ‘they’ should do something where ‘they’ is the government, the council, in fact anyone but themselves. The many migrant workers who have arrived and still arrive in this country were brave enough to travel to an unknown and probably frightening new place in search of new cheese. Some of us would do well to follow their example rather than hope that someone restores our old supply of cheese.


David Wike

Vaguely in control …

…. annoying the customer, getting on with it and kissing.

Last week I was browsing the shelves in a stationery shop when an assistant spotted my meanderings and enquired whether I needed help. I declined her offer with, “It’s OK thanks, I’m vaguely under control.” This reduced her to a state of mirth. I’m not sure whether this was because of the way I expressed it or because it patently wasn’t true! She continued her shelf stacking but was instantly available when I did need some advice.

The shop in question is one of those in the empire of Mr Paphitis of Dragons’ Den fame. I have to say that whenever I have been in, all of the staff have been friendly and helpful. Of course, this shouldn’t cause comment, it should be the norm, but so often that isn’t the case. There is a Chinese proverb that says a man without a smiling face should not open a shop. This seems very sound advice.

On Monday I had a meeting with two business colleagues. We met in the lounge of a hotel that is part of a well known chain. I ordered coffee and was asked if I wanted to set up a tab. This seemed like a good idea, but then I was asked for my credit card for them to keep behind the bar. As this is against the rules for use of a credit card and not common sense anyway, I declined and paid cash. This caused a problem as they didn’t have any change in the till, even though it was nearly eleven in the morning.

We came to lunchtime and I ordered sandwiches from the bar and asked to pay by card. Guess what, the bar didn’t have a credit card facility, so I was issued with an invoice to take to the reception desk to settle up there. This is what I refer to as a 90% business – it gets 90% right but lets itself down on the final ten percent. I expect that the Chinese have a proverb to cover this as well, but I don’t know what it is!

“We have a strategic plan. It’s called doing things.” So said Herb Kelleher, chairman and co-founder of Southwest Airlines in the US. OK, so the government is thinking about the possibility of considering a proposal to evaluate a plan for a high speed rail link from London to Birmingham. Gordon, it’s a good idea. It’s a no brainer. Just do it! My bill for consultancy is in the post.

Singapore Airlines was the first airline to secure orders for the new Airbus A380 super jumbo. Presumably the Singapore authorities realised it was a good idea to develop Changi airport to accommodate the new plane. Not only did they have to upgrade the terminal buildings but the runway also had to be widened. So they just did it. There are times when the best course of action is the most obvious. That’s when it is the time to take a focussed approach and just get on with it. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that Changi was chosen for the enormous A380’s first commercial flight last week.

The previously mentioned Theo Paphitis has five principles, one of which is the well known KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid. He believes this to be particularly important in communications with everyone involved in the business. OK, here goes then:
- Theo: Your team in Bromsgrove is doing a good job.
- H*****y Inn: Stop annoying your customers.
- Mr Brown: Just get on and build that railway.

Clear enough?


David Wike

Almost the best …

… teamwork, blue cards, enterprise and a Scottish shambles.

The England rugby team and Lewis Hamilton came second in their respective contests. It has been said that first is first and second is nowhere. It is true that it is the winner’s name that goes on the trophy, that it is them who are remembered long after the event. But I think that there is something that is more important.

For me the most important thing in any walk of life is to be the best that you can be, to do the best with whatever ability you have been given. Sure, both the rugby team and Lewis will look at mistakes made and rue the fact that possibly they could have won. But in my view both did the best they could. Whether everyone in the McLaren pit lane could say the same is more debatable from my perspective. This emphasizes that everyone in a team must give of their best for success to be achieved.

A different kind of teamwork may develop in London. Hurlingham and Chelsea comprehensive school in Fulham is involved in discussions that could see it turned into a bi-lingual school, partly-funded by the French government. This would see the school using both the French and English languages and national curriculums. Apparently the local authority, Hammersmith and Fulham council has been approached by the French government about setting up a school using the French language, with part-funding on offer. Part of the thinking is that it could provide lessons for the children of French nationals in the capital.

Continuing with the European theme, there is a proposal being developed for a ‘blue card’ scheme which would allow suitably qualified people and their families to live and work within the EU. It is suggested that there is a need for 20 million skilled immigrants over the next 20 years. In particular, the EU is very short of expertise in engineering and computer technology. Of course, not all countries are keen on the details of the proposed scheme, some having their own preferred arrangements.

Regardless of the detailed arrangements, according to the European Commission, "To maintain and improve economic growth in the EU, it is essential for Europe to become a magnet for the highly skilled." It seems extraordinary to me that we have failed to train enough people in the skills required to support the economy. I am particularly surprised at the shortage of expertise in computer technology as IT in its various guises seems to be the one subject that interests most young people in one way or another.

I am currently involved with one of nine pilot projects in the Schools’ Enterprise Education Network programme looking at innovative ways to further the development of an enterprise approach to support the 21st century economy in the UK. If the pilot is successful I anticipate that the programme will then be rolled out across the country. This may go at least part of the way to helping schools and students align themselves more with the needs of business in a rapidly changing economic environment.

A report published yesterday said that voters were "treated as an afterthought" in the planning and organisation of the May 2007 elections in Scotland. The elections had a new ballot paper design and a new voting system for the council seats. Ron Gould heading the enquiry into the shambles that resulted said, "Changes were introduced with the expectation that they would simply fall into place."

The results process suffered considerable delays and in all some 146,000 ballot papers were rejected. There are two key learning points. If you are doing something new, always test it first. And most importantly, remember that the only reason you should be doing it is to serve your customers, in this case the voters. There seems little doubt that those responsible for the election were not the best they could be.


David Wike

Sloping playing fields, target common sense, rising from the flood, an opportunity.

Last week Welsh Water was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £69,000 in costs after admitting supplying unfit water that left 231 people suffering from sickness after the outbreak of the cryptosporidium bug in November 2005.

Back in the summer Cadbury was fined £1 million for failings which resulted in salmonella in chocolate products. It is also reckoned to have cost them £30 million in terms of the resulting product recall and lost sales.

At about the same time British Airways was being fined £121.5m by the UK Office of Fair Trading and $300m (£148m) by the US Department of Justice, a total of £270m after it admitted collusion in fixing the prices of fuel surcharges.

Is it my imagination or is there an imbalance here?

Also last week we heard the incredible horror story of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. Like most people I am absolutely incredulous that such a regime should have existed. I believe that criminal charges should be brought against the senior management. If this had been an industrial company that had suffered 90 fatalities as a result of sloppy practice, there is absolutely no doubt that the Health and Safety Executive would have prosecuted.

Again, there has to be a level playing field. Management of any organisation owes a duty of care to its employees and customers. It matters not whether it is a private company or a state run hospital, the same rules should apply.

In previous Rambles I have criticised the government for setting too many targets in health and education, for being unwilling to let the professionals manage without interference. In this case there seems little doubt that focussing on certain targets caused the management eye to be taken off the ball, but surely to goodness, any half competent and caring management would recognise that their first responsibility was to the patients. Targets can be useful. We all need them to stretch us. But an application of common sense is even more useful.

Some call centres have targets for speed of dealing with the customer. This isn’t to benefit the customer but is a way of getting more out of the phone operators. Thankfully many recognise that it is the quality of the call from the customers perspective that counts rather than the speed of throughput. Similarly, sales people who only care, or are only allowed to care, about the number of new sales deals clinched, do their company no favours in the long term.

Most of us want to be looked after, valued. If we feel we are important to the business we are likely to go back again. If we are dissatisfied it is more than likely that we will go elsewhere next time. The most valuable member of the sales team is the one that you don’t have to pay - yes the customer who recommends you to others because they are delighted with the service that you provide. My website features a few who are worthy of recommendation. One in particular I would like to mention.

Hotelshop is based in Droitwich in Worcestershire. They specialise in booking hotel accommodation, whether for business or pleasure, and short breaks throughout the UK. They pride themselves in finding last minute deals with great savings on normal rates. During ‘The Great Flood’ that affected many areas of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire during the summer, their offices were flooded to a depth of ten feet. The file server was lost, the phone system was lost, records were lost. Thanks to a great team effort which saw temporary relocation, including to kitchens and dining room tables, and long hours worked, business was able to continue. Check them out at http://www.hotelshopuk.com/.

On Wednesday 7th November I will be running a business workshop called ‘Towards the Perfect Business’. The target ‘audience’ is owner/directors or influential managers in small/medium sized organisations. This is a ‘dress rehearsal’ to evaluate the concept before launching the full programme.

Two of my associates, Kim Johnson and Trevor Gay will be helping to facilitate the Workshop. You can read about us and learn more about the Workshop on my website http://www.davidwike.co.uk/.

If you are in my target audience category, there is an opportunity to participate in the event completely free of charge. In fact a buffet lunch and all refreshments will be provided as well. The Workshop will be held in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire starting at 9.30am and finishing around 4.30pm. If you are interested, please contact me as soon as possible as there are only a couple of places left.

And finally, did you see the first programme of the new Dragons’ Den series that started on Monday? Wasn’t it wonderful?


David Wike

The bleedin’ obvious, smart marketing, fast wine.

The BBC, and probably other broadcasters, seem to think that we are all stupid. Have you noticed how everything is accompanied by a commentary? We listen to a reporter standing outside No.10, in the middle of a flooded field or wherever it happens to be, then the studio news reader tells us what we have just heard. By the way, why do they spend money sending the reporter to stand outside No.10? They could just as well be in the studio with a picture of the PM’s pad in the background. And as for standing in flooded fields … !

Then there are programmes like Dragons’ Den. We’ve all heard four fiery Dragons say that they are not going to invest in the business idea being pitched to them. Do we really need Evan Davis telling us that there is only one Dragon left? Never mind the accusations that exams are being dumbed down, what about broadcasting? It reminds me of Fawlty Towers when a frustrated and irate Basil (when wasn’t he?) suggested that Sybil should go on Mastermind, specialist subject ‘The Bleedin’ Obvious’!

The band Radiohead has told fans that they can pay as much or as little as they like to download the band's new album ‘In Rainbows’. Is this a piece of clever marketing or have they lost the plot? They will sell the album directly from their website because they are not tied to a record label. However, although the download is potentially free, the album will also be available as part of a £40 box-set which includes the CD, two vinyl records, a CD with additional songs, photos, artwork and lyrics. Not sure what most folk will do with the vinyls!

Presumably Radiohead are counting on the fact that many of their millions of die-hard fans will be unable to resist buying the box-set. Of course, those who download will be required to register their details and therefore become targets for future marketing campaigns. Apparently free albums also drive demand for live tours, an example being Prince, who gave away his album 3121 for free in the UK through the Daily Mail. He subsequently announced 21 tour dates in London, all of which sold out.

In my Ramble this week last year I mentioned that Google had just announced that they had bought YouTube for $1.65 million. I then went on to say, “Gosh! Amazing! Er, but who or what is You Tube I asked myself?” Only twelve months on I guess we all know what You Tube is and have probably seen video clips from it, even if only on TV news. Technologies are moving so quickly that it is difficult to keep abreast of developments. But this is exactly what businesses need to do to stay competitive, using innovative marketing campaigns along the way to take advantage of the technological revolution.

But smart marketing isn’t enough. In fact it can be dangerous if you ‘build up’ what you are offering but then fail to deliver. Fortunately some get it spot on. I ordered a case of wine last Friday from Laithwaites. I haven’t bought from them before but they got off to a good start by delivering my wine yesterday (Tuesday), well within the promised seven days. In fact their average delivery time is 3.2 days apparently. This is an excellent example of under-promising and over-delivering.

Since Tony Laithwaite started in 1969 by bringing wine back in a van from Bordeaux the business has won countless awards for customer service. Undoubtedly this has been a significant factor in the company growing to become the world’s No.1 home delivery wine merchant. Now if those dozen bottles of very nice Spanish reds come up to expectation I will be a very happy customer!

David Wike

Think it through, fast green magnetic trains, traffic light tax and risk taking.

The Conservatives have announced plans to tax flights rather than individual passengers in an attempt to make flying more ‘green’ by encouraging airlines to operate with full aircraft. This strikes me as another example of politicians not fully thinking through the consequences of their actions. Of course airlines want full planes. It is a simple matter of business economics. Already some low cost operators cancel flights at short notice if they don’t have many passengers. The Conservative’s proposal is likely to lead to even more cancelled flights, which is fine unless you happen to be the one left stranded. Even more so if this means you miss an important business appointment. The UK economy needs a better transport infrastructure, not greater unreliability.

As a nation we have to be prepared to take technological and financial risks. Although it was a German who first dreamed of 'electromagnetic levitation trains', it was Eric Laithwaite, a British professor of electrical engineering who invented the linear electric motor in the late 40s. It is this technology that made Maglev trains possible and it is used today by both German and Japanese systems.

In Germany a deal has just been done to link Munich airport to the city centre. The builders of the Munich system, Transrapid, a Siemens – ThyssenKrupp consortium, were responsible for the Maglev from Shanghai airport to the city centre. On a good day the journey takes 40 minutes by car. The Maglev does it in just over seven minutes!

The Japanese are also developing a system and it is likely that the two countries will end up supplying Maglev systems to much of the world, just as they do with current high speed trains (along with the French). Maglev is exactly the sort of cutting edge technology that the UK should be developing if we are to achieve the government’s ambition to become a technology and enterprise economy.

Maglev could also be a significant contributor to ‘greener’ travel. According to Transrapid, the technology uses five times less energy per passenger mile than jet aircraft. However, the cost and disruption associated with building a Maglev infrastructure are likely to mean its adoption is going to be fairly slow.

Stop-start traffic is a very significant generator of emissions. Every time a vehicle accelerates emission levels soar. And of course, when stationary there are pollutants being emitted without any travel gain. I have a simple proposal to improve this. It is a tax on traffic lights! I’d start by focussing on contractors’ lights. If you want to dig the road up you need to apply to the local council for permission and to install lights. So I’d allow one day of tax free activity, thereafter I would levy a daily tax. I guarantee that this would dramatically reduce road works times!

Continuing on the earlier theme of risk taking, the Conservatives have announced that they would make it easier for youngsters to take part in competitive team sports, go on outward bound trips and 'put adventure back into learning'. They plan to move the balance away from 'health and safety bureaucrats'. "We will let our children once more enjoy the thrill of the wind in their hair and the thrill of testing themselves outside their comfort zones," said the party’s spokesman on education, Michael Gove. This has to be good news. We have to get away from the ‘nanny state’ and become more adventurous in all areas if we are to compete in the global economy of the 21st century.

A less welcome aspect of risk taking for those of us who are nervous flyers is the news that the China Aviation Industry Corporation is currently assembling a regional passenger jet that it hopes will establish China as a major plane manufacturer. The quality record of Chinese products and the Chinese air safety record are not encouraging!



David Wike

Wandering bankers, Virgins, corks, Minis and Hydras

Last week I was at meeting of Prince’s Trust volunteers. We were joined by a couple of bankers from one of the Trust’s major supporters, Royal Bank of Scotland/Nat West. Chatting over lunch they explained that they were trying to get out of the office more to visit clients. We had a brief discussion about the merits of ‘wandering about’. I commented that meeting and talking to people helps us all to understand issues better and it also helps to dispel commonly held stereotypical prejudices. Yes, despite recent bad publicity, bankers are not necessarily two headed Hydras! *

MBWB (Management By Wandering About) is practised by many successful business leaders. It is how they get to find out what is happening at grass roots level without the information being sanitised as it is passed up through the corporate hierarchy. It allows them to stay in touch with the front line. My friend Trevor Gay encountered a wonderful example of this recently when travelling on a Virgin train. He was talking to the buffet car attendant and playfully suggested that maybe it was a myth that Richard Branson made a point of talking to his staff. But no, apparently Sir Richard often travels by train and stops by for a coffee and a chat and apparently is much more approachable than the middle management.

That story in itself is illuminating. It often seems to be the case that enlightenment at the top doesn’t necessarily filter down through the management layers. Maybe there needs to be a corporate instruction that all managers must walk so many miles each day, and of course, stop to talk to different people on each walk. However, even this would need care in itself lest there be a perception that management have nothing much to do other than wander round chatting to people! Who said that management was easy!

In my 1st August Ramble I talked about change and how some products become obsolete because of new ideas or technology. Recently in France I had cause to ponder this again while sitting in the sun sipping a glass of wine. In the UK, more and more wine bottles are closed off with screw caps. Gradually the misplaced view that screw caps are only for cheap wine is being overcome. However, my research in French supermarkets suggests that the screw cap is non-existent there. Fortunately at least synthetic cork is increasingly replacing the natural product.

I have seen estimates of between 1 in 12 and 1 in 7 bottles where the wine has been spoiled by taint or other problems caused by the cork. Changing to synthetic material eliminates that problem but of course, a corkscrew is still required, and indeed, plastic corks can be very resistant to removal from the bottle. The obvious answer is the screw cap which requires no special tools to remove it and seals the bottle perfectly.

Unfortunately there are vested financial interests involved. Firstly the cork industry would be dramatically hit, and secondly, investment in corking machines would be written off and significant new investment required in screw cap machinery. In recent years the major cork producers have developed processes which are claimed to eliminate or reduce the problem of the wine being damaged by its closure.

From a consumer point of view there is only one sensible solution for closing wine bottles. The screw cap. It seals perfectly and is easy to remove. I am sure that there were similar debates and vested interests when the first calculators arrived to replace the slide rule or the word processor/PC took over from the typewriter. Replacing manual typewriters with electric ones was never going to be a successful approach in the face of the new technology.

Of course, some markets are more conservative than others. I have come across exactly the same bottle of wine in the UK and in Spain. In the UK it had a screw cap, in Spain a cork. Spain like France is more conservative than the UK. Different markets see things differently.

At one point in my motor industry career my responsibilities included the Mini – the original, not the overblown BMW version. Until we repositioned it to a more upmarket position, in the UK it was seen as cheap and cheerful transport. However, in France it was the height of Parisian chic for affluent middle class ladies. In Germany it was mainly the sporty Cooper version that was sold and in Japan things were taken to a different level. Here it was history, nostalgia, call it what you will, that the buyer craved. Indeed many had their brand new Minis stripped down and repainted in 60’s colours, then rebuilt with original style lights and other components.

Fundamentally the same product but viewed entirely differently in four different countries. These variations in perception and attitude present an intriguing challenge for product and marketing people and demonstrate the need to really understand the customer in each of your markets. Wandering about talking to customers as well as employees is highly recommended!

* Hydra update! Having checked on this Greek mythological monster I find that it actually had nine heads, but if you cut one off two new ones grew!

David Wike

French elves, foreigners do queue, spinning names

My thanks to Trevor Gay for Rambling in my absence collecting material for the next couple of weeks wandering around the business world.

‘Elf and safety mate’ increasingly seems to be the reason that we are expected to accept that something isn’t possible when common sense would suggest otherwise. Of course, how the H&S legislation is written and how individuals or local authorities and other bodies choose to interpret it may well be two very different things.

In many cases it appears to be used as a ‘cop out’ to avoid taking responsibility or any kind of risk. This isn’t entirely unexpected in the increasingly litigious society in which we live. It is interesting to note that the same approach does not appear to exist just 22 miles south of Dover. Uneven pavements, potholes, missing manhole covers and other hazards are still manifest in La Belle France. I just have this feeling that turning up at the local council to complain about an injury sustained as a result of such an obstacle would be greeted with ‘désolé’ (sorry) and a shrug of the shoulders. Any suggestion of further action would probably draw a puzzled look.

Whilst there I witnessed workmen renovating the exterior of a house. Scaffolding had been erected but the working area comprised single planks without any guard rails to prevent gravity from taking over in the event of a misplaced foot, or indeed anything else from falling onto the heads of passers-by.

I know not the H&S legislation in France but I would have thought that a bit more concern for life and limb would not have gone amiss. But there again, maybe it was a simple case of ignoring safety for reasons of expediency. Britain has very tough laws on Health & Safety but nevertheless there has been a 28% increase in the number of deaths on building sites over the past year. Now Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain has stepped in to address the issue. Talking to the BBC he said, "77 people were killed last year and it was a big jump by over a quarter on the deaths the previous year. This is not acceptable and I am bringing together the industry, the Health and Safety Executive, governments, together with the trade unions to agree on a new action plan making sure that health and safety on all building sites is paramount. "

The impatience of French drivers is well known. They appear to have a pathological need to overtake even if it is complete lunacy to attempt the manoeuvre. Strangely, if they fail to kill themselves on the way to the supermarket, they will then stand patiently in a long queue at the checkout before resuming their suicide bid on the way home. If Tesco, Sainsbury’s or any other major supermarket only opened a couple of checkouts, hence guaranteeing a ten minute wait in line, there would be major complaints. The French seem to find this lack of customer care quite acceptable. I suppose that it’s because they have become used to spending 20 minutes in the post office or half an hour in the butcher’s while those being served socialise with those doing the serving. Indeed one boulangerie (baker’s) visited even had a sofa and rack of newspapers – now that is good customer care!

In the 15th August Ramble I discussed spin, prompted by a comment the previous week from Andy Scott of FiRST Marketing. Perhaps Andy has been offering a bit of marketing advice to the French authorities. Looking at my Michelin map I decided that we were in the Drôme Département of the Rhône-Alpes region. But the road signs, while agreeing that we were in the Drôme, claimed that it was Provence. The cynic in me couldn’t help but wonder whether some French marketing man had suggested that Provence was a more evocative label than Rhône-Alpes. If anyone knows differently I would be pleased to hear the explanation.

A bientôt,

David Wike

Manchester United, Tony Benn, Honesty, Integrity and The New World of Work

Guest Rambler Trevor Gay

I am delighted and honoured that David asked me to pen some thoughts on ‘Random Ramblings’ and I was asked by him not to mention either my beloved Manchester United or my great political hero Tony Benn.

Having already broken my word as a gentleman and a scholar I will carry on.

As you can see honesty and integrity have always been two of my greatest principles but as Groucho Marx once said; ‘Those are my principles … and if you don’t like them …. I have some more.’

David and I agree on some things about management and leadership and we disagree on others – that is normal and confirms the rich variety of thoughts and opinions that exist about the world of work.

One thing David and I share a passion for is the ‘new world’ of work.

I thought I would therefore use ‘Random Ramblings’ to reflect briefly about the changes I see in my ‘new world of work’ as a self employed, freelance and independent consultant versus my ‘old world of work’ in a traditional management structure in the National Health Service where I spent working from age 16 to 52.

I have been working in my ‘new world of work for almost 3 years.

Then – I had a boss
Now – I am my own boss

Then – Had set duties whether or not I liked them
Now – Only do work I enjoy

Then – Had set hours
Now – Work whenever I like

Then – Judged by bosses
Now – Judged by customers

Then – De-motivated, bored, tired and stale
Now – Enthusiastic, passionate keen to make a difference

Then – Uncertain about my future
Now – Looking forward to being 110 years old

Then - Unhappy in my work
Now – Totally content in my work

Another huge issue is that I used to receive a healthy monthly salary that was guaranteed for me for another 12 years in the NHS if I had stayed.

Now I have no guarantee whatsoever of income each month and yet I love my new world of work much more than my old world of work.

Since I left the NHS I have received income from work every month and I have no regrets about leaving an 'apparent comfort blanket' of secure employment.

That 'blanket' was not comfortable at all I assure you.

If you are fed up and wondering whether to jump from corporate life I would never be as arrogant as to ‘tell’ anyone to go for it. It must of course be your decision.

I would only say that it worked for me and the reality was far less threatening than my fears about it before I made the jump.

My biggest single learning point - Have OPTIMISM, ENTHUSIASM and most of all have FAITH in your own ability – you will be ok.

Trevor Gay

Bikes, business and bloomin' customers!

A recently published transport survey highlighted the lack of co-ordination between bus and train timetables and the general difficulty in many instances of getting to a station. One issue mentioned was the lack of secure cycle parking at stations. In my 15th August Ramble I talked about the UK’s outdated infrastructure and in particular, compared Birmingham’s transport system unfavourably with Barcelona’s.

My Barcelona ‘branch office’, aka my daughter Anna, tells me that the city has now taken another step forward in it’s transport integration. There is a scheme whereby you can hire a bike for a short period in the city. When you register for the scheme you have to provide your bank details. You are then given a bike scheme card which you insert into a meter at the various bike parking locations. This releases the bike from its locking system. When you arrive at your destination you relock the bike and are charged for the time that you have used. At the moment the scheme only operates in central Barcelona and there are a limited number of bike parking locations. However, where it does operate it overcomes the concern about having your bike stolen and it means that you can make one way journeys. And of course, if you live in a city centre flat you are not faced with the problem of trying to find space to store your own bike.

The UK has an enviable record when it comes to individual giving to charity and many large companies also provide valuable sponsorship. Increasingly voluntary organisations are recognising the need to operate in a more businesslike manner if they are to survive. Sometimes business sponsorship of a charity takes the form of seconding staff from the company for a period. This is often offers personal development opportunities for the individual as well as bringing a benefit to the charity. In London there is a scheme pioneered by Pilotlight, a charity that matches commercial expertise with small voluntary groups.

The idea is already well-established in the US, where it has been dubbed venture philanthropy. Thanks to this initiative, top-level managers are able to put their planning abilities, experience and mentoring skills at the disposal of charities, rather than simply writing out a cheque. Many years ago I heard a story about the newspaper magnate, Roy Thomson, later to become Baron Thomson of Fleet. He was asked to help a charity. He declined to give money as that was easy for a rich person. Instead he offered his time, which to him was a far more valuable commodity.

Through the Pilotlight initiative, Goldman Sachs, KPMG, BT, Sainsbury's, BP and Channel 4 are some of the companies whose executives are following Roy Thomson’s philosophy.

One morning last week my wife ventured into the local branch of a well known building society turned bank (the one that sounds like an ecclesiastical building) to seek clarification on what sounded like a particularly attractive investment opportunity. Unlike our own bank where there are always people ‘floating around’ waiting to offer help, there was nobody around except the two cashiers. As one of them was free my wife asked if she, or anyone else could help with a simple query. No, there wasn’t anyone available at that point so could she come back in an hour, or they could possibly ‘fit her in’ at 2.30 in the afternoon!

Not altogether surprisingly she concluded that they weren’t that bothered about having her business and so she declined to return. I would love to know how many staff were in the back office chatting, drinking coffee or outside the back door having a smoke. Perhaps the said bank’s Spanish parent company would do well to spend less on TV advertising and more on staff training.

From time to time I hope to have guest Ramblers. Next week will feature the first such guest, Trevor Gay. Trevor is the author of a number of books on management and leadership topics and fellow ranter about poor customer service.

David Wike

Recruit for skills and train for attitude.

In his comment on last week’s Random Ramble, Trevor Gay expressed the view that employers would be well served by recruiting for attitude and training for skills. In other words, put more emphasis on a ‘can do attitude’ and a willingness to learn, rather than on academic qualifications. Neither Trevor nor I would suggest that we should do anything to discourage academic study or gaining qualifications, but we are in agreement that a piece of paper to say that you have passed an exam doesn’t necessarily mean that you can apply that learning in the workplace.

When I look back over a long career at the people who have impressed me, they are fairly well spread across the range of academic achievement. The reason that they have impressed is that they have always been willing to have a go, they haven’t worried too much about whether it is strictly within their job remit or what the rules might dictate. In short, they have been flexible, helpful and easy to work with.

Sometimes to get things done it is necessary to make the request through senior people as those at a more junior level are unwilling to move without the right approval. But several times I have encountered the reverse. I can recall chairing project review meetings when I have heaved a sigh of relief that the senior person didn’t attend but sent a deputy instead. The deputy might have been young and/or inexperienced but I knew that they would deliver whatever might be required.

One of the pleasures of my career has been to see how young people have developed and blossomed. Of course, some arrive full of confidence and seemingly with no concern for their limitations. In fact the danger is that they don’t see those limitations and charge in regardless, which can have unfortunate consequences. But equally, some are extremely nervous or shy when asked to step onto the ‘big stage’. I can well remember a few meetings in my earlier career when I was asked to deputise for more senior colleagues. I also remember that the attitude of the meeting chairman made a significant difference to the enjoyment or otherwise of the experience.

On one occasion I was a deputy for a deputy - in other words, well out of my league in terms of seniority. The meeting was in the office of a very senior director. I took my place and introduced myself. The great man smiled and said, “Yes, I know who you are David.” I have no idea whether he did or not, but as you can imagine, I immediately felt much more comfortable and relaxed.

So in later years I always tried to make the young or inexperienced feel at ease and to try to ensure that they understood what was required of them. I believe that it is also important to understand the tensions and pressure within their particular departments and not to make unreasonable demands; if necessary offering to talk to their bosses to facilitate their task. I also believe that it is important to feed back to senior management if someone is doing a particularly good job. In large organisations, people you work with often have a much better idea of your strengths or weaknesses than your boss.

So yes, I agree that a good attitude to work and to learning is vitally important, but equally, those of us who are older and, hopefully, more experienced need to ensure that we provide encouragement and the right climate to allow the young and not so young people to flourish at school, at college or university and in the workplace.


David Wike


You can read Trevor Gay's blog at www.simplicityitk.blogspot.com/

Skills, motivation, relevance and the front line.

Yet another warning has been issued by the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) that the education system is not providing the right skills for the 21st century workplace. A short while ago the then education secretary, Ruth Kelly, commenting on the findings of the Tomlinson committee accepted that: "Too many young people are unattractive to employers, deficient in the basics of English and maths." Tomlinson said even those with apparently good GCSE grades in maths and English did not necessarily have "functional" abilities.

As a result the Government announced that the GCSEs would be revised to incorporate a test in functional skills. Without passing this, no-one in future would be able to achieve a grade C or above. However, the new versions will not be available for several years. As an immediate step, the school league tables were changed to show the proportion of pupils who achieve at least five good GCSEs or the equivalent including English and maths GCSEs.

Maybe I’ve missed something but I don’t see how changing the league tables helps. In fact I can’t help but wonder whether league tables and targets are half of the problem, whether they relate to schools or hospitals. They seem to encourage a focus on passing the exam or meeting the target regardless of the quality of the learning or quality of care.

My own recent forays into education (yes, the old dog is still trying to learn new tricks!) very much support this. In two entirely different fields, ‘ticking all the right boxes’ seemed to count higher than the usefulness for what was being taught. I have the same jaundiced view about the effectiveness of so called quality assurance schemes. From my previous involvement with them it seemed that having a book full of policies and procedures neatly filed was far more important than what actually went on in the business.

On Tuesday morning’s BBC breakfast news programme there was an item on a project whereby children were shown how to develop their own computer games, as opposed to playing with ones off-the-shelf. Essentially this was a day of lessons like any other. The difference of course was that the subject was of interest and the children were motivated to work hard to achieve something from the day. In other words, what they were doing was relevant to their area of interest.

This must be the challenge for education, to make the subjects taught seem relevant to the ‘real world’. And just before you question how computer games are relevant to the real world, it is a huge industry employing twenty odd thousand people in the UK alone apparently. So perhaps it’s time for the government, civil servants and educationalists in the Department for Education, or whatever daft name it has now been given,* to stop meddling and leave the front line to get on with it. The same goes for the NHS.

Maybe it is a character failing of those who go into government in whatever form, that there is an overwhelming desire to govern as opposed to providing leadership that supports rather than hinders the efforts of those on the front line.

David Wike

* Quote from the Government website: The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is responsible for improving the focus on all aspects of policy affecting children and young people, as part of the Government’s aim to deliver educational excellence.

Spin and a crumbling infrastructure.

I ended last week’s Ramble by wondering if in the UK we have become too obsessed by labels, designer or otherwise. And suggesting that maybe labels are a variation on the theme of ‘spin’ or ‘substance’. FiRST Marketing’s Andy Scott responded by asking whether he is alone in defending spin and pointing out that marketing is all about presenting a product or service in a particular manner.

Maybe it’s semantics, but for me there is a difference. Until Messrs Blair and Campbell came on the scene, the only spin that entered into my consciousness was the kind delivered so effectively for England by Monty Panesar. Now I also take it to mean trying to present something so that it appears to be slightly different from reality – what the late Alan Clarke referred to as ‘economy with the actualité’.

I agree with Andy that marketing is all about presenting a product or service in a particular manner, but hopefully in an honest manner. I am not naïve enough to think that the marketing man will necessarily portray his client’s product ‘warts and all’, but for me, good marketing does two things. Obviously it’s primary function is to present the product or service in a favourable manner, but I believe that it should also help the customer to make the right choice.

Perhaps I am the one who is alone here, but I want information; facts that will help me to decide whether to buy A or B. I want transparency, honest comparisons that will let me make up my own mind. I get very frustrated with sales brochures that have ‘artistic’ pictures that make it impossible to see the details that I’m interested in, or flowing prose that might be more suited in a work of fiction.

Talking of flights of fantasy … or maybe nightmares, Heathrow has had its share of publicity in recent months. What doesn’t seem to have hit the headlines though is a growing movement amongst the business community to avoid the place at all costs.

Apparently the International Herald Tribune had an article entitled, “Trains, Planes and Tube: It’s a Right British Mess.” Tom Peters picked up on this in his 3rd August blog posting and commented that he agreed with the view that the British Economic Miracle is threatened by the broken infrastructure. He goes on to say how he refuses to fly to or via Heathrow because of the inevitable delays. I am starting to see other articles appearing in the same vein.

Healthy economies need a sound infrastructure – effective transport and communications, sewers that can cope with heavy rainfall, power and water supplies that are not threatened by floods.

Take transport as an example. Congestion charging is not the answer to traffic problems in cities: vastly improved public transport and more efficient use of roads is. What do I mean by efficient roads? Well, getting rid of traffic lights for a start. Every time they change there is a ‘dead’ period when nothing moves in any direction. Large roundabouts are nearly as bad. Their size means that traffic can travel round them so quickly that it is almost impossible for other traffic to enter them.

The Dutch have carried out experiments with road junction layouts that have dramatically improved the traffic flow while reducing the level of accidents. Can’t we do something imaginative here to improve the situation? And of course, stationary traffic still produces emissions – the most emission effective approach is to maintain a constant speed as far as possible.

Barcelona has a nine line metro system (and more under construction), trams and buses, all of which can be used with a common ticket, a new AVE high speed rail link to Madrid and a modern, three terminal airport with an efficient rail link into the city. And Birmingham has … er, well, it’s got some buses! OK, it’s not all bad, there is a good rail link to the airport, although it doesn’t have multiple metro lines feeding into New Street station. Still, Birmingham does have a world class concert hall with a world class orchestra to play in it. Now if only I could get there! It would take some prodigious spin to convince me that Birmingham had a better transport infrastructure than Barcelona.


David Wike

Food for thought, degree of risk, beyond the label.

In the last few days I’ve eaten out a couple of times, once in the evening, once at lunchtime. The evening meal was in a local restaurant that we’ve not visited for a good few years. The food was fine apart from one element of my starter. When the waitress asked was everything OK, I told her about the deficient element. She was very apologetic but afterwards I wondered if she had gone into the kitchen to tell the chef, and if so, what, if anything, he did to ensure that other diners didn’t have the same problem. There was certainly no feed-back to me.

The restaurant, although pleasant enough, somehow had the feeling that it hadn’t changed much over the years; to be honest it felt a little dated both in decor and the way the food was presented. There are so many contemporary restaurants around now that failure to move with the times is likely to lead to a loss of custom over time. Much the same applies to many other businesses.

By contrast, the lunchtime outing for a bar meal at an establishment no more than a couple of hundred yards from the first, was an altogether more positive experience. For a start the interior is contemporary and welcoming and the staff are smartly dressed in the modern idiom. Adjacent to us was a large table with a mix of adults, teens and a couple of babies. The babies were making quite a din and I was finding it quite hard to hear what my wife was saying. One of the waiters obviously spotted this and quietly asked if we would like to move to another table, which we did with his help. Full marks for observation and customer care.

The educational foundation Edge has warned of "academic snobbery" against vocational courses and, quite rightly points out that going on to study for a degree for its own sake is not always suitable for the careers that young people really want.

Edge claims that many parents are influenced by ingrained prejudices against vocational qualifications, and says, "… we know from employers that what is required from young people is real-world experience, practical skills and hard skills such as the ability to communicate and work in teams.”

That may be true but so many jobs are advertised as requiring a ‘degree or equivalent qualification’, which may lead to a superficial view that a degree is the only route to a ‘good job’. And just what is a good job? One that pays lots of money perhaps? Well yes, that’s quite handy but I think that many (most?) people would say that enjoying the job, job satisfaction, would rate higher. And if you enjoy your job you will almost certainly do it better. So there seems to be a real risk that employers and employees alike will miss out if academic qualifications are given undue weight when making decisions on recruitment and career paths respectively.

The proof that money is not all comes in the vast numbers of people involved in voluntary activities of one sort or another. The satisfaction of doing something worthwhile is the reward here, not financial gain. I am involved with the Prince’s Trust. The Trust has a slogan, ‘Look beyond the label’. In other words, look at the real person, who they are and what they can do rather than dismiss them at first sight because of their appearance, the way they speak or their qualifications, or apparent lack of.

Perhaps in the UK we have become too obsessed by labels, designer or otherwise. Maybe labels are a variation on the theme of ‘spin’ or ‘substance’.

David Wike

Blogs, websites and the march of progress

Today Random Ramblings moves into the world of the blog. No longer will I be able to wander around assorted subjects without fear of contradiction. From today you will be able to counter with cries of ‘Rubbish!’ or whatever comment you feel compelled to make. While this transition isn’t quite as important as the move from black and white to colour TV or the improvement of the PC over the typewriter, it is for me an opportunity to further improve my communication with the outside world.

In parallel with the arrival of the blog is the launch of a new website. Please have a look at it and read about the cast of characters who are willing to risk their reputations by working with me from time to time.

Last week I mentioned that I was going to be involved with a pilot for an initiative to bring enterprise and innovation into schools. This is in recognition that the needs of the 21st century workplace will be very different from those of the last century. Just looking at the manufacturing sector; a million jobs have disappeared from the UK in the last ten years and undoubtedly this trend will continue. The twin effects of process automation and re-sourcing manufacture to low cost economies has caused this decline.

The UK is changing to what has been referred to as the Knowledge Economy, that is one based on skills in science, technology, communications, business and finance. But these skills alone will not be enough, a ‘can do’ attitude and a willingness to be flexible and responsive to change will be essential to survive. And I might add, a recognition that looking after the customer is more important than ever before. The Internet enables us to shop anywhere in the world and it also allows us to shame the guilty and praise the good.

Recently my Broadband connection kept dropping on a random but increasingly frequent basis. The support from my service provider was by means of standard print-outs - ‘how to do this’, ‘how to check that’. As I worked through the possibilities and gradually eliminated them, I would communicate with their technical support team. Back would come more standard print outs, often telling me to do what I’d told them I’d already done. It was a very frustrating experience which, for anyone who might be suffering similar problems, was eventually resolved by installing a different modem.

In contrast, the construction of the David Wike Business Development website was an object lesson in customer service. It was built with software supplied by Web Studio (http://www.webstudio.com/) in San Diego, California. Any query fired over to them was answered overnight. Clearly they carefully read and understood the question, then sent back a very precise answer in straightforward English, free of IT technical jargon. It was a pleasure to deal with them.

And of course, this experience also demonstrates how developing technologies change the way we work. It isn’t so many years back that PCs were introduced into the work environment and as we became more skilled in their use, the need for secretarial support was greatly reduced. Then along came the Internet and we suddenly had a growth industry of website designers. Now for an investment of not too many dollars anyone with reasonable IT skills (and a good back-up team!) can build a professional website. Does this suggest that just as we need few typists these days, in the not too distant future we will need far fewer professional website designers?

My thanks go to my associates who have offered their views and encouragement along the way. A special thank you to ‘the technical back-up team’, Sharon at Web Studio in sunny San Diego and Charles Rapson of Rapson Advertising in less exotic Solihull for his expertise in on-line marketing. And, of course, to my ‘IT department’, aka my son Richard who, after a day’s ‘proper’ work, spent a good few hours sorting out the problems that I encountered along the way.

Stop Press!
Associate Trevor Gay of Simplicity has just emailed to say he’s had an article about the NHS published in a leading US business newsletter. You can read it at: http://thestevies.com/SmallBizNews/July2007.html

David Wike