Information Ain't Power Anymore

The phrase information is power has long been used to explain political manoeuvres in public life and in businesses. Generations have striven to acquire knowledge and thereby rise up the food chain.
I would suggest that with the advent of Google and more recently mobile devices like the iPhone, information and therefore knowledge on virtually any subject is available to anyone, anyplace anytime.
So if knowledge is no longer the factor that differentiates us then what is?
The answer as I see it, is time, or more precisely our lack of it. It shouldn't be that way because most of us subscribe to more supposedly time saving devices than our parents ever did. Yet we work longer hours, commute further and proudly claim to be "sooo busy"
Strangely this must mean that the very busy are at a distinct disadvantage. When do they find the time and energy to think creatively, research new opportunities and tap into the infinite knowledge library that is just a click away?
More importantly is our busyness and connectedness fooling us into believing we are establishing and maintaining deep and meaningful relationships when really we are just developing relationships a mile wide and an inch deep.
What if the thing that keeps us busy stopped? Would our lives still have meaning?
Each minute of each day we are free to choose how we use our time, its more valuable than ever, let's not waste it.

Fairtrade - Fad or Future?

Is Fairtrade a Phase or the Future?

In recent years, like most professionals with a young family, I’ve found myself becoming not so much a follower of fashion, as a follower of fairness. As a family we do our utmost to fill our shopping basket with fairly traded coffee and ethical chocolate, alongside all of the organic fruit and free range eggs.

As the recession bites it’s tempting to put the altruism to one side and refocus on price as many consumers around Europe are reportably doing. Does this spell the end for fashionable Fairtrade? Or do ethical brands have more to offer than a label that says ‘buy me and be a better person.’

The sudden rise in popularity of these obscure, premium priced products certainly hasn’t escaped the notice of the multi-nationals, many of whom have been keen to add a friendly faced brand to their balance sheet. First, those quirky American hippies Ben & Jerry sold out to Unilever, then Body Shop submitted itself to L’Oreal, later, in the UK, organic chocolate pioneers Green and Blacks were acquired by cocoa giant Cadbury and earlier this year the three college friends that founded smoothie pioneer innocent, were ‘guilty’ of inviting Coke to join their party.

The innocent team claim, that they chose Coke over other suitors, despite the businesses shaky human rights record because they liked the people they met and found them to be smart and honest. They also point out that the money came from Coke with no strings attached, while other potential investors wanted to take control or to limit innocent’s policy of donating 10% of profits to charity. Founder Richard Reed says
“We of course did a boat load of due diligence, it’s the single biggest decision we’ve had to make over the last ten years. We looked into all of the accusations, we spoke to a wide variety of different people and we got extremely comfortable ourselves, that it (Coca-Cola) is a decent business, that the people in it are decent folk and that the company, overall, is a decent company.”

So in this case at least it appears that the corporate giant behaved with integrity. I’d venture that Coca Cola’s motivation for investing in innocent was about far more that getting a return on the £30m invested, they also wanted to understand how ethics can be good business. By any measure innocent is a very successful enterprise, going from an idea and just £500 worth of fruit to a £100m FMCG business in just 7 years is a phenomenal achievement that even a mega brand like Coke could learn from. Especially, if that commercial success can be achieved with a conscience.

Like all listed businesses, The Coca-Cola Company is looking for ways to match it’s Corporate Social Responsibility statements with actions. Charitable donations and allowing staff to work in the community are a gesture at best that has little impact on the bottom line. Whereas doing business the ‘innocent way’ is perhaps, the very essence of entrepreneurship.

It’s possible that Coke have predicted that in future their great size may be a disadvantage. Post recession, consumers will tend towards smaller businesses they can trust, that wear their values on their sleeve, not carefully scripted into a policy statement. In a world in which a Google search often tells a different story than the official marketing, small is beautiful and big is risky. Maybe the meek will inherit the earth.

The Law of Lettuce

Starfish, lemons and numerous other animals, vegetables and minerals have found their way into management laws and principles, in recent years.

So I thought it was about time that I came up with one of my own, the Law of Lettuce.
This idea came to me as I threw away yet another unopened bag of salad leaves, as I do most weeks, typically about 4 days after I've paid £2 for the bag of once crispy green leaves. Some weeks we get as many as 2 portions of salad from our 'washed and ready to eat' lettuce before it turns brown at the edges and is laid to rest in the compost heap, though all too often it's wilted long before we even get to it.
As I went back to the fridge I found that someone had kindly left us a whole iceberg lettuce which I was able to put to good use in that night's salad. And the next night's and the one after that and another several days later. The iceberg lettuce not only produced more portions than the bag, it lasted three times as long, yet it cost a fraction of the price of the bagged rocket we'd come to rely upon.
The Law of Lettuce was born. In business and life we waste vast amounts of money on superfluous goods and services, which we mistakenly believe are essential when less expensive and better options are ignored, simply because they feel a bit old fashioned or drab.

As I consider where the lettuce is in my business, items like expensive lawyers, taxi fares and air conditioning fall into the 'bagged rocket' category whilst common sense, walking and working barefoot could be classed as the icebergs.

Big is Bust

I used to think, like many of our corporate leaders that big was beautiful. Words like grow, acquire and expand never failed to feature prominently in strategic plans.

Now industry giants like General Motors fail while Reva makers of the G Wiz electric car, foresee a 3 to 4 fold increase in production over the coming year. In air travel British Airways is close to bankruptcy having lost £148 million in three months alongside mammoth pension liabilities. In the same industry newer, smaller and more nimble operators are opening new routes.

Contrary to popular belief, being big is no longer a recipe for success. In fact, in the current trading conditions for many, its a recipe for disaster. Smaller businesses tend to;

• have better internal communication


• are more trusted by their clients


• command greater loyalty from staff


• foster a spirit of team work


• innovate more quickly


• adapt to change earlier

All characteristics required to survive the recession. A recession that, as a result of redundancy is creating a host of new start ups. Independent businesses owned by the guy or girl that does the work, with no need to answer to shareholders. Motivated simply by a heartfelt commitment to serve the customer - isn't that a better way to do business?