Books

During a discussion marking the death of Margaret Thatcher in April 2012, the journalist and broadcaster Andrew Neil turned to Shirley Williams, the Liberal Democrat peer and former Labour Cabinet minister, and asked her why Thatcher had beaten her in the race to become Britain’s first female prime minister. It was a pertinent question because…

Returning to work with a new resilience As we start to return to work outside of home, there is an air of optimism. We still have change to handle, but life feels full of more positive possibilities. We’ve had a year of learning to be resilient to change and uncertainty. Now we can begin to…

Step back ten years and leaders from all walks of life, from those in business to party political leaders, were in a very different place: they were in control of their organisations and their customers. They were the ones to set the agenda with customers and constituents following swiftly behind. Fast forward to today and…

Collecting rare books might feel like something of an intimidating project – how does one decide which books are worth buying and which are to be passedover to wait for a better copy? In terms of modern literature, the number of books which are published in any given year that become collectable represent a tiny…

Where to Begin When I was first encouraged to write the book that would one day be Brick by Brick: Success in Business and Life, I was in my early 30’s and felt a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable with the idea. I was busy building my businesses, investing in property and focusing on the future,…

Several years ago, a friend took me to an auction of old watches in Switzerland. He told me he was keen to buy one made by Breguet; I had no idea what he was talking about, but I went with him to the pre-sale exhibition, and what I saw opened my eyes to a branch…

During a discussion marking the death of Margaret Thatcher in April 2012, the journalist and broadcaster Andrew Neil turned to Shirley Williams, the Liberal Democrat peer and former Labour Cabinet minister, and asked her why Thatcher had beaten her in the race to become Britain’s first female prime minister. It was a pertinent question because…

Dutch fund manager Pim van Vliet has recently published, together with investment specialist Jan de Koning, a new book on the merits of investing in so-called ‘low risk’ stocks (High Returns from Low Risk: A Remarkable Stock Market Paradox). Van Vliet, who manages 18 billion Euros in low-risk equities at Rotterdam based Robeco, claims that…

By Campbell Macpherson, author of The Change Catalyst: Secrets to Successful and Sustainable Business Change. Change has never been more prevalent or more relevant than it is today. Voters across the globe are voting for change, any change; seemingly at any cost. Entire industries have been disrupted and transformed by globalisation and a new breed…

By Alan Weiss, co-author of Lifestorming: Creating Meaning and Achievement in Your Career and Life. One of the greatest expenses for organizations is, of course, people. And one of the greatest people expenses is absenteeism. And, in my 30 years of consulting, I’ve found that one of the greatest causes of absenteeism is stress. And…

There are typically two poles of conservative thought regarding civilisation, best characterised as deteminist (Spengler) and non-determinist (A J Toynbee), where do you reckon Burke sits on that spectrum? Historically there has been a tension here. On the one hand you have people who regard civilisation in the manner of Katherine Hepburn in The African…