Last week, my concern over the political performance of the Labour party was compounded during a rout of voters in the local elections. It’s highly unusual for a political party to grow their share of the vote whilst being in power, but the Conservatives seem to have managed this during both the 2015 General Election […]
I was lazily scrolling through Twitter this morning when I spotted a tweet from one of my Cousins who has a politically engaged friend. This friend has always seemed willing to engage in an honest discussion, so I thought I’d respond to their message that politics needs ’a new way’. My first thought was that
I was once asked in an interview what my greatest career skill was – and I answered that I believed it was the ability to communicate, clearly and effectively, to people at multiple levels of a business. I believe I first learned the power of effective communication shortly after my Father died, when I began
Once we get past the age of about ten, most of us start to see the importance of knowledge. Without it, we don’t see risks, understand how to get what we want or really understand the world around us. Most people that describe themselves as businessmen follow the stock markets, monitor local real estate develops,
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Last night, I celebrated a milestone birthday for my Grandmother, taking her to a fine dining establishment in Nottingham called Harts. It’s a nice restaurant based in the Park – about a million miles away from where I grew up and certainly not a location I would have ever expected to find myself when younger,
Earlier this month, I was talking to a mentor about improving the visibility of my public speaking coaching business, which has largely dropped off a cliff since I first came to London nearly a year ago. When I was in Oxford, I attended multiple evening events each week, constantly growing my network in a positive
As you will likely have read, the UK Ambassador to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow has today delivered a signed letter to EU Council President, Donald Tusk providing formal notice of the UK desire to leave the EU and triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. This follows months of debate over whether June’s referendum
When making an investment in a business, it’s essential to understand that you’re becoming a part-owner of that business. Whenever you make an investment, you weigh up the chances of the business in question returning a greater sum of capital than you originally invested. I was recently asked how I go about weight up this
I was once told that as a public speaker “I always knew what to say”. No matter how difficult the topic, I’d always seem to find the right way of addressing it and keeping my audience onside. When it comes to negotiation, having the right words is often a powerful tool to enable success, but
Earlier this month, Aaron Petrou was jailed was three years and eight months after admitting conspiracy to defraud through a two scams involving land banking and carbon credits. Using the false name of Giles Beaumont to sell Carbon Credits (under the guise of ‘Green Investments’), Petrou netted a £1.7m from almost 70 people. According to
Several years ago, I was approached with a ‘niche’ investment opportunity promising great returns. The sales pitch was assembled and presented well, but something didn’t sit right with me – I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to get my money back if I needed it. At the time, a friend of mine was examining
Several years ago, I came to the conclusion that anyone with serious money was unlikely to have the majority of it tied up in bonds and savings accounts available on the high-street. After all, those with above average wealth are unlikely to be handling their wealth in the same manner as the average investor –
Several weeks ago, I was commissioned on the build of a new website for a client. Their existing site is huge, spanning multiple service offerings, but with extraordinarily variable copy. As one would expect, the largest segment of the business has well-developed case studies and brochures, with glossy pictures and video content, but the smaller
Having a background in business and marketing, I’m occasionally approached by friends and colleagues looking to get my input on new ventures they’re thinking of pursuing. Sometimes, these ventures are well-thought out, original and are simply in need of a sounding board and someone willing to spend the time to make them work. Sadly, others
Attempting to conduct a negotiation over the phone is never an ideal scenario. Whenever I’m negotiating face-to-face with someone, I’ve got more control of the situation – I’ve usually got a team with me and can physically see the other side of the negotiation to gauge their responses and reactions to my suggestions. When I’m
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