In a recent Radio 4 programme Lord Digby Jones argued that it would be useful if there were a covenant between business, society and government to address the lack of trust between these organisations. “The relationship between business creating wealth, government and society—all... Read More

Asking clients whether they received an above average service is meaningless. “Service” can’t be quantified, let alone measured, therefore calculating an “average” is impossible. And, it is possible for a large majority of a group to all be above average in a particular measure:... Read More

Related material: >  blog:  Scottish referendum:  what a shambles There are two problems with the Scottish referendum: Firstly, no relationship is over until it’s over. With a significant proportion of Scottish voters wanting to stay in the union, the relationship between... Read More

The view from colleges and universities Dependence, like every mental characteristic develops neither under the influence of nature, nor of nurture, but under the complex, dynamic interaction of nature and nurture.  (This video makes the case powerfully and clearly (in the... Read More

There is increasing concern among schools, colleges of further and higher education, and among employers that school leavers and graduates are “unemployable”. It is not just illiteracy and innumeracy—though it includes those things—it covers everything from a failure to perform... Read More

A recent post in a LinkedIn coaching forum managed to encapsulate most of the worries new coaches must have (though it omitted one rather important thing).   This was my reply: 1  You say “I am struggling with… understanding my assumptions/past experiences/knowledge”. You... Read More

A recent post on LinkedIn asked this question. “EQ” is a term deliberately coined to be like “IQ”. IQ stands for “intelligence quotient”. It’s a number derived from marking a person’s answers to a standard set of tests. The tests,... Read More

… and how Bristol city council couldn’t get it more wrong This blog is one of an ongoing series discussing examples of good and bad customer service. Google “parking Bristol” and the first search result is that of Bristol City Council’s site. Fair enough. T... Read More

  The sublime For some time, a relative had live-in 24/7 care to help them cope with worsening dementia. As their care needs became more challenging, it was clear that they would have to move to a care home. It fell to me to look for one. Luckily, my relative could afford one of... Read More

The meaning of your communication lies in the response you get (Bodenhammer and Hall, The user’s manual for the brain, Crown House, 2000, p79). A well known NLP presupposition, of course (well known to NLP people, that is). But is it actually correct? It’s an important... Read More