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Scope creep happens when what a service provider thinks they are delivering (and is in the process of developing or implementing) gets changed by the client at short notice demanding that extras and changes are infiltrated into the specification. I don’t think it is so much... Read More

If I see a hungry lion racing for me, aiming for my throat, I feel fear. It’s a visceral reaction out of my conscious control.  It is an instinct. If I am walking down a road in England, perpetually scared that a lion might attack me, that isn’t fear, although it is commonly... Read More

In my youth, I was fascinated by words and the derivations. I remember discovering that helicopter comes from two Greek words. Not ‘heli’ and ‘copter’, as you might think, but ‘helico’ (as in helical, or helix, ie a spiral) and ‘pter’ (a wing, as in a word known to all small... Read More

Some recent blogs by others have illustrated a surprisingly oldfashioned approach to engaging with prospects and clients. In a nutshell they illustrate the belief that you have to be something other than you are, someone other than you are, if you are going to be successful. I... Read More

After a year or so’s membership of the Professional Speaking Association, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are two sorts of speaker, just as there are two sorts of pianist (well, there are more but arguably there are clearly two preeminent types of pianist). One type of... Read More

I came across a webpage offering ten rules not to break when giving a presentation. I thought some things were missing, so here are ten more in the same style. 1 Slides Don’t use them. Few presentations—other than lectures—need them, fewer are improved by them and the vast... Read More

I’m constantly surprised how many businesses send out emails, or pay someone else to send out emails on their behalf, seeking to promote their business which simply irritate (or worse).  Here are ten things not do if you must send out marketing emails: 1   Don’t send out... Read More

I like quoting Einstein. Know why? Because nobody dares contradict you.—Studs Terkel Funnily enough, Einstein did not say Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results. Nor did Confucius, Benjamin Franklin or Freud. Nor did Einstein say Not everything... Read More

Are laws designed to protect individuals and minority groups from offence and harassment inhibiting free speech? A discussion recently on BBC Radio 4’s Unreliable evidence addressed this question with some high powered contributors. An activist for disability rights, Bethan... Read More