Opinion

There’s a new book out about Fred Goodwin, the former Knight of the Realm. It shows what a control freak he was. How come no-one spoke up at the time? Because he was some form of sociopath apparently. I’ve mentioned this before – is your boss a demented maniac? – but Fred shows all the traits…

I used to think that we were good at designing systems.  We would phase test them, user test them, stress test them and more, and eventually we would roll out the system and it would work.  And life was good. Then we started getting into a new world of developments where systems relied on networks,…

I used to think that we were good at designing systems.  We would phase test them, user test them, stress test them and more, and eventually we would roll out the system and it would work.  And life was good. Then we started getting into a new world of developments where systems relied on networks,…

I must admit, having listened to Jeremy Roe regarding banks mis-selling swaps contracts along with Which? and the leader of bank employee union Unite talking about how general staff and customers feel about mis-selling, I’m a little bit cynical. Have banks behaved badly or are customers a little bit stupid? This occurred to me after writing up Jeremy’s…

There's a theme that keeps cropping up at most conferences I attend around the remodelling of banks. It came up again today in a discussion about data leverage at the Asian Banker Summit, and it occurred to me again recently, when I chaired the future focused day at IPS 2013. The theme is how do…

There's a theme that keeps cropping up at most conferences I attend around the remodelling of banks. It came up again today in a discussion about data leverage at the Asian Banker Summit, and it occurred to me again recently, when I chaired the future focused day at IPS 2013. The theme is how do…

I was asked to join a panel discussion on social media during a recent conference. A social media masterclass, as it was called. Interesting. Sure, I’ve been blogging and tweeting and facebooking for as long as I can remember, but does that make me a master of social media? I don’t know, but here’s what…

I was asked to join a panel discussion on social media during a recent conference. A social media masterclass, as it was called. Interesting. Sure, I’ve been blogging and tweeting and facebooking for as long as I can remember, but does that make me a master of social media? I don’t know, but here’s what…

There’s an old saying that cropped up the other day in respect of Margaret Thatcher’s son, Mark. It was a joking reference by Margaret that her son was so clever he could sell “snow to eskimos or sand to Arabs” or, as one wag put it, arms to anyone. Anyways, it’s a message worth remembering as…