The thin divide between boom and bust

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• Nick Leeson

Posted by on February 3, 2009 11:56 AM

WHAT distinguishes a good entrepreneur from a bad one?

The one who makes the most money might look the safer bet on paper. But at what price?

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The Winds of Adversity

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• fundraising
• Kilimanjaro

Posted by on February 3, 2009 3:28 PM

Those of you who have been reading my blogs on a regular basis will know the ups and downs I have gone through in training for the Kilimanjaro climb. I have been extremely grateful for this; it has been almost like I've had people alongside me, spurring me on.

This is partly why it makes it so hard for me to say that the climb has not been able to go ahead, due to entirely unforeseen circumstances.

We must now look forward to the next challenge. I do hope that, through my posts, you have grown an understanding of the vital work we do. The Kilimanjaro training will stand me in good stead for future fundraising opportunities so that we can continue to work towards our goals. There will be more news on these events coming soon.

In the meantime, I just want to say a big thanks to everyone for their help and support in reading my blog. I know you will share in my disappointment that this particular event couldn't take place but will also hope you can also join me in looking forward to the achievements that lie ahead.

'Do not fear the winds of adversity. Remember: A kite rises against the wind rather than with it.'

I will be in touch again soon.
Andrea

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Aussie observations

Posted by Andrew Mernin on February 5, 2009 2:32 PM

LAST Friday I found myself in weather-related travel network chaos, caused, not by a blanket of snow, but by searing heat.

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Workers' no-show is not the way to go

Posted by on February 10, 2009 12:49 PM

THE recent wildcat strikes at Wilton were a reminder that old scars run deep.

In a throw-back to the sad old days of the 1980s - when pickets and protests became part of British industry folklore - hundreds of local workers downed tools at SABIC's LDPE (low-density polyethylene) plant as part of a national protest against construction jobs being given to foreign contractors.

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Of Bankers, Bonuses and Double Dealing

Posted by on February 11, 2009 9:39 AM

Listening to the Today Programme earlier this week reminded me of an article I wrote for this fine publication last year about the Eurovision Song Contest and how juries were to be brought back, though sadly too late to persuade Wogan to narrate this year's shenanigans. Now pay attention, dear reader. It wasn't really about Eurovision. It was about how, when we focus on short term gain, we can lose sight of the longer term objectives.

And this several months before the Lehman Brothers calamity and all that followed.

It was the interview of Yvette Cooper, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, by John Humphrys that got this particular train of thought started. Yvette Cooper was making fairly typical rabble-rousing comments surrounding the payment of bonuses to our friends at the nation's banks. The revelation was that, even though about 25% of these bonus payments are actually more a form of salary, since they are not actually performance-related and are a matter of contract, Cooper seemed to be suggesting that the banks consider whether they can get out of paying them.

Sorry, that should be: the banks should examine their legal obligations to pay these bonuses very carefully. Because the Government can't encourage people to breach contracts. Obviously. And that the bankers to whom the compulsory 'bonuses' are to be paid to should search their conscience as to deciding whether to accept those payments.

All fairly run-of-the-mill and only routinely annoying. After all, lest we forget, we all enjoyed the credit boom. Even me, despite the misgivings expressed in the Eurovision article. And even more especially, our political lords and masters ("no more boom and bust" and all that), who were quite happy to sit back and take the credit, be they Labour or Conservative. So attempting to lay all the blame off on these scapegoats is no more than the politics of convenience. Obviously, where bonuses are performance-related, I would personally require some convincing as to whether the specified criteria have been met. But those compulsory payments are simply salary increments and if I was a banker awaiting such a payment, my reaction would be that I would take the money and search my conscience in the less than totally unlikely event that I receive a redundancy notice.

But what really irritated me was the second part of the interview, which concerned the treatment of the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's expense claims concerning her 'primary' residence in London, owned by her sister, and her second home out of London. Yvette Cooper had faced her own inquiry and was keen to stress that she had been cleared by the independent parliamentary commissioner who led the investigation. She stressed that neither she nor Jacqui Smith had broken the rules. The rules that are set by MPs. (And let's not forget that these are the same people that narrowly failed to exempt their records from Freedom of Information Act requests.)

Er... hello? Are they joking? Am I the only one to spot just the barest glimpse of hypocrisy here? Perhaps the tactic adopted by the spin masters within the Labour ranks (and don't by any means, think that I'm siding with the opposition here - just about all of them are as bad) is that if they make it so glaringly and blatantly obvious, nobody will notice. I think that's what Jack Bauer would call "hiding in plain sight".

As irritated as I was about this exchange, I am at least satisfied in one thing. The interview ended with Yvette Cooper admonishing Humphys in a light hearted manner for misleading his listeners. Humphys plainly didn't find it amusing and the involuntary grunt from him that signalled the end of the interview I suspect was ringing in Cooper's ears for some time thereafter. If I was her, I'd avoid interviews on the Today Programme for a while.

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Weather with you

Posted by Ross Smith on February 12, 2009 3:06 PM

Yesterday NECC helped stage a seminar for businesses in how to make themselves more resilient against severe weather. The prediction is that events such as floods and heatwaves are likely to affect us more regularly due to climate change. As I look out of the window, it seems blizzards could fall into that category as well.

The North East does benefit from being the only region in the country with a dedicated business adviser, Gareth Williams, to help companies prepare for this. He shared helpful advice, including backing up data, clarifying insurance policies, locating equipment in safe places and signing up to early warning systems.

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Political intervention won't curb bankers' greed

Posted by on February 17, 2009 12:56 PM

THE old chestnut of fat cat pay rolled into the limelight again last week, when some of the country's disgraced banking chiefs were called on to explain horrendous decisions that helped bring the UK financial system to its knees.

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Funding drought fuels failure

Posted by Andrew Mernin on February 19, 2009 5:20 PM

A VERY public spat between a TV chef and a bank could be a microcosm of the current experiences being endured by our army of small businesses.

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Online portals open new doors for media

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• journalism

Posted by on February 24, 2009 9:57 AM

Fearless defenders of the fourth estate we may be, but journalists wouldn't often associate a publication's demise with the loss of a loved one.

Daily Mail and General Trust chairman Lord Rothermere reportedly said coming to terms with the pending sale of his beloved Evening Standard - to Russian oligarch and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev for £1 - was as difficult as dealing with his parents' death.

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Security training firm getting people back into work

Posted by on February 24, 2009 10:01 AM

Since I began working with businesses on their PR needs, I have been pleasantly surprised and impressed at the commitment new start up business entrepreneurs have and their gusto to succeed despite the current climate. I have been involved with helping new start ups with PR since the launch of the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative and I have learned so much from so many determined people.

A North East based training company, are introducing bodyguard training to their portfolio of unique training courses. Exclusive to the North East, Enhanced Security Services delivers dynamic accredited training courses for the security industry which are proving to be a major success for the newly formed company.

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