The recent travails of NatWest bank show what happens when the ESG agenda strays beyond being a good citizen into social engineering. Their practices seem to have included vetting and sacking long-standing customers whose political views were judged unpalatable. Who decided which views, and who did the judging, we may never know. It is likely, though, that this drive to cleanse their customer base of certain political positions is not limited to one customer or one bank. Read More

Bud Light is in the news for a small social media marketing activity which has had a spectacular impact, both large and rapid. It went viral, amplified all over social media and generating massive visibility and awareness. Every marketer’s dream in other words. Except that this one drove sales down. The decision to celebrate transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney’s 365 “days of womanhood” led to a 26% fall in sales in a matter of days. Read More

When and how did we all become so emotionally fragile? One might accept that children should be protected from old-fashioned books which might teach them wrong or outmoded ideas, as per the recent furore over the revision of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s books. (Or not.) But a trigger warning for university students on Jane Austen? This book will help you trace the origins of this extreme sensitivity. Of course it comes from the USA, Read More

In Owen Eastwood’s book, Belonging, there’s a chapter about the South Africa cricket team after the end of apartheid. It’s worth reading this book for that chapter alone. One result was that they changed their name from the Springboks to the Proteas. But of course, a name change without real change is nothing. Eastwood was there when the real change happened, and it’s spine-tingling.

I say this because there’s a lot of Maori legend and new-agey type stuff early on in the book, Read More

Look. Until now I always had to turn the cheese block sideways to grate it, then turn it back to slide it back into the packet. I will now buy this cheese because they’ve solved that tiny problem. It’s not the result of some genius invention or astonishing insight, just simple observation. Little things can make a difference. Read More

The Long Win, by Cath Bishop

The Scout Mindset, by Julia Galef

“Can I give you some feedback?” If those words make your stomach churn, or your heart sink, then Cath Bishop’s book is for you. The Long Win, subtitled The Search for a Better Way to Succeed”, can show us how to make the most of every learning opportunity, so that you can win even when you lose. We see how this can work in sport, Read More

This is a story of monumental hubris, greed and failure. The account of how the charismatic founder of WeWork, Adam Neumann, and his wife, Rebekah, drove the business into near-bankruptcy while extracting a billion dollars for themselves is a good read. The greed is not just theirs, though their hypocrisy is at times breath-taking. “We believe in this new Asset Light lifestyle” says Rebekah, after buying a $15m estate in Westchester, New York. This was not their first home; Read More

External changes force people to change their habits, presenting both risk and opportunity. Pret A Manger’s monthly coffee subscription was launched in autumn 2020, aimed at restoring footfall post-pandemic. It doesn’t cost much to give hot drinks away; the price is mostly margin. Since the average customer buys five coffees a week, £20 a month for all the drinks you want is great value, and should drive loyalty, re-establishing the coffee habit as a Pret habit. Read More

What went wrong with the new John Lewis home insurance advertisement, withdrawn after three weeks on air following a public outcry? Did the team think they were showing a progressive form of parenting, in which boys can play at being girls or be camp or be anything they like? Brand purpose is a useful concept but this is what it looks like when brands think they are a force for social change, Read More

“If you listen, you learn. If you talk, you don’t.”

John Hurt, actor Read More