tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52968488544877524372024-03-08T12:23:57.011-08:00Adlib at You Never Can TellAdlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-47101531596897468172013-09-20T06:35:00.002-07:002013-09-26T08:41:04.506-07:00Prisons, porridge and passive smoking.Sometimes when you hear a proposal, you just know instinctively that it won't work. A hornets-nest disturbed. Such is the case with the Prison Service's idea that prisons should become smoking-free places. A pilot in 2014 leading to a national programme is prisons from 2015. <br />
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Arguments about passive smoking and the rights of non-smokers in public places may carry legitimate weight in mainstream society but with prisons, there are particular issues and contexts which need careful addressing.
Prisons are boring places and time passes slowly. Comforters take on a disproportionate status. Drugs abound and if these cannot be controlled what chance the nicotine cousin? Relations between warders and inmates work through consensual conventions, making life a bit easier for everyone. These are likely to be disturbed when a traffic warden view of implementing rules is introduced.
Tobacco is a porridge currency, so will its value be inflated when it is banned? If it is successfully banned what other medium of exchange will take its place? By removing an environmental pollutant, unintended consequences may emerge even more difficult to police.
If 80% of prisoners do smoke, then weaning them off the drug will be a challenge. Some "cold-turkey" symptoms could just make the behaviour of inmates more problematic. It would be interesting know how many warders smoke.
Most of us never see the insides of a prison, so the proposals will be irrelevant to our experience and we will have a marginal interest. Implementing a ban will bring a cost. Better that scarce resources were directed to education and rehabilitation, so that our prison population was not just a revolving door of recidivism.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-77519895844625041812013-03-19T09:30:00.000-07:002013-03-19T09:30:56.333-07:00The Cyprus raid on banks makes putting money under the mattress seem a wise move.The significance of a situation really hits you when events happen in quick succession. I have just walked up Queen Square in Wolverhampton, passing a number of travel agents on the way. Sale banners tell me of bargain holidays to Cyprus. Fast forward a few steps into bank land in the square and I see a queue at an ATM. Makes one think!<br />
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The Captain Mainwaring ( Dad’s Army ) version of the bank disappeared forty years ago. Our 2013 hapless banks, now have a reputation so low that it is hard to think of things getting worse, and then along comes Cyprus. <br />
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How would you feel if on £100,000, 3% was siphoned off by the very people you entrusted your money to. I thought with deposits they are supposed to pay you. Makes the ordinary bank robber look good. At least you know where he is coming from.<br />
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Banks summarily taking money from your account would be shoplifting in any other walk of life. Add the collapse of banks in 2008, continued bankers’ bonuses and the reluctance of banks to lend to business and we have a heady cocktail. This is an industry in real need of reputation management.<br />
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Storing money under your mattress may have been the subject of ridicule in the past - today it might just seem like common senseAdlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-49683908365206223582012-05-26T06:59:00.000-07:002012-05-26T07:28:51.672-07:00Mary Portas' proposals for closed shops. What would a town crier for Wolverhampton be saying?<br />
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The announcement that <place w:st="on">Wolverhampton</place> is to receive £100,000 to help regenerate its centre is welcome news – money for redevelopment always is. The question is whether the Mary Portas proposals can really counter the longterm flow of retailing to out-of-town sites or the Internet. Once consumers have acquired a taste of how to make their purchases, they tend to want more of the same.</div>
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These large and longterm flows in consumer behaviour are likely to go even further. The reinstatement of retail back into town centres may be like King Canute and the sea. We know why retail moved out and the critical question for the future is: “What are city centres for?” </div>
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Now is the time to bring housing back into city centres. Niche and corner-shop facilities may flourish with a resident population nearby. Continental café cultures failed because this was missing. Having a town-crier for the city is an eye-catcher. More importantly, we need to know what the script might be and will there be anyone to listen?</div>Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-31638563306625529062012-04-04T09:48:00.005-07:002012-04-04T09:55:01.552-07:00An Arriva train journey from Birmingham to Wolverhampton. A choice of words and motivation.Taking a rail journey with Arriva from Birmingham International to Wolverhampton recently, I noticed a guy emptying trash bins and generally tidying the carriage up.<br /><br />It took me back forty years to when I had a succession of student summer jobs cleaning out trains for the then British Rail. This was the university of life and one certainly knew ones place, as your mop and brush signalled your cleaner status to the public. Never have I felt so lowly. So what you might ask?<br /><br />Well, this 2012 guy seemed to take pride in what he was doing, going about it with purpose. His body language spoke volumes. Energy and motivation were there to be seen. We got into conversation. We shared some brief anecdotes of our mutual experience separated by the decades.<br /><br />We said our goodbyes and as we walked away, I noticed some words printed on the back of his working fleece. They read “Train Presentation Team".<br /><br />Funny how a few words can deliver a different perception of what a job is about. I went through the motions of the job with no thought of why it was being done and for whom. Not much commitment then.<br /><br />For him the word “presentation” gave a different take on the job compared with my lowly “cleaner” description. The word “ team” would never have crossed my mind. Arriva deserve a pat on the back.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-11971879669615542392012-02-22T11:51:00.006-08:002012-04-03T15:39:22.036-07:00The tragic death of the journalist Marie Colvin in Homs may have a silver lining to it.<p class="MsoNormal">Journalism is under the cosh with Leverson and other enquiries. The work of this renowned foreign affairs reporter is a counterpoint to the shabby journalism that has been associated with the incestuous worlds of the tabloids, police and celebrities. The public is now reminded of the fine qualities and acceptable face of professional reporting. </p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Beyond that there is a bigger prize - the Middle East. Syria is in a log jam and as McCawber noted we are waiting for “something to turn up.” </p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">The deaths of a French photo journalist<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>and a high profile American reporter who was working for the British media brings the Syrian conflict into focus. They highlight the hands-off <span style="font-size:+0;"></span>public position of China and Russia and the horrors of unbridled action by the Syrian government itself. </p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">At a time when these parties may have been hoping for a world impotent to deal with this aspect of the Arab Spring, these deaths will have put the spotlight on them. The best tribute to these journalists is that this spotlighting is not wasted.</p>Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-20178288513961057902012-02-07T13:52:00.000-08:002012-02-07T14:06:19.526-08:003 top things to look for when choosing a professional CV writer.A professional CV writer combines the skills of a speechwriter, copywriter and journalist. You need a way with words.<br /><br />Applying for a job in these difficult times is a challenge. All the more reason to make sure that anyone who sharpens your CV, promotes you so that you stand out for the right reasons.<br /><br />You can buys books by the shelf load about how to get a winning CV. Unfortunately, they tend to focus on format and content. Nothing is said about what you should be looking for in the CV writer.<br /><br />A CV is a lot more than making an application. It is about influencing the dynamics of the interview, anticipating the questions that arise and the content of your replies. This applies to both public and private sector applications.<br /><br />Professional CVs do not come cheap. You are paying for the services of a professional communicator. Your prize is enhanced career prospects and the rewards which go with it.<br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Top Tip Number One. – Meet the CV writer in the flesh.<br /></strong></span><br />Make sure you have a person-to-person interview with the CV writer. Give it at least half an hour. If s/he has not met you, how they can understand what you are about, your ambitions and motives? It is amazing how many CVs are created over the phone and with email attachments. You deserve better.<br /><br />S/he needs to know your aspirations, history, personality and communication abilities. This encounter helps clarify your own thinking and highlight weaknesses and strengths. The interview helps the CV writer get a handle on your industry.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Top Tip Number Two. – Get the CV to shape the interview.<br /></span></strong><br />The prime role of the CV is get you an interview. Fail that and all bets are off.<br /><br />Assuming you are called, the CV has a close secondary objective. It is to help shape the way the interview might go. A professional writer will drop little seeds in the CV so that it encourages the reader to ask a question on what has been said.<br /><br />You can anticipate the question and shape answers accordingly. You are playing on your territory and there is home advantage.<br /><br />The killer introductory question is “Talk for a couple of minutes about yourself.” Get this right and it can set the tone for the rest of the interview. Get it wrong and you are in a salvage operation.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Top Tip Number Three. – Make sure your fingerprints are all over the CV.<br /></span></strong><br />Each of us has a distinctive communication style whether it is choice of words, vocal delivery or body language. The danger of a stranger writing your CV is that it does not present an accurate picture of you the subject.<br /><br />The final CV will be a winner if you and the writer have worked on it together. We are talking of several editions. Be careful with words attributed to you which have come from a word bank and are not part of your everyday language. You want to stand out with your personality and humanity coming through. Most important, you need to be able to talk to the CV with ease.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-57000207539277548652012-02-07T09:39:00.001-08:002012-02-07T11:08:01.609-08:00Wolverhampton City Centre 2050?Our town centres – what are they are for?<br /><br />Fast forward to 2050 and speculate on what a typical British town centre might look like.<br /><br />You may have two scenarios. At worst an empty centre in search of a suburb. The Mary Portas Report will have been forgotten. We will have a landscape of charity stores, anything for £10 shops, pawn and betting outlets. The retail chains have gone. This is a feral landscape avoided by many fearful to enter. People visit once or twice a month. A business as usual model.<br /><br />On the other hand a plausible alternative. There will be more housing for those living alone and who may have found house purchase difficult. Open space which was blighted and derelict has been turned back to recreational and ecological use. There will be more cultural attractions. Energy costs have become prohibitive and an ageing or indebted population finds public transport attractive. In spite of some inward investments, the recession may have been longer and deeper than anticipated – an opportunity for those without a job to start some niche-market enterprises. People visit regularly - it is an event to be enjoyed.<br /><br />If this sounds fanciful, scan the results of a recent town centre 2012 survey by Local Data Company. Nearly a third of city centre shops are closed e.g. Stockport 30% and Wolverhampton 27.3% Sunderland, Stockton, Blackpool, Stoke, Nottingham, Walsall and Grimsby add to the tale of woe.<br /><br />In the midst of a recession, it is tempting to see this as a short-term phenomenon. The reality is that we visit out-of-town centres or the Internet. City centres face a structural problem now. An acute short-term condition has turned chronic.<br /><br />Coal, steel, textiles, shipbuilding and other industries withered away. The same processes of decline are now hitting the urbanscape. Even offices are on the wane. It has come as a shock and we flounder for solutions.<br /><br />The town centre is being hollowed out. It is a doughnut. We need to start creating new paradigms for the centre. We need to rethink how town centre land is owned, rented and used. The renewal of commercial leases may see the exodus from the centre turn into a flood.<br /><br />However much we improve parking, widening ring roads and improving public transport, the key question remains: what are people coming in for? Answer that one and the land use solutions can be framed. Currently, we seem to be addressing symptoms of decline rather that the causes.<br /><br />Do we engage in cosmetic improvements to street furniture hoping to get over the short-term difficulty? To take a quote from Charles Dickens’ Mr McCawber are we placing our faith in “Something will turn up”?<br /><br />The Local Data survey noted that southern towns i.e. Salisbury, Exeter and Cambridge do not seem to be having the same level of retail flight - single digit emptiness. The recession may be having less impact. It may also be that these semi-rural towns already have a centre more balanced to meet the changing patterns of shopping decline.<br /><br />In medieval and industrial revolution times we had a pretty good idea of what town centres were for. We have not yet worked out their purpose in the 21st century.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-27255161223381485582012-02-02T06:44:00.000-08:002012-02-02T07:13:41.982-08:00Wolverhampton Wanderers and the language of motivation.A hero of mine is the Second World War General: George Patton. “Blood and Guts” was a larger than life character, controversial and with a tendency to upset people. He delivered results. He was a motivator. Check out the opening scene in the Hollywood film Patton to get a feel. In the World Cup, the Algerian manager took a motivational leaf from his book before the England match.<br /><br />When things go wrong powerful and persuasive language to motivate others can be a game-changer.<br /><br />You see this every week in the Premier Football League. Managers come under pressure to give an account of themselves. Media and fans are just waiting for those quotes. Managers must hate the process and cringe at the interrogation.<br /><br />The pity is that the interviews are not as well prepared and delivered as they ought. What is reported lies in the memory long after the game has been forgotten.<br /><br />A recent interview by the local Express and Star with the Wolves manager, Mick McCarthy is a case in point. This was after the Villa match. Assuming the report was a fair representation of what was said, the reader was presented with this.<br /><br />“I still feel <strong><span style="color:#990000;">we’ll get out of it, with whatever we’ve got</span></strong> and <strong><span style="color:#990000;">whatever we do,</span></strong> because I think we’ve got good players…. They <span style="color:#990000;"><strong>keep going</strong></span> and they will <span style="color:#990000;"><strong>get us out of it</strong></span>… There’s <span style="color:#990000;"><strong>nothing</strong></span> more that could have gone <strong><span style="color:#990000;">wrong</span></strong> against Villa…. <strong><span style="color:#990000;">It has to turn</span></strong> because our lads worked dammed hard and they’re a great bunch…. <span style="color:#990000;"><strong>We just need</strong></span> to play like we did on Saturday, <strong><span style="color:#990000;">but not</span></strong> give a penalty away, <span style="color:#990000;"><strong>not</strong></span> get one sent off and <strong><span style="color:#990000;">not</span></strong> get one carried off…. I’ve signed everyone and there’s <strong><span style="color:#990000;">not </span></strong>one who would let me down intentionally…. They’ve all got a great work ethic. I believe in the same group of players and getting the best out of them, and that’s what myself and Terry Connor will carry on doing….. We might <strong><span style="color:#990000;">not</span></strong> have beaten Villa but if we get the level of performance we did on Saturday, <strong><span style="color:#990000;">that’s all I can ask.</span></strong> We’ve got more chance of winning if we play like that…. The way we played, not just against Villa, but against Arsenal, Bolton, Tottenham and Chelsea offers encouragement…. The biggest reason as to how I cope is that <strong><span style="color:#990000;">I don’t </span></strong>listen to the backdrop of what fans are saying…..<strong><span style="color:#990000;"> I do not</span></strong> go around in a glass cabinet – I am fully aware of what is going on. <strong><span style="color:#990000;">If </span></strong>you listen to it, you would go off your head anyway. But <strong><span style="color:#990000;">I cannot</span></strong> question the performances at all….. I would<strong><span style="color:#990000;"> not</span></strong> have done anything differently against Chelsea and Tottenham and I could not have done anything to make us any better….. <strong><span style="color:#990000;">I am not</span></strong> going to change anything – <strong><span style="color:#990000;">I’ve not</span></strong> got a magic wand.”<br /><br />The cumulative impact of the words is a killer. Notice the high frequency of that magic word <strong><span style="color:#990000;">“Not”.</span></strong> <strong><span style="color:#990000;">“If”, “But”</span></strong> and <strong><span style="color:#990000;">“Can’t”</span></strong> add to the mood. These are killjoy words to close you down. Notice how the passive words are often the shortest.They are negative. Everyone involved is an observer hoping that something will turn up. In a difficult situation you can understand why they were uttered but they are not assertive.<br /><br />Motivational language is about the right choice of words. It is about energy levels. It is about the creation of virtuous circles of optimism. Words are one part of the equation. Delivery and body language complete the threesome.<br /><br />This professional sport spends millions on wages, fees, grounds and whatever. It seeks to buy instant success with the acquisition of a new player. What is needed is organic growth stemming from developing communication skills for motivation. Only then will physical, tactical and technical skills have a chance. This is a game where you have to use your voice and mind as well as the feet.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-10061228308257559552012-01-18T12:06:00.000-08:002012-01-31T02:09:52.322-08:00Leveson Inquiry and blogging.The Leveson Inquiry has thrown up some interesting tit bits as celebrities, journalists and grieved parties come before it. A narrative of the state of our media for those with a genuine interest and an addition to the tapestry of day-time televison. The ultimate soap and an extra episode of “Have I got news…”<br /><br />The blogosphere has received little coverage, at least until a day ago. Richard Wallace editor at the Daily Mirror came out with this gem when asked about bloggers. "The out and out cowboys – I don't see in the long term they can survive … people want information that is competent and true."<br /><br />A confection of ideas to feed off here then. People want information that is competent and true but he seems to have side-stepped the irony that the whole point of Leveson is to question the mainstream journalists' application of this in the first place.<br /><br />Blogs can be amateurish with poor prose, questionable logic and inaccuracies. The fact is that, collectively, they are the grain of sand in the oyster. The number of authors, readers and commentators is itself a set of checks and balances. Something the print media lost track of. The blogosphere has democratised the publication of facts, views and opinions when the mass media was doing the reverse.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-88444324280573114322011-11-11T11:10:00.000-08:002011-11-13T14:52:01.559-08:00Rick Perry's gaffe. We all do it so why was there no plan for when things went wrong?<div align="left">Republican candidate Rick Perry’s recent lapse of memory in the US Republican Primary debate will join the annals of inept political communication. Endless replays of his gaffe will be played back to aspiring future politicians seeking to hone their own presentation skills. Something to go alongside Nixon and Kennedy or Quayle and Bentsen.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyjIexwWjRBpO4tlHIGIChFEyugtC9Vxrqe4kFiVV-vMmNLZp16wWocggVghzaZgf4xz4mtGdu3hdYocySvPA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><br />We should stand back a bit and be more measured.<br /><br />53 seconds of embarrassment may have been the result of tiredness and nerves. Sometimes you just run out of track.<br /><br />More likely, it is a mixture of over and under-preparation, under-preparation, in the sense of his reported avoidance of interview. He had insulated himself from media and voter scrutiny. Glad-handing and kissing babies are not enough. He had little practice in dealing with real-time questions and what can be thrown up. He delivered the same speech and a monologue at endless stage-managed conversations. He should not have been surprised when confronted with the tighter inquisition in the so-called “televised debates” which are nothing of the sort. Equally, If oratory and rhetoric have disappeared from Parliament in the UK, it is because of the demise of hustings.<br /><br />Funnily enough, Perry might have come out well if he had adopted the debating strategy seen in the fictional debate in the last series of the West Wing. Candidates threw out the “guidelines” and emerged from behind their lecterns. A fiction but perhaps what the new politics ought to be about.<br /><br />Perry was probably over-prepared. Candidates use their policy wonks to shape lines of argument and rebuttal. They rehearse detailed responses but the casualties are the sacrifice of spontaneity and character. In their preparations, Perry and his aids forgot to deal with normal human situations when stuff happens: like what to do when you fluff a line. </div>Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-51180961204222364872011-11-05T13:28:00.000-07:002011-11-05T13:47:14.295-07:00Who let the cat in? A blinder of a strap line from Wolverhampton City Council celebrating investment from Jaguar Land Rover.In the competitive advertising and marketing world you really need a splash to catch the eye. Most ads just pass over you.<br /><br />The private sector has the finance and time to buy in the consultancy necessary.<br /><br />Councils tend to have a back seat when it comes to the creation of interesting copy for marketing their activities. Not so here.<br /><br />Came across a startling item in the street today which caught the eye. An in-house creation from Wolverhampton City Council, celebrating the investment of Jaguar Land Rover in its new engine plant on the M54.<br /><br />This is a city looking for all the good news it can get and the council have come up with a blinder here. <a href="http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/8F831CC6-5D7C-43E5-BE55-990BC6D53449/0/JLRPoster.pdf">"Who let the cat in?" </a>is simple, succinct and savvy.<br /><br />What makes it good? The initial question-answer device followed by the allusion to the Mafia offer for starters. Company logo and the courage not to use all of the space add a further dynamic.<br /><br />Finally, the bracketing of the whole ad with the puzzle-solution rhetorical device highlighted in yellow is simplicity itself. This is an ad which really works and someone should be putting it up for an award.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-12447149618312472892011-10-29T06:31:00.000-07:002011-11-01T11:50:55.185-07:00The political election leaflet - time for a makeover.There is a thud on the floor in the hall. The post has arrived. No it hasn’t, it’s an electoral leaflet from one of the main political parties. Normally, I treat these offerings like the latest pizza outlet blurb.<br /><br />Just for once and because there is nothing else pressing, I give the offering a tighter look. Things are even worse than I thought. This is a literary genre in real need of a makeover.<br /><br />So what’s gone wrong? Assume that the voter has a cynical and sceptical view of politics and that the time from posting to binning is seconds. What's in it for the reader?<br /><br />First impressions count. A strong strapline, imaginative use of graphics, colour and layout are the basics. Beyond that a mass of text is a no no – peoples’ eyes just glaze over. Tight copy with short sentences and paragraphs are the order of the day, if only because the reader may have English as the second language. Contrived grainy photos which make the passport variant look good add to the picture.<br /><br />Cost is a consideration but handing out A3-sized folded leaflets which look as they have just been duplicated on a standard photocopier, is cost-cutting at its worst. They compare badly against a smaller A5 creation on glossy and heavier paper. Cheap business cards set the tone for your company, so don’t be surprised if the same ethic transfers to politics.<br /><br />Finally to content. Voters can see through the fatuous leaflets dressed up as “surveys”. Politicians should already have a handle on the issues in their areas. A survey is a bit late in the day. Equally, a photo of the candidate with a broom in the hand comes across as crass. How many residents do we see sweeping up public space?<br /><br />We want tight rhetoric and choice of words. We want a strong image of the candidates and what they stand for. We want the personality of the candidate to hit us.<br /><br />Critically, we need to know what makes the candidates different as we lend them our votes.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-79169637325296887272011-10-12T04:08:00.001-07:002011-10-12T04:49:54.482-07:00Politicians should avoid the passive tense - it can damage your health.As the Liam Fox affair unravels there is at least one upside. It has highlighted the inadequacy of the passive tense. It is something we should all avoid. It does us no favours and makes us look shabby. Budding politicians should make sure it is not in their toolkits, when they are addressing media and voters or designing their leaflets.<br /><br />“Mistakes were made…” and “….it was a mistake to allow distinctions to be blurred.” were euphemisms and snowing at its worst. This passive language isolated the speaker from awkward and uncomfortable realities.<br /><br />The speaker is detached from events. We all became outside observers of situations which seemed to evolve on autopilot. It is academic and sterile language.<br /><br />The rest of us have to listen to this ducking and weaving. We feel angry that we are being spoken to in a manner beyond our normal conversation. Ordinary language is messy, erratic and personal. The passive: legalistic, objective and anodyne. It gives wiggle room and avoids responsibility for what is being said.<br /><br />The debacle over military policy and funding in Iraq and Afghanistan lead to phrases such as “We are where we are…” and “It is time to move on.” They were attempts to avoid explaining difficult resourcing and strategy decisions. We felt annoyed that our timetables for making sense of things were being hi-jacked by others who wanted to avoid scrutiny.<br /><br />The current explanations given to us are doing exactly the same. We want a new type of politics where, for better or worse, we converse actively, precisely and personally.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-59439688937082958342011-09-29T09:49:00.000-07:002011-09-30T12:15:54.306-07:00Guest blog: Adman and Eve.They say prostitution is the oldest profession. They, as usual, are dead wrong.<br /><br />It’s the second oldest.<br /><br />Let’s go back to the very beginning, to the Serpent in the Garden of Eden. His task was a tricky one: to persuade an unconvinced consumer to try a product they had good reason to avoid. His job was to sell the apple; to make it seem so appealing, so tantalising, that Eve would risk a fall from grace for a quick nibble.<br /><br />But succeed he did and advertising was born.<br /><br />I pause here, partly for effect, and partly to decide where I’m going with this. As an advertising copywriter by trade, I bump into many people I could place into one of two categories: first, those who believe advertising is the work of the devil, responsible for many of the evils of the world and made by manipulative morons. Second, those who have seen the TV series “Mad Men” and are disappointed I’m not taller and more charismatic.<br /><br />Both groups are somewhat deluded.<br /><br />It’s not that the industry is particularly altruistic – it isn’t. It’s simply an industry that reflects society’s wider needs. Here are a few things to consider:<br /><br />• Despite claims to the contrary, you can’t make people buy something they don’t want; you can make people buy more of something or maybe switch to a competing product, but that’s about it. What about children? Well, what about them - yes, they are particularly vulnerable to suggestion, but there’s a time-tested safeguard against this – it’s called parenting.<br /><br />• Yes, many “bad” things have been advertised (like cigarettes). But so have many “good” things (like charities and public awareness campaigns).<br /><br />• Without advertising it would be tough to make informed consumer choices because you wouldn’t know what was available (catalogues can be useful huh?). Also, you would end up buying local products rather than the best products. Why? Because potentially better products from farther afield would have no opportunity to generate awareness in your local market.<br /><br />• Without advertising revenue, many enjoyable and useful things wouldn’t exist – lots of TV and radio stations, as well as free websites like Facebook, Google and Twitter to name just a few – and all the jobs that go along with them.<br /><br />What am I getting at? I suppose I'm saying our oldest profession isn't all bad. So, maybe next time you hear someone ranting about advertising, you might spare a few moments to argue the toss.<br /><br />We’re not the devils people think we are.<br /><br />(This is a guest blog written by Phil from <a href="http://www.pifflepaffle.blogspot.com/">http://www.pifflepaffle.blogspot.com/</a>)Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-87354025823848488722011-09-28T07:34:00.000-07:002011-09-29T06:16:57.714-07:00"Whenever something is wrong....something is too big." Leopold Kohr and the broken society.Next year is the fifty fifth anniversary of the publication of a book which at the time was considered a joke. I am talking of Leopold Kohr's "The Breakdown of Nations". In 2011, it is an excellent explanation of our societal and economic ills. More importantly, he provides a solution.<br /><br />His punch line? That “Wherever something is wrong….. something is too big”. This modest Austrian was writing at a time when "big was best" seemed logical. Witness the high rise flats in the ‘60s, built at the expense of community-focussed terraces. Relationships sacrificed on the altars of progress and development.<br /><br />This was a prescient theory, which with the passage of time, seems to be gaining traction. He provided an analysis which the political parties should be discussing at their conferences.<br /><br />Everything is big. Today we talk of globalisation and multinational organisations such as the EU. We know about banks in 2008 which became so big they could not be allowed to fail. We see the power of our supermarkets squeezing out local shops. We have multiplex cinemas limiting film choice. We see the growth of regional shopping centres killing off town centres. We see the centralisation of government in London suffocating local councils. We see parish councils with less to do. We have larger and larger bureaucratic organisations running hospitals, council services, police and education provision. We have takeovers and mergers in the name of agglomeration economies forgetting the longer term downsides.<br /><br />In the name of efficiency and economies of scale, business and public sector organisations have become removed from the average Joe in the street. Communication technologies with their attendant frustrations and disembodied relationships just add to the cocktail.<br /><br />There is a pattern here. Families and communities are under threat. Individuals feel they have less of a stake in society. They feel powerless, alienated and the broken society becomes common parlance. Witness the large call-centre providing virtual reality help and how customer-care comes second. We have less face-to-face contact, live in little boxes and adopt virtual reality communities – let’s call them television soaps.<br /><br />Kohr observed that as organisations get larger, power gets concentrated. This can be abused by those who wield it and the rest of society switches off or engages in deviant behaviour. Declining membership of political parties and electoral turnout is the evidence.<br /><br />Belgium is one of the smallest countries in Europe. They are getting through without a central government and yet growth rates compares favourably with the rest of the EU. Kohr might be smiling at this feat.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-20389589397432738622011-09-25T10:12:00.000-07:002011-09-25T10:33:43.238-07:00Conservative, Lib Dem and Labour logos are all in need of a makeover. Some enthusiasm and passion would help. Lessons from Educating Rita.Willy Russell scripted a poignant scene in Educating Rita between Rita and her mother. They are in a pub for a family sing-song. Her mother observes: “There must be better songs than this…” A statement of resignation, sadness, predictability, frustration, lack of purpose and going nowhere.<br /><br />Sums up the dilemma of the parties as they try to work out their analysis of our current condition and struggle for solutions.<br /><br />In the business world, logos are fought over jealously. They provide instant recognition and identification with the product. See the lengths Coca Cola go to ensure their squiggly line is protected. Compare this to our political world.<br /><br />We are now in the season of party conferences. Banner logos cascade from ceilings and walls. A backdrop to Newsnight reports, speeches and fringe meetings. Logos appear on every piece of corporate literature and repeatedly readers are influenced by the images before them.<br /><br />The Liberty Bird, Red Rose and Scribbled Oak (£40000 fees paid) are the results of considered research and planning but they have the impact of magnolia paint. They are passive and do not exude enthusiasm and passion.<br /><br />Part of the problem for our political branders is that in a state of fluid politics, the parties are finding it difficult to create a coherent analysis of their current condition. If your product is fuzzy what chance the branding? What chance the visual imagery?<br /><br />Freedom, patriotism, liberty, tradition, choice, environment, strength, endurance, growth, renewal and individuality seem to have been some of the words party strategists sat down with as they brain-stormed for the images we have now.<br /><br />Perhaps this is the time to get our some new words: enthusiasm, optimism, responsibility, energy, and assertiveness would be good for starters. Wonder what logos we can get out of them?Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-71839330163691944342011-09-25T08:17:00.000-07:002011-09-25T08:27:21.190-07:00The digital version did not kill off the traditional watch. Lessons for the newspaper industry facing the e-book reader. The Guardian price increase.The digital watch did not kill off the analogue timepiece, its traditional face and the circulating hand. A decade ago it was the done thing to have a digital face and a display which looked as if it should be in the airline cockpit. Machismo over-statement of technology worn on the wrist then. The analogue technology was history.<br /><br />Not quite. We forgot that the analogue display is not only a timepiece but a jewellery item – a fashion statement. The traditional face allowed spatial judgements over how much time had elapsed and how much was to come. We forgot the ergonomics of watches and how we use them.<br /><br />There are lessons from the timekeeping world which may resonate as newspapers adjust to the emerging competition from e-readers. Quality newspapers are losing readership at 10% a year and advertising revenue falling. Foreign coverage is expensive as are the campaigns to hold other parts of life to account ie expenses and hacking. A lose-lose for the 4th Estate. Not quiet.<br /><br />We read papers in anarchic ways. We dip in and out as we choose. We want to see the daily fare before we select which articles to read and when. We want to scan our papers whilst multi-tasking over other things such as a conversation or coffee. We want reliability. We hate a screen going down or a glitch showing up. We don’t want to think plugs, batteries and security.<br /><br />The candour from The Guardian’s editor, Alan Rushbridger, over the paper’s recent price rise may go down well with its readership. It can see the logic of the hike knowing you get what you pay for. Newspaper readership is tribal and by adding extra leaflets, posters and supplements the reader gets a total experience. These add-ons do not lend themselves to the e-reader. This readership values the diversity of input from columnists, whose output alongside editorials and incisive cartoons, creates a thought-provoking read. You don’t get that feel from a tablet.<br /><br />Daily tabloid, evening and regional papers may be the ones most likely to be at risk from the new media. Shorter articles and a greater use of graphics and other visuals tend to lend themselves to the small screen.<br /><br />We are likely to see quality newspaper circulation characterised by a narrow and loyal readership willing to pay an increasing premium for the product. A product which may morph into weekly magazines such as The Economist. “Guardian Reader” has been a short-hand swipe in the past to describe a liberal progressive politics. In the future, the term might be extended to describe how they take in their news in the first placeAdlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-90791289442502913652011-09-22T07:37:00.000-07:002011-09-24T16:33:37.531-07:00All we want is government not to squander our money. It's not asking much.We live in difficult times. The legacy of irresponsible bankers, their financial instruments and their bonuses stick in the throat. To balance things up, the average Joe willingly took advantage of give-away credit facilities and many overstretched households caught a cold.<br /><br />Now, we are being asked to tighten our belts, stabilise the economy and reduce the deficit. All we ask is that when government gets its tax receipts, they are spent prudently. The reverse is the case and the evidence just keeps pouring in.<br /><br />Witness today's announcement that the £12 billion NHS Computer Scheme is to be ditched. Add on Labour’s report recognising its incompetence over messed up defence procurement. Andrew Lansley’s PFI interview on this morning’s Today programme, completed the tale of woe of what happens when politicians get their hands on our money. The abortive reorganisation of the fire service was yesterday’s example of wasted monies. How much money has been spent winding up the so-called bonfire of quangos?<br /><br />Once HMRC gets our money we have the right to expect government to use it with probity, value-for-money and tight scrutiny. Those are the imperatives when you run your own business. Somehow government, council and the public sector don’t apply the same principles in their own decision-making and we all lose. “We are all in it together” became a short-lived political strapline. The trouble is some of us are in it more than others.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-46647500220208868522011-09-16T10:03:00.000-07:002011-09-16T14:20:12.071-07:00Captain Mainwaring, the fictional bank manager at Dad's Army and our present bankers, are as far apart as ever.Just when you thought it could not get any worse for the bankers, up pops another episode in this squalid serial. £1.3 billion going astray at the Swiss bank, UBS.<br /><br />I started my career in The City. “My word is my bond”, was an expression one frequently came across. Reputation, trust and probity counted for much.<br /><br />Bankers' bonuses and dodgy financial instruments had faded into the memory, only to be brought back to life this week, with the Vicker’s Independent Commission on Banking.<br /><br />Bankers and government hope that separating retail and casino banking will be kicked into touch until after the next election. We are assured everything is in order, but along comes an employee at UBS Investment Bank, to remind us that allegedly rogue traders may still be around. Have we learned nothing since Nick Leeson at Barings in 1995?<br /><br />Whatever the reality, the perception amongst Joe Public is that still there is something wrong with the ethics and activities of bankers. It may be one of our most important contributors to our economy and pragmatism dictates that we don’t kick it into touch.<br /><br />The British public has an innate sense of fair play and banks remain on the wrong side of the fence in our perception of their worth and values. Captain Mainwaring may be out of place today, but his sense of values may be just what our society needs now.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-86107272303255737162011-09-14T08:28:00.000-07:002011-09-29T14:37:06.867-07:00The fun starts now - the squabbles over the parliamentary seats. What's the point if fewer people turn up to vote?Boundary reconfiguration has always raised the political temperature – the term Gerrymandering was not coined for nothing.<br /><br />So what makes things different this time? Well the backcloth is a Coalition government charting uncertain waters to 2015, 50 seat reductions and a short consultation process to retrieve the Boundary Commissioners’ proposals. In Wolverhampton, one of three seats is history.<br /><br />There are past lessons about the dangers of superimposing boundary changes on existing geographical boundaries. Witness the unstable legacy we created in our colonial scramble for Africa.<br /><br />Politics is tribal and the colonial metaphor should not be stretched too far, but in seeking fewer seats and creating more equitably-sized constituencies, we might have created unwelcome and unpredictable outcomes for councillors and MPs.<br /><br />The electorate has an uncanny knack of letting politicians down. Although wards can be moved across boundaries, it does not follow that the voters, in their new home, act as they have in the past.<br /><br />Voters’ angst may be raised. Activists may see things through their own prisms and not be at ease with newly constituted committees and party structures. They may feel resentment at being divorced from old personalities and loyalties. How will the voter feel if told to move from a constituency with an affective MP to one where there is a dud?<br /><br />The message is clear – take care for what you wish and don’t underestimate an electorate which may resent being electoral munitions moved around a battlefield.<br /><br />Perhaps we are getting worked up over nothing. Have just returned from dropping a few leaflets off for tomorrow’s ward election. Met a guy in the street who observed he wanted nothing to do with politics, was not going to vote for anyone and next year had no intention of being on the roll. For him and many others, boundaries are meaningless. That is the really big issue for Messrs Cameron, Clegg and Miliband. No point playing with boundaries if fewer people vote.<br /><br />Of course, there is a silver lining. In the next couple of years we are going to see sitting MPs nursing relations with their constituents to secure their futures, and this Parliament has hardly gone off the ground yet.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-53319825709107366462011-09-11T12:06:00.000-07:002011-09-12T05:09:51.279-07:00Should councils be encouraging us to take our eye off the road?Should councils be encouraging us to take our eye of the road? I ask the question as it becomes obvious that we now have a troubling addition to our street furniture. I refer to the commercial adverts which now festoon many of our roundabouts. And usually those in the centre of town where traffic flows are at their greatest.<br /><br />The roundabout has now been sponsored by such and such company. Placards are posted at regular intervals around the circuit. Of course a logo and suitable strapline add to our delights. “ Glasses from 20/20 vision to help your driving” would suit.<br /><br />Roundabouts were invented to smooth traffic flow, but with increasing traffic densities they have achieved the reverse. They acquired an extra helper - traffic lights. These junctions are places with the potential for real grief. Indeed a location where the heartbeat may rise and wits have to be honed.<br /><br />This is a place for due care and attention. There are enough traffic signs to absorb as you negotiate white tramlines disappearing under your bonnet.<br /><br />So how come our councils have been able to square the circle over road safety and the need to nudge motorists into behaving properly? Well they haven’t and it is lolly that tops the list. Sponsoring a roundabout brings in the coins and helps subsidise the traffic department’s budgets. In an age of contingency, risk aversion and health and safety, it is amazing that this advertising genre has even been contemplated.<br /><br />We can ask what other locations can be found for our cash-strapped councils? Will our public toilets, public seating and litter bins be finding sponsors next? More importantly, who might the sponsors be? Whoever they are, the exercise won't be compromising our safety.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-82648095495267725562011-09-10T11:40:00.000-07:002011-11-09T12:37:52.822-08:00A cameo scene from the West Wing should be required viewing for all of our politicians before the party conferences.A pattern is emerging across our political parties. They seem to be having a problem remembering who they represent and what they stand for.<br /><br />Tim Farron for the LibDems observes that his party has “suffered a loss of identity....and support”. Whilst Ivan Lewis at Labour suggests his party “looks like and speaks on behalf of an urban metropolitan elite". Complete the cycle with the Conservatives humbled from their retreat on forests and now succeeding in getting the National Trust to launch a petition over planning. It takes something to upset your natural supporters whatever the party. How has this detachment come about?<br /><br />Revisiting the second episode ( Series Four ) from the iconic West Wing fictional drama, one is reminded of a scene where White House staffers, Josh Lyman and Toby Ziegler, having lost the presidential motorcade, have a conversation with an ordinary Joe in an Indiana bar.<br /><br />He is not a wastrel just someone caught out by events beyond his control. He wants a little help so that he can keep his head above water. In a slow drawl and gestulating slowly with his fingers, he indicates that he wants just an inch of government support. Ziegler listens uncomfortably and asks if they can talk. It is a humbling piece of drama. The cameo just highlights the insularity of the Washington bubble and ditto Westminster.<br /><br />So what one might ask? Well, our political elites and the media circus will soon be at their party conferences. As they retire to their hotel bedrooms, perhaps they should put the DVD in the player, start the episode and reflect on what they are doing, why and for whom.Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-63751946387718271442011-08-24T09:18:00.001-07:002011-08-25T04:30:50.071-07:00Do the descendent technologies from Bletchley Park protect or erode our freedoms?Sometimes it is the juxta-positioning of events which adds a poignancy to ones experience. Such was the case within the last twenty four hours.
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<br />A visit to the famous Bletchley Park war-time code-breaking centre was an introduction to the world of Enigma, Bombe, Ultra and Hut 6. The replicated version of the world’s first semi-programmable computer, Colossus, gave an insight into what this technology could do in a benign context.
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<br />Contrast this with a small 21st century cameo today where I sought a replacement registration plate for the car. A simple transaction now acquires the status of something more bureaucratic, ie being asked for the log book and another form of identity, so as to check that bogus plates are not created.
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<br />Seems innocent enough, but this is yet another example of the incremental acquisition of data for the state. Turing, Flowers and their mates might be wondering whether sixty years on, they unleashed a technology as great a threat to our individual freedoms, as the causes to which Colossus was being harnessed in the first place.
<br />Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-73867094060254267952011-08-22T12:14:00.000-07:002011-08-22T12:29:31.900-07:00“Good politics but bad policy”. A phrase from Tony Blair worth keeping.One phrase in Tony Blair’s Observer article about the recent 2011 city unrest, may be remembered long after the rest of his article has become forgotten. Recalling his own position about moral decline in society and the James Bulger affair, he noted that his 1993 speech was “good politics but bad policy”. It has a ring to it showing a contrition and awareness that was lacking when in office.
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<br />Such reflection stands Blair well. But have you noticed how other ex-party leaders seem to grow in stature after leaving office? Iain Duncan Smith, Paddy Ashdown and John Major seem to display a clarity of thought that was lacking in their younger years. Unimpeded by the weight of office they can now articulate a perspective of our present condition which eluded them in younger years. One might even call it statesmanship. Perhaps our aspiring political leaders need to put more time in to acquire a hinterland and sense of perspective before they step forward for the prize they seek.
<br />Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5296848854487752437.post-27603442418943036592011-08-18T12:31:00.000-07:002011-08-18T12:37:53.126-07:00What happens when the A Level pass rate reaches 100%?So the A level results are out for another year. The UCAS-fest springs into action. For the 29th year in succession there have been improvements. In any other walk of life, especially business, this would have been met with incredulity as to how this had come about. A Dragon Den’s investor would be in ecstasy. Bonuses would have been showered upon staff, handsome dividends paid out to shareholders and stock market valuations at a premium.
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<br />Grade inflation and a devalued educational examination system are words that dare not be spoken. If one puts educational performances under scrutiny, one may be accused of undermining the hard work of teachers and the efforts of their students. An ogre taking sweets from the kids.
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<br />And yet there must be something wrong, as our economy faces a skills shortage and many in the educational system struggle to hit basic levels of literacy and numeracy. It is not by chance that skilled economic migrants from Europe seek their chances with us.
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<br />A visitor from another planet would be forgiven for thinking that somehow there is an inconsistency between educational performances as measured by exam results (not just A level at that), the performance of our economy and the skill levels of those seeking employment.
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<br />Michael Gove and his pals are caught between a rock and a hard place. Criticise the results inflation and you are a killjoy. Praise them and one is participating in the delusion that our economy has a decent skills base. The big question of course is what do we do when in a few years time the pass rate reaches 100%?
<br />Adlibatyounevercantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10696988382640966637noreply@blogger.com0