Category: P

October 12, 2020 admin123@ No comments exist

Pioneer Columbus Day!  Italian pioneer, Christopher Columbus ‘discovered’ America on 12 Oct 1492 while heading for the gold & spices of the Far East.  His trips trading people, animals & food between Europe & America spread diseases – smallpox, measles, influenza – which decimated indigenous people, who had no immunity to them.  Travel & trade…

June 15, 2020 admin123@ No comments exist

Plague How to trade during plague? See past precedents. Plague stone receptacles at parish & quarantine boundaries sterilised coins in vinegar, in exchange for goods. 1348-50 Black Death took 1/3 of Englanders. 1665-66 Great Plague killed 100,000 Londoners (1/4 of the city).  Then & now: Panic buyers welcome!  But disinfect before entry Guessed the Word? …

March 23, 2020 admin123@ No comments exist

Positioning Coronavirus: agile firms shift gear fast & position themselves differently Think laterally, pivot & step out with more.  Flex business assets & service delivery.  Vans can take groceries from local shops to customers stuck indoors.  Face-to-face courses morph into webinars.  Cafes can take online orders.  Hotel rooms can store goods.  Warehouses can be healthcare…

February 21, 2020 admin123@ No comments exist

Ploughman’s lunch The ploughman’s lunch – all porky pies?  Alludes to rustic, outdoor, bygone times, but actually dates from 1950s promotion in pubs to boost cheese sales.  Sounds hot, sophisticated & substantial, when it’s a simple, light meal – bread, cheese, pickle, maybe added pie, egg & salad – eaten cold, with a glass of…

November 20, 2019 admin123@ No comments exist

Private equity What’s the big deal with private equity (PE)?  PE firms use debt to buy weak companies, turn them around & sell them.  They load the debt on to the acquired company & sell off its assets to create massive returns for investors quickly, while charging huge fees.  PE is changing finance & the…

September 25, 2019 admin123@ No comments exist

Posturing Politicians posturing isn’t new – in 41BC, Cleopatra used a golden barge with purple sails to get Mark Antony’s attention.  Politics is part show business.  But it’s workers & owners who keep the real show on the road.  “Must do, should do, could do & won’t do” helps avoid distraction by political melodrama.  There’s no…

May 17, 2019 admin123@ No comments exist

Password A good, memorable password is long, not complex.  Like ‘Snow White & the 7 dwarfs’ (rather than 8 characters).  Even better – 3 random words which are easy to recall.  Average person has 19 passwords!  No need to change a password (unless it’s compromised) nor mix capital letters, numbers & symbols.  Password managers don’t…

October 3, 2018 admin123@ No comments exist

Pounce Who will bell the cat? Take a risk – fortune favours the brave.  Curiosity & publicly available information are enough to unmask new facts – about products, services, customers, suppliers.  Or even to pounce on secret agents who poison former spies.  No training needed Guessed the Word?                Series 31…

September 5, 2018 admin123@ No comments exist

Pink chocolate Coming soon – pink chocolate.  The 4th type after dark, milk and white.  1st new type for 80 years, since white was invented in 1930s. Is pink naturally, and has a smooth berry taste – fruit/ cream/ sour combined.  Made by innovative Swiss manufacturing process after a decade of research, from ruby cocoa…

May 8, 2018 admin123@ No comments exist

Play Board games teach strategic thinking & entrepreneurship.  De-stress with dice & do an off-duty MBA!  Plus faster networking than golf.  2017 US board game sales $1.17bn – up 7% in a year Guessed the Word?      Series 23 (8/8)       [pic: catan/ Eric Chamberland]