I’ve written before on the virtues of leaders possessing some of the “softer” qualities when needed. But I’ve also said that the exciting, opportunity-filled state of flux that is our current market is demanding on our leaders. The winners will be those who understand their markets and who ensure their entire businesses are aligned with...Read More

“The unteachables” sounds like a pitch for a documentary about a group of really distracted students, but it’s also a neat phrase that caught my ear when I was interviewing someone recently and asked them what they looked for in an up-and-coming manager. “Oh you know,” he said, “all of the unteachables”. In this gentleman’s...Read More

Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s traditional for people to use February 14th to make a symbolic gesture of their love for one another, or panic because they’ve forgotten to buy flowers or book a cosy table for two. It’s easy to take someone for granted when they’re part of the furniture. Perhaps those flowers and those...Read More

I recently re-watched Frost and Sullivan’s You Tube clip about their detailed report, “Women as Automotive Customers”, and felt a bit of unease (not F&S’s fault, of course). As one industry insider states in the film, the industry has traditionally made cars for men, and there is a huge case for it now to make...Read More

People seemingly unable or unwilling to take phone calls when they know there is a problem to resolve. A bland email (instead of a call) with a matey introduction totally inappropriate for the message within. Lack of acknowledgement or apology from business seniors if you escalate a problem. Promising to phone back, and not doing...Read More

Morven Fraser will never forget this week. And with good reason too, because the University of Glasgow student has just won the 2015 Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award for her innovative energy storage concept. She is about to embark on six months of industrial experience with Jaguar Land Rover, McLaren, Peugeot, Skoda, Toyota and Honda as...Read More