Jackson gets to grips with staff

Have you ever felt like strangling your boss? Michael Jackson, group chairman of the Jackson Consultancy Group, has two things in common with his celebrity namesake: bizarre behaviour and natty black outfits.

He runs a two-day induction course so new employees can, er, get to grips with the job. The course centres on “how to succeed” and “how to communicate”. Jackson, a first dan karate blackbelt, insists the martial art made him “more determined, stronger and patient” in his business dealings.

The Diary wonders whether Jackson understands why some staff enrol themselves on the course three or four times. Is it the love of hard physical training, or the sheer thrill of getting Jackson in a stranglehold and still having a job to go to the next day?