Winston’s guide to marital bliss

The Diary has always been a firm believer in a work-life balance, particularly the “life” bit. So it delved with considerable interest into ad guru Winston Fletcher’s latest literary oeuvre, Beating the 24/7.

This intimate exposé of business leaders who get to the top of the greasy pole, yet contrive to have a successful family life in their spare time, makes for some fascinating reading. For instance, the very fact that they have any spare time to balance came as a bit of a shock to the Diary. But that’s just the point, it seems. All that fiddling with executive toys into the early hours of the morning soon leads to severely dysfunctional behaviour and the divorce court, until you learn to cut and run at 6 o’clock sharp (or, in the Diary’s case, 5 o’clock sharp).

Perhaps that explains why Vodafone supremo Sir Chris Gent is just about the only omission from Winston’s pages. Apparently, he’s much too busy to have any spare time. The Diary says: get a life, Chris.