With the announcement that both the French and German economies have contracted in the past quarter and the Bank of England has halved its predictions for wage rises in the UK, it is pertinent to reflect on just how fragile the market is at present.
Being the summer, I have had more time to chat with my teenage kids. As they have got older, they have become (a little) more interested in what I do for a living – perhaps as it starts to dawn on them that one day they too will have to enter the deep dark world of employment, and it would be wise to avoid the jobs that their parents do, as it seems like hard work.
Earlier this week I went to see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes film in 3D. Although it was quite a good film, the 3D effects were formulaic – either that, or I have become much more demanding – expecting my senses to be wowed each time I go to the cinema.
A few years ago, I felt my role was not developing the way that I wanted it to, so I responded to a headhunter’s call, who put me forward to meet the HR director of a brand that was looking for someone “just like me”.
Quite an eventful week with three tough meetings – none to do with my day job.
I had an interesting text from my mobile phone provider this week – that I had not used my full data allowance this month – and I could be a little more adventurous when out and about.
My boss has a new office. By that I mean his room has been redecorated, in the corner of the floor on which he and his entourage sit.
I read a very interesting article this week about preparing for job interviews – not for me, of course (!) but the author made a very interesting comment.
Imagine the scene. You have been plucking up courage to get a date with the man/woman of your dreams. Finally you do it, they agree, and you sit down together and after small-talk, they ask you to talk about yourself.
I was disappointed to read last week that WH Smith has been once again voted the UK’s worst high street retailer by Which? magazine.
Following the abortive Pfizer/AstraZeneca takeover a couple of months ago, there’s been a lot of coverage in the media about multinational brands and what it means to be ‘global’.
While it’s great to read about falling unemployment, this week I was amused to run into an ex-colleague who, last time I worked with him, was a rather under-performing middle manager.
This week, one of our business unit executive directors came to me in a quandary.
New marketing heads like nothing better than a good pitch – sweeping out the old and bringing in new blood. When I took on my current role, I sought to resist this temptation and, as regular readers will know, shuffled the pack on the creative side only a couple of months ago.
I had a very interesting experience recently – being a customer! Whilst marketers invest millions in market research, there is nothing quite like putting your feet in the shoes of those that you spend your life seeking to influence.