There are 1.96 billion children on the planet - and a growing population. Anticipating extended demand, Christmas Enterprises has engaged a team of Future Logistics Architects, Senior Brand Engineers and Investor Security Co-ordinators to examine operational alternatives. Initial reports demonstrate in-the-moment thinking and management-centric communication: Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle Balls Jingle conversate Let me have your ballpark shot on-a loop back guestimate Jing

You can learn a lot from unsolicited promos on social media. Especially what to avoid... Here are the 10 MISSTEPS to making a video that no-one will want to view (unless as a warning lesson): MISSTEP 1. Put the CEO on screen immediately. If you have a handy stained-glass window (see video below), tilt the camera so the boss looks beatific, framed by a halo. Here's the opening pitch: "We’re living in a world of tremendous change; MISSTEP 2. Scare your potential customer. Here-

There's no obvious label for Tape Face's entertainment. Mime, perhaps? Silent comedy? Both conjour up former practitioners (Marcel Marceau, Buster Keaton), but neither accurately capture what he does. Actually, it's not what he does that's most important. It's what he doesn't. In a world drowned in management speak and leadership oration, Tape Face is a timely reminder of Albert Mehrabian's "7-38-55 Rule" - the percentage weighting of words, tone of voice, and non-verbal sign

Excerpt #2/2 from 'Don't Eat Fortune's Cookie', the 2012 Princeton commencement speech by alumni Michael Lewis. He is the author of 'Liar's Poker' (Norton, 1989), 'Moneyball' (Norton, 2004) and 'The Big Short' (Norton, 2010). 'A few years ago...,a pair of researchers in the Cal psychology department staged an experiment. They began by grabbing students, as lab rats. Then they broke the students into teams, segregated by sex. Three men, or three women, per team. Then they put

Excerpt #1/2 from 'Don't Eat Fortune's Cookie', the 2012 Princeton commencement speech by alumni Michael Lewis. He is the author of 'Liar's Poker' (Norton, 1989), 'Moneyball' (Norton, 2004) and 'The Big Short' (Norton, 2010). 'The book I wrote was called "Liar’s Poker." It sold a million copies. I was 28 years old. I had a career, a little fame, a small fortune and a new life narrative. All of a sudden people were telling me I was born to be a writer. This was absurd. Even I

Excerpt #2/2 from 'How PowerPoint is killing critical thought', an essay by British author, essayist, and documentary-maker Andrew Smith. He is the author of 'Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth' (Bloomsbury 2009) and 'Totally Wired: The Wild Rise and Crazy Fall of the First Dotcom Dream' (Simon & Schuster 2013). '... PP can only present propositions and arguments as equations... They appear to have no owner; no one need feel responsible for them. In the post-ban

Excerpt #1/2 from 'How PowerPoint is killing critical thought', an essay by British author, essayist, and documentary-maker Andrew Smith. He is the author of 'Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth' (Bloomsbury 2009) and 'Totally Wired: The Wild Rise and Crazy Fall of the First Dotcom Dream' (Simon & Schuster 2013). 'I still remember the best lecture I ever attended. It was part of a joint series offered by the English and philosophy departments in my first term at

Excerpt from 'Why Unusual Job Titles are Bad for You and Your Company' by Daniel Bukszpan. Director of First Impressions All About People is a staffing and recruiting company based in Phoenix, Arizona. It has 25,000 successfully-placed candidates to its credit, and co-founder Sherri Mitchell said that she’s seen numerous jobs of old sneak into the 21st century with new-look titles. “Back in the day you would hear ‘receptionist,’” she said. “One of the trendier ways of describ

Someone asked me recently about my working life; what have I done in my career? And, like many, I slipped in the audio version of my CV - a well-honed, anecdote-filled summary of 30-something years. That same day, I was on the train out of London. Two Asian lads - 14 years-old, perhaps 15 - sat near me. One of them had money worries. Not mortgage or credit card levels of worry; something much more pressing. New girlfriend levels of worry. How was he going to pay to take her o

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February 1994. Lillehammer: The first Winter Olympic Games to be held in a different year from the Summer Games. And after being involved for 30 years, Xerox finally became a full TOP Partner. A TOP participant, without discretionary budget. Olympic sponsorship is an expensive, complex commitment. And getting value from participation is not guaranteed. There are two factors that play against you. Factor #1: the multiple tiers of deep pockets. At Lillehammer, there were three