ISAMBARD

If you know me, you'll know I'm a fan of  Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the renowned 19th century engineer.  One of my maxims is that designing and operating a great business is akin to a great engineering project:
Purpose: an overarching proposition of what you offer the world, to whom, and why they'd want it;...

I’m often asked to talk to groups and to lead workshops on strategic thinking. (I even get paid for it occasionally). In a nutshell, here’s what I say:
Clearly define your offer and how to fulfil it
For the customer, investor, supplier and employee

I’ve travelled around the world on business throughout my career.  At my old company Deltec, we had over 30 different nationalities and even more ethnicities. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from establishing relationships with people from other cultures...

In a discussion about turmoil and the likelihood of an organisation getting into trouble, I was asked what’s the most important thing to do once you’ve established that there is a mess and figured out what to do about it. My answer was simple: “restore...