We’re sleep-walking into mediocre careers – it’s time to reassess our bedtime habits July 27, 2015 We can survive longer without food than without sleep. We spend about 10 per cent of our lives eating and drinking, one per cent of our lives exercising, and almost one whole third sleeping. So why do we pay sleep quality and quantity so little attention? We all know about the importance of exercise and [...]
A robot might steal your job, but it can never take your humanity July 26, 2015 The benefits of using robots in the workplace are abundantly clear. Companies with a robot workforce would be able to operate 24/7 without paying staff, would have an attendance rate of 100 per cent, and would have access to pre-programmed employees who would never make mistakes – and all for a one-off payment. No more [...]
Why wearable tech in healthcare is the best place for a startup right now July 24, 2015 Wearable technology is big business, with some of the largest tech and innovation companies in the world focusing on it right now. Its potential impact on the healthcare industry is huge, which makes it one of the most ripe areas for healthcare focused start-ups to enter into. Read more: Could London emerge as a global [...]
Statistics can be used in many ways: The Office for National Statistics’ retail sales index is designed for everyone to understand July 24, 2015 What is important for one person isn't always the most important thing for someone else. This is why it's vital to offer different ways of looking at how things are changing in order to get the full picture. The ONS' retail sales index is one of the best indicators of the performance of the [...]
The Financial Times’ Britishness has made it global, and despite being bought by Japan’s Nikkei that’s not going anywhere July 24, 2015 Some will share the unease voiced by Will Hutton on BBC Newsnight that the Financial Times has passed into overseas ownership, especially in the scenario he painted where other media assets such as ITV and Channel 4 are targets for global players such as Comcast of the US. Having worked at the FT for [...]
Obama’s Brexit intervention is not in Britain’s interests: It benefits an America suffering from an increasingly hostile Europe July 24, 2015 Voters! Hold-up! Stop worrying about that pesky decision about what our future relationship with the EU should look like. You don’t need to worry about exercising your democratic right in the UK, the President of the United States wants the UK to stay in the EU come what may. Phew, glad that’s settled. Ok. [...]
The fear of failure drives middle-aged men to depression, and it’s often the economy’s fault July 24, 2015 “The young are slaves to dreams; the old servants to regrets”, said Theodore Roosevelt. Middle age is the sensible stage of life, when we know where we are and where we are heading, having forgotten the disruptive passions of our younger years, accepted our numerous personal limitations and forgiven ourselves for our many sins. [...]
Amazon overtakes Walmart as US’ biggest retailer: But has it really stolen its crown? July 24, 2015 The king is dead: Long live the king. If Americans still had monarchic leanings that might be how they would have viewed last night’s shock announcement that Walmart, that behemoth of retailing, had lost its crown as the nation’s biggest retailer. The fact that it lost it to Amazon, a dot-com upstart with no physical [...]
Forget Silicon Valley and Silicon Roundabout: Birmingham’s Silicon Canal is the future of the UK’s technology sector July 23, 2015 For years now we've been told that London could rival the Silicon Valley with its own tech hub. But five years after launching my business, I’m a bigger advocate for Birmingham's Silicon Canal than I have ever been. There is an incredible talent pool in Birmingham that offers a wealth of brilliant software engineers. These [...]
Tony Blair’s obsession with “going to uni” is to blame for the UK’s apprentice problem – but we can’t afford to be sniffy July 23, 2015 Let’s face it, the UK has an apprentice problem. Whether we’re dissecting Lord Sugar’s latest line-up of hopefuls or wringing hands at the thought of our kids becoming one, as a nation we look down on apprentices. How far the government’s commitment to creating three million new apprenticeships by 2020 will change things, is [...]