I have had a grand total of nine ‘first days’ at school. Some are just a fog of teachers’ names, confusing rules and long corridors, others form some of my most vivid memories. Arizona 2008, Canyon Springs Elementary school in the scorching heat. Crouched under my desk peeking at the desert though the barred windows. A siren was screeching as the...
Teenagers’ brains are not yet fully developed, meaning that they need more sleep than the rest of us put together - they are definitely not morning larks! They can be impulsive and moody; they spend their whole time velcroed to their mobile phones and, while they love to chat to each other on social media, they aren’t quite so keen to...
Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, once said: "Appreciate everything your associates do. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune." Sam is right. Everyone likes praise and recognition, and all good leaders understand this. Academics have even studied the links between reward and productivity. In one study, The...
In fact, I love laughing probably more than most. I dedicated my life to the pursuit of giggling like a schoolboy at anything and everything. If too much time has passed in a meeting or during a dinner my brain will be working a hundred miles an hour to look for the possibility of a guffaw, titter, cackle, call it what...
She waited patiently at the train station for her train to arrive, she had a meeting to get to in Manchester. As usual it was going to be four minutes late. Four minutes turned into six and then, without warning the train, simply did not arrive. The app on her phone told her it had been and gone, yet all the...
If you believe the news as reported in some papers, the UK is in fine economic shape. Business is booming and the economy is doing better than expected following the decision to leave the EU. Just last week the IMF issued a report report in which it predicted the UK economy will grow by 2% this year, up from 1.6% in...
What do I need to bring me true happiness? Do I need a list of 45 joyous things to do, do I need cupcakes, chocolates and flowers? Or is it a case of what I have always known deep down (and I suspect you also do too); without the Smurfs in my life, I can never find true happiness. But, if...
Whoah, stop right there! Let me guess. You read the word ‘M’ word and thought this blog wasn’t for you. You’re not the right gender/ Not the right age? Let’s consider this for a moment. If you are not going to actually go through the menopause yourself, will your colleagues, Mum, wife, daughter, sister, friend? Won’t that affect you? And if...
In a Channel 4 report, working practices were revealed at a JD Sports distribution centre that would make a Victorian workhouse owner shudder. Workers at the retailer’s Rochdale warehouse can apparently be sacked after three minor misdemeanours. Offences include sitting down, chewing gum, being late or having a mobile phone. The report also claimed that employees are not paid while they...
