24/7 Wall St. has released its annual list of the well-known brands that it predicts will disappear from the U.S. marketplace within the next 18 months. The brands on the 24/7 Wall St. list of brands that will die in 2014 suffer from one or more of the following problems: declining sales, rising costs, lost customers, withering market share, disclosures by the parent company that a brand will go out of business, and companies that … Read the rest

Some people like change – but most people don’t. This is the central barrier of persuasion. And overcoming this barrier is the most important task when engaging an audience through a user interface. The secret? Make your product the consumer’s status quo.

Most decisions come with a status-quo alternative. We can change our ideas, attitudes, and behavior – or we can change nothing, choosing to accept things as they are.

A phenomenon called the Status … Read the rest

24/7 Wall St. has released its annual list of the well-known brands that it predicts will disappear from the U.S. marketplace within the next 18 months. The brands on the 24/7 Wall St. list of brands that will die in 2014 suffer from one or more of the following problems: declining sales, rising costs, lost customers, withering market share, disclosures by the parent company that a brand will go out of business, and companies that … Read the rest

Most graduates are aware that corporates sometimes use social media to screen candidates before giving them an interview, but the reality is that very few do anything about it. A quick glance at a public Facebook page can be more than enough for an employer to change their mind about an otherwise strong candidate. But how much is too much, and is it fair for top recruiters to be scouring the internet for information they … Read the rest

In a previous post about tone at the top I discussed this subject… The post appeared when the economic crisis of 2008/2009 was about to start. Now tone at the top and innovation governance are more important than ever.

Simply put, ‘tone at the top’ is the sum of the Board’s and the C-Level manager’s values, actions and communications. How these responsibilities are executed will influence the success of the enterprise through the near future and … Read the rest

Are you going to the Responsible Business Summit?

It’s next week, so you’ve not got long to clear your diary, but it does look good. (See the agenda).

Key topics for discussion include:

• Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Trust
• Supply Chain
• Resource Constraints

I’m particularly looking forward to the discussions on resource scarcity. This is a growing area of interest for companies; for example, water usage is increasingly monitored and reductions sought as part … Read the rest

One of the main channels of communications between corporations and investors are sell side analysts.  They are useful in any number of ways, including as industry experts, creators of detailed financial models of the companies they cover, entry points to very sophisticated sales forces and as the ones who have a recommendation on your company’s stock. However, how they spend their time is often misunderstood.

Based on personal experience, the perception among corporate executives … Read the rest

Social media from a corporate point of view is an important part of branding, customer service and online marketing. Get it right and your brand’s revenue and reputation could rocket, get it wrong and the damage could be irreparable. So it is important to know the basic etiquette of having a presence on social media, which is why I have put together some do’s and don’ts of using social media in the corporate world.

DO: … Read the rest

Earlier this week I was lucky enough to attend the 12th Annual Responsible Business Summit in London which was superbly hosted by Ethical Corporation. Having predominantly experienced investor relations conferences, I was full of enthusiasm for the wealth of new information and ideas about to assault my senses, and two full days later, I am pleased to say that it was an incredibly interesting and perhaps I could even say, an inspiring event.

A … Read the rest