Honesty and ethics are important! One of the issues around creative destruction is the ability of a company to be able to educate the customer to a new offering. If you are an inventor starting off - how would you interpret this? On one hand it is a mistake to love your product too much, and better to focus on benefits to the consumer. In doing that how important is it for your business to behave in an honest and ethical way?
I am sure you cannot forget former directors of the Daily Telegraph taking $32m in unauthorised payments. Alternatively Conrad Black, the then CEO spending $20,000 of shareholders money on a surprise party for his wife. Whislt Black is in jail the Daily Telegraph flourishes on a diet of MP's expenses, ethics and transparency.
The tiny island of Sark had 150 years of feudal rule. The now owners of the Daily Telegraph had been investing £5m a year into the island, they live in a neighbouring castle. In Sark's first democratic elections the people of Sark failed to the Barclay Brother's estate manager and immediately all the investment stopped. I am sure this would not have been a return to feudal rule with the Lord's of the castle employing a sheriff to carry out their duties.......
Links between the Barclays Brother's and UKIP - and an underlying agenda to the MP expenses agenda has been made. Interestingly their response was to get lawyers to make the hosts of the blog where the allegation had been made simply to take it down. (and they did) – So much for transparency and open public debate.
Seemingly the debate is more about power – and this is a lesson for marketing and those businesses that think that honesty and ethics are the way forward.
“Avarice and usury and precaution must be our gods for a little longer still. For only they can lead us out of the tunnel of economic necessity into daylight.” Keynes 1930
The above quote is still apt. Translated into more palatable business language – give the customer what they want without ignoring your need for income (avarice or greed) – make sure you get in a good position to do this (yes, well run systems count, but so does influence) – and don't take unnecessary risks.
As with other successful business men the Barclay Brothers have amassed a fortune and may well have worked out that influence matters as well as giving the customer the stories that they want to hear. Taking down an annoying blog is about risk management.
On a much small note it is my birthday today and I received a “handmade wooden clock” in the shape of a guitar – and very nice it is too. It reminded me of pork sausages. Pork sausages must contain 42% pork meat, of which 30% can be fat and 25% connective tissue. The clock was made out of plywood. Would an ethical marketeer say “handmade plywood clock”? If they did would it result in more or less sales? As I stated earlier – the clock is very nice and fit for purpose.
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Friday, June 26, 2009
Friday, June 05, 2009
Creative Destruction - getting elected
"Free bananas for school children" is a very different election strategy - and is it came from H'Angus the Monkey - it was an obvious strategy.
3 elections later Stuart Drummond AKA H'Angus the Monkey has been elected for a third term as mayor of Hartlepool.
In the european elections in the UK Labour lost 5 seats - in itself not loads - but they seem to be in a bit of a mess. Unfortunately their votes seem to have been distributed more to the BNP than to a mainstream party. This suggests that there was no real alternative.
With respect to Europe whether we should be a member or not is a national debate - but I am assuming that as members we should get our value for money. The UK did get £5.9bn in funding from the EU last year - and organisations need some help in knowing how to access and use this effectively.
We have just elected 25 Conservative MEP's who Hague and Cameron may direct towards leaving the EPP and finding a more skeptic set of friends. In so doing they are not part of any majority or even significant faction within the EU. How can they represent our best interests as members? We have also elected 13 UKIP members - who do not want to be members. OK its a protest vote - but they cannot disolve the agreement of the EU membership - so what are they going to do?
We have also elected 2 BNP members. Are they going to seek to represent the interests of the people they have elected - other than to say they want to leave the EU (and stop immigration).
This leaves the UK in a funny situation - being a member of a political Union of 736 MEP's - with 30 out of 69 elected representatives being elected to withdraw or reduce the way in which the UK is a member - and not to make the most of the membership whilst we are members.
If there was something that the EU did that was positive - is it likely that any of these people would publicise it within their constituancies or help gain the best use from the funds.
In the short term there aeems to be a democratic problem. We have elected 30 out 69 MEP's who cannot influence what goes in within the "club" - they are effectively 1 of 736. It is not their decision as to whether we stay or leave. They do not believe in the benefits - so what are they doing?
"A vote for UKIP is a vote to say ‘No’ loudly and clearly." OK - this has been done - twice - in 2004 and 2009. There are now 13 MEP's who are being paid £64,000 per year and then their expenses on top (Nigel Farage has estimated that a cost of each MEP is about £1m over their elected term - so much for moats and duck houses)
What has this got to do with creative destruction?
Everyone in the UK employs an MP, a Councilor (at least 1), and an MEP as consultants to help decide how best to spend a decent chunk of our income. (Official sources suggest 36.9 - 39 percent, whereas government spending may be as much as 47 percent of our incomes). This is not an inconsiderable sum of money. The choice seems to be - vote Tory - and we may cut taxes for some - or vote Labour - and we will increase taxes for everyone.
We seem to need some ideas - and I mean big ideas - and someone to carry them through. Politics like any other market has relied on selling ideas to consumers - and supporting with a credible list of people. In the past this has been around economics, social justice, or even law and order. It is rarely about the political system itself - there have been moves to reform the lords, or how we integrate with Europe - but it is a while since Guy Fawkes had a go.
3 elections later Stuart Drummond AKA H'Angus the Monkey has been elected for a third term as mayor of Hartlepool.
In the european elections in the UK Labour lost 5 seats - in itself not loads - but they seem to be in a bit of a mess. Unfortunately their votes seem to have been distributed more to the BNP than to a mainstream party. This suggests that there was no real alternative.
With respect to Europe whether we should be a member or not is a national debate - but I am assuming that as members we should get our value for money. The UK did get £5.9bn in funding from the EU last year - and organisations need some help in knowing how to access and use this effectively.
We have just elected 25 Conservative MEP's who Hague and Cameron may direct towards leaving the EPP and finding a more skeptic set of friends. In so doing they are not part of any majority or even significant faction within the EU. How can they represent our best interests as members? We have also elected 13 UKIP members - who do not want to be members. OK its a protest vote - but they cannot disolve the agreement of the EU membership - so what are they going to do?
We have also elected 2 BNP members. Are they going to seek to represent the interests of the people they have elected - other than to say they want to leave the EU (and stop immigration).
This leaves the UK in a funny situation - being a member of a political Union of 736 MEP's - with 30 out of 69 elected representatives being elected to withdraw or reduce the way in which the UK is a member - and not to make the most of the membership whilst we are members.
If there was something that the EU did that was positive - is it likely that any of these people would publicise it within their constituancies or help gain the best use from the funds.
In the short term there aeems to be a democratic problem. We have elected 30 out 69 MEP's who cannot influence what goes in within the "club" - they are effectively 1 of 736. It is not their decision as to whether we stay or leave. They do not believe in the benefits - so what are they doing?
"A vote for UKIP is a vote to say ‘No’ loudly and clearly." OK - this has been done - twice - in 2004 and 2009. There are now 13 MEP's who are being paid £64,000 per year and then their expenses on top (Nigel Farage has estimated that a cost of each MEP is about £1m over their elected term - so much for moats and duck houses)
What has this got to do with creative destruction?
Everyone in the UK employs an MP, a Councilor (at least 1), and an MEP as consultants to help decide how best to spend a decent chunk of our income. (Official sources suggest 36.9 - 39 percent, whereas government spending may be as much as 47 percent of our incomes). This is not an inconsiderable sum of money. The choice seems to be - vote Tory - and we may cut taxes for some - or vote Labour - and we will increase taxes for everyone.
We seem to need some ideas - and I mean big ideas - and someone to carry them through. Politics like any other market has relied on selling ideas to consumers - and supporting with a credible list of people. In the past this has been around economics, social justice, or even law and order. It is rarely about the political system itself - there have been moves to reform the lords, or how we integrate with Europe - but it is a while since Guy Fawkes had a go.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Wood pellets in Swindon
The Energy to Work Ecademy has just taken over premesis in Cheney Manor in Swindon. They will provide a number of services where there has been an identified need from the local community. These will include:
Practical work based training for disabled people:
Training for installing wood pellet stoves and boilers
Offering disability aids
Offering temporary care based work in Swindon
Selling wood pellets
All services are offered as there are clear market gaps. Further information can be supplied as needed.
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