• In all the nonsense about fake news, are we really saying the audience is permanently stuck second-guessing themselves or the decisions that they are making are not our preferred ones? (Brexit, Trump etc.)
• Is there anything more unappealing than awards events, where people who have been successful in a singular profession and insulate themselves from the real world are suddenly “experts” on geopolitics, leadership, social issues and so on?
• No one knows what the Trump presidency will have in store for us but the sun will rise and set each day, businesses around the world will trade with each other and culturally diverse communities will continue to interact. Perspective is more important than ever.
• Watching the first 10 minutes of Bridget Jones’s Baby is a reminder that gratuitous use of swear words, displays a startling lack of intellect and a sign in neon lights to “move on”. The shame is the movie ending is worth watching but I wonder how many people stuck around.
• Why do celebrities post naked or near-naked pictures of themselves on their social media accounts? If their objective is to protect their privacy, aren’t they throwing fuel on a fire that they have limited prospect of controlling?
• Why are we “shocked” when a politician (Andy Puzder), a celebrity (David Beckham) or a business executive’s (Vice-Chair of Samsung) leaked private messages doesn’t caste them in a flattering light? They are normal human beings with the very same weaknesses and insecurities, prone to making dumb decisions.
• The word “great” in business, science, sport, culture and so forth is so abused when describing individual performance that moments like Tom Brady’s Superbowl climax quickly become yesterday’s news.
• If Americans needed reminding of why infrastructure spending is a priority take a walk through JFK, LAX or Miami airport and compare the experience with that in London Heathrow, Schipol, Dubai, Hong Kong or Shanghai.
• Do CEO’s shop their own business on a sufficiently regular basis? Here in the UK, the major banks’ knee-jerk response to internet banking has been to slash the number of branches and make it exponentially more time-consuming for their customers to perform routine tasks (cashing a cheque). It is hard to see how that is in the customers best interest?
• There is another high street presence, which is on a “life support machine” as societal mores change and the internet disrupts the sector. Thousands of bookies or sports betting shops solely exist on high-stakes fixed odds betting terminals preying on the most vulnerable members of society. In a town of 40,000 people there might be 3 or 4, thirty years ago, today in a deprived square mile of an inner city, there is probably 25 shops.

© James Berkeley 2017. All Rights Reserved.