The world needs a better water stewardship solution. A solution like WaterWell.

We're surrounded by water. It covers two thirds of the earth's surface. And yet only 2.5 per cent of it is freshwater and fit to drink. It's the basis of civilisation - think about it, most of the world's cities were built on rivers. But the world has a big water problem. At least 2.7...

The State of Public Service Outsourcing

The surprise announcement today of Chris Hyman's resignation from CEO of Serco after 11 years at the helm comes after months of allegations surfacing of overcharging the UK Government for electronic tagging contracts. Only yesterday, Richard Morris, UK CEO of G4S resigned for coming under pressure for the same allegations.No corporations have done as well...

The 6th Mind of a Manager

I've been thinking a lot lately about the kind of mindset required of leaders and managers for a sustainable future. Forgive the slightly idealist treatise below, but there is no short way of saying what I want to. Ten years has now passed since 'The Five Minds of a Manager' (Gosling & Mintzberg 2003) was...

New NICE guidance shines spotlight on physical activity

Guidance released yesterday by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence on physical activity makes the cost of inactivity clear and argues that walking and cycling for short journeys should become the norm. The health benefits of physical activity, both physical and mental, are well established. Indeed, the Chief Medical Officer recommends adults do a minimum...

The Changing Demands of Leadership

There is a ticking time bomb in the boardroom. Today's business leaders have almost universally failed to recognise that the next generation of leadership to run successful companies in tomorrow's environment will require a fundamentally different skillset to their own. Despite the well-oiled rhetoric of 'business as usual is no longer an option', not many...

Want to be happy? Then stop trying to be happy

I read a blog piece in the Harvard Business Review last week by Oliver Segovia, a Gen Y who is ready to give up on his passions to pursue problems. In a nutshell, Segovia was saying that all too many of his contemporaries has begun their careers pursuing their passions only to have their hopes and...

Get marching and feel fitter

We all know that we perform better at work and at home when we're feeling fit and well, but in all too many cases, life gets in the way and all those New Year resolutions have gone out of the window by the end of January. I am not immune to this and have had...

The future of the Responsibility Deal lies with Industry not Government

The time may now have come to cut the umbilical cord between Department of Health and the Public Health Responsibility Deal. Let me explain why. The departure of Andrew Lansley from the Department of Health is nothing more than an attempt mid-Parliamentary cycle to inject new momentum into the healthcare reforms, which by anyone's standards...

Why watching Coldplay (and the Paralympics) should be available on prescription

The biggest surprise of tonight was that it took Channel 4 presenter Ade Adepitan and not Chris Martin to come up with the 'Para, Para, Paralympics' alternative version to Coldplay's  hit 'Paradise'. Otherwise, it was textbook stuff from one of the world's biggest bands. I have to admit to having reservations when I heard that Coldplay were...

A Personal Tribute to Jim Paice MP

I have had the great privilege of working with and getting to know Jim Paice MP, the outgoing Minister of Food and Farming, for some years now. Like many, I was therefore shocked to learn of his departure from Defra - a move which is entirely to do with political expediency to spread power round Coalition Government...