ROBIN HOOD, Sherwood Forest and, err, Robin Hood are the three things that come to mind first when thinking of Nottingham. A quick straw poll of colleagues and friends found that most had either never been or could only remember passing through it briefly a long time ago. For most people the reason was simple – they have never had a …

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THE American novelist Ernest Hemingway once wrote a short story that was just six words long. For sale: baby shoes, never used. It was the outstanding example from a writer famed for his minimalist style. Writing in short sentences, he used simple, often stark language to capture people, places and emotions. Doing that didn’t make him a poorer writer, it made him a …

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RETAILERS' quarterly rent bills, which are never welcome at the best of times, have been dropping on their doormats this week, causing anxiety, alarm, and it is expected, administration. Video games retailer Game Group finally collapsed into administration this week after publically struggling for many months. But there is no reason why they should prove to be an isolated case. Retailers are …

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Ever since I started work, I have kept a business compass. A simple concept: it is a quick record, back of fag packet stuff, of the furthest north, east, west and south that business trips have taken me. Being London based in a big accountancy firm frequently puts a premium on internal recharges - so the furthest east I went with …

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OF all the things small businesses do, one of the most nerve-wracking is employing someone. It is a big investment, in time and money, and one that can cause more problems than nearly anything else if you get it wrong. Yet it is something that must be done for a business to grow and move out of the shadow of its …

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Someone once said that foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. Never mind who. That's name dropping. Also, that's what Google is for. Most of us accept the idea of consistency without blinking and without challenge. Consistency is a good thing, we think. It screams at us in our advertising, in brands and from business school graduates. A consistent marketing …

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AS DELEGATES arrived in Liverpool at the start of this week for the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, there were two new reminders of the difficulties of being an entrepreneur. Brew Tea Co has closed its stores in St Paul’s Square and Bold Street, more than three years after launching its tea on the Liverpool public. Its problems were not caused by a lack …

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I picked up City AM for the first time recently. I decided it was time for a change from the Metro: too many stories of bread rolls that looked like Elvis and smiling kittens on the internet. I've always been put off by its seriousness so early in the morning but a contact at Goldman Sachs uses it to keep up …

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ONE morning this week was spent importing data into a new CRM system before attaching another whiteboard to the office wall in the ongoing search for corporate nirvana – a way to successfully manage all the information and activity that exists in a diverse and growing company. Like a serial dieter, I’m convinced that I only need to find the right …

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My colleague, Jeff Biggin, rang me up today with news of a client that wants to build business with us. Jeff described them as an "and and" business. You get two types of business: "and and" and "and or". Coo - that is four "ands" in a row and the sentence is still good to go. Now I leave the leadership …

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