Many historians agree The Treaty of Versailles signed at the end of WW1 was largely the cause of WW2, which was the very thing it was intended to prevent. The divergent views of all-powerful leaders combined to create a treaty which had exactly the opposite effect to what they intended. A hundred years, later western […]
Summary Robots can line dance and cheap mini drones can do air displays, so either can be weaponised to overwhelm conventional weapon systems. Mass use of cheap automated fire units, and much else, are game changing military technologies. They are already happening. Yet, defence procurement is stuck in the past, presided over by vested interests […]
(Reading Guide. Only bother reading this if I have asked you to. It is generic advice for CV drafters. Lots of folks ask for guidance and I point them here for it before meeting them). CVs play a smaller role in the hiring process than they used to. Technology allows for video interviews and online […]
One of my heroes, Armando Iannucci, a modern political satirist (Veep and In The Thick of It) has made a film about one of my historical obsessions, Stalin. I had to comment. Most reviews cannot decide if the film is comedy, tragedy or farce and thereby flatter its historical accuracy. The real court of Stalin […]
Politicians need three things to be successful: attractive policies they can credibly execute and convincingly communicate. However, 80% of public debate is confined to policy choices which are are irrelevant if they do not happen! Two outlier examples. Michael Gove had innovative school policies, ruthlessly executed but disastrously communicated and so now largely abandoned. Gordon Brown […]
50 years from now historians will be debating what shaped Britain in 2016 and these factors will shape the aspirant leaders, not vice versa. History is nearly always bigger than the people in it. One of these factors is what money actually is and what social purpose it serves? Only when there is a finite […]
Clearly, we are in an avoidable mess which is very annoying. Half the population is very sad, although it is a different half to a week ago. Here are some reasons to postpone despair or euphoria. (Meanwhile, digital emotional messenger Bandoola hopes to create lots of new love which according to Quantitive Easing theorists will reduce […]
Brexit is complex so I wrote myself a note to then share. In summary, the EU is in denial that the Euro is the problem. Political integration is not the solution, even if the EU can pull it off. Trade happens quite well without trade agreements. I will probably Vote Remain because there is no […]
Pre-Amble Hopefully these questions make meetings between entrepreneurs and investors more efficient. According to ‘Crossing the The Chasm Marketing and Selling High Tech by Geoffrey Moore startups have to cross three ‘Chasms”. The questions are grouped by Chasm. Definitions Chasm One: Idea to Prototype. This covers those who have an idea or maybe lots of ideas. These ideas […]
I often get asked to advise folks thinking of a career in the political risk analysis area. Here are a 10 bits of advice. What people often want is the names of firms. I am reluctant to offer this since I am not up to date. I think there are about 2000 such firms. Many […]
Analyst not Advocate 