Financial Times News - Luke Johnson Column

Ten easy ways to murder a business

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:15:26 GMT

A recent New York Times blog and a business book published last year cover the same territory: the many ways you can kill off your business. The former is written from the perspective of the entrepreneur; the latter takes a corporate manager's viewpoint.

Stress and risk - the secret of happiness

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:40:28 GMT

I recently participated in a debate entitled "The good society: virtues for a post-recession world". A couple of my fellow panellists emphasised the importance of promoting happiness rather than material wealth as a true measure of human progress. They believe that advances in gross domestic product are an inferior way to achieve greater wellbeing, and that a concept such as "gross national happiness" might be a better tool.

Actors who create drama of business

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:15:33 GMT

What motivates high achievers? Is it money, status or power? Perhaps it is none of these. Perhaps the strongest urge is simply the overwhelming desire to escape boredom.

The leader who falls will emerge stronger

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:25:23 GMT

F Scott Fitzgerald said: "There are no second acts in American lives." An awful lot of entrepreneurs, investors and executives must hope he was talking nonsense.

Accentuate the positive

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:00:41 GMT

Optimism is the elixir that makes everything possible. It sparks confidence - and that fuels ambition, which in turn triggers action. It leads to new inventions, new companies, new jobs and a higher standard of living. Without this sense of hope in the future, life is a grim affair, a kind of regression back to the Dark Ages.

Generation game redefines business

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:40:14 GMT

An issue that has troubled me for some time is the clash of generations under way at the top of so many organisations. It is not just the usual strife between ambitious youngsters and older incumbents waging a rearguard action to maintain their grip on power. Rather, this conflict reminds me of the battles between young and old in the 1960s over the Vietnam war, and the gulf of misunderstanding between them.

The genuine nobility of manufacturing

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:05:17 GMT

Something has been troubling me for a long, long time. I have a certain regret about the industries to which I have devoted my attention. I love fields like hospitality and the media, where I have spent much of my career. I understand how the economics work: restaurants and broadcasting can offer high margins and excellent cash flow, and providing diners and viewers with pleasure is hard to beat.

Leaders who use charm to reach the top

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:55:16 GMT

Humour and charm are a surprisingly powerful combination as a means of ascent in life.

How to optimise your board

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:35:17 GMT

Board meetings are the central device for the supervision of companies. Do they work? I suspect they are the least bad system, but they are far from perfect.

The ties that bind leaders of industry

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:45:28 GMT

It seems every profession has a small circle of characters who basically commands things. In most industries, you can fit them round a table. After all, in mature economies most markets are dominated by a handful of operators - if you assemble the owners, founders and heads of those companies, it would often be fewer than 20 people.

Inventors are our greatest heroes

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:05:25 GMT

Society has a curious attitude towards inventors. Their brilliance over the centuries touches all of our lives in countless ways, yet we mostly take their efforts for granted. Indeed, more often than not in Britain we caricature them as eccentric boffins, like Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. This ambivalence is a mistake; to me, they are perhaps the greatest heroes of all.

All part of a good education

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:15:12 GMT

The part-time and temporary jobs I had while growing up were a vital part of my education. There was an authenticity about them that sitting in a classroom entirely lacked. They helped to teach me the importance of a work ethic, independence, and just how tough many real workplaces are.

Matching up lenders with borrowers

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:25:21 GMT

These are extraordinary times for lenders, borrowers and savers. There are huge disconnects that make no sense and it will require corporate financiers with imagination to solve the conundrum.

Time to go on the offensive

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:20:20 GMT

The statistics say the economy is down just 5 per cent from its peak. From where I sit it feels a lot worse. Most companies I know have seen revenues fall by anything up to 20 per cent - and for a few the decline has been even more savage. No one I talk to can remember a tougher time to be in business.

Britain needs a national will to reform

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:15:11 GMT

How much of the bailout money is actually supporting companies that provide jobs? I had a chilling conversation with a senior banker last week. He stated that almost three-quarters of the taxpayer lifeline provided to rescue British banks has gone to property lending. This means our system has not changed. We should be funding working capital in operating businesses, not helping landlords. A distorting addiction to real estate is part of why it all went wrong in the first place.

Straight path to a superior business

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:35:17 GMT

Just as you meet few truly great individuals in the journey through life, so there are a tiny handful of companies that have outstanding management. And the reason so few organisations are really well run is not that it is a complicated matter; it is that managing well takes discipline and effort.

Leaks have got out of hand

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:20:29 GMT

When I first served on the boards of public companies, 20 years ago, leaks of confidential information were rare. But now it seems almost everyone is willing to spill the beans. And it means running a business with a public profile is harder than ever.

Forget the customer at your peril

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:40:24 GMT

In business, everything starts with the customer. Without customers, there are no sales, and with no sales, a business is bankrupt. Adam Smith knew this. "Consumption is the sole end and purpose of production," he wrote.

Joys and perils of a partnership

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:30:24 GMT

I have worked with partners my entire business career. For me, it has always been preferable to share the journey than to direct affairs as a sole trader. Perhaps I have made less money than I might have but I believe the experience has been more fun, and I've got involved in far more projects than I could have working alone.

Sex snare for top executives

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:30:27 GMT

I was interested that an Italian former deputy culture minister said last week that "men in power need lots of sex" and "if Berlusconi does not gain sexual satisfaction he governs badly".

A quiet word beats sending e-mail

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:50:28 GMT

E-mail might just be responsible for the productivity increases that economists tell us are the key to rising prosperity. But it could also be sending us all mad.

Faustian pact of a guarantee

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:20:13 GMT

Last week, I played tennis at my club in London. In the court next to me was a man whose business collapsed not long ago, after it had borrowed billions of pounds. He was laughing and seemed relaxed. Somehow I doubt he had given any personal guarantees to the banks.

Numbers guys you can count on

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:45:31 GMT

I have hired quite a few finance directors over the years. Some were outstanding; others did not work out so well. Inevitably, I have acquired some views about what makes a great numbers guy.

Watch out for an epidemic of petty fraud

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:45:18 GMT

The economist J.K. Galbraith asserted that fraud rose in a bull market and shrank in a slump. As he put it, the "bezzle" rises in a boom because of lax controls and fades in a bust.

Rough diamonds dazzle as entrepreneurs

Tue, 26 May 2009 22:20:20 GMT

I have spent more than two decades working with entrepreneurs and I have noticed certain common traits. My conclusions are not based on detailed studies, but observation and personal experience.