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From the editor

JUNE 2013

The prioritising of quality, the customer and sound business values over pure profit-chasing is a theme that runs through this issue.

MAY 2013

Welcome to the May issue and this month we're focusing on growth and success.

APRIL 2013

As I write, the day after the budget, media analysis of the chancellor's measures continues.

MARCH 2013

Spring is just around the corner, and for many of us it can't come quick enough.

FEBRUARY 2013

As I write, the comment on the demise of HMV rumbles on. There's a lot of talk about the famous old brand being a victim of the new online world order.

DECEMBER 2012 - JANUARY 2013

Happy new year! I hope you all had a great Christmas and a relaxing break. This month's issue looks at new starts – both personal and professional.

NOVEMBER 2012

Welcome and I am delighted to welcome you to a celebratory issue of Director.

OCTOBER 2012

Heritage – and how we can innovate to build on it – seems to be the subject on everyone's lips right now.

SEPTEMBER 2012

This issue celebrates business vision and, as we all return from the summer relaxed, refreshed and with a clearer mind, it’s time to reassess business and start to focus on plans for 2013.

JULY/AUGUST 2012

This letter is being written the day after former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond appeared at the Treasury select committee and claimed he had no idea of the greed and corruption
happening on his watch.

JUNE 2012

As I write the sun is shining and jubilee fever is building all over the country – and it's a welcome light relief from the runaway train that is the eurozone or our own double-dip recession. This month's focus, though, isn't on gloom; it is looking towards the future – our young people, what we can do for them and also what we can learn from them.

MAY 2012

Over the last month, I've chatted to many business leaders and there seems to be a very quiet, reserved consensus that things are gradually getting better. The whisper is that the second half of the year will see a dusting down of plans that had been put on hold at the end of 2011 and that businesses are getting ready to (carefully) invest again.

APRIL 2012

As I write George Osborne has just announced his budget – fiscally neutral, not a vote winner but, he promises, a budget that "rewards work" and "unashamedly backs business", and keeps the UK on course to avoid recession. What will it mean practically for British business?

 

MARCH 2012

It's a mad, mad world out there but this volatility seems here to stay. And as this month's cover star, the inspirational Kevin Roberts, says you can hide and hope it will all go away or you can change your thinking, buckle up and enjoy the ride.

FEBRUARY 2012

One month into 2012 and two themes are emerging above all others - responsible capitalism and collaboration.

January 2012

I love the new year and the clean slate it brings. And I like to make resolutions, the improvement one rather than the "giving up" ones - they're so much easier to keep.

December 2011

From the revolutions in north Africa and the Middle East uprisings to the Occupy Wall Street protest and the euro crisis, 2011 will deserve quite a few pages in the history books.

November 2011

My first Director of the Year Awards Final in September was a celebration of your dreams

october 2011

We need to bring the UK's young people into work both for their dignity and the health of the nation

september 2011

Amid the current gloom the one thing that shines through is the resilience, creativity and optimism of British businesses

july/august 2011

Before teachers, lecturers, civil servants and other public sector workers walked out in June, protesting against proposed pension changes, it was going to be the largest day of strike action since the 1980s

1 June 2011

If ever there were an antidote to the new warnings over the UK economy's fragile state, it would be listening to a group of entrepreneurs talk about their businesses

1 May 2011

The green agenda: those three words often draw a weary sigh from directors

1 April 2011

Do you sometimes feel like you're in the film Groundhog Day? You can't shake the feeling that you've been there and heard that before? The mooted £100m Enterprise Zones initiative and the publication of Lord Davies's review into women in the boardroom are cases in point

1 march 2011

If leaders claim successes in the good times, they should look to themselves when customers are leaving and things aren't going well

1 February 2011

Perhaps the UK would be more certain of a sustainable future if there were more Leahys and fewer overpaid bankers

28 January 2011

We need a new capitalism for Cameron's Big Society

19 January 2011

If we're to have any confidence in free market capitalism, the cult of the celebrity CEO must end

1 January 2011

The vast majority of directors are positive about their prospects for 2011

13 December 2010

Should we force boards to recruit female executives?

1 December 2010

Behavioural economics is having an increasingly influential impact across UK boardrooms

22 November 2010

The seven myths of entrepreneurial Britain

19 November 2010

Are entrepreneurs born or made? It doesn't matter as long as we support and educate them in the right way, argues Richard Cree

11 November 2010

The country seems more gripped than ever by how important entrepreneurs are to recovery

1 November 2010

Regardless of government cuts, innovators and entrepreneurs will make their mark and launch new ventures

28 october 2010

The inflexible, command and control management structure of the Royal Navy is a myth

1 october 2010

What makes a great entrepreneur?

21 september 2010

Quango bashing may be popular, but it threatens the development of young entrepreneurs

1 september 2010

How good are you at coping with change?

25 August 2010

Board diversity should be much more than counting the men and women at the table.

6 August 2010

According to the CIPD’s research, overall standards of living are dropping and levels of job satisfaction are down. The only indicator that’s up is job insecurity.

23 July 2010

Are TV entrepreneurs the new chefs, or will the appetite to start businesses remain long after Dragons' Den is gone?

19 July 2010

If the manager is responsible for victories, surely he is equally to blame for the flops?

16 July 2010

Creating the right environment for small firms will be critical to the future of the economy

13 July 2010

Maintaining morale and high performance is an important part of any leadership role

1 June 2010

If someone had told me when I was younger that I would one day be able to carry a phone around in my pocket, I would have laughed

25 May 2010

What effect will Nouriel Roubini's double-dip recession have on our fragile coalition?

17 May 2010

Britain's young talent

6 May 2010

If the political products are the same, all that's left is the brand.

1 May 2010

Entrepreneurs want enterprise education to be boosted

8 April 2010

This election offers a good deal of petty politics, but no real leadership

1 April 2010

There is a real desire to create business confidence

31 March 2010

Social enterprises can help create a broader collection of stakeholders

25 March 2010

How do we make the UK the best place in the world to both start and grow a business?

22 March 2010

Direct objectives don't always deliver

10 March 2010

We should all celebrate our ability to start something, politicians included

4 March 2010

Disillusioned entrepreneurs should sign up to the Enterprise Manifesto

1 March 2010

Translating political ambitions into actions and policies hasn't always gone so well

24 february 2010

The deficit debate would be easier to resolve without competing cabals of economists

16 february 2010

Leaders often become as stale as the products they are selling

11 february 2010

Spyker's purchase of Saab provokes a fascinating clash of cultures

8 february 2010

Management pay packages are reaching ludicrous levels

1 february 2010

While the latest evidence suggests that last year wasn't nearly as catastrophic as expected, few seem overly optimistic about 2010

28 january 2010

Too many research projects are designed to benefit the sponsor

21 january 2010

Kraft's purchase of Cadbury is unlikely to proceed without job losses

11 january 2010

UK workers are still addicted to commuting

1 january 2010

Predicting the future is tricky but it seems a safe bet that this will be another tough year

21 december 2009

For many, 2009 was about survival

17 december 2009

A better sort of networking

10 december 2009

The Pre-Budget report offers stimulus now, but pain later

25 November 2009

The Walker Report is a light-touch solution

18 November 2009

Help for dyslexic directors

11 November 2009

The EU must avoid a popularity contest

6 November 2009

The automotive sector must innovate to survive. Thankfully, this year's crop of engineering students agree

1 November 2009

The age of "managerial politics" lives on. But is this such a bad thing?

29 october 2009

Could more women make a difference to industrial relations?

20 october 2009

Is now a good time to start a business?

14 october 2009

Welcome to the era of macroeconomics

7 october 2009

Are the Tory's ideas all that different to Labour's?

1 october 2009

"This recession has knocked some of the wind from generation Y's sails"

September 2009

"Having just got out of intensive care, few banks are keen to jeopardise their wellbeing for others"

July/august 2009

"Banks may be hiring traders on fat salaries but many small businesses are struggling"

June 2009

"At some point people will have to stop moaning about being in a crisis and start looking for ways out of it"

may 2009

"This year, in theory, is a golden chance to put the UK back on the tourist map"

April 2009

"A reality TV series about making people redundant on live TV is an alarming prospect"

April 2009

"It's entrepreneurs that will pull us out of this recession, however big and dark those clouds may be"

march 2009

"When was the last time you had an upbeat conversation about work?"

February 2009

"The UK economy is in for some kind of beating"

January 2009

"There's more to business than returning a financial profit "

December 2008

"A recession may present dangers and difficulties, but it also offers opportunities"

November 2008

"People want to buy an Audi at the moment, because it is a sexy brand"

November 2008

"Anecdotal evidence suggests that the coming Christmas trading period will be the worst for 30 years"