Interview for AESE Business School in Lisbon - about to give a keynote on global trends - 19th October 2017.  Here are major issues that are impacting very large numbers of companies across the world.  I usually group them as six factors that spell the word FUTURE, each of which forms one face of a cube.  The energy which spins the cube is EMOTION – reactions to events or trends are usually more important than events themselves.

“The world can change faster than you can hold a board meeting”, you said in a presentation. Among the hundreds of possibilities of change and innovation, what are the key trends do you foresee as having the most impact in business and personal life in this new World 4.0?"

29th September 2017

A lot of nonsense is talked about Brexit.  Here is the truth.

Sorting out all Brexit issues affecting the borders of Northern Ireland could take many years to fully resolve.  At the same time, the EU has made it clear that until a practical solution is agreed, even if such a solution is fine-tuned in future, discussions on a trade deal post-Brexit, will be on permanent hold.

There is a small chance that the entire Brexit process will be halted by a further vote in the UK, which could form part of an election manifesto commitment at the next election.  However this is becoming less likely at the moment, because opinion polls across the UK as a whole are more in favour of Brexit than when the original vote to leave took place.  (At the same time, paradoxically, opinion polls in other EU nations are becoming more positive about being part of the EU.)

For the purposes of this article, let us assume therefore that Brexit happens.

The EU has made absolutely 100% clear that they will not under any circumstances tolerate a breach anywhere in the EU wall controlling goods, services and movements of people across the border into the EU.  That is, unless

I often give keynotes at banking conferences on mobile banking FinTech, digital payments - and BitCoins are often discussed.

For over two decades, many people have been trying to develop a digital alternative to physical bank notes – to pay for things online in a fast, easy, secure and totally anonymous, private way. Are BitCoins the answer?

Despite all the hot words from President Trump and some of the absurd commentary in the media, here is the truth about North Korea’s rapid military direction and about the complete impotence of the rest of the world.  And all taking place at a time when there are more geopolitical risks globally than for 30 years.

The fact is, that as we see every day in the failed state of Zimbabwe, or Afghanistan or more recently in the chaos of Venezuela, or in Syria or Iraq, the most powerful military forces in the world can be humbled and humiliated by the resilience and complexity of the tiniest of nations, however chaotic or weak they may appear to be.