"With such a stark split between major corps and ethically-minded SMEs and micro-businesses, what gives? What are the Upper and Lower Limits of Ethical Business?" As major corporations abandon climate targets and other ethical remits without shame and retreat from 'green' or sustainable stances for fear of politicised perceptions, at the very same time, smaller companies interested in trading ethically face ever-heightening standards regarding what constitutes 'ethical, 'gree

Originally published in late 2023, in our launch issue of The STOCKtake, this analysis remains a relevant framework for 2026 as AI investment continues to track several classic bubble indicators. While the scale has grown, the underlying risks involving disconnected assets and human over-exuberance remain central to current debate. I have mixed feelings about AI (you can get a sense of SLB's current views in our forthcoming revised White Paper Thought Leadership in the Age of

You can always tell when companies are aware they are doing something unethical or controversial: they begin to invent or deploy unusual terms and phrases designed to soften the truth about what they're saying. For example, whilst the word ‘transition’ when it comes to climate change is, as I've said elsewhere, actually in fact accurate - we are  in a transition from a carbon based to a carbon free economy – we can't deny that the use of the word has also become prevalent in

Let's be blunt: I inhabit a sort of no-woman's land, being heavily invested in the notion of ethical business and yet with a background in Architecture and Real Estate Investment. In my perhaps novel universe, Real Estate Investment & Property Development can both contribute significantly to communities and also offer strong returns. I have the same view about ethical business: that it can be simultaneously financially and also socially fruitful. In short, I believe in the Wi

First off, a genuine welcome to 2025. My usual go-to at this time of year is to write a piece reiterating the importance of Annual Strategy when undertaking Thought Leadership. But this can this get a little repetitious so I thought this year we’d instead create a hypothetical Case Study illustrating why it's so critical to clarify your actual thoughts and, therefore, your actual readership , before leaping into creating Strategy or specific Thought Leadership material. As w

Not everybody is on board with Thought Leadership marketing. I think we all know that when undertaken properly and with full commitment...

Heads of Marketing Departments (and perhaps even more so PRs dealing with offline conventional press) will understand the nightmare of...

I was taken aback the other week when I stumbled upon a piece in Bloomberg confidently declaring that the ‘Virtue Economy’ was over – and...

One day to go and all evidence points to a Labour win – breaking 14 years of Conservative government. We are reminded daily that it’s not...

Being based in the UK yet also having some US clients, you can imagine my surprise (not to mention confusion!) the other day when I...

Globally, Commercial Real Estate has been subject to repeated blows both pre and post-Pandemic, including the rise of remote working and...

Ex-BlackRock Research Head calls approach to Sustainable Finance ‘an illusion’: she’s right … but do some secretly want it that way? & what constitutes ‘Risk’ in any case? [Extracted from last Edition of The STOCK take ] Former Head of Fundamental Research at BlackRock Carole Crozat is only one of a number of Sustainable Finance experts and professionals who have started to ring alarm bells about the sustainability of, well, the sustainability agenda. Reported in the IPE back

I know many will be putting together, as we speak, their Annual Business Development Strategy and Marketing Plans for next year (whether...

I disagree with many that AI in its current form is a threat to all - but I certainly think it's a threat to some and, to be honest,...

When the Autumn Statement came out a couple of months back, I briefly considered writing a potted summary of the policies as they related...

Given the UK PM's record thus far, and the new King's own quietly headstrong personality (as well as his immense passion for...

The finance industry is not known for blithely ignoring the loss of money. Yet over $700 billion is lost annually due to a failure to...