by Stuart Cross | May 27, 2022 | Business Rocks
My regular readers may remember my invite to join the Chief Officers’ Breakfast Club a few months ago. Supporting SportsAid, the charity that helps promising young athletes and their families, the Breakfast Club got up and running in January and I now host a series of...
by Stuart Cross | May 20, 2022 | Business Rocks
It is extremely difficult to have a hit record. There are 82 million tracks on Spotify, for example, 60,000 new songs are uploaded every day. Given these numbers and the mind-boggling choice available, it is a huge achievement to be a one-hit-wonder. So, let’s hear it...
by Stuart Cross | May 13, 2022 | Business Rocks
I have a problem with culture change programmes. It’s not that establishing a new culture is a bad thing. In fact, most organisations would benefit by improving speed, accountability, teamwork and entrepreneurialism. It’s just that you don’t need a programme to make...
by Stuart Cross | May 6, 2022 | Business Rocks
Yesterday, I learned that Sir Nick Faldo first picked up a golf club in 1971, aged 14, after watching Jack Nicklaus win The Masters on TV. Within six years, Faldo had become a professional golfer, finished in the Top 10 of the European Tour and defeated his hero,...
by Stuart Cross | Apr 22, 2022 | Business Rocks
I’ve been working with a UK retailer on its innovation strategy and have been thinking about some of the great inventions and innovations that are overlooked and taken for granted. Here is my current ‘Top 3’. The Oven Chip. Oven chips – fries to my US readers – save...
by Stuart Cross | Apr 15, 2022 | Business Rocks
Over the past few years my teenage sons have taken up and become hooked on golf. They’ve fallen in love with the game and, when time allows, go to their club every day. Their enthusiasm has been so infectious that. after years of playing one, maybe two rounds a year,...
by Stuart Cross | Apr 8, 2022 | Business Rocks
This week, together with my wife, brothers and sister-in-law, I’ve helped my father (89) and mother (age unknown!) move home from Morecambe, in Lancashire, to Ilkley, in West Yorkshire. After living in North Lancashire all their lives and having lived in their home...
by Stuart Cross | Apr 1, 2022 | Business Rocks
A few years ago, I helped a US hotel chain improve its valet parking service. Their approach worked fine in normal conditions but fell apart as demand peaked. Between 12 and 2pm, cars started backing up down the driveway, guests were left waiting in line for their...
by Stuart Cross | Mar 25, 2022 | Business Rocks
At primary school, I was in a class of 40. For the most part, I excelled. I was top of the class academically – in those days you were told your position out of 40! – and captained both the football and cricket teams. There was only one area where I struggled:...
by Stuart Cross | Mar 18, 2022 | Business Rocks
When it comes to gardening, my wife and I have clearly defined – if never formally stated – roles. My wife focuses on growing things. She plants seeds, develops seedlings, plants out new shrubs, flowers, fruits and vegetables, buys new plants and moves things around...
by Stuart Cross | Mar 11, 2022 | Business Rocks
A couple of weeks ago I hosted a chief officers’ breakfast meeting to discuss how to lead teams in tough times. Our special guest was Ama Agbeze, the England netball international and captain of the gold-medal winning team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Ama candidly...
by Stuart Cross | Mar 4, 2022 | Business Rocks
Most Friday mornings at 7.00 am I sit down to write this newsletter. It usually takes less than half-an-hour to come up with an idea, write the article and find some song lyrics. This week, I struggled to think of anything to write. It might be that as I’m full of a...
by Stuart Cross | Feb 25, 2022 | Business Rocks
Yesterday’s Russian invasion of Ukraine was shocking, but not surprising. Western governments have had several months to determine their response, but it seems that they haven’t used their time very productively. As the US, UK, EU and others scrambled to find the...
by Stuart Cross | Feb 18, 2022 | Business Rocks
For the first time since the pandemic began, we have been on a family holiday this week, skiing in the French Alps. It’s great to have a break together, but the weather has not been so kind. Wind, snow, rain, more wind, low cloud, a bit more snow and visibility below...
by Stuart Cross | Feb 11, 2022 | Business Rocks
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as a consultant is that I don’t need to have all the answers. In fact, most of the time, I don’t need to have any of the answers. Instead, the greatest value I bring to my clients is by asking some helpful questions. Not...
by Stuart Cross | Feb 4, 2022 | Business Rocks
The Ancient Greeks had two words for time: Chronos and Kairos. Chronos is the sequence of time and is measured by clocks (chronometers), diaries and calendars. It’s the meaning of time that tells you that you when your next Teams meeting will start and when it will...
by Stuart Cross | Jan 28, 2022 | Business Rocks
There are two tricks to successfully navigating monkey bars. First, let go before you reach out. Second, don’t stop: it’s easier to get from one end to the other if you build the forward momentum and just keep going, rather than pausing after every move. I wish I’d...
by Stuart Cross | Jan 7, 2022 | Business Rocks
Alongside the amazing science, technology and financial investment that has gone into the development of all the brilliant vaccines and treatments, there is one other way that Covid-19 can be stopped in its tracks: fresh air. The simple act of meeting outside, or...
by Stuart Cross | Dec 17, 2021 | Business Rocks
This is my last Business Rocks of the year. I know that it has been another hard, energy-sapping year for many, so I hope that you get the opportunity to rest and recharge your batteries over the next two weeks. The period between Christmas and New Year is often a...
by Stuart Cross | Dec 10, 2021 | Business Rocks
Somerset Maugham, the playwright and novelist, was once asked if wrote on a schedule or only when struck by inspiration. “I write only when inspiration strikes,” he replied. “Fortunately, it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.” Over the past week I’ve watched...
