In 1973 Stanford Professor Mark Granovetter’s “the strength of weak ties” argued that weak links, between people with different opinions, help new and unfamiliar ideas spread.
Strong ties bind friends and families. They encourage group think and build echo chambers. They deter people from thinking broadly, or seeing other perspectives. Strong ties lock you in.
Read More “Weak Links #2: brands, holocaust, art, apologies”
By Guy Corbet
The Apology Clause campaign has been set up to make it easier for businesses to behave with compassion when things go wrong, and to help victims have better recoveries.
That is because too often, when it feels like a business should say sorry, it does not. This may be to a customer who has been let down, or someone who might have had a right to expect better than they received.
We talk to Zoe Fenn, director at Flamingo, the global insight and brand consultancy, about how brands need to adapt to stay ahead.
Q: Zoe, there’s been a lot of talk around the death of the brand, do you think this holds water?
Zoe Fenn: Not at all. Of course, some of the really big brands that have been around for a long time will fade. So will many of the new ones.
It’s always been that way. The brand graveyard always gets bigger. But that’s different to the death of the brand.
Read More “Consistency is the key for brands to meet the test of time”
By Julie Kangisser, Think Communications
Is the Holocaust merely a detail of history? This view is rearing its head on the fringes of mainstream political discourse in a number of European countries.
Within a few years there will be no surviving witnesses of the Holocaust. Second-generation survivors are increasingly feeling compelled to combat the propaganda, hate speech and crisis rhetoric of many leaders today. The same goes for, those who have survived recent genocides such as those in Darfur, Rwanda and Bosnia.
By Victoria Tate, director of Arterial
Art appreciation is often dismissed as a leisure activity rather than something which has a wider value to society and commerce. It is an activity that ladies who lunch, debutantes and retired people get up to. Art is seen as relaxing, something that goes hand in hand with travel, lunching and bucket-list museum visiting. Art has been denied the status and role it could achieve in the sphere of non-leisure pursuits, in the world of work.
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts”, said the British philosopher Bertrand Russell.
Business creates and sustains jobs, provides families with financial security, and helps fund essential public services such as the NHS. So why does it get such a bad reception? From politics and the media to the arts and culture, business is often a dirty word, best not spoken. This is as true globally as it is in the UK.
In 1973 Stanford Professor Mark Granovetter’s “the strength of weak ties” argued that weak links, between people with different opinions help new and unfamiliar ideas spread.
By Funke Abimbola MBE, general counsel and head of financial compliance for Roche UK
Immigration was one of the thorniest issues of the EU referendum campaign. Highly political and emotionally charged, it is also dominating conversation as we negotiate our exit. And rightly so. Brexit, if mishandled, has the potential to severely damage both diversity and inclusion within the workforce. This would have a detrimental impact on UK PLC’s abilities to compete on the global stage.
Read More “Brexit and impact on diversity and inclusion within the workforce”
By Joy Frascinella, head of PR at the Principles of Responsible Investment
Responsible investment has steadily moved from the periphery to the mainstream over the last decade. This is because an increasing number of companies and investors acknowledge that looking at environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues translates into myriad advantages, from improved staff performance to better returns.
