Taking postive steps forward after International Women’s Day

Raised purple fist of a woman for international women's day and the feminist movement. March 8 for feminism, independence, freedom, empowerment, and activism for women rights

This is awkward. Posting about International Women’s Day 24 hours after everyone else.

No excuses. It’s been a busy time. Today’s my wife Lisa’s birthday. We went out to dinner at a recently opened Italian in Wells yesterday evening to celebrate. I’ve seen her work hard over the years to complete her MSc in Systemic Psychotherapy and become a family therapist in a busy team in Somerset.

My daughter Penny heads to New Zealand for a month on Thursday. She holds down two jobs to save for the trip since getting the grades to study archaeology at York in September.

My mum Gwyn ran a high street business for decades with my dad, who she married at 18 in 1973. Fiercely loyal, she stuck by me during some wild times when I didn’t deserve it. It’s their wedding anniversary tomorrow. I’m looking forward to seeing them in Pembrokeshire later this month.

Clever, caring, dedicated, honest. These women make the world a better place.

I’m so lucky to have them in my life. So, yes, of course I celebrate them. But I’m also hacked off that we’ve got some way to go to create a world that they deserve. If anything, in recent times it feels like we’ve gone backwards.

Beyond the huge volume of celebratory posts we face some huge challenges. The Middle East is in crisis. Russia continues its hostility towards Ukraine. The climate crisis is deepening. Economic uncertainty is growing. Men are running things badly. Women and girls bear the brunt.

That’s why we start this week clear-sighted about how much further we have to go, in so many ways.

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Gorton and Denton shows how not to lose, and what it takes to win

Losing part Reform logo pictured in Gorton and Denton

Even when losing a contest you badly want to win, there’s something to be said for dignity in defeat. You can still lose gracefully and earn respect and win friends.

There are memorable examples of this, which stand out against the febrile atmosphere surrounding public discourse today.

When New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern resigned in 2023, she said she “no longer had enough in the tank” to do the job justice. She could have blamed opponents or spun the decision. Instead, the message was simply: it’s time for someone else to lead.

Then there’s the letter I wrote about five years ago from former US President George HW Bush to his White House successor Bill Clinton in 1993, congratulating him on his victory and wishing him well.

“I’m rooting for you,” he wrote.

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Optimistically sceptical and anti-hype: where I’ve landed on AI

AI various apps on a phone

I’m gradually tidying up this blog, tweaking formats, setting up redirects and updating meta descriptions.

Reading old posts about developments I once supported – where colleagues now live – feels a bit like going through photos from yesteryear. My enthusiasm for social media in older posts is especially striking. We did some great things on Twitter back in the day. And didn’t I love it.

Things change. The enshittification of the internet is real and multi-layered.

And as AI advances into so many aspects of our lives, I hold more nuanced views about tech today. On balance, I’d say I’m optimistically sceptical. Or maybe sceptically optimistic.

Either way, I strongly support good tech, while pushing back against the bad bits. There is plenty to think about every day.

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Working from home ‘debate’ should step out of the 1980s

1980s typewriter

Here we go again…

It’s like the last five years never happened.

Nigel Farage’s recent ‘have a go Britain’ speech included a snippet on working from home that will land badly with many because of its failure to recognise the realities of modern life.

Weirdly calling for an ‘attitudinal change’ (whatever that means), his speech to Reform supporters said:

“People aren’t more productive working from home. It’s a LOAD. OF. NONSENSE. They’re more productive being with other fellow human beings and working as part of the team.”

Many of his applauding supporters looked like they hadn’t worked in many years. I’ll come back to that.

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McSweeney’s resignation statement eases the heat, but spin culture holds on 

Number 10 Downing Street

After days of pressure on the government, Morgan McSweeney’s exit as Number 10’s chief of staff felt inevitable.

As resignation statements go, it made a fair attempt to own his part in a scandal that could still engulf his boss.

It admits his role in advising the Prime Minister to appoint Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador, acknowledges the damage caused, and owns the failure.

It stands up well against a political culture that too often denies responsibility at all costs, even when the evidence screams otherwise.

Other parts of the statement – included here and in full below – landed less well though.

Statement on Morgan McSweeney's resignation which is also available online here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c74wd01egvyt
Statement from BBC online https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c74wd01egvyt
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Why late payments hurt agency growth, and what we do about it

Pay me

Celebrating success matters for small teams. We’ve had plenty to celebrate at Distinctive recently, as we take on new clients, win recognition and build a team spanning from Cornwall to Gloucestershire.

We’re part of a wider success story of a growing independent agency sector employing more than 230,000 people and contributing billions to the UK economy. It’s a diverse, resilient, vibrant industry that doesn’t ask for handouts, and innovates in the face of huge challenges. 

There’s plenty to be confident about in 2026. But it’s not plain sailing. And I want to write here about the worst part of agency life that impacts almost every business I know, including ours.

Step forward, late payments. A silent drain on time, energy and momentum. It’s a tricky topic to cover, and I’ve reflected on posting about this for months.

But spending Saturday morning at month end drafting emails to chase for payment pushed me to write something on LinkedIn. This post expands on those thoughts.  

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