The Economist Intelligence Unit is putting together an advisory board for a large research project looking at how mobility will change business over the next decade.

This project* takes mobility in its broadest sense to include mobile service models, collaboration and the way organisations will change to exploit opportunities created by a data-driven society.

I'm drawing up a shortlist of potential interviewees for this project in the EMEA region and am currently seeking voices from government, the healthcare sector and also manufacturing industry. These will be senior individuals with a clear perspective on policy or suppliers who are engaged in delivering services with government.

I need to assemble the shortlist by 12.00 on Tuesday 24 April so do please get back to me with names and titles as soon as possible.

I must stress that this is not a report on mobile phones/devices etc, but a much deeper investigation into the way apps/cloud computing and various other digital platforms (including mobile devices) can change the way different bodies operate, creating new customer bases/opportunities. AI and machine learning are of course a part of this process.
 
The entire project will canvass opinions from across the globe, but I’m tasked with finding interviewees in EMEA.
 
And feel free to call me if you’d like me to talk through the project in further detail.
 
*The project, Our Mobile Future, is sponsored by Samsung but will be under the editorial control of the EIU.

I'm writing a piece for the upcoming FT Special Report on Corporate Aviation. This article will focus on online charter operations, looking at how these have changed the corporate aviation landscape.

I'm interested in how online charter companies maintain a personal touch in a digital world and in finding out what corporate clients are looking for in terms of service.

I'm also very keen to hear what differences have emerged between the client bases and marketplaces for online charter operations in the US and Europe.

I need factual accounts with hard numbers and I want to conclude interviews by close of play on Tuesday 7 November. I'd like to talk to corporate customers of online charter services, not just the online businesses themselves. So if you're regular user of an online charter service do get in touch.

This article appeared in the FT on Tuesday 28 November 2017.

What do you expect when you complain to the office of a chief executive?

An email telling you that your complaint has been passed to the relevant department perhaps? Or more likely a vacuous missive pumped up with empty guff about "issues...challenges...lessons will be learned"?

Well that's not what I got when I had cause to complain directly to the boss of WH Smith, Stephen Clarke.

Our local WH Smith branch has always admitted dogs on the not unreasonable grounds that their owners might buy the odd publication or two. This changed suddenly when I visited the branch with canine company and was challenged by a junior staff member who told me dogs were not allowed in the store.

I pointed out that this had never been the case before and was a complete shock. He was polite, but explained that a new manager had arrived and implemented a no-dogs policy.

What was I to do? Surely a people-friendly terrier should be able to visit his local newsagent, even if he has a human in tow?

A short trawl delivered up the office email address of Stephen Clarke, who has been CEO of WH Smith since July 2013. I outlined the situation, adding that local dog-owners were already venting their ire in a popular online forum.

Within an hour a reply dropped. I opened it expecting a bland acknowledgement from a PA. What I got was a first-class example of no-nonsense hands-on management and straight talking. I'll leave the rest to the man himself.

I am the owner of four dogs. 
This policy is bonkers and it will be changed. I apologise. 
I am out of the office at the minute but I have copied our stores director, Kevin Hall, who will sort it. 

That's the way to go. And I love the use of "bonkers". No tiptoeing around the fact, just a heartfelt  acknowledgement that a daft error has occurred and will be reversed pronto.

The corporate world could take note of this. It has certainly gone down well with a lot of WH Smith's customers in this part of West London. Keep it short and get to the point without obfuscation. That's the way to talk to your customers. All of them, including the four-legged ones.

Oh dear! There's been a dust-up in Montana. Greg Gianforte, founder of RightNow, a runaway success story in the software stakes, has been charged with assaulting Ben Jacobs, a reporter for the Guardian. Gianforte is running for Congress in his home state of Montana and the Guardian has been pursuing his Republican campaign with predictable liberal zeal.

The exact nature of the confrontation is in dispute. Gianforte's staff claim Jacobs forced his way into an office while the Guardian's man says he was knocked to the ground after asking a question. The incident was witnessed by a team from Fox News, who lean towards Jacobs' version of events.

Now I've met Gianforte. I interviewed him over dinner and got a good feel for a highly thoughtful guy who didn't go into politics on a whim. He's a passionate believer in education and educational standards. He took his family on an extensive tour of Europe to give his kids a proper perspective on this continent's history and culture. In other words, he's not straight out of the box of technology-obsessed and dollar-fixated CEOs who can talk of nothing except their business strategy. And he is polite.

Nose for news

So what went wrong? Gianforte was coming to the end of a gruelling political campaign and a journalist turned up at his office and seized on an opportunity to conduct an impromptu interview. All politicians like to restrict  media contact to scheduled appointments. These allow them to get a good steer on what will be under discussion. But journalists are trained to make the most of any chance to interview significant players. The terrier instinct to chase down a story is what makes a news reporter, any news reporter.

The Guardian's man may well have been downright annoying, as Gianforte's camp claims, but he was doing what the media does best. He was trying to get behind the official script and catch a glimpse of the candidate's real opinions. That, in case Gianforte's media advisors have forgotten, is what journalists do.

Better options

How should Gianforte have responded? Well, getting physical has generated headlines that do not bode well for his political ambitions. The incident has raised a storm right when Montanans are heading to the polls. And a serious politician can expect to have to answer questions out of the blue. No matter how irritating the sight and sound of a journalist materialising in front of his desk may have been, Gianforte had better options.

He could have pointed out that he was immersed in campaign work and referred Jacobs to his team to schedule an interview after the Fox people had been seen. Better still, he might have complemented Jacobs on his initiative in sneaking past the gatekeepers. A bit of humour always goes down well with journalists and is a diplomatic way of sidestepping a tough question that pops up at the worst possible moment. And of course, he could always have answered the question. 

Everyone loses their cool from time to time. And this includes members of the press. I've witnessed some spectacular eruptions of journalistic ire. But if you're in the media spotlight you have to be consistent. That means granting time to titles you may not like. Every interview is an opportunity to win a critic over. There is nothing to be gained from flying off the handle except negative coverage and a vortex of social media reaction that obscures your chosen messages.

This story has legs. At the latest count Gianforte has crossed the finish line in Montana with over 50% of votes cast. But the congressman elect is facing a misdemeanor assault charge. So an altercation in Montana will attract a global media audience as it goes to court. That's the other problem with a flash of temper. It can trigger a cascade of media interest that just won't go away.