INTERNATIONAL JET-SETTER

I've had a brilliant week for a number of reasons, although I have been in the UK and my wife has been in New York so we've been apart for more than two weeks and I have really missed her. Normally our trips are not always so long but as our offices open in more regions the necessity to travel becomes greater. 

thebigword team are constantly travelling between our offices and to service our Global Customers. The team has visited 26 counties this year- so a big thank you to them and their families who have had to cope with their absences.

This week I have been working in London. My first appointment was at the Houses of Parliament where I was invited as a member of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). We were invited to meet two sets of MPs, first those in government and the second group were those in opposition. The idea was to question them on certain policies and put forward our suggestions and arguments as to what we feel they should do to help improve the economy. This is not a ‘me’ event as I tend to avoid politics as much as possible. It was interesting to watch their styles some of them were impressive and others looked like candidates for spitting image.

I questioned two of the MPs, one being a Shadow Minister and the other responsible for Apprentices, and I was really thrilled that they both mentioned that they had visited thebigword. They also said how impressed they are at the work we are doing in helping organisations grow and also the work we are doing with the young apprentice scheme.  We are now one of the best and largest companies in the country for apprentices to work at. Did I mention that they didn't say anything about the other 120 companies that were there? "Stop showing off!" I hear you shouting at your screen - I say get stuffed, no apologies from me as I am incredibly proud of what we are doing.

After being with the MPs I went to an interview at the Guardian newspaper. This was hard and scary!  The reporter was a dynamic lady who asked a lot more questions about our Technology than I was expecting.  It was my first big Technology interview and I did find it difficult, mainly as I had so much to say and I knew she was time constrained.

Finally, I moved on to meet with BBC Online who have half a million readers a day, it was a 2.5 hour long gruelling interview but the Guardian had been a good rehearsal and I really enjoyed it so we will have to see what reaction we get.

Next week I’m back in the States so after all this lovey stuff and quite a lot of business lunches and dinners it’s back to the gym – yuck!  Or should I say swimming pool, which is slightly less yuck. I hope you have a happy and healthy week ahead.