Category Archives: Politics

How to write a killer report

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PDF of the rogue UK housing minister document, in the process detailing how to best write a killer report from Jon Moon, reproduced in all its ‘bouncy’ bullet-point glory:

In May 2008, Gordon Brown’s housing minister, Caroline Flint, exposed the Government’s fears over the poor state of the housing market when she accidentally let photographers glimpse a ‘top-secret’ report as she walked into No 10.

Page 2 looks at some of the many things the note got wrong (and it’s laid out as a WiT, needless to say). And on page 3 I’ve transformed it by doing it as a WiT. WiT is my seriously better alternative to bullets that triples impact. It transforms all types of documents – slides, reports, notes, CVs, meeting minutes, KPI packs and more. Visit www.jmoon.co.uk for more.

Gordon Brown on the Politics Show

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PM Gordon Brown claimed on the BBC Politics Show today that the global credit crunch was not forseeable. The structures to protect against bank breakdown were only designed for individual bank failure like the UK’s Northern Rock. Hmm, I thought, but haven’t we been told about the ‘global economy’ for years now, and its essential ‘inter-dependency’. And this no doubt would include banks. But the possibility that bank failure could be plural and inter-dependent in nature was not planned for, not by the FSA, not by all those clever  folk at HM Treasury. Really?

PS: ICAEW CEO Michael Izza suggests in his excellent post-Davos blog that ex-PM Tony Blair might still have a role to help communicate the complexity of the crisis.

New President, New Website

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Loved this joke from the Onion on Obama’s new web strategy. More fun though less enlightening than the piece in Wired Magazine.

WhiteHouse.gov, the official website of the president and vice president, was relaunched Tuesday and includes links to Obama’s weekly video address and a blog. What do you think?

Asian Man
Mark Judson, Accounting Clerk
“I question the ethics of Rahm Emanuel’s ‘Blind D.C. Gossip Items’ page, but it is pretty dishy.”
Old Man
Scott Carpenter, Aircraft Deicer
“I’m going to miss the ‘Those Who Should Die’ feature on the old site.”
Old Woman
Kristina Keyton, Pharmacy Technician Instructor
“Finally, a president who understands technology. Oh, and human rights. And climate change, foreign policy, and the Constitution.”

LabourList launches today

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Thanks to Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy I came across the new LabourList blog which launches today. It also has help on starting your own blog which is great.

Welcome to LabourList, the must read online forum for Labour minded people to come together to share news and views and, hopefully, also have a laugh.

Over the last few weeks, there have been a number of misinformed reports about what we are trying to achieve with this website. Most have been completely inaccurate. A quick summary is available here.

What we’re really about is pretty simple. LabourList aims to provide a platform for debate for every level of our movement, and for those who disagree with us.

To encourage this discussion, we’ll have access to and insight from government ministers; we’ll host voices from the fringe and from the traditional media; and we’ll have regular reports from the grassroots that make our movement so powerful.

David Cameron says bank on me

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Conservative leader David Cameron says character and judgement are more important than experience. But experience teaches me that you build character and judgement through experience. Perhaps David thinks that you can’t change one’s essential character and judgement, which if so is a bit pessimistic for my liking (not to mention contrary to my experience).

I also see on the front of the Daily Mail today an article critical of the head of the Met for employing a friend. Oh come on, if you’re a serious member of the ‘Establishment’ you must at one point in time have employed a mate. Please even I’ve done that, probably the only properly posh thing I’ve done come to think of it. The trick of course is to get away with it, in a good way I hasten to add. Bank on me? I will, thanks.