C.E. Jottings

In defence of the amateur tradition on charity boards

When did the word "amateur" acquire such strong negative connotation? In The Times a week or so ago, the headline to a Philip Collins' opinion piece states "These amateurish charities aren't fit for purpose". And in The Guardian the day before an Editorial headline ran "The Guardian view on charity trustees: no role for amateurs". These confident assertions arise from the Kids Company débâcle. Yet if there was one thing that the Board of Kids Company was not, it was... Read more →

No longer Keeping Kids Company. What were the Board of Trustees thinking? Are there lessons for all Trustees and all charities?

Are there lessons to be learned by all charity Trustees in the collapse of Kids Company? I have been interested in the fate of Kids Company since the recent publication of the fact that in 2003 HM Revenue and Customs wrote off almost £600,000 in unpaid national insurance contributions in return for a deal that Kids Company paid up just £100,000. This was a staggering deal, maybe even unprecedented. The Chair of Trustees, Alan Yentob, also Creative Director at the... Read more →

Waiting for the White Rabbit to appear

Yesterday, I reflected lightly on re-branding. It had come up in a collective discussion about the future and direction of Paces Campus. As interesting as the discussion was, the notion of re-branding seemed to be advocated as a panacea for what we were not getting right rather than as an expression of where we aspired to be. In short, it was to do with the past rather than the future. One day Alice came to a fork in the road... Read more →

A salutary tale for managers regarding the impact of rebranding

A bit of frivolity with a serious kernel of truth. Yesterday, as I mentioned on Facebook, we had a lively discussion, which I got a lot out of, on the future vision for Paces Campus that touched on re-branding. This morning our Director of Learnng Gabor Fellner shared with me an amusing yet salutary tale. It's essence was this: Andrássy út in Budapest is an elegant avenue, built around 1872, one of Budapest's main shopping streets, with fine cafes, restaurants,... Read more →

Why so quiet, lately?

There's not been a lot I've felt inspired to comment on, to be honest. Not the we've not been busy at Paces. Quite the contrary! On top of delivering excellent services (of course), there's an enormous amount of work going on overhauling the whole organisation (governance, financial systems, management), a constant questioning of what we do, why and how. Adults' services, particularly, is an area we are focused on. And supporting families. And trying to work out how we can... Read more →

So what's a Chief Executive worth in the voluntary sector?

As a member of the NCVO, we recently received our 'Member Edition' of "The UK Civil Society Almanac 2012". What a treasure trove of civil society data it is. I'm tempted to quote some statistics ... "Did you know, for instance ..." but will resist the temptation. Except for one statistic. Pay and Chief Executives. So how much do you think the average Chief Executive gets paid? While you ponder that, bear in mind an often quoted statistic that a... Read more →

Has The Time Come For Holistic Business Strategy in Conductive Education?

Some people I know (you don't need names) don't like "holistic" as a applied to conductive education. Indulge me a moment. SAHK have sought to apply conductive education to and embed it within their business model holistically, one might say, if by that we mean, the whole. "The Time Has Come For Holistic Business Strategy" says Brian Solis - now what could that possibly mean? You'll have to check the link yourself, as I'm not quite sure. I quite like... Read more →

Are you unfit for leadership?

Recently, I was asked by a friend, Russell Cavanagh, to write a short piece about setting up a social enterprise for his blog "Business Posts". Many years ago, when Paces was beginning to take some recognisable shape at High Green, I happened across some advice that I have mentioned here before, from the late Steve Snow, one of the first community networkers, in an article entitled "Just Do It". Steve's advice ends with what he calls a "small note of... Read more →

10 lessons we maybe ought to learn

My main focus at Paces is not so much in the practice of conductive education as in the institutions and settings in which it is practised and how conductive education might be brought into the mainstream. Often I look outside for inspiration. I've been impressed by the creativity of discussions in the general area of community regeneration and neighbourhood renewal. (Goes under several titles.) I've more than once quoted Mike Chitty for instance whose website I recommend dropping into from... Read more →

Senge on Sustainability and Learning