Writing and roaming
This year I’m travelling and writing. I’m spending some time with a Cuban salsa band, El Septeto Santiaguero, helping them with media on their 40-gig, 10-country European tour.
I’m going to California to catch up with old friends in Los Angeles, write about heroic drag racers of the late sixties who hit 270mph in six seconds in some of the most dangerous racing cars ever made, and generally see what the USA feels like these days (I haven’t been there post-recession).
I’d like to write more books, about world cultures, about the intriguing baby-boomer generation (I’m one of them), about classic cars, and about other things that I haven’t thought of yet. I might find myself wandering from Chile and Argentina up through Peru and other Latin countries.
Magazines and websites
I launch new magazines, newspapers and websites, and I relaunch ones that need refreshing. I start with the core reader or user: I want to meet them, and feel their dreams and fears. Then we can create compelling and surprising pages to attract and keep them.
Being a journalist, I naturally focus on the editorial core of the project. But I always want to understand the challenges of the marketing, advertising and management people to bring everyone together in one powerful team. I work on these projects either as team leader, or as a consultant to help an existing management team.
Coaching
Media people
I train journalists to write news and feature stories, interview people, and how to edit magazines and newspapers. I also run workshops on management skills for media people including identifying and modifying your management style, motivating your team, managing projects and running a great meeting.
Business people
Business communication is full of pompous and incomprehensible jargon: most of it gets binned or deleted. My workshops show clients how to engage and motivate the reader, and how to keep the message short and powerful. I also run a creativity workshop that enables people to escape their daily channels and become the bold originator they really want to be.
The workshops
•News Writing
•Feature Writing
•How to Be an Editor
•Core Management Skills
•Communicate Like a Leader
•Unleashing Your Creativity
