York’s Tracy island
When you want to make a splash with a new HQ, sometimes only a rocket will do. This is how Hiscox explains the appearance of a 40ft long weapon in the atrium of its newest office in York. OK, so a global insurance firm might not be the most obvious location choice for a missile, but Diary has been assured the weapon is no longer active and is merely a subtle reminder from Robert Hiscox to all employees of the company’s ambition to be at the cutting edge. Bought at a Sussex auction, the Russian rocket was for 10 years the fastest missile to orbit the planet, reaching speeds 20 times faster than the top speed of a McLaren F1. No pressure then.
Removals men live longer
This week Diary headed to the Royal Institution to join Cushman & Wakefield for a day of mind-blowing presentations on the future at the How to Change the World conference –and some bad news for you chaps out there. First, your immune system is not as advanced as a woman’s, according to the genetics speaker who took to the stage to confirm that man ‘flu’ is indeed a genuine gripe. A win! And she added that while oestrogen protects women, testosterone has been proven to put men more at risk of illness. Studies show that eunuchs and castrated men live longer than those who are still, um, all there. Any boys out there looking to prolong your lives? You know what to do…
Ladz bants latest
In a sector that is struggling admirably with its diversification issues, it is almost quaint to see some old-fashioned “ladz bants”. One such example, edging on satire, was an email forwarded to Diary subjected “The Elite”, sent from a graduate at a firm that shall remain nameless organising “a big boozy Christmas lunch”. The “lagersaurusrex”, as he refers to himself, seemingly without irony, did consider inviting all grads but did not think he would “find a table that big, so maybe easier to stick to ladz only”. He signs off with two more comical nicknames including “Biggest Boozer”. A cartoon dinosaur image with his face and a pint PhotoShopped on moving around cyberspace.
He knows if you’ve been bad…
Office Christmas parties have become notorious for heavy drinking and scandalous behaviour. And none more so than those in the property sector, according to research by online reputation management company Igniyte. Eight per cent of surveyed property employees admitted being fired, while a further one in 10 received a written or verbal warning. One in four are hoping to use the opportunity to tell a colleague they like them, while 30% have pledged to drink less this year so they don’t do something embarrassing. Famous last words.
Slade slays the system
JP Morgan’s top analyst Tim Leckie dropped us an email last week following our no-holds-barred interview with Helical Bar’s outgoing and always outrageous chief executive, Mike Slade. But when he forwarded it to the rest of his team, his email was blocked for “inappropriate content”, which as Leckie put it, seems “about right”. To read the full interview on EGi, go to http://bit.ly/1jydsZj
Party your way to the top
Discrimination in the workplace – or any place – is no laughing matter. But we could not help but raise a smile on reading one of the reasons not one, but two respondents in this year’s salary survey listed as why they felt sidelined in their careers. “Not being a Tory” seems pretty specific, doesn’t it? . And this, added to the other, more mainstream discrimination figures around gender, age, race, sexuality and disability, shows that the industry does still have a long way to go. See Salary Survey, p66.
Delivering on a hunch
Back to the How to Change the World conference now, where speakers delved into topics ranging from the ageing population to driverless cars – and the revelation that online retailers such as Amazon not only know what we are likely to buy before we know ourselves, based on where we live, but they are getting the products out to us before we even decide to buy them. Apparently they are sending out trucks full of the products we are likely to purchase – postcode by postcode – before we have actually placed our orders. Could 2016 be the year of the moving shed?
