Diary of a Fractional CMO

July 11, 2025

Give the people what they want

Lessons from Live Aid

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October 6, 2021

Enjoy the silence?

How did you spend your Whatsapp-free night on Monday? It was like a gift. I learnt Mandarin and found a cure for cancer. I’m exaggerating of course, but without the pings and pongs, my evening was transformed.

September 29, 2021

Is 'always on' a good thing?

Do you never feel as if you have enough time for yourself? Be careful what you wish for because there may be a limit to how much free time is good for us.

September 22, 2021

There’s a Starman waiting in the sky

Have you been on a submarine lately? I have. I’ve been aboard Trident’s HMS Vigil via tense BBC drama Vigil. It’s as immersive as it gets. Submersive if you will.

September 15, 2021

Would you rather fight a horse-sized duck or a 100 duck-sized horses?

Recruitment has changed since my day. There was a time when these sorts of questions were the norm.

September 8, 2021

RIP: the dog and bone

When did you last hear a mobile phone ring? The sound of mobiles ringing could become obsolete as young people increasingly turn their phones to silent.

September 1, 2021

Advice for Bond, James Bond

That great hunky chunk of actor Daniel Craig is facing the ultimate first-world dilemma: what to do with his fortune, and particularly, whether to hand it down to his kids or not.

August 26, 2021

You're special

We’re all digital now, as John Prescott might say. But could this become a negative?

August 18, 2021

Proof that humans are valuable

A tiny village in Spain is threatened by the rise of social media. They chose to combat it in an interesting way...

August 11, 2021

Ice, ice and barbecues baby

Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. So says James Clear.

August 4, 2021

Let’s build a new adviser 👩‍🔧

Welcome to The Naked Adviser. Do you like the new look?

July 30, 2021

The last ever Friday email

I’ve done it. I’ve killed the Friday email. Why? It was so much fun. Well, party time is over folks. Just kidding.

July 23, 2021

Too much nostalgia

Nostalgia (noun)nos·tal·gia | \ nä-ˈstal-jə , nə- also nȯ-, nō-; nə-ˈstäl- \ 1: the state of being homesick 2: a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition

July 18, 2021

Did you miss me?

Every Friday I send an email. I started this last March at the start of the pandemic. (Back in the days when we were bathing our groceries.) And I’ve never missed one. Until last Friday. So what happened? I’ll tell you in a minute.

July 9, 2021

I've hand written this blog post

Social scientist Randy Garner wondered whether sticky notes might have the power to enhance compliance with a written request made to another person. To test this, he sent out surveys to people with a request to complete them.

July 2, 2021

Turn your marketing into something that works

Running a small business is like a rollercoaster, but you've just got to ride it. And successful marketing for small businesses like adviser firms is hard! I can take this problem away and do it all for you, in one simple package.

June 25, 2021

Golden balls

I was describing to a friend recently that being out with my dog sometimes feels like being out with David Beckham because of all the attention he gets. My friend laughed at the reference to Golden Balls.