March 23rd. A relatively unassuming day you might think. But this is a day that we should celebrate for a particular historical event in the USA that will change the lives of many for years to come. This was the day that Franklin Beale invented the coin press for the U.S. mint, which quite possibly changed the longevity of money across the world. 21 years later Elisha Otis had the joy of seeing his first ever elevator installed at 488 Broadway NYC, making the possibility of skyscrapers a practical reality for evermore. Generations of Americans were able to be provided with education due to the founding of the University of California (Oakland) in 1868. Even more significant perhaps, was the

Politicians like to disagree. It is sort of in their DNA. Point scoring and disputes are all par for the course. So when I hear of politicians from different parties agreeing about something, I pay attention. It is possible, just possible, that they might be saying something worth hearing. I read this week that Alan Milburn (Labour) and Stephen Dorrell (Conservative), both former Heath Ministers, had agreed about the importance of technology in health. Discussing the healthcare priorities for the next government at the UK e-Health Week event at Olympia in London recently, they got round to talking about technology. Milburn said that getting patients involved in their own care was essential a

Everyone says you need vision. Vison is the thing that inspires, guides, drives and succeeds. You can do courses, study great leaders, read and meditate upon it. But vision is what we need: individuals, organisations, society. Or is it? Is vision enough? Is vision even the starting point? Nigel Edwards of the Nuffield Trust made a startling, yet when you think about it, obvious point in his interview in the Guardian this week. Yes we need vision in the NHS. In fact we are rather good at it. We don’t need more, what we need is the ability to make the vison happen. We are not good at turning strategic ideas into operational plans. He presents an image that those of us who have spent any t

Groundhog Day Most of you will have heard of the phrase ‘groundhog day’: the feeling of the same thing happening over and over again. In fact the real Groundhog Day is based on the existence of ‘Punxsutawney Phil’, a groundhog who is said to have lived for nearly 130 years due to his regular sipping of the ‘elixir of life’. He lives in the town of Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania which is approximately 325 miles due West from Poughkeepsie, New York State. Punxsutawney is also noted for the fact that the Punxsutawney Area Hospital has been named twice as one of the ‘top 100’ hospitals for high quality care and superior cost effectiveness – a great thing to become known for. Groundhog Day was esta

Today is an amazing clear, sunny day here in Poughkeepsie and a great opportunity for me to see some of the local sights. One of the ‘must see’ attractions here is the ‘Walkway over the Hudson’. This incredible iron bridge opened in 1888, and trains started crossing it a year later, at which point it was the longest bridge in the world. It was converted to a pedestrian bridge in 2009: stands at 212 feet above the Hudson River, and spans 1.28 miles. The longest pedestrian bridge in the world. What made my visit to the bridge somewhat special is the weather. The river is completely frozen, and stunningly beautiful. At -16°C and windy it was also stunningly cold! As I made my way across the b

It is exactly a year since Sirius Partners was established as a company. So, what has gone well, what we could have done differently and where we should focus our efforts for the coming year? The opportunity for reflection is even greater as I have an opportunity to be in the USA for 3 months as my partner is on an exchange programme teaching at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York State until the end of May. Our 13-year old daughter is now established in a US school and getting to grips with all that is different – including getting picked up by a big yellow bus at 06:42 for a 07:20 start (!), doing Math rather than Maths, and being the newcomer to class with an interesting and differe