Articles

Obama: Still Hopeful. More Careful Leadership

Obama: Still Hopeful. More Careful

Last night I went see Barack Obama at the O2. My takeaways: Obama admitted politics has failed people and there were many mistakes. The West and the left became too comfortable in an echo chamber, taking its eye off the ball in many areas He frequently referred to values-based leadership

Dan Ilett · 1 min read min read
Has your leadership team checked out? Leadership

Has your leadership team checked out?

I once showed a board they had a client trying to spend another $30 million with them, and no one in sales, customer, delivery or leadership had done anything about it. There I was, like Rafiki holding up the Lion King to the sun and its worshippers: “Here is your client, who has asked

Dan Ilett · 2 min read min read
Futile Resistance, Shutdown Gobsmack and Bumbled Guardrails AI

Futile Resistance, Shutdown Gobsmack and Bumbled Guardrails

DeepMind has redrawn the threat map. In a new update to its Frontier Safety Framework, the UK-based lab now ranks “harmful manipulation” and “shutdown resistance” as core risks. That means models that change your beliefs - or refuse to turn off- are no longer sci-fi. The change matters

Dan Ilett · 2 min read min read
Crypto’s Regulatory Turn: London Makes its Move Geopolitics

Crypto’s Regulatory Turn: London Makes its Move

This week, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met in London to align crypto regulation, starting with stablecoins. In a move that signals deeper financial integration with the US and a clear pivot away from Brussels, the two sides agreed to explore joint

Dan Ilett · 2 min read min read
Labour: Where's the Growth? Geopolitics

Labour: Where's the Growth?

With two weeks to go until Labour’s annual conference, the fiscal cracks on show are looking more like subsidence. The party wants to talk growth: private investment, green jobs and productivity, but is doing so with a chancellor, Rachel Reeves, who is stiffly defined by fiscal caution,

Dan Ilett · 3 min read min read
Copilot Failure, $35m and Zero-Day AI Attacks AI

Copilot Failure, $35m and Zero-Day AI Attacks

Welcome to the AI Roundup The UK government’s internal trial of Microsoft 365 Copilot failed to deliver the expected productivity gains. Despite Copilot’s ability to generate meeting notes and email drafts, the pilot found no measurable improvements in efficiency. Micro1 raised $35 million

Dan Ilett · 1 min read min read
Are you a Geek? Leadership

Are you a Geek?

I am a framework nerd. This week, I'm sharing one of mine - The Trust Model. This little beauty has helped some of the Fortune tech world to change the way they speak and sell to their clients. It's very simple. Let me explain. This is the Trust Model. You have two axis: the horizontal

Dan Ilett · 3 min read min read
Europe Lacks a Growth Mindset Growth

Europe Lacks a Growth Mindset

Europe is falling behind. The US thrives on bold ambition. China scales with relentless momentum. But Europe's many committees and caution culture sap its capacity to adapt, innovate and lead. Without reframing its mindset to one that embraces experimentation, rapid learning and unified

Dan Ilett · 3 min read min read
The AI Roundup AI

The AI Roundup

Good morning I recently coached an exec team who wanted more updates on how companies are responding to AI challenges. Here's the latest: The White House is finalising a “Winning the AI Race” plan to push US AI overseas and block federal funding in states with restrictive AI laws. It leans

Dan Ilett · 3 min read min read
Is 16 Too Young to Vote? Geopolitics

Is 16 Too Young to Vote?

“Please miss, can we leave school early today? It’s election day.” “I beg your pardon, Jimmy? Oh, yes voting, of course. Off you go, but don’t forget your plimsolls and make sure your mother is at the gate to collect you.” Pokemon cards and ballot slips don’t mix. Giving the vote to

Dan Ilett · 2 min read min read
Sustainability's Fickle Switch Geopolitics

Sustainability's Fickle Switch

Every time financial pressure rises, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) is binned. It is the twitchiest of government policies and company strategies. It comes in and out of fashion faster than a MasterChef TV host. The UK just scrapped its green investment taxonomy and pulled

Dan Ilett · 2 min read min read
Lloyds Offers Cautious Optimism for UK Growth

Lloyds Offers Cautious Optimism for UK

In the FT today, Charlie Nunn, CEO of Lloyds Banking Group, argues that despite recent UK GDP contractions and warnings from the OBR about diminished economic resilience, the country is poised for growth if can avoid a decade of drift. He highlights rising business confidence, backed by

Dan Ilett · 2 min read min read