Clutching drains

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Chris Warburton

Just what makes us so judgemental and is it getting worse?

Over the holidays, we had the wonderful delight of blocked drains (on Christmas Eve…timing eh) … fortunately it was only the kitchen sink, so not all was lost and we managed to avoid doing the washing up in the bath!

Nevertheless, it was a bother and something you want to get sorted as quickly as possible.

So the first step was to head to that fount of all knowledge…YouTube…
and I have now seen more videos of blocked drains than I would ever care to see again, but what struck me were the comments… so many were judgemental, nay even accusatory.
‘Don’t pour fat down the drain’…’you’ll get a fatberg’… ‘it never happens to me I pour it into a milk carton’!

Now admittedly I do like the odd stir fry but I am certainly not pouring fat down the drain, and don’t even own a chip fat frier… but there I was feeling guilty like I was living back in the 1970’s on a diet of fish and chips…

And then thinking about it, these types of judgemental comments don’t end there…

If your clutch goes or brakes fade on your car… again something that needs to be fixed… yet not only do you have to face the price, but also the comments… ‘it is the way you are driving’, ‘didn’t you notice 6 months ago?’… so now my driving is not up to scratch either… a bad, fish and chip, eating driver…!

It is of course different if you have asked for an opinion, a view of what to do, but sometimes it is hard to turn the switch off and you offer the opinion anyway (and I am sure I do this too)… it is even worse online.

Yet, the bigger question here is not really my wounded pride (I’ll get over it!), but why are we so judgemental… offer these ‘friendly’ suggestions, and stating the obvious doesn’t really help anyone.

In real life we all make mistakes and mainly know how we could have done something differently, that is how we learn…. next time. The real priority in the moment is getting it fixed.

This applies back in the world of business, finance, and overdue accounts too.

Yes, we all know it is often better to not borrow the money, but if you already have, something happens and you cannot pay it back… what is important?

‘Helpful advice’ on what you should have done differently… or adequate support to get it addressed?

Fortunately, the Financial Services industry has moved on massively in the last 10 years, and even more so today in the UK with a focus on good customer outcomes… but there is still a way to go, and indeed more generally regarding how we treat customers, employees and friends.

So as we start the year a reflection on being pragmatic, trying to help people on a go-forward basis, not so much time looking back and certainly trying to not be quite so judgemental.

Something to add to my to-do list for the year… now off to get my sausages out from the oven.

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Looking forward to 2024?

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Chris Warburton

It lasts but a moment, that fleeting time between the end of 2023 and looking forward to 2024.

By the time the 2nd rolls around, and certainly by the end of the week, the wheels will have started turning again, and we will be back in it.

What just happened?

So what has just happened, and what do we have to look forward to in 2024?

  • 2023 was a year in which we finally seemed to escape the shadow of COVID lockdowns, and the world started travelling again – definitely a bright spot for me.
  • Hybrid working was still a thing, and despite pressure in many sectors to get people commuting daily again, employees still resisted, not wanting to give up the flexibility and extra couple of productive hours gained in their day.
  • Consumer Duty – finally went live in the UK, ushering in a whole new language around good customer outcomes, sludge practices, and evidencing these outcomes.
  • Economically borrowing levels continued to bounce back, especially in credit cards, with savings rates decreasing.
  • Arrears levels, despite all the doom and gloom noises we made, remained relatively moderate, only showing a slight, albeit steady increase… with energy being a potential exception.

It really felt like a year when things started to get going again, investment in new tech and gear rebounded and new strategic investments started to be made… the rush to digital continued.

… and then there was ChatGPT, which burst onto the scene and sucked much of the attention for many of us… suddenly this tech was widely accessible, although a lot of people seemed quite worried by it all too.

Some Turbulence

However, it was also a year with some big dark clouds…

  • Geopolitics continued to be turbulent, with three major conflicts underway (Ukraine-Russia, Gaza-Israel, and not forgetting Sudan).
  • And politics was not much better. Continued lurches to the right and the left across much of the world… populism and access to new media swaying what seemed fickle opinion quickly and seemingly not generating better outcomes in general. It was all a bit uncertain, upsetting, and anxiety-generating for many.

So what do we have to look forward to in 2024… more change? more of the same?

Peering into the near future…. maybe.

There are continued expectations of increasing arrears levels, a further focus on Consumer Duty (and in particular evidencing), with probably more and similar regulatory intervention being seen (and elsewhere around the world)…. not to mention elections and regional conflicts, which are big wild cards.

But an Optimistic Outlook

But, rather than dwelling on these… which we will no doubt hear plenty about next week (whether we want to or not), today it is worth taking a different tack.

We need to remember that we continue to live in the world of amazing… human technology is continuing to extend our lives, making our lives easier and providing new ways for us to build knowledge, making it so easy to interact with people all around the world.

Yes, there are plenty of uncertainties, but the key is flexibility.

And Remain Flexible

Rather than trying to live in the world of the past, pre-COVID, the certainties of the old ways of doing things, is it time to let go and think about how to make the most of the environment we live in today?

I accept this is not going to make some of the bigger problems go away, and we need to solve for these, but it does allow us to free ourselves and make the most of the opportunities we do have in front of us.

5 things to look forward to

So with this in mind, here are a few things to look forward to in 2024.

  • A total solar eclipse… on April 8th, 2024, across much of the USA.
  • A bonus day in the diary… it is a leap year.
  • The Olympics & Paralympics… the festival of sport arrives in Paris this year.
  • MS Co-pilot – Chat GPT 5? Will this finally roll out? This could be a game-changer to make AI even more seamless and adopted (we will not even realize by the end of the year, I reckon).
  • … and of course, the Taylor Swift Era’s tour comes to the UK 🙂

I am sure there will be more, but it is a start. So here’s wishing you a fabulous, flexible, and fun 2024… have a good one, everyone.

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It is starting to feel…

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Chris Warburton

It has been a bit strange this year; I seem to have struggled to feel Christmassy for some reason.

  • Maybe it’s because Christmas is on a Monday, and everything seems to have run much longer, busy until Friday.
  • Maybe it’s because we all work remotely these days, and there is now less routine since the pandemic, or…
  • Maybe, and this cannot be ruled out, it’s that I am just getting older!

It’s not like I haven’t tried… I think I have watched every Christmas movie going, I have eaten over four boxes of mince pies. I have certainly enjoyed the all Christmas parties, they have helped.

But now, on Christmas Eve, it is upon us. The house is cleaned, the turkey is defrosted(ing), and the nut roast is cooked. It is really starting to feel like Christmas.

It now seems inevitable; finally, the Christmas spirit is rising.

So at this point, I wanted to wish everyone, if you celebrate it, a wonderful Christmas, and if not, then best wishes for the season…

Thanks for all the help and support this year… will see you all on the other side.

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