Evidence Of Worth

Z/Yen’s Not-for-Profit sector research programme, Evidence of Worth, has gone into overdrive this summer.Chief Executives and senior officers who participated are actively reviewing our draft paper, while learned journals fight like wildcats to publish it. Meanwhile, a follow-up seminar on productive accountability will take some of the key Evidence of Worth themes forward in October. HSBC, once again, are kindly sponsoring the event. Add to this the plethora of platform invitations featuring the likes of Mainelli, Harris and/or O’Callaghan talking on this favourite subject and you realise that we have hit upon a hot topic for the sector.

Rethink has chosen Z/Yen to help it to produce an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Strategy this autumn. Rethink was, until recently, named The National Schizophrenia Fellowship.The charity has changed its name to reflect the wider aspects of its mental illness brief, with Rakesh spelling Schizophrenia a dozen different ways without success, perhaps we should target dyslexia next.

Son Of Z/Yen

Our newest joiner is Mark Yeandle.Mark joins as an associate director to head up our “expertise on demand”, provisionally known as SpecialiZm. Mark celebrated his 40th birthday recently. Given the amount of free booze, as well as the promise of a bouncy castle, this correspondent couldn’t resist putting in a secret appearance. Apparently Mark’s parents have been desperate to get him off their hands for some time. This came to a head as mother June was heard to announce in loud tones, “perhaps we can now call him Mark Z/Yendle”, only to be roundly supported in disownership by father Geoff.Some mothers do ’ave ’em!

Disastrous New Publication

Well, hopefully Z/Yen never needs a title like this, “Business Recovery Planning in a Week”. Congratulations to our Z/Yen Partner, Jacquie Chapman, who has had one of the most readable books on business recovery published by Hodder & Stoughton. Jacquie provides sensible pointers on risk assessment, disaster planning and actually handling a disaster. Strangely, Hodder & Stoughton are one of Mainelli’s old clients but seem to never have asked him to write a book! But as we said above, it’s one of the most readable books… If you want to order a copy, check out the recommended reading list here.

The Customer Is Always... Write…Another Study…

Back in the City, Jeremy Smith has just completed a survey into Customer Relationship Management (CRM) for a group of banks. With banks getting bigger and bigger and organisational structures more complex, the survey found that banks are setting up specific CRM groups within their operations to provide a single point of contact for key clients. A second survey reviewing the clients (fund managers, etc.) and their requirements is planned for the Autumn.

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Risk/Reward Management

Well, Rodgers and Hammerstein can sleep soundly on their royalties if this is the best Z/Yen can do. We sent Michael Mainelli to the European Alpbach Forum in the Tyrolean alps to hob-nob with his fellow wizards (of Oz reference, geddit?). The Alpbach is a half-century old get-together in Austria originally supported by notables such as Schrödinger and Köstler. Academics, artists, politicians and business-people exchange ideas for fresh air, or something like that. Michael spoke on some of our advanced techniques for “Valuing Intellectual Assets”, including risk/reward options and critical sets. He claimed the high point was having a physics Nobel Prize winner in his working group, and the low point knowing he was about to present some equations. Knowing how many normally attend a working group when there’s a Wirtschaft nearby, we can just hum, “High on a hill was a lonely…”

Fishy Awards For Penguin Suits

Two Z/Yen clients were up for top awards at this year’s UK Charity Awards 2002 sponsored by Charity Logistics and Charity Times. The British Heart Foundation was short-listed for Charity of the Year, but failed to secure top position against stiff competition. However, Z/Yen is delighted to announce that the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) won the Best Practice Award. Clive Anderson presented the Barclays-sponsored award to the MSC, at a gala, black tie dinner at Grosvenor House on 5 September. With a team of just twenty, the MSC is one of the smallest and youngest charities to win. The MSC won the Best Practice Award for the quality of its governance review and the MSC's economic model of the Alaskan Salmon fishing industry. As Z/Yen was heavily involved in both of these projects, we enjoy bathing in the reflected glory, although why the MSC have us swimming in penguin costumes is beyond us.