Hazel Davis
Virgin
Barrie, ON, Canada
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Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
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Past articles by Hazel:
Pop a hat on, find a partner and brainstorm your best ideas
When you’re trying to come up with your best ideas, a good old-fashioned brainstorm is a great place to start. But how can you make sure you’re making the most of a brainstorm? Here are five ways… Pop a hat on Philosopher Edward De Bono came up with the idea of six hats that you should metaphorically wear when thinking. These represent the six distinct directions in which the brain can be… → Read More
Using your senses to get a boost
But establish a blue-light free bedtime ritual “Blue-enriched light is great for keeping us alert when needed, but staying connected late in the evening can get our bodies confused and, in effect, often leaves us feeling too fatigued and sleep deprived,” says Jonathan Cridland, CEO of light company Lumie, “There’s plenty of research to suggest that using blue-light emitting devices late in the… → Read More
Meet the people who took career breaks to reach their goals
Once she quit, Kwong decided to take a year off. “The plan was to learn to do new things, including having a lie-in (something I hadn’t done in years) and learning to relax.” But she had a constant voice in her head asking what next: “During my year off, I thought hard about what I liked about work, what I was curious about and what I was interested in learning more about.” She started noticing… → Read More
The unique approaches people use to overcome challenges
Take it a step at a time Work iteratively, says Helen Plaice, educational consultant and former maths teacher: “It’s the golden rule for maths – all you need to be able to do is the next step. If you keep on doing the next step then you’ll get there in the end. This is how I teach solving complicated algebraic equations. It seems to cut out the panic and then the students find that they can do… → Read More
The platforms helping to create collaboration
“We all come up with ideas, some good and some great. Our ideas have the power to change the world, but without action, they only exist as dreams,” says Hassan Syed, founder and CEO of IdeaGist. IdeaGist is a “virtual incubator” that empowers entrepreneurial communities to collaborate on early-stage ideas, by providing a process focusing on bite-size actions. Syed says, “While we can become… → Read More
How Does Content Localization Work for Global Audiences on Social Media
Content localization can do wonders for customer relations and encourage greater interaction, but you need to plan it thoroughly and test early. → Read More
How Does Content Localization Work for Global Audiences on Social Media
Content localization can do wonders for customer relations and encourage greater interaction, but you need to plan it thoroughly and test early. → Read More
What impact are unicorn start-ups having on modern business?
Sean Mallon is MD of fintech start-up Bizdaq. He says, "I think investors care about a billion dollar exit for a few reasons. One of the major reasons for leading VC funds (often led by successful entrepreneurs who have exited their own company) is the kudos that comes with reaching a billion-dollar valuation. For the larger funds who have multiple investments, they are likely to own lesser… → Read More
Why does the UK love co-working spaces?
David Galsworthy is CEO and co-founder of Techspace, a co-working space which specialises in catering to technology start-up and scale-up companies. "From when we opened our first premises in London in 2012, we’ve seen a significant growth in demand for flexible, co-working environments. One of the biggest reasons for this is that more and more people are have started their own businesses, with… → Read More
Seven things every crowdfunder needs to know
3. Read a grammar book Ensuring you sound professional and reliable at all times is really important. Says Horbye "Make sure everything is proofread, from the written campaign to the answers in the Q&A section. It is really easy to type things up on your phone when you’re on the go or in a rush, but make sure it all looks and sounds slick before pressing post as those little mistakes can be… → Read More
How businesses can use technology to learn more about their customers
Deep learning involves ‘training’ a computational system to ‘understand’ natural language, so inferring complex meaning rather than just understanding the surface meaning. The computer is then quizzed on the information and goes back to learn from its mistakes. These multiple layers help systems analyse and make decisions about data more independently, “Such as whether or not an email is spam,… → Read More
Automated storytelling - does it spell the end for professional writers?
As a professional writer it can be pretty dispiriting to find that anyone can do your job, even a machine. Artificial intelligence is all the rage in business and the technology to automate content is becoming more affordable and available. Moreover, if your content doesn’t have a compelling headline that encourages the reader to click or get cancer, or find themselves stunned and appalled at… → Read More
Is letting your staff do what they want the key to happiness at work?
The team works using tools such as Slack, video, and phone conferencing, and even shared Google docs. Sure, scheduling can be a bit difficult, says Maixner, "but it always works out in the end. Since 2013, we’ve thrived with a remote team, growing our marketplace to 64,000 boats in 171 countries. We are able to hire some of the best talent in the industry because of the flexibility afforded by… → Read More
The day I met a 'happiness ninja'
Next thing she knew, she was giving talks, "accidentally mentoring people" and changing their lives. Ashcroft believes that we’ve lost the art of feeling happy and this is why there’s an increase in takeup of activities geared towards finding it. "As soon as we leave the fun part of school where you fingerpaint to your heart’s content, carefree and without a worry in the world, you go on to… → Read More
Five businesses that successfully pivoted
Pivot: Don't feel restricted by the industry you currently reside in, look for opportunities in different sectors 5. Android The company behind the system you might be reading this article on started as a camera operating system to allow you to connect your camera to your PC. But by the time Google got its hands on it, the business had shifted from cameras to mobile handsets, thanks to the… → Read More
Meeting the start-ups that make Virgin Disruptors tick
The pair, who hand-make all their chocolates, tested them at a few fashion events. "We were so impressed with people’s reactions," says Lois, "You’d see people taking six portions…" "You start with an idea you’re passionate about and then you get the research to back it up," laughs Lois, "So we now know that the luxury chocolate market is booming. Chocolate is the perfect acquaintance gift." The… → Read More
Are changing working patterns making leadership redundant?
And Melling believes that this way of working would be effective if only companies would realise it. "Most people know their own job well enough to make the right decisions. The only reason they don’t is because they require it to be passed up the hierarchy. That’s just passing the buck. We don’t pass the buck." But it’s true there are patterns emerging in companies such as Costco, which has a… → Read More
What's behind the UK's love of co-working spaces?
David Galsworthy is CEO and co-founder of Techspace, a co-working space which specialises in catering to technology start-up and scale-up companies. "From when we opened our first premises in London in 2012, we’ve seen a significant growth in demand for flexible, co-working environments. One of the biggest reasons for this is that more and more people are have started their own businesses, with… → Read More
How difficult is it for family businesses to recruit?
The café was opened in 2000 by Jeremy, the oldest Perkins sibling, and a former colleague from his musical days (he’s also a professional viola player). When their mother became ill in 2004, Sally joined him up north to help look after her, working part-time in the café. Later their brother James (39) joined the fold. "I didn’t mean to," Sally laughs, "I intended to stay in London." Their… → Read More
Encouraging intrapreneurs through 'NEDship'
Lots of sectors devote significant time to understanding what others in their sector are doing but it can be harder to devote time to looking more widely and seeing what happens in other sectors. Non-executives are often in the role of "fresh pair of eyes", objectively viewing data in an organisation. “Applied back within your organisation this skill can identify opportunities to learn from… → Read More