EDITION 744
17 DECEMBER 2018

As another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. This newsletter is sent to 50,000+ subscribers each Monday. Please share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can subscribe, learn and engage. I'd be very grateful if you did.

1. How get your team to think positively during uncertain times. With the political climate in the in the state it's in, encouraging your employees to think positively may make you look foolish and insensitive. Yet, focusing your employees on what they can do rather than what they cannot do will lead to better attitudes and results. Here are three ways to promote positivity in your people: [READ MORE]
    
2. Who do the public support for next PM? None of them. None of the contenders to succeed Theresa May as Tory leader has a positive approval rating. When UK adults were asked by YouGov if each would make a good or bad PM, Sajid Javid ended up with the highest net rating at -18%(15% said he would be a good PM; 33% said he’d be a bad one), closely followed by David Davis, Dominic Raab and Amber Rudd. Trailing behind them were Boris Johnson, -35%; Jeremy Hunt, -41%; and Michael Gove, -45%. The Sunday Times
    
3. Smooth move. Theresa May has few opportunities for relaxation: the last time she went to the cinema was six years ago, to see Skyfall. But she does watch snatches of TV, and particularly enjoys MasterChef: The Professionals. The owner of more than 150 cookery books, she takes her food seriously, but admits that she sometimes just goes in for comfort eating: “One of my little indulgences is peanut butter – either on toast, or just a spoon.” Mail on Sunday
    
4. British wage growth has hit another ten-year high. Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by 3.3% year-on-year in the three months to October, the fastest pace since November 2008. Average weekly pay in the UK is now £528 including bonuses. Taking inflation into account, pay increased by 1.0% on the year during the three months to October. Wage growth is being driven by a tight labour market, with unemployment still at 4.1%, its lowest level since the 1970s. The number of people in work has hit 32.48 million, a record high. The Guardian
    
5. How the mighty have fallen. Reports suggest that, as employers, tech giants are losing their lustre. Google, which one survey ranked as the best company in Britain to work for last year, has lost its top spot to Anglian Water, and fallen to 13th place. Meanwhile, Apple has been overtaken by Nando’s and easyJet. Metro
    
6. Only five train operators plan Boxing Day services this year. The government has been accused of betraying passengers after it emerged that promises of more train services on Boxing Day have been dropped. Only five out of 30 operators will run even partial services this year on December 26 and not a single train will run in England outside the southeast. Daily Express
    
7. High Street stores slash prices by 80% in Xmas 'bloodbath'. Stores are slashing prices by up to 80% in what has been labelled a high street bloodbath. As retail analysts expect footfall at stores to be 4% lower than last year, price tracking of 800,000 products by accountants Deloitte shows the average discount on sale items is already 44%. Daily Mail
    
8. Packaging weighs heavy in Christmas chocolate treats. A study has found that wrappers and packaging can make up almost half the weight of Christmas chocolates. The consumer group Which examined popular sweet treats in the run up to Christmas and found the Ferrero Rocher tray was the worst offender: of the total weight of the tray, 42% was packaging, and just 11% of that is recyclable. Sky
    
9. For those who have everything. In an unlikely collaboration, Adidas has teamed up with Transport for London to release a range of trainers inspired by the London Underground. You can now pay homage to the Hammersmith & City line with your right foot, and the Northern line with your left. Evening Standard
    
10. The bottom line. British holidaymakers will have to pay €7 to travel to EU countries after Brexit, the European Commission has confirmed. UK citizens will have to pay the fee (which is just over £6) every three years to visit member states but will not need a visa. Instead, they will need to apply for and buy another document called an ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System). It is expected to come into force in 2021. BBC