EDITION 1084
25 AUGUST 2025

On this day in 1944, Paris was liberated. Two months after the Normandy landings, General Leclerc’s Free French 2nd Armoured Division entered the city, signalling both the end of occupation and the renewal of hope. Liberation moments matter: they remind us that even the darkest chapters eventually give way to light - though rarely without cost or courage.

In this week’s newsletter, I explore modern battles of a different kind: a government wrestling with pension costs as the over-85s triple, a new row over how our maps distort the world, and a debate on whether university is still worth the money. The contexts may differ, but the leadership challenge is the same: how to face today’s realities with honesty, courage, and a willingness to redraw the map.

So, as another week passes into the annals of history, here are 10 things that caught my eye and may have escaped yours. Please feel free to share on social media or forward to colleagues and friends - even between dips in the pool.

William Montgomery
Editor and CEO of TEN

1. How to lead with quiet strength. We often assume that kindness makes leaders popular - always surrounded, always in demand. Yet some of the kindest leaders are the most solitary. They listen deeply, set boundaries, and choose peace over popularity. Their presence isn’t loud, but it’s powerful. READ MORE

2. The price of leadership. It’s hard not to envy Rachel Reeves’ job right now. The chancellor faces what The Telegraph calls a “three-pronged conundrum”: a £20–50bn black hole in the nation’s finances, no room to cut spending without Labour uproar, and a self-imposed ban on raising income tax, VAT or National Insurance. So, where to turn? According to The Independent and The Guardian, inheritance tax is the likely target. Only 5% of estates currently pay it, yet polls show it is Britain’s “most hated tax” - loathed even by those who’ll never pay a penny. Perhaps it’s the injustice of taxing money twice. Perhaps it’s frozen thresholds dragging in the middle classes. Either way, Reeves is discovering a classic leadership truth: when everyone says “not me”, the burden still has to land somewhere. Tough choices rarely win applause. Leaders must sometimes act knowing popularity today may be the price of sustainability tomorrow.

3. When flags turn deadly. The Union flag (it’s only a Union Jack when flown from the jackstaff of a British warship) is apparently public enemy number one. According to The Telegraph, have you ever been mugged by a Union flag or ambushed by stoned teenage flags? No? Me neither. Yet councils from Birmingham to Tower Hamlets and York are, as The Times notes, busily tearing down flags patriotically raised by residents — not, they insist, from “Britain-hating wokery” but because fluttering fabric is “dangerous.” Dangerous! Here in the Cotswolds, flag sightings are rarer than a traffic jam, so perhaps it’s time I raised my own. That said, I may need a ladder, a hi-viz jacket and possibly a hard hat… just in case the bunting makes a run for me.

4. What we really need is more choice. Just when you thought politics couldn’t get any messier, along comes Jeremy Corbyn with a new left-wing, pro-Gaza party - and, according to LabourList, 28% of Labour members are considering defecting. Ipsos polling suggests around 20% of voters might even back him. That’s enough to give Keir Starmer the Reform-style headaches that the Tories know all too well. Labour, meanwhile, has lost almost 200,000 members in five years, reports The Independent, while Corbyn claims more than 650,000 have already signed up to his “real choice” movement. As Billy Connolly quipped: “Don’t vote for politicians, it just encourages them.” Perhaps chaos really is the only constant in politics. For leaders, the lesson is simple: when faith is lost, alternatives quickly fill the voids.

5. The silver surge. The government has launched a new review of the retirement framework as the UK braces for a demographic shift of Titanic proportions. By 2075, pensioners will make up more than a quarter of the adult population, says The Times, with over-85s nearly tripling to 5.1 million. That will push the state pension bill from 5% to 7.7% of GDP. The government Is weighing whether linking pension age to life expectancy might restore “fairness between generations.” The state pension age, currently 66, is already due to rise to 68 by 2046 - but moving faster, a government source admits, would be “electoral suicide.” For leaders, the warning is clear: avoiding hard choices today only leaves a bigger bill - and fewer options - tomorrow. Should the state pension age rise in line with life expectancy? VOTE HERE

6. The '43 rule' for taking time off. Still hoarding holiday days like they’re Bitcoin? You’re not doing yourself - or your career - any favours. According to The Guardian, UK workers left an average of 5.3 days of annual leave unused in 2024 - despite rising stress and burnout. Yet research shows the benefits of time off last up to 43 days after you return. That’s the “43 rule”: plan a break roughly every six weeks. Waiting until you’re on the brink isn’t noble, it’s nonsense. Think of holidays as performance maintenance, not indulgence. Formula 1 cars don’t skip pit stops, and neither should leaders. So next time you’re stretched too thin, remember: the most productive thing you can do might just be to pack your bag and apply sunscreen.

7. Is reading a boom or bust? Is reading in revival or retreat? Take your pick. On one hand, Gen Z is putting down their phones and picking up books, driving a 5% revenue rise at Waterstones, reports The Times. Fiction sales jumped 12% last year, and the chain is adding 10 new UK stores annually. Forget doomscrolling - the next big thing is binge-reading. Yet researchers in the US and UK warn of a darker trend. Reading for pleasure has dropped by 40% in two decades: just 16% of Americans now read daily, down from 28% in 2004. The Telegraph calls this decline a “civilisational catastrophe”, as schools and parents outsource literacy to screens. Boom or bust, one truth endures: leaders are readers - neglect the habit, and you neglect the mind.

8. Time to rechart the world. As a former Royal Navy navigator, I know that maps shape the way we see - and sometimes mis-see - the world. For centuries the Mercator projection, devised in 1569 by Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator, has dominated classroom walls. It keeps shapes accurate but wildly distorts scale: Greenland looks the size of Africa when Africa is actually 14 times bigger. The Times notes the African Union is now backing a “correct the map” campaign to replace this inflated, Euro-centric view with something more truthful. Even Google Maps and the World Bank are shifting away from Mercator. As Al Jazeera reminds us, distortion changes perception - and perception shapes power. Leaders too must redraw their maps, or risk navigating by illusions.

9. The Isak dilemma. Newcastle face a classic retention dilemma as the transfer window ticks down. After rejecting Liverpool’s £110m bid, the club insists star striker Alexander Isak will only leave if a replacement arrives - and its £150m valuation is met. Isak, frustrated by stalled contract talks, has accused Newcastle of “broken promises” and declared his future there “cannot continue,” reports Sky Sports. Sound familiar? It’s the age-old leadership conundrum: do you hang on to an unhappy top performer, knowing their discontent could poison morale, or do you cash in and reinvest in fresh talent? In football and business alike, the hardest call isn’t who you sign - it’s when to let go. Liverpool fans (myself included) can only hope this one goes our way.

10. The bottom line. According to a YouGov poll, Britain’s most valued professions are nurses, ambulance staff and farmers - each scoring more than 94% for their contribution to society. At the other end? Just 59% think journalists add little or nothing, climbing to 61% for male footballers and peaking at 64% for MPs. In short: we love those who save lives and feed us, but remain unconvinced by those who write headlines, kick balls, or make laws.