EDITION 1000
18 DECEMBER 2023

Dear reader,

It's a big week for us here at TEN LTD. This is the 1,000th edition of our popular weekly newsletter, 10 things you didn't know last week. We have been sending our well-balanced newsletter every Monday since 2004.

To celebrate this milestone, we have included a word puzzle competition with the chance to win a three-part mentoring programme worth £750.

Furthermore, in advance of our 20th anniversary next year, we are pleased to also be offering half-price on 10/10, our acclaimed leadership development programme and mentoring programme, to any organisation that registers before the end of January and takes advantage of the offer before the end of next year.

So, as another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. Please feel free to share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can also subscribe, learn and engage. I would be very grateful if you did.

William Montgomery
Editor and CEO of TEN

1. How to build better relationships with your team. Where positive, connected and uplifting relationships between team members can serve as a foundation on which an organisation can succeed, poor relationships can be the culprit in making us feel disconnected with the work we are doing. So, how can we go about building good working connections? READ MORE

2. The five most useful skills for jobs of the future. Businesses predict 44% of workers’  skills will be disrupted by 2027 as technology is moving faster than employers can adapt their training programmes. Here are five skills you might want to polish to stay one step ahead. [1] Leadership. This is the highest-ranked interpersonal skill on the list. [Emphasis added. See our 50% discount offer below.] 4 in 10 businesses are expected to include a focus on leadership in their skills strategies. [2] Analytical thinking. 74% of experts predict demand  for analytical thinking will grow over the next five years as it is among the skills least affected by automation. [3] Creative thinking. Demand for this problem-solving skill is expected to grow even faster. 75% of businesses say creative thinking will rise over the next five years. [4] AI and big data. Global firms surveyed say 9% of their training will focus on this skill in the near future according to the Future Jobs Report 2023. [ [5] Curiosity and lifelong learning. This skill represents one’s ability to adapt to change as technology threatens and disrupts many existing skills. World Economic Forum

3. Why the UK needs a new growth plan. Europe's three biggest economies could be doing better. The UK's GDP fell by 0.3% in October, more than experts predicted, official data released last week shows. Meanwhile, the German economy is expected to contract by 0.5% in 2024 due to uncertainty caused by a budget crisis, according to the German economic institute IW. And although France's economy is expected to avoid a recession this year, it won't be by much. Writing about the British economy, commentators point out that the country has for too long settled for managing stagnation and "desperately" needs a growth strategy. The same remains true for other major economies, which are struggling to expand steadily. Financial Times

4. The outcome of COP28. Annual UN climate conference COP closed on Wednesday after a deal was pushed through, without objection, by the event's president, following an extension to negotiations due to a rejection of the previous draft deal. The new deal, which is the first from any COP to mention fossil fuels, calls for a "transitioning away" from them by countries. It has been welcomed by the EU, but island nations, which face the greatest risk when it comes to climate change, were not in the room when the deal was quickly passed. They, along with campaigners including Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and chair of global leaders group the Elders, say the non-binding deal does not go far enough. It will be up to governments to decide if, and when, they will cut their oil, gas and coal usage. But, the agreement puts the fossil fuel industry "on notice", that their business model is expiring. Politico

5. Happiest country in Europe revealed. New figures from the EU’s statistics agency rank Austria as the happiest country in the 27-member bloc. Austria scored an overall 7.9 out of 10 in Eurostat’s annual publication of its “quality of life indicators”, which is based on surveys conducted throughout member states. Poland, Finland and Romania came joint-second in the Eurostat rankings. The major economies of Italy, France and Spain were in middling positions, but Germany came second from last, beating only Bulgaria. According to a separate survey published by the Rheingold Institute in Cologne last week, only 22 per cent of Germans considered themselves to be “committed optimists”, while 29 per cent were “contented moderates”. The Independent

6. My book of the year. The former diplomat and Harvard professor Rory Stewart spent ten years as a Tory MP, and briefly served in Theresa May’s cabinet. But he came to despair of British politics, finding his fellow MPs shallow and narrow-minded, and the system they operated in “dysfunctional”. In his memoir of his time in Westminster, Stewart is blunt about his own failings, and equally withering about his former colleagues: Boris Johnson is an “egotistical chancer”; George Osborne displays “breathtaking cynicism”. Lauded for its honesty and humour, the book was widely described as one of the best-written memoirs ever produced by a British politician. Editor

7. UK’s top web searches. The Rugby World Cup, Happy Valley and blockbuster movie Oppenheimer were among the UK's top web searches of the year, according to Google. The tech giant's annual 'Year in Search' data also shows that the most popular "when" questions among Brits were "when is the Coronation?" followed by "when does Love Island start?". Elsewhere, Matthew Perry was the most searched for celebrity death of the year, while the most popular "how to" question was "how to watch the Champion's League final". When it comes to artificial intelligence, the most popular question was "What is generative AI?". A spokesperson for Google News Lab, said: "As we reach the end of 2023, it's refreshing to be reminded of everything we enjoyed throughout the year- which otherwise had its fair share of challenging moments for the UK and the world." Evening Standard

8. Pyjama pockets a sign of the times. With a third of British employees admitting to wearing pyjamas while working from home, retailers including Marks & Spencer are putting pockets on pyjama bottoms so that shoppers have somewhere to keep their phones, after working from home sparked a huge boost in sales of nightclothes. People who are working remotely also use their pyjama pockets for "handkerchiefs, their Kindles or even biscuits". "Especially with Zoom conversations and whatever other systems might be used, people just wear a nice top and then you don't know what's going on below." The Telegraph

9. Bethlehem ‘cancels’ Christmas. Christmas is "cancelled" in Bethlehem, with celebrations being "kept to a minimum" in the birthplace of Jesus as Palestinian Christians recognise the suffering in Gaza. "We cannot celebrate when our brothers and sisters are dying," said Issa Thaljieh, the Greek Orthodox priest of the Church of the Nativity, the 4th-century Byzantine basilica whose crypt holds Christ's supposed birthplace. Bethlehem is a predominantly Muslim town, but is 20% Christian. The Times

10. The bottom line. The Covid Inquiry, which is costing in excess of £200m, employs 118 people in its administrative office, and has a legal team of 62 barristers and 30 solicitors (not all of them working full time). Daily Mail