Travel gem
HARRY Brown, the affable managing director of Glasgow-based jeweller Chisholm Hunter, travels widely to source gems for his stores, with Belgium, Israel and India among his regular ports of call.
The Bottom Line appreciates persistent international travel brings its fair share of hassle, but there are spin-offs.
Mr Brown recently discovered that he had clocked up enough air miles to allow him and his family to travel to the Bahamas free, first class. That's what we'd call a diamond deal.
Not so 'appy
COMPANIES ticking the social media box can get more than they bargained for.
Clydesdale Bank last week posted a cheery message on its Facebook page: "We've been here for 175 years... what would you like to see more of?"
Two of the responses were: "a mobile app!" and "an app for my smartphone please!". The bank was forced to respond that such advanced technology was "in development".
How is it, some customers are asking, that in Melbourne, parent National Australia Bank is currently spotlighting the success of its mobile banking app, launched in 2009?
Don't worry, be happy
REACHING for the cigs and the bottle of Scotch is no longer the solution for easing executive stress, it seems.
London ad agency Havas Worldwide, whose clients include Credit Suisse and Santander, is introducing a four-week course in positive psychology, happiness and resilience for staff.
The Bottom Line applauds any move to boost personal well-being among our hard-working counterparts in the commercial world. But it is surely a worrying sign if even ad staff are not able to put a smile on their faces.
A lot of wind
A NEW government-backed investment organisation for offshore wind has yet to be named but The Bottom Line has received an early suggestion which we fear may not make the final cut.
We just can't see the Westminster advisers giving Big Loans for Offshore Wind (BLOW) approval.
Whisky capsule
WILLIAM Grant & Sons has been celebrating the historical link between the family-owned distiller and Dufftown, Speyside.
At an event marking a new exhibition and the launch of Grant's new Stand Fast blend, a time capsule was sealed containing artefacts relating to the five generations of the Grant-Gordon clan, who have run the distillery since it was established in 1886.
The Bottom Line hopes that no special recipes found their way inside.
Global language
DEREK Barton, managing director of luxury swimming pool and spa specialist Barr + Wray in Hong Kong, insists language is no barrier to doing business in the former colony.
Mr Barton was talking about the challenges involved in setting up the firm's Hong Kong office at an event hosted by InvestHK in Glasgow this week.
He said InvestHK was invaluable in setting up access to business networking events, at which he found his nationality to be a particular asset.
"Being Scottish, you just get on with everyone," he said.
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