In competition between nations large normally overcomes small, be it in business or sport. The larger nations should succeed every time and in reality they do not. How can that be? A recent discussion on LinkedIn attempted to find the answers. They are summarised in the attached paper.

Current responses by organisations when considering develop seem to focus on improved structure, better governance, and addressing ‘body’ related areas including: • Corporate structure • Planning and Systems • Incorporation • Business Risk. They are often found wanting in the increasingly competitive environment that has emerged from the prolonged period of economic and political uncertainty.

I had the privilege of being the Founding Chairman of the Scottish Institute of Sport from 1998 through 2006. In that time we developed a new high performance system for Scottish sport to the extent that the athletes and coaches enabled the Institute to achieve the 10 year target agreed with sportscotland within 5 years.

October 2011. The excitement is building towards the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London (with less than 300 days to go). The city will undoubtedly host a glorious festival of sport. Meanwhile most UK sports are planning nervously (or they should be) for the next quadrennial in an atmosphere of complete uncertainty amid a climate of cut backs in public sector spending and pessimistic early indications of levels of government funding in the future. The key issue post 2012 is the sustainability of sports in a more challenging external environment. The attached article offers hope and a way ahead to achieve 'blue ocean' space from competing organisations.

Why are Investors so bullish on companies like Apple and Disney? Is it financial metrics, great management, industry prowess, good investor relations or good timing? Probably all of these. New research from MIT indicates that the stock market, even in the current turbulent times, values business models with the focus on innovation and intellectual property.