Nathan Caesar Management Digital

2020 (queue horrifying flashbacks) was a year that many industries may want to forget- many industries other than the buoyant esports industry. Whilst many of us were locked down involuntarily, gaming seemed to jump to the aid of many individuals.  It wasn't just playing either, there was a major influx in the amount of people watching gaming streams and esports. To put this into perspective, the esports audience grew by 7% in 2020 alone .  More recently, a Spanish Twitch streamer by the name of TheGrefg saw the record broken for the most amount of concurrent viewers (with an astounding 2.4 million people) for his Fortnite skin reveal.  Nickmercs  (a well known Twitch streamer with almost five million followers) has also started to think of innovative ways to build his online streaming audience. This includes the creation of gym workout streams and the watching of NFL games. So what is a dark partnership? This is the idea that esports (or any other industry for that matter) may in

Zoom have had a pretty remarkable journey to the top of the video conferencing food chain. Despite being around for just under ten years, the company, headquartered in California, have made substantial growth in paying customers, business users and revenue in the last twelve months. Now I probably don't need to tell you the reason behind such growth- but let's just say that the majority of users have jumped onto the surging videotelephony service as a result of a lockdown-inducing virus. It serves as an innovative method of connecting multiple users via online video calling, supplemented with chat functioning and some rather funky augmented backgrounds. But the influence of this SaaS (Software as a Service) supersedes the expectations around performance indicators and objectives initially made by Zoom. Revenue for the business has grown by 169% - smashing figures from its previous year. Zoom have also left their mark on the industry as a whole, registering over 300 million

Whilst being strapped into this pretty scary rollercoaster with no means of escape- 2020 has been a pretty disastrous year, right? Well I'm a firm believer in looking at the positives in a time of turmoil and maybe this year really isn't that bad after all (just hear me out). Technology has seen vast improvements in recent years, which most of you that read my blog posts know, because it's all I tend to ramble on about. But with so much new technology as part of the information age, the industry started to become stagnated, as we simply couldn't keep up. The rate in which we have seen noticeable life-changing technological changes has slowed to the point where even the next iPhone release isn't a big deal. As we start to spend more time in our homes, technology which has long been at our disposal has finally made a significant climb. This can be seen with the huge uptake in online conference calling (namely via Zoom), the implementation of crowd noise in stadiums,

Originally proposed as a peaceful protest; the current anti-racist demonstrations across the US have started to turn aggressive, largely in part to the mass deployment of police on the streets, alongside the president’s idea to deploy the US military to bring calm. This event, rivalled by a multitude of historical events this year (take your pick), has sent shock  waves across the globe. Multiple countries are now showing widespread support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, via both peaceful and destructive means. Often accompanying change is the notion of violence to enforce positive legislative decisions in favour of the oppressed. However, empirical research has found that anti-racist violence leads to an increase in white nationalist support, whilst an increase in white nationalist violence shows no increase in anti-racist support. Alongside this, there have been widespread claims that in a bid to turn peaceful protests violent, more aggressive means of polici

Those avid followers of this blog (really, there's no one?) will remember the discussion around the idea of a four day working week within my Future Technology in Management post. The notion that technological advances could see an organisational push for less working hours has seen a shift due to global affairs- this time with Coronavirus fuelling this idea of a four day working week. A recent article has boosted these claims by explaining that businesses could introduce a 10-4 approach (10 days off, 4 days on) to slowly reintroduce employees back into the workplace. Although this idea has merit, this does also negate the positive attributes related to a shortened working week. The argument could be had that families will struggle to pay bills on these reduced working hours, risk of further virus spread and a decrease in productivity due to such a lengthy break in between working periods. A Cultural Shift With such a modern day historical event taking place, what follows is

Henry Mintzberg is an author and academic mind that inspired a substantial amount of innovative thinking around business and management. Alongside his thoughts around categorising a manager into three different roles (see below), he also discussed in his blog that management should be taught at a younger age; allowing for a progression towards management education.  Like Mintzberg, I am also intrigued by this notion that management can be taught earlier in our lives- however, maybe even much earlier than his discussed higher education idea. Is there the opportunity for these learning habits to be transferred at secondary school level or younger? We are exposed to many different learning scenarios whilst at school- with opportunities to experiment with our communicative methods, be creative with our problem solving and even chances to volunteer in professional settings. As much as these skills are valuable- I believe this could go one step further and reach into the realm of

In a pretty stark world, Chilly's Bottles seemed to rise from the ashes to global recognition. How did this business redesign a household item and become the company with the fastest growing sales  across the last three years? I take a sneak peek at this innovative brand and their incredible journey to the top. It's pretty simple really- take a material that is leading the world to a global climate crisis and replace this with the stainless steel of a traditional flask; what's so different about that? Well that's where you're wrong, well.. not completely wrong, but there's more to it than that. "Simple really- replace the material leading to a climate crisis with stainless steel, right? Wrong." Although James Butterfield and Tim Bouscarle launched the business based on the century old flask, they added their own creative, striking and visually appealing designs to bring this product into the 21st century. They designed bottles that will keep water c

After realising that social media, websites, TV and any other type of technological invention is largely dominated by a certain virus- I have decided to join in and write a short post explaining how you can be mentally fresh post-lockdown. For many, these times of isolation and limited social contact can be detrimental to so many individual's that struggle to maintain a positive mental state. It might not even be as personal as that- you might just be bored. If that's the case, this might just be the post for you. Where do I begin? I thought it would be beneficial to compile twenty various activities that might help you beat that lockdown boredom. So here it is- have fun: 1.   Listen to one song (or more if you're enjoying it) from each of the top 100 albums  of the decade - no skipping either. 2.  Create a short exercise circuit and do it in the garden (a quick search will bring up hundreds). 3.   Give gaming a go (could be a PS4, mobile app or something as simple as a bo

Household waste- no one likes needlessly throwing away perfectly good food. It's a recurring problem for many modern households that struggle to use the perishable items that make their way into many fridges across the globe. But can this be prevented? Matt Schwartz , the CEO at Afresh , saw massive potential in this somewhat incomprehensible problem by creating a business that utilises AI (Artificial Intelligence) to help others plan their grocery demands. He outlines in his pitch for the business that despite the massive amount of expenditure on fresh food, the technology used by supermarkets still relies on manual processes and made the likelihood of food going to waste far more likely. WRAP , an organisation focused at building a world geared towards sustainable resource efficiency, has since highlighted a plan for 2025 that wants to reduce the 70% of household waste going to landfill- with statistics showing that 68% of this waste is edible food.  This is where Afresh co

It's safe to say that Gymshark have taken the world by storm. With an Instagram following in excess of 3.9 million people and a 2018 gross profit of £74 million, the sportswear company have burst onto the scene with aplomb. But why have Gymshark become so popular? For some readers, the question might be- who are Gymshark? But that's enough rhetorics- I'm going to peel back the edges of this shark-infested brand and discuss how this global business, founded in 2012, became the world's hottest fitness clothing retailer. What makes it so popular?   The ability of the business to attract a younger target audience is a massive factor in the success of Gymshark. With fitness clothing trending and incremental steps towards the onus placed upon physical activity, this untapped market was immediately capitalised on and boosted the athleisure industry immensely. The men's and women's clothing brand also put the customer first- but this isn't a new approach! Alth

It's all so simple to make predictions about the future in terms of management by looking at what's happening now- but what about an idealist approach? We all have a dream of where we want to be working, how we want our lives to be run and define our day to day around achieving this. So by looking at the future of management, this will allow for a fresh approach to analysing how you can better understand where your industry is going. Objectively speaking, the workplace has already dramatically transformed- of course, technology cannot be ignored. There has been a massive push towards Augmented Reality (AR) and artificial intelligence within operational and factory work (as I recently discussed on  Quora ). Focussing on AR, this is so much more than just a tool used by Niantic to market Pokemon Go; it can be where your dreams are brought to life. If organisations can harness the true power of AR, we could see this generation notice the fundamental decrease in accidents in the

The new decade is upon us, which brings with it the chance to ponder on successes, achievements and what could have been. It's a chance to align future progress to the groundwork set in 2019 or get the keys to those doors of opportunity in 2020 and beyond. It's easier to think of the negatives from the past decade, but what if we thought positively? I know what you're thinking- as British people this notion of pessimism is steeped in our genes. This notion of pessimism is often highlighted as a defeatist way of thinking, but what if paying closer attention to negative thoughts is the way forward? 'Everything happens for a reason' - right? I'm not here to lecture you on 'positive thinking', but let's be honest, this process of becoming enthusiastic about negative situations is going to take some time. The fundamental processes of positive reflection stems from the ability to flip those negative interactions into opportunist possibilities to progress.

When considering your choice of holidays, have you ever thought about a wellness retreat? Spending a week focused on self-improvement and relaxation which gets you away from everyday life sounds like a dream getaway, right? But could there be potential in workplaces offering retreats to employees to increase job satisfaction and increase mood? Picture the scene: it's a cold mid-January evening and you've just finished another mundane working day, but before you leave, your manager explains this great idea to send you and a few fellow employees on a retreat to say 'well done' for meeting organisational targets. This is where  Health Fitness Travel  come in through their approach at boosting productivity whilst also producing healthy and happy employees via body breaks, lifestyle changes and detoxes. The downside to working for some organisations is that employee satisfaction and wellness is not taken seriously enough. This is often evident when feeling guilty for callin

If you're familiar with Worcester than you may already know that this month marks the end of a journey for many students at the university. Sitting amongst the murmur of classical music in a cathedral that is centuries old, you might be mistaken to think that you're in an American sitcom. The gowns, the graduate caps, the hoards of merchandise- it's all very picturesque; what does it all mean though? For some, this signifies the start of adult life, for others (like myself) another year of studying beckons. I took a moment to think about the journey I've been on and how I've changed as an individual. 'Not another boring post about reflecting on life..' Just hear me out! Although it's all so simple to put on your CV that you've just got a degree or to state in an interview that I only got a 2:1- your degree is so much more than that and here's why: 1. You're one of the lucky ones to have experienced university life. You've had those expe

What does the future of sport look like? Will people even leave their homes to reach their exercise goals? Should you exercise from home and forget about the gym? These questions are looming, but by looking somewhat briefly at the mammoth rise of the world-renowned Peloton fitness company, this may allow for a predictor of future sporting trends and what is to be expected. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Peloton (where have you been?), this fitness focussed business looks to provide everyone with the opportunity to get active via virtual live fitness sessions. By the term virtual, I don’t mean those clunky virtual reality headsets, but via a screen on an indoor bike, treadmill or even your TV. It’s not only participation however, the opportunity to compete against your friends, family or even Mark Cavendish himself (good luck!) in cycling is a unique selling point. On first impressions, Peloton inherits a simple website that markets an even simpler idea. Within seconds,

Unlike most people, I enjoy the allure of advertising campaigns, hence why I thought I would look at the recent ' You Can't ' Samsung TV advertisement with the hope of evaluating its effectiveness. I'm going to start this post a bit bluntly- I don't believe there is anything interesting about the creation of this advert. Samsung utilise people throughout the clip as the main focal point rather than promoting the huge inventory of Samsung products, which has been avidly used as the main marketing tool for many various businesses. Throughout the clip there are multiple people from multiple disciplines; one of them a dancer, one of them tackling a mission to get to space, a blind athlete and an extreme downhill skater. However, the one aspect that I find interesting about the advert is the utilisation of inspiration as the vehicle to drive interest in both the company and its mission. Progressively in the modern era, lots of adverts (see Nike , Gillette & K