Over the past two weeks I’ve spoken to two groups about business changes happening in the UK and thought I’d share some of the discussion.

As we all know the past few years has been full of stories of greed, corruption and poor business practice. MP’s expenses, Bonuses for failure, phone hacking, payments to officials by journalists and even match-fixing in sport. No wonder some people wonder if the whole world in on the make!

Marketing being reviewed
So it’s come as no surprise to me that many business teams are looking at their marketing and highlighting their ethical and moral values image to customers and to each other. It includes behaviour of staff both inside and outside of work, guarantee of product satisfaction, standards of production, client handling, remuneration and so on.

Extravagant displays of wealth
But how will this translate in the future? I think that extravagant displays of wealth by companies and their employees are a thing of the past in order to avoid this reflecting badly on companies. Gone are the days when bankers will be photographed swilling Krug after their bonus payments. Not because they aren’t buying Krug or getting a bonus but because the Bank doesn’t want such photographed splashed all over the media and causing adverse comment from clients and regulators. Teams are being warned to avoid displays of wealth that may reflect badly on the employer.

Future displays
One wonders how business will display to clients in the future?
Will offices be more spartanly decorated, how much will be spent on flowers and art, whether to have leather or plastic visitors chairs for reception and how will employees dress?

I also suspect that in the future customers will favour businesses that look as if they don’t spend too much on employee comfort. This will be especially true of professional firms such as solicitors and accountants that charge fees and supply a service. On the other hand they won’t want to look as if they are short of money!

Yet I can’t see the customer abandoning their desire for the latest Apple Iphone and even the latest fashion clothing item.

It looks like being an interesting balancing act for business.

Like so many people in the UK I watched the student riots over eduction fees with concern together with a sense of a feeling that this might be the start of a series of such demonstrations.

However, what has got me thinking is the number of people who so obviously caused damage, assaulted police or threw missiles whilst being recognised through photographs and TV coverage. The consequences of this are likely to be prosecution, possible loss of their place at university and their future career affected. It’s interesting that in the near future this is likely to become their “personal brand image” as far as future employers are concerned.

Yet this type of behaviour isn’t restricted to overexcited students. I’ve observed people with excellent jobs fall into periods of self-destruction. Such as the employee at a rewards dinner who publicly told a joke (story) with a punch line insinuating that the Managing Director couldn’t distinguish his rear end from his elbow. (Whilst the MD laughed at the time the employee in question left the company within three months!).

So the question is why aren’t people more aware of their actions at the time? Or is it that our storyteller and the demonstrating student become embroiled in the excitement of the situation and the consequences of actions become lost until reflection afterwards? That they have no feeling for a “personal and future brand image”? Or is it that a “personal brand image” is easily changed?

Stephen Fry went to prison for a time and still managed to find success and perhaps some students will be taking comfort from his example this morning