It was an early-morning flight to Brisbane. The severe storms in Sydney meant delays, long queues and grumpy passengers. The crew came around offering coffee and tea. The man next to me, with a smile and cheeky glint, said “Any Champagne, please?” The hostess replied, laughing: “It’s a bit early for the C word!” They bantered back and forth and …
Changing the world in four letters
A torched pharmacy, burned down by rioters, forms the backdrop. April 2015, Baltimore USA: a city on fire. After days of riots, a peaceful protest turns ugly as a bottle is thrown at the police. The advancing line of policemen launches pepper spray in retaliation. The media converges knowing this is going to turn ugly, fast. Suddenly, a line of …
Gradually then suddenly
Rural Spain, 1920s. Two characters have just met in Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises. Each one is trying to figure out what the other is doing there. One of them cuts to the chase, asking the other, ‘How did you go bankrupt?’ The other responds, ‘Two ways. Gradually, and then suddenly’.* So often this tempo of change – gradually and then suddenly …
Help – My baby is ugly!
Every time I write a deeply personal blog I get wracked by self-doubt. On a self-doubt scale ranging from ‘a smidgen’ to ‘paralysing’, this leans far towards the latter. I always question whether this will be valuable for my readers? Am I getting too personal (it’s a blog – not group therapy!). I feel vulnerable and fear being judged. I …
Your inner guerilla
What if you looked out of your window and saw acres of unmown public land? Overgrown because the city had run out of funds and could no longer afford the upkeep of its public spaces? If you are Tom Nardone the answer is obvious. You jump on your lawnmower and start mowing the public parks yourself. Before you know it, …
The ‘Whole’ truth or daredevil?
We all love stories of human endeavour, especially when an underdog beats the odds and triumphs over adversity. We admire the person, heavily invest in their success and learn from their wisdom. In a world filled with bad news, these good news stories offer a rare beacon of hope. This seemed apparent when Belle Gibson’s story emerged. Belle depicted herself as a …
Expectations, empathy and elephants
Recently I hurt my left eye. Unfortunately it happened when I harmlessly rubbed it, rather than during a swashbuckling misadventure! My eye was inflamed and red and of course it happened to be smack-bang in a week when I had a helluva lot on. Worst of all, the very next day I was presenting an all-day workshop for a client who had …
Can you guess the most powerful brand in the world today?
What is the most powerful brand in the world? Is it Apple, or Nike or, the new kid on the block Twitter? In a surprising result, the 2015 Brand Finance report has revealed that the most powerful global brand is Lego. Apple is number one in terms of brand value, but Lego has replaced Ferrari in the number one spot as the …
The dress that broke the internet
Last week the internet divided into two vociferous factions – all over the colour of a dress! Not since Monica Lewinsky’s infamous blue dress has a dress generated so much controversy. About 70% of people declared empathically that the dress was white and gold. They took solace in two things: it felt right and how could so many people be wrong? An equally …
What really matters in business?
I have a confession to make. I have become addicted to the Australian series of Shark Tank. It’s a master class in negotiation, pitching and influence all rolled into one! Shark Tank is where budding entrepreneurs pitch to potential investors known as sharks. The sharks decide whether to invest and negotiate deals for equity and capital. It is reality TV so it’s high drama! But …