To young leaders. Every single decision either leads you towards your vision or leads you away from it. So every decision you make matters – from what new project you commit to, to whom you have coffee with on a Sunday afternoon. But, for that to be the case, you must first have a vision. […]
Read More… from Make Every Decision Lead Towards Your Vision
Lessons from my father. In early 1986, my father – who was a property developer – received a phone call from his bank manager advising that the bank had just approved an open line of credit for him. What was remarkable about the call is that dad had not made any such request. This was […]
Read More… from Beware of Easy Money and the Risks It Brings
A note to young leaders. Cultural-fit interviews should not be formal, serious affairs. Make fun of yourself and your colleagues to see if the candidate laughs along. Better still, throw a few curve balls their way to see if they have the ability to laugh at themselves. If, after allowing for nerves, the candidate can’t […]
Read More… from Humour as a Key to Cultural Fit in Interviews
A note to young leaders. Early on in my career at Macquarie Group, a colleague, Mark – known for his larrikin sense of humour – badly stained his suit trousers by spilling his morning cup of coffee. As Mark had a very important meeting in a couple of hours, he had no choice but to […]
A note to young leaders. Former Australian captain, Steve Waugh, once gave a very interesting answer when he was asked the secret to successful test cricket batting. “The secret is being able to relax between deliveries. To score a test century, you have to be out there for a very long time. And unless you […]
Read More… from The Importance of Relaxation in Business Success
When people ask me what my exit strategy is for EG, I reply: “A coffin. Until then, I intend to keep growing myself, growing our team and growing our mission.” Exit strategies are redundant if you love what you do. […]
Read More… from Exit Strategies Are Redundant When You Love What You Do
A note to young entrepreneurs. Startups have many disadvantages. They have only one advantage – speed. Squander this advantage, and extinction is close at hand. […]
A note to young leaders. “What makes you jump out of bed in the morning?” “What keeps you up late at night?” Work only for money, power and fame – and the answers will eventually be “very little” and “very much”. Commit yourself to a cause that is greater than yourself – and the answers […]
It’s a telltale sign of dysfunctional cultures that they can never apologise for anything. Where ego rules, apology is construed as weakness. And yet we all know that apology is strength. If this is the culture you find yourself in, work to change – and if that fails – change your work. […]