It was with real sadness that I learned of Anita Roddicks death this morning. In truth my reaction was quite unexpected. It is strange that while she was alive I could be quite self righteous in my disregard for her, but suddenly in death my earlier criticism seems petty. In truth whether of not you agree with everything she did, the world and commerce is better off for her being a part of it. I only ever shop in a Body Shop store if the girls want to buy soap for there mum so am not really a fan of the the "brand", but even so I know that my own values have been influenced for the better by as To View More >>

On Thursday I called our Prime Minister, Helen Clark a mad cow, and I want to say sorry. LOL Ok I was going to say that's not fair on real cows and their unfortunate condition, but that would just be another cheap joke at someone else's expense. Funny thing about my blog is not many people leave comments, in fact almost never, but I get quite a number of emails directly and comments from friends and family. On Friday at a party Dad told me I was being a "tough customer" and my Sister said that it "wasn't my style, and would come back to bite me when I was Prime Minister." Something about Karma? To View More >>

The New Zealand Herald ran a story this morning about Kevin Roberts joining the board of New Zealand's Telecom. Some stories honestly just make me go, OMG, what? Here is one of my business heroes joining the board of a company (Telecom) that "I hate to love". I continue to support them despite myself, and despite the way they present themselves to their clients. But I would love to love them. In the interests of full disclosure, our company are pretty big telecommunication users. We are heavily dependent on Telecom for our international telephone presence, and we're big users of high speed internet. To View More >>

Well I am sitting at the airport in Melbourne, waiting for a plane home to New Zealand after an amazing week at an event more like a rock concert than your usual financial course. This morning I feel a weird mix of tired but buzzy from attending another Tony Robbins event, this one called Wealth Mastery. What an incredible week. It's always nice to escape for a while with your wife, but to attend a life changing event like this with her was pure magic. We signed up a few years ago to Tony's Mastery University, and this week graduated having completed the three events "Life Mastery", "Date with To View More >>

I was walking the dog this morning and it occurred to me how much of the last week has been full of paradox . In no particular order ... 1, Do you find as often as I do that food that's good for you isn't usually as good for your wallet as food that's not? 2, Business is like a snow ball rolling down a hill: it grows faster the bigger it gets. So why don't we focus on getting the small snow ball right and rolling first? 3, I was shocked to realise a while back, and was reminded often last week, that the information (learning) we most need to hear is often the stuff that irritates us the most. 4, To View More >>

If you are in or running a disfunctional team, maybe it is a simple as people do not know who is the boss? Not an unusual situation but one that needs to be quickly and consciously resolved. Here I share my experience with this in the fire service and what can be learnt from it. One of the things the Fire Service does exceptionally well is make it clear not only that there must be a boss but also who that person is. In an emergency situation, control needs to be quickly put in place and priority given to the tasks needing to be completed. Your OIC (officer in charge) might be your best friend at To View More >>

There is a saying "Get in Line, Stay in Line", basically it means if your start something keep at it until the end. Some people however give up just before the finish line. Below I share what we can learn from Kids when it comes to persistence in negotiation, once you start don't stop. Does No really mean no? Some children left to their own free will, can out last an adult in a verbal argument or negotiation. Kids are built with the extraordinary ability to stay focused on the goal and be so much more persistent than we can be bothered being. This hyper negotiation can happen angrily during a tantrum To View More >>

Is it possible there is something to be learned from the Fire Service when it comes to handling customer complaints? I strongly believe so and share that learning here. Scenario: Imagine a car accident on a busy highway, multiple serious injuries and heavy traffic. You know there will be lots of screaming and emotion, and this really is a life and death situation for the people involved. The Question is ... What would you do? The amateur care giver rushes in looking for the sickest person, gets caught up in the emotion and most likely gets themselves injured or killed in the process. Not good and To View More >>

For god sake ... if you are going to be in business have some courage. Without it you will die. Firefighters are the people running into a fire when everyone else is running out. They're being brave and courageous, but that's not the same as saying they aren't scared. Whenever you go on a call you never know what you're going to get until you're there. Will this be a false alarm or the big one? Adrenaline runs for a reason and that is to prepare you for the job ahead. A healthy amount of fear keeps you safe. As I am sure you have heard before ... Courage isn't not being scared, it's being scared To View More >>

Does marriage have a lot to answer for? Hmm, good question. Personally I don't think so, but it does bring its own set of challenges. My belief is that relationships, whether with family, friends or lovers, "ebb and flow", a bit like the tide, and this means they need constant attention and will change over time. Like everyone, Sonya and my relationship has had its high points, but also some low ones. Currently things are absolutely wonderful and the low points long forgotten. The interesting thing, however, is, at their 'worst' relationships have the opportunity to become their 'best'. Why? Well, To View More >>