The other day, I found myself asking someone to help me find a big box. I wanted to climb into it for the next six months, have them throw food through a hole, and not emerge until the elections were over. Both of them, local and overseas. I'm not proud of that impulse. But there it was. The reason wasn't complicated. I couldn't stomach watching another election where politicians seemed genuinely tone deaf to what's actually happening. And look, I know how that sounds, I'm the guy who usually argues for optimism, who tries to get people to see the bright side, who genuinely To View More >>

The other day, I found myself asking someone to help me find a big box. I wanted to climb into it for the next six months, have them throw food through a hole, and not emerge until the elections were over. Both of them, local and overseas. I'm not proud of that impulse. But there it was. The reason wasn't complicated. I couldn't stomach watching another election where politicians seemed genuinely tone deaf to what's actually happening. And look, I know how that sounds, I'm the guy who usually argues for optimism, who tries to get people to see the bright side, who genuinely To View More >>

I love the idea of Kiva and have just made my 170th loan. If you'd like to start doing the same you Kiva is giving away free loans for people to try out the service.To sign up to Kiva, click here To View More >>

I so love this speech on TED because Sir Ken Robinson puts forward such a powerful argument contrasting what he sees as the current failure of the education system in the USA and his proposed alternative. I often wonder if education is being ruined by political correctness? Now don't get me wrong, I am all for behaving well and being aware of our behaviour toward other cultures, ideals, religions and the opposite sex; I just don't think people always think differently, they just know 'what not to say', and that's not the same thing. I often observe situations where I believe people are To View More >>

I just had a wonderful evening with CEOs from some of New Zealand's best companies. The group was brought together by Better By Design to visit some of the USA's best Design-led and Innovative companies. It's going to be an amazing week, challenging I am sure, but an interesting thing happened tonight: if you like, a small distinction became clear to me. There I was talking to Diego Rodriguez a partner at Ideo, a brilliant design company, and Perry Klebahn a consulting associate professor at Stanford Design School, two great people who were truly gracious in the knowledge they shared. To be honest, To View More >>

People with dirty jobs are happier In this movie Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs does two things, first he talks about a day he worked on a farm and amongst other things docks lambs. I saw this show and couldn't believe he did what he did. I thought it was inhumane and as it turns out initially he did too, but in an entertaining fashion he talks through his learning and explains. The second thing he does is he makes the point that in his opinion people with Dirty Jobs are happier. He puts forward a strong case that following the advice "Follow Your Passion" might be bad advice. For some it will To View More >>

'How did you become so wealthy?' is a question I've asked plenty of people in my life. But the answer I got from a very successful colleague of mine when I worked at Xerox wasn't about a product, or a service, or a sales  or marketing strategy. It was about a belief that underpinned everything he did. His answer was this. "I got rich by making other people rich... I add value to peoples lives." He took it upon himself every day, to go out and add value to peoples lives - whether it was his clients', or his customers' or his friends'. Now you're not necessarily going make people rich simply To View More >>

WHY YOU NEED TO MANAGE YOUR PERSONAL BRAND Something that’s been on my mind lately is the desire to help people succeed in business online. No, I know I don’t have all the answers. But over the years, our two global companies have discovered some answers that work for us, and perhaps they’ll work for your company as well. As always, take what you like and leave the rest! Why you need to manage your personal brand Something that’s been on my mind lately is the desire to help people succeed in business online. No, I know I don’t have all the answers. But over the years, To View More >>

Jacqui sent me a link to this movie this morning. It's a very cool recording created by Mark Johnson founder of Playing for Change I love how in this next movie a man describes his music in such a spiritual way, he says ... "According to our philosophy music has been a great power. Power to bring peace and to get enlightenment. Because it is a sort of meditation... Because you need a lot of dedication in order to bring the music a great art... When there is a great art, there is always heaven. That is why we believe through music, if you practice a lot, you meditate To View More >>

Why oh why do people find providing good customer service so hard? I guess probably for the same reason so many people struggle with relationships, that is that they co-exist, rather than truly throw themselves into the situation in the effort to find a real connection. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe that the customer is always right, they often aren't but in that moment they do deserve to feel significant and cared for... Often that just takes a little empathy and a smile. Why is it that when people talk about great business they can rattle of a list of companies specializing in various business To View More >>