What a cool weekend. I spent yesterday helping Sonya and Lorraine prepare for last night's Fire Brigade Christmas party. That in itself was lots of fun, but the party was even better. It's always great getting together with this group, but last night was particularly special as it was held at our house. The food was amazing, a few people drank a little to much, but that was harmless, and we sat outside around the fire until the wee hours of the morning talking. Very nice. At 9 am however it was back into professional mode, as we had the important task of transporting Santa around the neighborhood 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 >>

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 >>

Good morning all I think this video speaks for itself. This is an Australian Adveristment, reminding us that the way we behave has a powerful effect on how our children behave and the person they become. To View More >>

Having trouble getting your customers attention? This quite possibliy is the perfect solution for you ... "Be Mischievous, Get Noticed" As parents we get busy with work, children, getting food on the table etc . Sometimes we just have our minds in too many places at once. A child's solution to this, in an effort to get our attention, is to be mischievous, and, as frustrating as it is, it works. Seriously ... be honest with me ... nice cute kid being good, following the rules versus a mischievous one pushing your buttons: which one is going to get your attention every single time? I know what To View More >>

Ok what else can I say except, if you want to blow your mind go to www.ted.com. Ted is an annual conference of world class speakers sharing innovative ideas, telling stories and inspiring change. I mean everything is covered and many of the speakers from conferences over the last few years have put online for your enjoyment. Over the last few months I have listened and watched fascinated to speakers from Bill Clinton to Bono. I've been inspired by new ideas of social change in Africa, Seen Statistics brought to life in a fascinating graphical display. And learnt how my children will more than likely To View More >>

I've just been out for a beer, a curry, and movie with my friend Joe. Always a very cool experience, and the conversation is always deep. Joe is an amazing man, someone I respect and admire and although more than capable of good humour and silliness he is also full of good advice. One of the things he often challenges me with is that he thinks I need to let up on myself, and give myself a break ... This is probably true, but what he doesn't realise is that my whole life I have wanted to be the drummer boy ... the person people follow ... inspiring enough to get them to jump into the unknown. I To View More >>

The eternal question of life for many people is "how do I find the energy for that"? Here I share my thoughts and what we can learn from children. One of the most common things I hear parents say of their children, as the little ones rush past, is : "OMG the energy ... If only we could bottle it" I wonder what it is that causes us to have unlimited energy as children, but as we get older our energy wanes ... or at least, should I say, that's what happens to some of us. If you look carefully you'll notice some really big differences between how children spend their time and how most adults do. They To View More >>

In my blog description I say that I love the "simple solutions", I have to say this has to be one of the best I have seen in ages. By taking the abundant energy of children playing and using that to pump water from clean under ground water supplies Play Pumps have created a way to ease the problem of getting fresh water to villages of the world. These people are really inspiring. To View More >>

Ok, I don't condone violence at all and especially physical discipline of children but I found this video exceptionally funny. Ironically I was at a friends the other day watching the Pacific Island awards on TV and commented that although I found the humour funny I also found it sad that so much of their identity when it came to humour was around crime and violence. I'm of two minds as to whether this is a good thing, as it keeps it out there to discuss or sad as it confuses children regarding their role models and culture. Anyway, sit back and enjoy To View More >>