Blog Archives

A few years back, when I joined my first “grown-up” board, I ended up having a memorable chat with one of the executives. He told me, with absolute confidence, that his organisation would never, under any circumstances, move anything…

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One sad side-effect of getting older and, in particular, getting older as a white man, is that you slowly but inexorably turn into the caricature of a grumpy old man that you always laughed about in your youth. I’m…

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I never really got Allbirds. I mean, it had amazing marketing, I’ll give it that, but at its core it was selling a fairly mediocre product dressed up in the sort of moral virtue that lets well-heeled people with…

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There is a common refrain among professional board members that focuses on sausage rolls. Admittedly, it is very much “you had to be there” humour that appeals to only a limited number of people, but bear with me for…

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Last week saw the End of Financial Year for most small businesses in New Zealand and on the day this occurred, I reflected upon the year past for my own business in light of some announcements that have hit…

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There is a tendency in individuals of my demographic, and by that I mean of course those of the white, middle-aged and male variety, to get incensed by something they read or hear, and to feel an intense need…

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I always remember a mentor early on in my governance career giving me a piece of advice that stuck with me even though at the time it seemed almost impossible. He said that a professional director’s political leanings should…

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I’ve never been big on organised religions. Famously, one of the leaders of the Jewish congregation I grew up in suggested that I wouldn’t be permitted to undertake my Bar Mitzvah, the Jewish coming of age, because I wasn’t…

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Last week saw me make my annual pilgrimage to Westport to race in the Old Ghost Ultra. I have written plenty of times about the Old Ghost Road and its eponymously named ultramarathon, and regular readers will know I…

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When receiving some personal coaching recently, the coach I was engaging with casually talked about everyone’s personal strength also being a potential weakness. It was something that I took and placed somewhere in my head, and that I have…

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