Recently, I was talking to someone who was telling me about their approach towards hiring. This individual suggested that their business ran a no dickhead policy. As the name implies, the policy was a simple one, which simply determined…

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Last weekend, my eldest son clocked a personal best in the Auckland Half Marathon. Having run for over 20 years and clocked tens of thousands of miles alongside him, I felt a degree of pride seeing him achieve something…

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I spent a few hours in my workshop this weekend, indulging my current fascination with hand-cut dovetails—a laborious departure from my usual rush to get things done. As I sawed away, it took me back to when I built…

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You’d think that, given I own a company that produces some of the world’s best outdoor equipment, I’d have a business motivation to get people into the outdoors. In fact, like other outdoor equipment company founders, from Bruce Macintyre…

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About 30 years ago, after my dreams of medical school were dashed by the small complication of having dropped out of high school, I completed a polytechnic course as a precursor to an apprenticeship. I was studying at Wellington…

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I’m a bit of a history buff, and I really enjoy reading about times gone by. Naturally, much of what is written about the past focuses on the battles and wars that have been fought. I’m always captivated by…

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I almost never listen to music while running. For me, running is an opportunity to connect with nature — to listen to the birds, the sound of my feet hitting the trail or pavement, and, in general, a chance…

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The thing with running long distances is that the more time you spend running, the more tired you get. Obstacles that would have not even posed a mild threat of mishap at hour one suddenly become death traps as…

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I’m old enough to have experienced a significant number of governments in power. Left-wing, right-wing, coalitions and the like. At my age, my neck is perennially sore from the whiplash caused by subsequent governments focusing on undoing legislation their…

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When I started working in the technology sector about 15 years ago, there were very few early-stage technology startups in New Zealand, apart from a few standout examples like Xero and Diligent Boardbooks. For this reason, I focused on…

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