I’ve got a fair amount of PTSD from dealing with what corporate types call “procurement” and what normal people might call “the department that can turn buying socks into a six-month psychological endurance test.” For those lucky enough never…

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New Zealand has a small population, a large geographical area and some dynamics that mean that, when it comes to core infrastructure, there’s lots to do. Whether you’re talking roads, hospitals, water, telecommunications or electricity, there are almost innumerable…

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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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