There is a perfect storm on its way

There is a perfect storm on its way.  Our world is being reshaped by the spread of social networking and new IT capabilities i.e. cloud computing and with it a plethora of applications that can be used on a range of technologies – mobile phones, iPads, desktops and our TV screens.  We don’t know yet how all of this will change our lives, but we have had glimpses – some good, some more challenging... [Read More]

Leadership in Complexity

In a world of high complexity and rapid change leaders are faced with the unpleasant reality of dealing with complex problems. These are problems that significantly impact key stakeholders including Customers, Community, Shareholders, Employees, Suppliers and Government. These stakeholders all have goals and aspirations as does the society in which the organisation operates.

In the context of these challenges the complexity lies in the interconnectedness of individuals organisations and markets... [Read More]

Why Julia is a great leader

Some years ago the then Governor General of Australia looked me in the eye and asked - “How can you strategically run the country if you spend all your days on talk back radio?” He was referring to the Prime Minister of the day.

It’s a very good question.  Running a country well takes time, effort, concentration and hard work. So does being a media star. It stands to reason that the current leader of the opposition has more time and energy to put into being a media star than a Prime Minister who is doing their job strategically well... [Read More]

Politics and the future

Young people it appears are estranged from the news.  They rarely read newspapers and pick up a bit of news from the television and the internet but generally aren’t that interested.

This is hardly surprising.  The way the news is reported is sensationalised and often straight rhetoric. We are given opinions disguised as news with little or no factual basis.  I have personally read things that I was reported to have said and found them exactly the opposite in meaning to what I actually did say... [Read More]

Is the World going Mad?

Perhaps it’s the alignment of the planets or the end of the Mayan calendar but it seems that people all around me are going mad.  Whether it’s the motorist on the road who bursts a boiler because someone cuts in front of him, or the un-fit fifty something woman who won’t move half a meter so that a child can go past on his bicycle, “get on the road” she shouts, or the politician who changes the law to allow the building of an underground car park in a contaminated area... [Read More]

Inside Job

The recent Oscar winning Documentary Inside Job paints a frightening picture not just of our most recent GFC but of the corruption and institutionalised greed that created it.  How scary to think that the people who created the inflationary bubble that led to millions of decent working people losing their houses and jobs are now advising Obama and setting up the ducks to scoop more millions of tax payer’s dollars... [Read More]

Staying Sane in a Changing World (Are you drowning or waving?)

In Australia where I live we currently have bush fires, heat waves, floods and cyclones – a large proportion of our country (until recently drought ridden – we have just emerged from a 10 year dry spell) is currently under water.  In North America and Europe there are snow storms and big freezes.  In South America tragically there have been hundreds of deaths and millions displaced through severe flooding... [Read More]

Change needed in corporate cultures

I recently addressed a conference for financial planners. The after dinner speaker was a comedian who told particularly explicit ribald jokes. I felt sorry for the young female professionals in the room who were being figuratively undressed by their male colleagues.

A networking organisation for senior executives recently employed a particularly young woman to present an award at their annual dinner... [Read More]

It’s never too late to pursue what you love

It was a prestigious affair at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney attended by politicians, company chairmen and leaders in the arts and sciences. Eliza­beth Ann Macgregor, the director of the MCA, was interviewing Margaret Jackson (previously chairman of Qantas) on her life as an artist.

Margaret did art as a matriculation subject. She failed, studied economics and became one of the top (possibly the top) business woman in the country... [Read More]

Creating emotional safety at the workplace

Occupational health and safety is rightly a big issue in today’s organization.  Most of the emphasis rests on physical safety.  Less in the spotlight is emotional safety which not only underlies physical health and well-being, but also learning, development, team work, creativity and innovation.

Emotional safety can be defined as “the ability to keep oneself safe in the world... [Read More]