At the beginning of 2023 I became the proud parent of a new child. This was when Open AI released ChatGPT-4 into the wider world. Before that Artificial Intelligence, and machine learning as it also known, was technology people had been using since the 1950s and wasn’t something I had seriously considered. Tentatively I started to engage with it, worried about how this magic worked and of course how my independence and confidentiality would be maintained. Like many new parents I stubbornly held on to the cute misconception that this new addition to our family will not change anything.

News of COVID-19 is everywhere we turn right now and we are devouring every morsel we are fed by the experts and so called experts (including myself sharing my thoughts). In fact, we are consuming so much information that it has almost become a competition to see who can recite the most “facts” at any catchup to win the highly cherished Most Knowledgeable COVID-19 gold medal. However, as the virus has continued its global invasion many of us are only now starting to comprehend its full impact on our health, economies and way of life.

Pandemonium is taking hold across the world as we react to the global threat of the Corona Virus now known as COVID-19, and I hate to break it to you, you are already infected. You just may not have recognised the symptoms ….yet.

The first time you meet someone, often the conversation opener is “Hi, so what do you do?” Your response to this innocent question will likely determine the direction and tone of the rest of your chat. The person you have just met is likely to unconsciously relate to you in  a certain way based on the title or job you shared with them. Now, before you judge them too harshly, you should know that you are probably guilty of doing the same with other people and even with yourself.

Although surfing is a passion of mine as a surfer I make a really good management consultant. Once you experience the thrill of riding that perfect wave you are hooked for life. Many entrepreneurial managers and business owners can relate to that feeling of looking for the next business wave and being ready to ride it as far as they can.

Recently a close friend of mine made the jump from high paying corporate executive to becoming a fully-fledged, incense burning Yogi with several of his own studios in Melbourne (Australian Yoga Academy). I was intrigued why someone so successful in the corporate world would embrace Yoga to such an extent that it eventually became his life. Then more recently during my own latest mid-life crisis (I started early at around 20 and have continued to have approximately one every year since then) I also started including Yoga into my health regime. After a chat with this yogi over dinner recently, and reflecting on my own experiences, I realised that there are significant benefits, both personally and at a corporate level, to be had for leaders who integrate Yoga into their lives.

Recently a much publicised New York Times expose’ on Amazon’s work practises highlighted that it undertakes an annual culling of underperforming employees known within the company as “purposeful Darwinism”. The practice involves reviewing the performance of all employees over the year and then letting the lowest performers go. Is this poor treatment of employees or good management practice?

We have all heard of the benefits of collaboration.  The win-win compromise and partnerships based on establishing harmonious working relationships where everyone wins. However, creating this utopic vision might not be the best thing for you, your business or your long term success. Instead of always getting along, you may need to swim against the management theorists and ensure that there is a healthy element of competitiveness, conflict and tension in your working relationships. Competitive tension is often used in procurement processes to ensure vendors deliver the best proposals, without taking advantage of the customer. While many of the principles remain the same, this blog applies the term to the everyday operations of any workplace.

We live in the age of disruption with new players aggressively entering old industries, such as Uber threatening the taxi industry and AirBNB taking on the hotel industry. These businesses have disrupted the ways and operating rhythms of the past by creating new operating models that erode the successes of historically dominant (and seemingly untouchable) players.

If you are like many of us who didn’t grow up with the current social media channels defining how we communicate, socialise and conduct business – welcome to my world. Consulting requires me to stay up-to-date with evolving social media trends. However, in an effort to comprehend these new offerings, I find myself referring back to ‘old school’ analogies. What I have realised is that the digital age is not too dissimilar to the ‘old days’ of running a non-digital business.

Making tough decisions is like paying taxes; you either pay now or you pay later plus interest plus penalties.

4 out of 5 Information Systems projects fail to realise even 50% of the originally identified benefits.” Source: Management Today.

The major reason any project is given a green-light by executives is they deliver benefits to the business.  So why is it that so many projects fail to deliver their identified benefits?

The way we teach entrepreneurs is changing radically and this new approach of Embedded Learning will prove to be as disruptive for businesses and education as Uber is for the taxi industry.

Building a successful change management program is all about sweating the small stuff. As people going through change and move from where they are today to where you want them to be, you need to ensure they are ready, willing and able to operate in the new world. This means using the right building blocks to achieve success.

At one time or another we have all had that boss that we could never seem to please. They seemed to challenge everything we did and kept us going from pillar to post trying to figure out how to satisfy them. You may have muttered a couple of words under your breath which are probably unprintable here as they continually reminded you that your work was not up to scratch, demanding you start again and get it right this time! All you wished for was a nice easy going boss. But that #$^% of a boss may actually have been the best thing for you.

Change management is often referred to as a soft discipline and its disciples as tree huggers. The tangible benefits it provides a project are frequently questioned with many a senior executive, and yes even CEOs, dismissing it as an unnecessary part of delivering a project. No wonder McKinsey Consulting research found that over 70% of projects fail to deliver their original benefits. The science behind change now demands it be given greater attention when planning any project.

Banking is banking, right? So how did a small team establish a new brand for famous customers (sports people and entertainers) in a highly competitive and commoditised market and achieve an amazing $1 billion dollars in funds under management in less than two years? Welcome to the highly profitable world of segmentation.

Business cases can often be challenging to write but are key to ensuring your project gets off to a good start. So what should and shouldn’t be included in a business case?

There is a disruptive learning revolution happening all around us, one which we may not have noticed. It’s pervasive, with billions of people already on board. It is progressing with an unstoppable momentum, yet its impact appears not to have been fully appreciated. This change is directly related to the global adoption of Google, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and will continue to grow at an ever increasing pace.