leadership

The last economic downturn to affect Australia saw a widespread cut back in apprentice training. While the effects weren’t experienced immediately,  the absence of new talent entering the workforce on such a large scale meant that it was nearly 10 years before Australia returned to the same level of technical skill it enjoyed prior to the... [Read more »]

One of the things about Christmas and New Year I always enjoy is the sense of friendliness, generosity and respect for one another that seems to permeate the air.  Neighbours who rarely speak wish good things for one another, we dig deep into our pockets so the less fortunate can have a more pleasant Christmas season, and kiss perfect strangers as... [Read more »]

What a gig! Australia’s own Kylie Minogue was the feature artist for a new 7-star Dubai Atlantis hotel opening last weekend. All for a cool $4.4m. Now that’s how you earn a bit of extra Christmas cash. While the gig made the headlines here in Australia, what was even more interesting was what happened to Kylie after the event. After... [Read more »]

I had occasion to drive past the aftermath of the red carpet premier of the movie Australia in George Street Sydney last night and I couldn’t believe my eyes at the size of the red carpet. It was at least as wide as 3 lanes and who knows how far its length extended into the distance. Just goes to show how many big budget movie premiers I’ve... [Read more »]

I exchanged some emails with My US publisher the other day, after the frenzy of Obama’s decisive election win. My publisher was fascinated about the rest of the world’s interest in how the race unfolded over the last few months. I’m reminded of the words of Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Thomas Friedman and his recent book – Hot Flat and... [Read more »]

It’s a sad day when “poo” (or if you’re the sensitive type, excreta or faeces) becomes the central news unfolding around the country. For me the story is less about “poo” and more about personal responsibility. But let’s first go over some of the finer details of how this story unfolded. A couple of weeks ago, a Sydney family accused... [Read more »]