One of the most difficult things to do these days is to focus. There are so many distractions vying for our time, and while we may think that we can multitask, parallel process, and generally do everything, the reality is that we still live our lives in a linear way and to achieve great things [...]
I have a lot of interactions with students these days. I teach a class of students who are primarily going to graduate in the next few months with degrees in media and communication. In addition I have a research project that involves PhD students from the sciences in interviewing CEO’s of corporations in high tech [...]
You would think that it might be reasonable to assume that good companies aspire to provide great customer service, wouldn’t you. Some companies establish customer service as their primary goal. The bigger the company, the more the focus on the customer, in my view. But how much do we, as customers, help them to achieve [...]
While the media is all doom and gloom, for some there is boundless optimism. I have been asked to do several pitches in the last two weeks, two to companies that are expanding into new areas and want to make sure that they capture all the market potential that they see, and one to a [...]
I recently got into an extensive FaceBook conversation/debate with someone that was somewhat ridiculous, but we all do stupid things from time to time. This debate was about CO2 emissions and the role of man. The person on the other side of the debate is a big fan of Lord Monckton, the media shill who [...]
I’ve been at a conference on the Gold Coast of Queensland for the last two days on the commercialization of Intellectual Property. Last night I got talking to a young PhD student who is trying to figure out what to do with his life. He registered for the conference because he is looking for a [...]
I wrote a week ago about buying Belgian chocolate, and talking to the chocolatier and finding out about what goes into the average chocolate bar. We all know about the Chinese milk scandals involving replacing milk solids with melamine. If you go to your local supermarket and buy garlic, you will probably find that it [...]
You may have seen reference in the media to a new Rolling Stones documentary “Stones In Exile” shot during the year long orgy that the band conducted during the recording of Exile On Main Street – which is about to be re-released. As you would expect the Stones have been doing some PR to support [...]
Last weekend I went to some friends for lunch. There were two other couples there. One of the guys was in his mid to late 60's and was an ex-Senator from South Australia. I didn't realize that he was a Liberal at the outset, but should have figured it out. I tried to avoid getting [...]
We are living in a constantly changing world. More of those changes are taking place than we have ever experience before, and for some reason people are shocked by much of the change. But we shouldn't be. Much of what is taking place should not really be surprising, because it is largely predictable. All this [...]