We all exist in networks of people. Before the industrial revolution they were close knit and very local. Fast forward through the industrial revolution and the ability to travel far and fast and into the digital era and we all have complex and vast networks of connections. All of those connections have influence on our [...]
The earthquake that hit Japan has to be one of the most tragic events of the last few years – and there have been a few! Over the last 6 or 7 years I have spent a fair bit of time in Japan, always on business. Its a country that I truly love. Actually that [...]
Niall Ferguson, the Scottish economic historian, often talks about people who see economies as balanced ecosystems ignoring the fact that these ecosystems are always teetering on the edge of chaos. The thing that takes the system out of balance and into chaos is often something that has been ignored or discounted as impossible – like [...]
Last week I was in Japan for the Nanotech conference. It was very interesting…. I made some new friends and I think that there will be a couple of very interesting business opportunities that come out of it. But that is incidental to what is important in Japan. What is important is trust, friendship, respect, [...]
I'm off to Japan today for a week at NanoTech 2011. Its been a couple of years since I was in Japan. Its a country I love. A few westerners that I know find it frustrating to do business in Japan. I relish it. Japan, they say is the one country in the world where [...]
Only one week to go until we find out who is going to be our Prime Minister… Its kind of like Christmas, but where you suspect that while you have asked Santa for a bicycle, the likelihood is that you will get either a couple of pairs of socks, or a a plastic airfix kit [...]
I had dinner with Johnny H on Sunday night, and he was telling me that he was in the process of selling his Beemer because it was about to hit a bit inflection point in terms of depreciation – 150,000kms. My Prius had its 140,000km service on Tuesday (yesterday) so I thought maybe I should [...]
I meet a lot of people who want to achieve things that need some sort of outside involvement. Because of my past in the music industry, I meet people who want to get signed to major labels relatively often. Because I have been involved in raising money for businesses, I seem to bump into people [...]
When young men reach the age of 17, (in Australia) they obtain their driving licenses. Then they buy a cool car (death trap) that isn’t worth the money that they or their parents paid for it. The next three years of their lives are spent “tricking” out the car with the best mag wheels, [...]
From Wikipedia: The word Christmas originated as a compound meaning “Christ's Mass”. It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038. In the Northern Hemisphere, this time of year is recognised as the end of shortening days and the beginning of lengthening days. The [...]