Walking along the airport concourse I checked the departure board for my flight. Hang on a minute, that’s new. There was a word added to the time of departure. Estimated. Such as tiny change might go unnoticed. But the impact is outsize. With that one word, Virgin set the expectation...
When Ariana Titimus won her second 400-metre freestyle gold medal this week, she was a well-oiled machine. Her talent is undeniable. But do we give enough thought to the world of training and relentless practice under those smooth strokes? Sociology professor Daniel Chambliss researched the qualities of elite swimmers, and he observed...
"No one is beating down the door for it,” wasn't what I expected to hear. I'd just asked about sending out important follow-up information promised at a recent event and found out it was delayed, but no one had reset expectations.As you might imagine, I'm allergic to blithely blowing off promises. They...
Books are one of my favourite things—ebooks, audiobooks, paper and ink books. I love diving into people’s ideas and thinking because, in turn, they get me thinking in new ways, inspire more than a few of my articles and often wind their way into my work. Meetings with me will...
When does the ownership of intellectual property slip the bonds of law and become a kind of ‘community’ property? The question is just one sitting central to the ongoing dispute around the Aboriginal symbol used on everything from flags and t-shirts to tattoos and sporting fields. The flag’s creator Harold Thomas says...
Thinking about buying a franchise? There’s no shortage of options. So even if garden care, baking or beauty aren’t your bag, one of the more than 1,100 different Australian franchise groups out there might be for you. Yet, for every story of franchise success and happiness, tales of woe and despair...
Every organisation starts with a person or people. And in the early days of existence, founders (aka people who do the starting) understandably provide an outsize impact on its doing and being. Hopefully for the better, and recently, all too often for the worse. So, when it’s for the worse, can...
An article about Michael Cohen’s testimony to Congress may seem like an unlikely place to stumble upon a truth about the relationship between promises and forgiveness. However, while invoking philosopher Hannah Arendt, The Atlantic’s contributing writer Quina Jurecic made the following observation: “The act of forgiving, in her view, is the necessary counterpart...
A friend Sue (not her real name) lives in a rental house that’s up for sale — in our overheated real estate market, it’s a common story. The landlord warned her about it late last year, so she wasn’t surprised when the real estate agent Dan (not his real name)...
As an extension of my work on promises, the thorny issue of permission often occupies occupied my time. Organisations can be more than a bit cavalier in their promises, so it is no surprise that attitude extends to permission. Because sitting inside permission is a promise. The godfather of permission marketing (and by...