The best thing about equilibrium? We're never there.

You're better off being here 

Equilibrium is embedded in the human psyche. Lurking behind science, culture and our daily lives is the idea that there can be a place where everything is in balance. 

In economics, it’s where demand equals supply. In physics, it’s where opposite forces cancel each other out. It is everywhere. Click here to watch Russell Crowe apply the Nash Equilibrium to speed dating. 

Click to read more ...

Maintaining Passion

The case for delayed gratification

What’s going to be special about 2016? You’ll be taking yourself with you, so it’ll be much the same as last year unless you make it different.

I often fall victim to the massive annual to do list. I clear my desk in late December. Then I create a whole new rod for my back with an impressive forecast of things I am going to achieve in the New Year.

There are two problems with this. One is obvious. The list is so long that I’m already tired by the end of the first month. It clutters my head, making me easily distracted rather than focused.

Click to read more ...

Are you growing or ageing?

Strategy and the business life cycle.

As a young boy growing up in Sydney, my mother would take me on shopping trips to the city. We would visit at least two of the eight department stores that dominated retail. Housed in monolithic buildings, they had multiple floors of high-ceilinged departments, reached by ornate elevators driven by liveried humans.

 Shortly after, retail changed dramatically. Discount houses arrived; developers discovered suburban malls; big department stores either shut down or were taken over by competitors. Today, only two large players remain.

Some facades still stand. Heritage listed, they form quaint streetscapes at eye level. Look skyward and there are high-rise towers climbing out of the skeletons housing multiple stories of apartments or offices. Retail has left the building.

Click to read more ...

Organise the best day of your life

What does personal disorganisation feel like?

For me it’s as if I’m lost in a sea of clutter. There’s no clear focus, no sense of priorities and the nagging doubt that I won’t handle everything that’s on my plate. That’s what it feels like. 

What does it look like?

The desk is covered with stacks of stuff, allegedly in order. The in-tray is overflowing. There are piles of unread “must read” material behind me. On the screen there’s a backlog of unanswered emails.

It happens. Often I am on top of things for long periods of time, but business trips, holidays or urgent projects can invite chaos into my office. It’s not just a matter of how bad it feels or looks. My productivity plunges. That’s because I am no longer able to apply four basic management skills.

Click to read more ...