I guess the best place to start is to define success. I believe success is just a fleeting moment when your realities match your expectations. I also realize, for many, the number of those moments they experience overtime defines what they (and perhaps others) see as a successful life. So why are some people more… Continue reading »
Aug
26
Big Ideas Forum – You Can’t Say That: Freedom of Speech & the Invisible Muzzle
{EAV_BLOG_VER:7e98c0c981616258} A discussion on free speech and the need to maintain our right to say things that upset those around us. The stifling of free speech is one of the most important issues of our time. I have recently seen a crazy example of this: Qantas was at the centre of a scandal after posting… Continue reading »
Nov
13
The Value of Showing the Real You
An excellent talk by Dr Brené Brown on our need to connect with others. The value of allowing yourself to be vulnerable!
Jun
08
Working in a Multicultural Environment “National and Family Influences” part 5
Hofstede’s findings in full can be found on the web and I recommend them as a great way to start thinking about the differences you may encounter in a multicultural or international workplace. In a particular it can explain why many around us (that come from high uncertainty avoidance societies) show anxiety about an uncertain… Continue reading »
Jun
06
Working in a Multicultural Environment “National Influences” part 4
Culture on a national level: Individualist and Collectivist Societies What are the differences between individualist and collectivist societies? Well it is “I” v.’s “We”. In individualist societies the wife and kids need me to support them v.’s in collectivist, the ‘extended’ family, parents, uncles, aunts etc., who will protect me in exchange for my loyalty.… Continue reading »
Jun
04
Working in a Multicultural Environment Predispositions continued part 3
As I mentioned a study by Hofstede perhaps it wise to at least look at his work on cultures. Although I think it is best to make judgments on individuals as individuals it is at least worth considering the issues that give each of us a propensity to behave in a certain manner. Again I… Continue reading »
Jun
03
Working in a Multicultural Environment: Continued part 2
NATIONAL PSYCHE EXISTS… MAYBE Admittedly it is dangerous to comment or make judgments regarding another’s culture however sometimes I believe it is necessary. With that said did I once have the misfortune to listen to a young American professor while he advised a willing audience of ‘expats’ and ‘locals’ on the intricacies of dealing across… Continue reading »
Jun
03
Working in a Multicultural Environment: An Introduction
With the fluidity of borders and the rapid migration of workers from country to country there is today more than ever a pressing need in many organizations for us to work effectively with people from many cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Even if we work with those from similar backgrounds professional and personal characteristics mean… Continue reading »
Jan
31
A career lesson from Thomas Robert Malthus, Malthusian Law
One of the few things I consciously remember from my “school days learning” is a ‘law’ pertaining to human existence. If my memory serves me well Malthusian Law went something like this: ‘The world will never be overpopulated as population growth is limited by war, pestilence, famine and natural disasters.’ From a personal or individual… Continue reading »
Oct
28
Why WW III is Inevitable for Our Kids and Other Management Issues
In his book The Human Brain That Changes Itself Dr Norman Doidge explains how the human brain is as malleable, not only in infancy as previously understood but well into adulthood and old age. In classical neuroscience, the adult brain was considered an immutable machine, it was all about evolution and genes, what you got… Continue reading »





