We love stories. We are wired for stories. Over the generations, we learned from our elders as they used stories to widen our eyes and make us listen and remember. And so information was passed on through the ages. I get out to quite a few presentations these days, and in the past few weeks alone have...Read More
A dearly departed former cricket coach of mine used to turn up to training, survey the scene and pronounce “C’mon boys, get organised, we’re not here for a haircut!” We would all groan and start our stretches. “Not here for a haircut” has become a favourite saying. I use it a lot. It’s quirky and...Read More
What makes some parents at sporting events become overly competitive, in front of their own children? What sort of an example do they think are they setting? Are they trying to live their lives through their offspring? What makes them behave like this, and why do they think it is OK to do so? I...Read More
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rvABhBeX70&w=601&h=338] In this 2 minute video, shot in one quick take on Friday afternoon, I ask Mark Pownall about the shark cull controversy that is raging around WA at the moment. Mark grew up in a WA family which fished regularly. He understands the issues, and always researches something before committing to writing. He is...Read More
In order to teach something, you first have to know it well. More than that, you need to know how to communicate that learning so it becomes the learning of someone else. That is a different plane entirely. When I was a school teacher, I found my understanding of Economics grew each year as I...Read More
[ted id=66] This classic TED (Technology, Education, Design) talk is one of the most inspiring, funny and important you’ll ever hear. Do yourself a favour and WATCH IT (it’ll be one of the fastest 20 minutes of your life). As an ex-teacher and now business person, I thoroughly endorse Sir Ken Robinson’s premise – we...Read More
Happy New Year dear reader. It’s 2014 – amazing! I remember the turn of the century as it was just a year or so ago. In fact, I remember NY 1989 as I’d just arrived in Singapore, and 10 years earlier, aged 16 a great NY party in 1979 (as ABBA sang “it’s the start...Read More
Graeme Swann retired from all cricket today, with immediate effect. He may not have been selected for the next test match, but I think he probably would have been. Either way, he didn’t want to hang around to find out. He made his test debut aged nearly 30, and like Mike Hussey was a late...Read More
And so the Ashes have changed hands. It’s not taken all that long for the Aussies to regain them, but it has been 3 and a half series. It’s just that the series are now packed in tighter, and the next one is but 18 months away. I went to sections of the first three...Read More
A few weeks ago I was at the Red Cross trying to give blood. Trying, because since I lived in the UK for more than 6 months before 1986, my blood was refused. I could give blood in England, and had given blood before in Perth, but since the onset of Mad Cow’s disease ten...Read More
