Character of the day: Grace Murray Hopper
Grace Murray Hopper was an amazing woman. One of the pioneers of computer programming and instrumental in developing COBOL.
Perception – Seeing with Fresh Eyes
This "seeing with fresh eyes" exercise is something I often use when I find myself stuck or I think my client is stuck. When I'm stuck I can make decisions but I'm not confident about them. They might be OK or they might not, either way they don't resonate. When I'm...
In times of great change
In times of great change, the learners will inherit the Earth while those attached to old certainties will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. Eric Hoffer
James Hardie – Why did they do it?
The general commentary on the recent James Hardie verdict is that it sets a new bar for non-executive directors. I'm not sure I agree.A more obvious interpretation is that James Hardie's directors acted with extraordinary disregard for their duties and deliberately...
Where is the focus of your attention?
There's nothing like a crisis to focus our attention. We saw that recently here in Victoria on Black Saturday where all the emergency agencies, the government and a great proportion of the community could think of nothing else. On a wider scale, the global financial...
Trujillo kills agency theory
Well this title is not exactly correct. I would like to think that Sol Trujillo's resignation as CEO of Telstra, his performance in the role and subsequent payment of $40m from the telco would clearly and unequivocally lay Agency Theory to rest. Take this excerpt from...
The End of Wall Street’s Boom
The Spiral Path has linked to Michael Lewis on several occasions. In this piece, Lewis gives his take on what went wrong on Wall Street. In the introduction he reminds us of his three years at Salomon Brothers: To this day, the willingness of a Wall Street investment...
Australia’s worst ever natural disaster
I have to pause for thought to remember the events of the last few days around me. As I sat in air-conditioned comfort last Saturday, Australia suffered its worst ever natural disaster with at least 170 people having lost their lives and the towns of Marrysville and...
Now is the time to innovate
It's pretty scary reading the papers and listening to the news these days. We are all left wondering how this current downturn will play itself out. Unfortunately I don't have a crystal ball and make no claim to any ability to predict the future. I don't know what is...
The Heroic CEO (again)
Late last year I was at one of the usual round of Christmas parties I attend each year. Also as usual, I found myself talking to a new acquaintance explaining that I work as a Leadership Mentor when a third person joined the group. The conversation moved to executive...