I'd like to think that I am more of a Greenie than some of the Greenies I know, so here is the good business stuff you can learn from the environmental movement. Only a little is about being green, and for some this might be only about the profit baby :-) I don't believe it's right to assume business is anti-environment, although our track track record could be better. But what we can learn from our environmental friends is that our environment is a reflection of us ... a reflection of our choices ... a reflection of our behavior and most importantly a reflection of our values and focus. Not the To View More >>

On Thursday I called our Prime Minister, Helen Clark a mad cow, and I want to say sorry. LOL Ok I was going to say that's not fair on real cows and their unfortunate condition, but that would just be another cheap joke at someone else's expense. Funny thing about my blog is not many people leave comments, in fact almost never, but I get quite a number of emails directly and comments from friends and family. On Friday at a party Dad told me I was being a "tough customer" and my Sister said that it "wasn't my style, and would come back to bite me when I was Prime Minister." Something about Karma? To View More >>

The eternal question of life for many people is "how do I find the energy for that"? Here I share my thoughts and what we can learn from children. One of the most common things I hear parents say of their children, as the little ones rush past, is : "OMG the energy ... If only we could bottle it" I wonder what it is that causes us to have unlimited energy as children, but as we get older our energy wanes ... or at least, should I say, that's what happens to some of us. If you look carefully you'll notice some really big differences between how children spend their time and how most adults do. To View More >>

In business there are no magic bullets, but this idea is so powerful it certainly feels like magic. I ran into an old friend yesterday, and it reminded me of a series of seminars I ran a few years ago that contained a section on how to increase profits. Especially when times are tough, it's great to be able to break things down into some simple rules that allow you to know where to focus, so I'll share this very simple but powerful idea with you now. Gross Profit is calculated on an "averaged basis" as: (Total number of clients x Average number of visits per year x Average sale x Average margin) To View More >>

My career started the traditional way, many moons ago, running a lemonade stand, collecting coke bottles, mowing lawns, and basically doing anything I could to turn a dollar. While at university in the late 80s I installed computer systems for a legal firm, and worked in hospitality as a waiter at the Regent Hotel in Auckland. I also worked in the family handcraft/souvenir store, Earthworks, in Parnell, Auckland. Computers were my favourite toys. My Dad had been into computers since before either the Mac or the PC (those were the days), so even though there were no computers in schools I was a To View More >>