We believed that our dad was the biggest, strongest and smartest man in the world. Then as we grew up, we discovered that this was not totally true, but he is still the best bloke in the world. There was a time when we believed that schools would teach, but now we have some students who can't read or write, while the primary concern appears to be about the right of students to choose what bathroom they want to use. We are now ranked somewhere behind Vietnam on the OECD league t...

Keep it simple It is easy to add complexity, in fact it is probably the norm. This week I listened to a radio program where they were discussing the cost of living in Australia, where recent research indicated that consumer goods prices are currently the lowest it has been for some 30 years. However, the cost of our ever expanding layers of governance, at all levels, with associated fees, utilities, taxes, permits, licenses, stamp duty and a gazillion other taxes and charges, i...

My shoes are special Indeed they are, but not in any way you might think. They look good enough but are not a fashion item.
They are not made from some exotic material by pigmies in the Amazon rainforest, who only cobble during the full moon. They are not hugely expensive but are not cheap.  So what on earth makes them special and why should you care? As a firm believer in always trying to learn from experience and interaction, I go around asking questions and sometimes irri...

Bubbles anybody? Most of us do not live in a bubble, or so we would like to think.  Should one start paying particular attention to spotting the bubbles, one soon finds that some people do indeed live in a bubble, but clearly we don't, only "they" do. Politicians are the easiest to spot as their bubbles are hugely visible and on display in the media most days.  Somehow we accept this from politicians and as an American bumper sticker recently proclaimed. &qu...

Success and Failure, are the reasons clear ? It is still early in the year but already the usual topics are being raised on forums.
Several times every year we see the topics of project success and failure emerging as though this is something new. At the same time there is a steady stream of projects that fail, far outweighing those that succeed, but maybe that is just my perception based on reported issues. International research however tends to support my contention, speci...