The fewest assumptions
Occam’s Razor is a helpful principle for solving problems. When you have multiple choices, select the solution which requires the fewest assumptions. The principle is captured beautifully in the expression: When you hear hoofbeats in the forest, don’t go looking for a zebra. We can be prone to needlessly complicate tasks. Some problems become bigger […]
Choose the right game
You get good at a game as you play it. And the longer you play it, the better you will be at it. So our fears about failing with an initiative are somewhat misplaced. If you commit to a game for long enough, there’s a very good chance you’ll succeed. As we go through life, […]
How do you recharge?
How we manage our energy is so important across every area of our life. We all recharge differently, but we sometimes don’t appreciate this because of misplaced perceptions. Society tends to associate recharging with activities like hot baths, long walks and lazing by the pool (high energy sports are usually excluded from these lists). The […]
Your brand
It takes 50 years for Mercedes to sell one car. Mercedes needs to be a constant presence across a person’s life, such that when they are able to afford a luxury car, no other choice comes to mind. You can appreciate the lengths that companies go to create a particular brand. But what lengths are […]
Mid-week date nights
When you’re in a relationship, making time to spend with each other is really important. Bec and I used to try to have a date night on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. However, we found that these days would usually conflict with social engagements. It didn’t take much for a few weekends to fly by without […]
Daily cost and daily benefit
If you’ve done some research on saving and investing, you may have come across commentators that advise against buying a daily coffee because it’s a bad financial decision. They argue that if your daily coffee is $5, then you’re spending nearly $2,000 per year which could be invested or go towards a home deposit. My […]
Complaining takes energy
We all have a certain amount of energy every day, and how you apply this energy is up to you. Just be careful when you choose to spend energy on complaining. When we complain, we are expressing our annoyance without necessarily needing a resolution. It doesn’t take much to shift the focus from yourself to […]
Top of market
Netflix fosters a culture where they seek outstanding employees and pay them “top of market”. Their goal is to hire and retain great employees, so everyone in the organisation appreciates they will be paid more than anywhere else for the value they provide. It is rare for an organisation to be the one setting the […]
Birthday wishes
I’m going to let you in on a secret that not many people know. Birthday wishes have incredible power. Every year we have the opportunity of being presented with a cake, closing our eyes, making a wish and blowing out the candles. For many, this is simply a fun tradition of little consequence. But there […]
Major mistakes
One element of your professional life that isn’t typically discussed before you begin is the risk of making a major mistake. We all make mistakes, and we may all be comfortable with the prospect of getting things wrong from time to time. However, when you enter into a corporate structure the risks of any one […]