How should accountants treat investments in the future?
We make many types of investments in the future, brand building, capability development, process optimisation, building the foundations to scale, and significantly, R&D. Each is aimed at generating future cash flow. The management and strategic...
8 things the leader of an SME can learn from a dead genius.
One of Charlie Mungers better known quips was: ‘All I want is to know where I am going to die, so I’ll never go there’. He avoided that place assiduously, but last week, after 99 years, Charlie went there. Perhaps by mistake, perhaps because even he recognised...
Why do politicians undervalue their leverage?
Of the many objections to the inequity and shortcomings of the tax system I harbour, the most egregious is the seduction by the fossil fuel industry of governments of all persuasions over the last 30 years. I have two profound objections. The first: They have...
Retailers cost of living party trick.
Every time I go through a supermarket checkout, I find myself surprised at the total of the bill. Should be used to it by now, but no, I'm not! The two supermarket gorillas, Coles and Woolworths have both released their annual results in the last month,...
Why bother to write?
Last week I was copied on an email one of my clients sent to a now former supplier. It was polite, respectful, thanking them for their service, and wishing them well. What struck me immediately was that it was not in the ‘voice’ of my client. A moment later, I...
Great minds do not think alike.
‘Great minds think alike’ is a common saying. Sometimes it might be right but the greater value of having a few great minds in the one place exchanging views is the fact that they will bring different ideas, values, backgrounds, and depth of knowledge to...
How to ruin a great idea
Ideas are usually great because they do one of two things, sometimes both: They focus on a deep and genuine need, obvious or not, to the casual observer. They remove a problem that causes irritation. Great ideas have a common characteristic: they are focussed....
The secret of successful coaching.
As a kid I was a reasonable tennis player, having been coached by an expert and playing competitively from a relatively young age. Nothing outstanding, just competitive at a district level. Aged about 16, my father who had been an outstanding player and myself...
The two drivers of Brand Salience
The best place to start this discussion is some sort of definition of ‘Brand Salience’. To me it is the extent to which your brand comes to mind. This might be unprompted, as in ‘what brands of beer can you name? That first question may be followed with a...
How fast can the development beat of AI become?
November 30, 2022, will be remembered as the day AI was unleashed upon a largely unsuspecting world. Dall-E had been around for some months, but it was OpenAI's launch of ChatGPT that opened the floodgates. Yesterday, November 6, 2023, OpenAI announced they are...