Have you ever heard of Michael Collins? Firstly it’s his birthday today. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY Michael! If you are like me, you have never heard of him. I know the names of his two colleagues Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. You know the guys that got to walk on the moon in 1969, but I … More The guy whose name you never knew
You have probably all worked with people at the creative extremes. At one end is the person who works really hard, executes like crazy then tells you “I’m not creative”. At the opposite end of the scale is the “ideas person” who constantly has ideas and never delivers on anything. Leading these people can be … More Two things you need to become innovative
Recently, one of our business divisions was audited by an external auditor, and the comment was made that a particular process is the best that she’s seen in the industry. The irony is that these processes came about because we failed, and by that I mean failed significantly, three or four years ago. This got … More Often ‘Being the Best’ first requires failure
It’s funny how shadows can be good and bad. A person standing in the right spot to shield the sun from our eyes, is a good shadow. Yet the clouds maneuvering themselves in front of the sun on a bitter winters day, creates cold and dark shadows. As a leader I know I cast good … More As a leader, what shadow are you casting in your organisation?
At Agoge one of our essential values is “be caring”. As the guy at the top I see it as a core responsibility to cast a shadow of caring across the entire organisation. One of the ways I do this is I aim to touch base with our core team in the company at least … More Why I make Caring a task
To my friend Tammy, I will never forget asking you to ‘tell me your story’ in your interview for Agoge. Most people shy away from the question and lack authenticity, however your answer was powerful, rich and beautiful. Your words told of pain and tragedy. Your words spoke of love for your girls. Your words … More Tammy when I hear, Courageous or Aroha, I think of you.
Moments earlier we had been given five minutes to prepare our business idea and now I found myself pitching, to one of the 126 entrepreneurs gathered from around the world. They’d pitch their idea, I’d pitch mine and we would agree how we would split 7 points. You take 2, I’ll take 5 (not that … More 4 key lessons after attending the Entrepreneur Development Program (EDP) at MIT in Boston.
After more than 10 years my picture of the moment is more like a bird’s eye view, than sitting in the seat of the car I was driving. From up above I remember the exact place I was parked on the motorway on-ramp, while waiting to converge with the peak hour traffic. I remember the … More Learning to be decisive and the two things that stop me.
UPDATED: Feb 2019 While a lot of the below post still applies. Technology is changing how CVs and Data of Jobseekers is handled. I’ve written an updated post » 10 great tips when applying for jobs online! ORIGINAL POST: Jan 2012 Having just spent an hour or two looking over applications for an internal … More 14 tips when applying for jobs from the business owner of a recruitment company
Caught up for coffee with Sam who has recently returned from Hawaii for his summer holiday. So I asked him … “highlight?” The people. Definitely the people. I just loved spending time with the people, getting to know new people and having the time to listen to their stories. ‘He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata!’ (It’s … More One question with Sam
Agoge means conduct, although I use the word ‘being’. It’s a word that is meant to connect our way of business (day to day) with our purpose (people matter, leaders, ingenious, lucrative) to bring a common story. It means to ‘be’ day to day the things we have said we want to be. Unfortunately … More 250 |365 – Agoge’s Story
A late night at work, with 3 of the team. Not a good reason for a late night either.
I love the view out of my office window. I enjoy gazing off into the distance towards Mount Pirongia, which is 27km away to the southwest of the city. I am captivated by the movement of cars and trains journeying to their destinations at the bottom of the road. When I’m on my mobile, … More 162 | 365 Pondering
Here is my problem… I have three roles I need to fill. ‘Customer super star’. ‘Administrative genius’ and ‘Executive assistant’ Role A: Customer super star.This role will be to take external calls. It will wow our customers, provide them a stunning service and generally win them over. We are looking for someone who has a vibrant personality … More 155 | 365 – Uniquely talented slightly crazy person needed for this desk.
Here is peice of art my wife did for me for Christmas. Will hang at work when I get back from leave.
People Matter ∴ Do Good 