Published in BETA100 DROPS·Jun 1FROM CAMELS TO CRYPTOThe Power of Money “Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants.” — Benjamin Franklin As with so many things — oil, science, politics — money is employed for both…Crypto5 min read
Published in BETA100 DROPS·May 16The Beautiful Business PlanOH THANKS! JUST STICK IT ON THE SHELF OVER THERE “If you don’t know where you are going, you might end up someplace else.” — Yogi Berra You what? Say that again. Beautiful Business Plan? You’ve got to be joking! No, I’m not. You see, when it comes to business…Business Plan6 min read
Published in BETA100 DROPS·Apr 27LEAVING ME-ME AT RECEPTIONThe Art of Collaboration “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” — Booker T. Washington It is true, isn’t it? Helping someone is a great gift to yourself. So I say: keep giving yourself this gift! …Collaboration5 min read
Published in BETA100 DROPS·Apr 12IN THE FLOWTrust in Business “He who does not trust enough will not be trusted.” — Lao Tzu So much of our everyday life is conducted on the basis of being able to trust others, to trust for example that oncoming drivers will stay on their side of the road, that our…Trust5 min read
Published in BETA100 DROPS·Mar 25THE POWER OF WOMIs Networking a Dirty Word? “The single greatest ‘people skill’ is a highly developed and authentic interest in the other person.” — Bob Burg “So, what do you do?” — [“Oh shit, not again!”]. So there you are, standing around with a lousy coffee in your hand, wearing a suit…Networking5 min read
Published in BETA100 DROPS·Mar 14DOING ME — THE ESSENTIALS OF SUCCESSFUL PORTFOLIO CAREERS“The greatest human temptation is to settle for too little.” — Thomas Merton, Trappist monk, mystic and writer. Most of us are natural multi-taskers, liking variety and the stimulation of the New, of the Different. But many of us are still embedded in a work culture which mitigates against experimentation…Portfolio Career5 min read
Published in BETA100 DROPS·Mar 3IT’S MY PARTY AND I’LL {TRY} IF I WANT TO! — FOUNDERS’ ISSUES“It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to” hit #1 in the April 1963 US pop chart for Lesley Gore. In January 1985 Clive Sinclair launched the C5 at Alexandra Palace, London. It was an unmitigated disaster. No market research had been done and, in the event, very…Founders5 min read
Published in BETA100 DROPS·Feb 22THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES AND A NEW BUSINESS IMPERATIVE“It is the business of the benevolent man to seek to promote what is beneficial to the world and to eliminate what is harmful, and to provide a model for the world.” — Mozi (c. 470 — c. 391 BC, Tengzhou, China) on consequentialism. We need to be that little…Business5 min read
Published in BETA100 DROPS·Feb 14“HI! IT’S ME!” — EXPRESSING ONESELF THROUGH WORK“Work is an expression of the Spirit at work in the world through us.” — Matthew Fox, “The Reinvention of Work” Although I can’t take any credit for it, one of the smartest career moves I ever made was to lose my job in one of the recent, routine recessions…Work5 min read
Published in BETA100 DROPS·Feb 8THE BIG HURRY AND THE STRANGE TALE OF THE PHANTOM FINISH LINE“What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare,” - W H Davies, super-tramp and poet. Photo by Getty Images. It’s fashionable now, in response to the question “How are you”, to say “Oh, really busy, you know,” as though to be so…Great Resignation4 min read