The Right Thing

Long before digital platforms, social media and online reviews we’ve had the incentive to do the right thing. The need for the protection of our tribe and a sense of belonging to our community meant we adhered to rules and norms for the benefit of the collective good. We needed to do right by others,…

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On Certainty

Nobody creates from a place of certainty. You can’t predict the future. You never could. Nobody can. Despite this fact, you took action in the past. You made brave decisions without absolute proof. You loved without knowing if your love would be rejected or returned. You did things you were not sure would work. You…

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What Separates This From That?

When we’re not simply driven by price how do we choose what to buy? We tell ourselves a story about quality, design, durability, or provenance. But often as we rationalise about the advantages of one product or service over another, the differentiator we perceive is the degree of love and care that’s gone into making…

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Growing Small

I remember landing my first ‘real’ job like it was yesterday. One of the big British supermarket chains was opening a huge store not far from where I lived in Dublin. It was good news for the hundreds of people who would be employed there—more jobs, more choice for consumers—a win-win. At fifteen, I thought…

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Better Work Happens By Design

My parents both left school in their early teens. They and most of their peers were manual labourers, who didn’t get to choose the kind of work they did. They worked in factories or on building sites for most of their lives. Work for them was a means to an end—a way to contribute to…

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Heartwork

These words spoken by Director of The London School of Economics, Minouche Shafik, in an interview last year ring true: ‘In the past jobs were about muscles, now they’re about brains, but in future they’ll be about the heart.’ The truth is our best work always has been about the heart. And the good news…

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Lucky By Design

The cathedral was packed. More than a thousand people arrived on a warm Tuesday morning to attend cafe owner, Sisto Malaspina’s funeral. Many more stood outside—others watched the service at home on their laptops or giant screens in Melbourne’s Federation Square. We were there, not to mourn Sisto’s death, but to celebrate how he had…

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The Difference Between A Weak Brand And A Strong Brand

The biggest mistake a brand can make is to try being all things to everyone. Weak brands settle for doing what’s easy or obvious. They appeal to the market of everyone, avoid the edges and thus become interchangeable with their competitors. Strong brands know they are this and not that. They intentionally aspire to be something…

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In Praise Of The Ordinary

We devote a lot of resources to creating the momentous. Dressing the window for the big sales event, crafting the sales pitch for a product launch, planning the grand family celebration—those orchestrated events to remember, where we can shine. The truth is we have the potential to make the most impact in more ordinary moments.…

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