The entire Carruthers household is on baby-watch so I will be taking some paternity leave shortly – mainly to do nothing other than hold her hand while making helpful noises at appropriate times while Caroline abuses the male species while dreaming of celibacy. Please do not be offended if your email goes unanswered over the … Read more

I suspect that each of us has a favourite experience, where everything is just so. A place that defines us, and on the day we finally make that transition from worm to butterfly, it will the place that we think of with nostalgia, joy and a feeling that life is complete. I have two. The … Read more

There is a wonderful book on the subject of consumer management — especially managing complaints — called “Send the Jerk the Bedbug Letter”. (Complaints department receives a letter from consumer unhappy about cockroach in bed. Manager scrawls “send the jerk the bedbug letter” letter and returns it to complaints department to handle. Complaints department screws … Read more

One of the most popular cars ever was the Volkswagen Beetle, originally designed as a cheap, ‘people’ car. It was not popular because it was fast, or safe, or aerodynamic, or comfortable (although I don’t know of a single man my age who didn’t have some of his most memorable initial experiences with members of … Read more

One of the most popular cars ever was the Volkswagen Beetle, originally designed as a cheap, ‘people’ car. It was not popular because it was fast, or safe, or aerodynamic, or comfortable (although I don’t know of a single man my age who didn’t have some of his most memorable initial experiences with members of … Read more

It is a fascinating aspect of sales life that the three most important and powerful sales words are hardly ever uttered by salespeople. That is because they don’t usually have to say them. (If they do have to express these words often then it is time to find a better team to work for.) These … Read more

There is a Dutch saying about marketing that goes along the lines of “If you want to understand a man, walk a mile in his clogs”. We ignore it nowadays because it is both sexist (after all, who wants to understand a man when there are far more interesting and complex beings to learn) and … Read more

After just 6 months in the United Kingdom, on a mission to help SA Business Warriors go international, I have just one thing to say: with a single exception, the worst UK service I have experienced is better than the best SA service I have experienced. Before you drop a gear and start throwing digital … Read more

When a trained pilot (hundreds of hours of training in aerodynamic theory and navigation, followed by many hours with a mentor – also known as an instructor, followed by many hours of supervised solo flying) eventually gets a licence and climbs into a cockpit for the first time there is a pretty strong chance that … Read more

I love technology. And I consider myself deeply privileged to be alive at a time when this stuff is moving so fast that even people of low capacity like myself are able to take advantage of it. When I was first diagnosed as a diabetic in 1971 there were no computers as we understand them … Read more