Stuff

Stuff contains my other interests. Some of my experiences and lessons learned in business. Social and political issues that matter to me. Sport, music, film, photography. Being obsessive about coffee. That kind of stuff.

Work and business have been a big part of my life. Sometimes I’m surprised to realise I have worked for fifty years. From my early days doing manual work into a corporate career, and then into the world of startups and small companies. Along the way I did an MBA and a Diploma in Clinical Organisational Psychology.

Stuff is too light a word to apply to a category that includes racism and discrimination. But equally, I don’t believe it’s my place to hold forth too much on the issues. I’m a heterosexual man with a lot of white privilege. I haven’t had to suffer as a result. I’ve been poor, I’ve been miserable, but I’ve never been discriminated against.

I also include my broader art-leaning stuff. I’m not artistic. Being married to an artist for nine years has amplified that even more in my mind. But I consume many films, music is integral to my daily life, and I love photography – looking at photographs, as I don’t have the eye to practice it.

Welcome to my stuff – the serious and trivial.

Entrepreneur Rule 1: Survive

Entrepreneur 1.0 I’ve been an entrepreneur for 15 years now. This stint anyway. I set up a business when I was 20 and was awful at the basics and wrapped things up after a while. I was different, a loner and very independent and wanted …

Read more

Growth Hacks – Don’t Bother

How about doing the right things right? The Fable Of Growth Hacks I’m a bit worn out by articles promising me the next great growth hack. Worse still, a list of them. It’s a plague. I’m not even sure what a growth hack is. Type …

Read more

Hot 8 Brass Band – Congo Square

Congo Square Hot 8 Brass Band headlined a great day of music in Congo Square. It was my first visit to this famous New Orleans landmark on the edge of the Treme district. It was originally a gathering place for enslaved Africans. During their one …

Read more

Focus Versus Strategy: The Entrepreneur’s Challenge:

Being Aware Of The Tension What sorts the good people in an entrepreneurial organisation from the so-so and bad? I would suggest the good ones can switch between having a clear strategic framework and thought process. Then dip into the focus and detail effortlessly. They …

Read more

New England Patriots Dynasty – GOATs, Any Sport?

Super Bowl Number Six New England Patriots won another Super Bowl this February. Brady and Belichick squeezed the life of the formerly explosive Los Angeles Rams. The game was slated in some quarters as dull and lacking in flair and of course points. New Orleans …

Read more