Over the years I've worked across industries, continents and leadership contexts that most people wouldn't naturally place together — mountain guiding, major energy projects, forestry, agriculture, education, consulting, governance. The common thread has always been leadership.
They have an execution problem. Here's where the value actually gets lost.
Why weekly accountability, not a monthly check-in, is what actually moves the needle.
Most organisations don't suffer from too many decisions. They suffer from decisions made too slowly.
It's rarely about capability. It's about what running the business crowds out.
It's rarely the individual who's the biggest problem — it's what their presence signals to everyone else.
Nobody's asking the owner or CEO if they did what they said they'd do. That's the job.
The best strategic intent I've ever worked with was six words, on one page.
What are we not talking about? The answer is usually where the real work is.
The best strategies are rarely the longest. They're the clearest.
A question worth asking when growth means outgrowing decisions made years ago.
One protects functions. The other serves the organisation.
The most valuable thing an outside perspective offers isn't more intelligence. It's a lack of proximity.
High standards and genuine care aren't in tension. Care first, demand second.
HR isn't responsible for your culture. Leaders create it, every day.
People want leaders who show up — not performatively, genuinely.
What one major project taught me about culture, trust and safety.
A story about visible leadership, accountability, and a healthy organisation.
Trust is built through small, consistent actions. There are no shortcuts.
What would a new employee experience in their first three months?
Nature doesn't care about your plans. Neither does business, most of the time.
Don't confuse activity with progress.
The most successful leaders I know are the least interested in appearing successful.
Not titles. Not revenue. Impact — and how you showed up.
The plan matters. But conditions change faster than forecasts.
Different industries, different cultures. The fundamentals stay remarkably consistent.
It wasn't a course. It was paying attention.
The moment you stop being a learner, you stop being useful.
A private jet company offered Protect Our Winters Aotearoa a partnership worth 20% of annual revenue. Here's why we said no.
Goalodicy — when a goal becomes an identity, walking away starts to feel like failure.
A key person leaves, and the business discovers it doesn't have anyone ready.
Good product, loyal customers, stalled growth — and a founder spending all their time in the business.
How aligning a misaligned leadership team delivered $11.4M in marginal gains without a major restructure.
Building a high-performing culture across 350 people and 15 companies, from scratch, in three months.
Talented, experienced, individually impressive — and collectively ineffective, until something shifted.
A successful business, entirely dependent on one exhausted founder.
Drawn directly from current advisory work. Connect on LinkedIn or get in touch to receive new articles as they're published.
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