State capture has occupied the imaginations of South Africans for the last few years. For much of that time it was told as a tale of shady politicians and a clique of special friends, but over the last while a…
In the face of the unfathomable, the most powerful thing that one can do is to seek hope, joy, and connection. It doesn’t make the nonsensical, sensible. It doesn’t make the pain go away, but it does add energy, it…
This year will be overwhelming and tiring. In this context, it’s tempting to draw the curtains and hide out until ‘it’s all over.’ Yet, as famous baseball player and coach, ‘Yogi’ Berra, once put it, “If you don’t know where…
Good morning friends I’ve missed you. I’ve missed the ritual of sitting down each week to write to you, to communicate with you. I’ve missed the conversations that follow. It is good to be back. Well, strictly speaking, we’re not…
Good morning friends This is our last email for the year. Thank you for reading, for all the times you’ve reached out to me, for the times you’ve gifted me with suggestions that have enriched my knowledge, for inspiring me…
Today’s introduction is longer than normal. It’s December, it feels right to reflect a little. Next week will be our last email for the year. I will resume our conversation on 10 January 2021. This week I shared a photograph of…
Last week’s email reflected on how psychologically unsafe environments destroy value by silencing people or, more insidiously, by creating conditions in which people do not feel safe to speak and so silence themselves. In the silence, value is hidden. Amy Edmondson, Professor…
The absolute joy of writing this letter to you each week is the generosity that comes back. After last week’s letter I was given copies of Oliver Sacks’ autobiography On The Move and Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees.…
Our language often captures age-old truths that science then confirms. We celebrated people who are ‘grounded’. We stress the importance of ‘knowing our roots’. When someone has ‘deep roots’ in a community, they are connected and add value. These metaphors…
This week, I wanted to introduce you to Nigerian artist Ndidi Emefiele I loved her piece, Here as in Heaven which is currently showing in London’s Gallery Rosenfeld. Then, Sepanta Bagherpour, Nando’s CMO for North America, dropped me a note telling me about their undemocratic meal…
Before we get started, if you find today’s email to be useful please forward it to some friends. Also, if you know anyone who has had a particularly tough year (it might be you), please share this offer with them. The warm…
At the end of last year my sunglasses were removed from my, often-forgotten-to-be-locked, car. The desire to avoid adding a summer squint to my Zoom stare led me to The Oculus. They have been pioneering a South African designed and manufactured…