“The future is a fantasy that shapes our present” – Stephen Grosz Good morning It was a busy February in Cape Town. There was the Investec Cape Town Art Fair (I loved Ayogu Kingsley’s jubilant portrait of Steve Biko),…
“To refuse to do the crappo thing is to strike a de facto blow for quality…” – George Saunders Last week’s letter was much longer than normal. It was, as described by one of the responses I received, ‘chewy’,…
“Leaders are the emotional thermostats of those they lead, and our habits as leaders can spread like a contagion” – Chip Conley Dear Friends At the end of last year, I asked how I could improve this letter. Many of…
Dear friends Today is our last letter for the year. Our next letter will be on 15 January 2023. Thank you for all the messages about last week’s letter on the power of reflection. I am pleased that you found…
I wanted to get straight to business today. I wasn’t inspired to share any particular piece of art, amusing cartoon, wine to drink, or place to visit. I grudgingly decided I should try to find you something, lest you intuit…
The letter was born watching Gina Prince-Bythewood and Viola Davis’ The Woman King. The film’s joy is witnessing a Pan-African cast create magic together. Its pain is the history it reminds us of. Nevertheless, I left hopeful. Bythewood and Davis…
Good morning everyone Our last two letters zoomed in on the serious job of starting a new job. If you missed them, you’ll find them here. Today, we zoom out to creativity and curiosity. As you know, I love seeing…
Ed Catmull co-founded Pixar, the business that changed how we experience movies. His book Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration, is one of the best that I have read about leading and building…
Good morning You’ll remember that earlier this year I dived into the basics of running effective organisations. I did so because we are all confronting profound uncertainty. And, in uncertainty, the most powerful strategy is to build resilience, to ensure that…
Good morning everyone It is good to be back. I have missed writing to you. I hope that you had a good break. If this is the first time you’re reading Strategy, Soul and Self – welcome! Here are the…
Two weeks ago, we spent a few days in Seaforth, Simonstown. It is a small suburb that hugs Boulders Beach sanctuary, home to the African penguin. You know that you’re in a special place when the instructions for the rental…
Good morning If you’ve been reading for a while, you know that this letter is shaped by my coaching. Every week I meet nine or ten people. We explore the opportunities and challenges that they face in their lives and…