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Operational Excellence
282: The Springboks and Strategy: Eben Etzebeth’s Unlocked
Good morning friends At the end of 2025, Eben Etzebeth released his biography, Unlocked. Etzebeth is South African rugby’s most capped player. In fact, he is one of the most…
254: The Man Who Planted Trees and Zohran Mamdani
Dear friends Strategy, Soul & Self weaves together three threads, I believe are essential to leadership and life. First, the ability to hold a compelling vision — and translate it…
250: Avoiding Handover Headaches. Gregg Popovich. Finding the right moment
Good morning good people If a friend forwarded you today’s letter, and you enjoy it, you can subscribe here. If you know someone struggling with handover headaches or perhaps needing…
#240: The Friction Project
Dear friends If my current client conversations are anything to go by, you’re probably drowning in meetings and processes, bouncing from one thing to the next, feeling overwhelmed and powerless…
#218: DO Sweat the Small Stuff
Good morning good friends /strategyStrategy conversations are often dominated by innovation, acquisition and the like. They are important. As important is operational excellence. FT Strategies August newsletter, The Path to…
#205: Your 2024 Survival Guide
Dear Friends Just four years ago, most of the world was in lockdown. In the next twenty-four months many of us lost loved ones, and some of us were grievously ill.…
#204: Turning Vision into Action
Good morning friends Our last two letters focused on the power unlocked by building a scaffolding of meetings in our businesses. Regular, focused flows of communication are the heartbeat of…
#203: Meetings: From Knowledge of the Normal to Perpetuity – A Recipe to Meet No Danger
Dear friends Many businesses and teams are so caught up in day-to-day delivery that they never align how they spend time and resources to their objectives, resulting in enormous wastage.…
#170: Lessons from Land O’Lakes, “Be the iceberg, not the Titanic.”
It’s been a winter in Cape Town, which means wet, very wet. Joyfully, it means nature glowing green. As we drove into Greyton last weekend it was as if the…
#115: Compassion And Performance
Good morning friends Don’t you love this vintage Borghesani wooden robot bar? That’s my kind of AI 😊 A few weeks ago, I introduced you to the work of Cape Town…
#112: Thank You Jim Collins!
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…
Connecting With Customers
I got a little enthusiastic with this week’s topics, so we’ve got to jump right into it. It’s a bit long today. I think it’s worth it. I hope that…