Dear friends I am revisiting Laozi’s Book of Dao, through a recent translation by one of my favourite authors, Ken Liu (a Christmas gift from my parents who have graciously fed my book habit for over fifty years). This extract…
“A book should be an axe to chop open the frozen sea inside us”Summertime, J.M. Coetzee Dear Friends Success always seems so neat, coherent and, in its perfection, unobtainable. We look at Arundhati Roy’s global acclaim, not knowing of her…
Dear friends First, a quick announcement, there won’t be a newsletter next week. I am freeing a little time to focus on some longer-form writing. Don’t ask what, it’s a secret. Let’s get started — our last two letters –…
Dear friends First, I must apologise. A few weeks ago, one of my favourite young winemakers, Banele Vakele released his most recent vintage and I didn’t tell you. My fussy wine-drinking friends gush about his Chenin. I checked on Friday…
Good morning friends /strategyStephen King provides this week’s strategy. Yep, that Stephen King. Monster-under-the bed-guy. The link is, perhaps, a little oblique, but I suspect the occasional unconvention is part of why you’re here. He introduces each short story in The…
Good morning dear friends I hope you’re well. It is book prize season. This week, the 2025 Orwell Prize for political writing announced their finalists. You can find them here. If this is the first time you’ve read Strategy, Soul…
Dear friends It’s good to be back. I hope you’re well. The Pulitzer Prize winners were announced this week. As always, I am reaching for my credit card whilst dreaming of a trust fund which would allow me to spend…
““The world is like a mask dancing. If you want to see it well, you do not stand in one place”Chinua Achebe, adaptation of an Igbo proverb in Arrow of God. Good morning friends Today is my birthday, for the…
Good morning friends This time is hard. Every day, we are bombarded and destabilised. Whilst the world undoubtedly needs disruption, we have more than enough resources to ensure that no one lives in poverty; yet, billions do – what we’re…
“That’s what maps mysteriously do: They obliterate information to provide some information at all”.Zia Haider Rahman – In the Light of What We Know Good morning good people Our last few letters have tilted towards the strategy side of this…
Dear friends If you need a smile (who doesn’t?), this video of two playful leopard clubs may do the trick. If you’re more of a fashion-loving sort, then these collabs between African designers and global brands might suffice. /strategyWe all…
Good morning dear friends We are back! Five years ago, to the day, I sent this newsletter to a handful of friends for comment. Since then, I’ve written 232 of them. All of you have kindly joined the ride, sending…