I was recently at a rugby prizegiving for 10 year olds when all the kids in one team were told that they were amazing, gifted and special; that they could all be All Blacks one day. I mean, seriously, I am all for encouragement, but it’s simply not realistic. These boys are more likely to be our next generation of entrepreneurs, multi-media specialists or CEOs. It got me wondering - as parents today, are we all a bit clueless regarding the future careers of our children in this changing world? F...

It’s hard to describe but you definitely know it when you see it; “a God given talent”. But is having that potential enough to succeed?I don’t think it is. It is only a step in the right direction towards success in your chosen discipline. While pulling my thoughts together on this subject, I watched a piece Breakfast did on past NZ Olympians. 12 out of the 14 gold medal winning athletes who were surveyed thought that they had less "talent" than their competitors, and that it came down to their ...

What is your first thought when you see a homeless person? Is it sadness? Repulsion? Annoyance? Did they choose this life or was it thrust upon them? Do you avert your gaze and pretend they don’t exist when you walk by thinking “what a bloody eyesore I wish someone would move them on”? I don’t want the PC answer here, I want your first instinctive reaction when you see a homeless person before your humanity intervenes... Or, perhaps you are completely unaware of the ever increasing problem of ho...

On June 28th at approximately 6.30pm, I’ll be joining a bunch of influential kiwis at the annual Lifewise Big Sleepout. We’ll be homeless for the night in a determined effort to bring critical attention and funding to this solvable issue.The truth is, for many of us we can only imagine what it must be like to live homeless. To be socially isolated, without the security of a house/job/ support system and unsure of how you will meet your most basic of needs... the word ‘tough’ doesn’t seem to cut ...

Social media is no longer just an emerging trend and is accepted as part of our world. Facebook alone has over 800 million users. Will social media turn our business world upside down and change the way business is done? Perhaps looking back to the emergence of the "world wide web" (as it was called) will help answer the question. With the emergence of Web 1.0, instant accessible global communication and information was upon us. Market commentators, manufacturers and retailers were either rubbin...

Over the weekend our former Olympic Gold Medallist Hamish Carter competed in his age bracket at the ITU Champs in Auckland. Admittedly he is no longer competing and has not been training like the old days...but he is a similar age to Kris Gemmell who won the Elite Men's. Though once the best in the world, yesterday he came 6th and was beaten by some enthusiastic amateurs, guys who have never reached the heights he has. Another bloke – Mr Martin Crowe, hung up his cricket boots for the secon...