ETHONOMICS
How to Network as an Introvert
June 12, 2013 | Rebekah Campbell
‘It’s who you know, not what you know’. People I trust drilled this truth into me, along with an injunction to extend my network. So I go to meet ups, conferences, dinners and other events to meet people who might help …
Is a job more Secure than Starting your own Business?
June 11, 2013 | The Bull
This question comes up a lot. And the answer is never straight-forward or simple. Recently I got asked it by a 33 year old guy who was debating whether to stay in his current well-paid job or branch out on his own with a business idea that he…
Lemmings & how to Navigate Uncertainty
June 4, 2013 | Josie Gibson
To find yourself, think for yourself. Socrates
Lemmings suffer from a classic reputation issue.
In 1958, Walt Disney’s controversial interpretation of a natural phenomenon in White Wilderness immortalised the lemming ‘suicide…
Don’t Manage “Style”, Manage Outcomes
June 3, 2013 | The Bull
When I was younger I used to manage people a lot differently to how I do it today. I was more concerned about the minutia of what they doing every day, whether they were back from lunch on time, how many personal calls they made and whether they arrived…
Strengthening Head, Heart and Guts – The Entrepreneur’s Workout.
May 28, 2013 | Linsay Duncan
Whether setting out to build your own business from scratch, change professions or carve out a career path that’s out of the norm, you go in eyes open and prepared for a hard slog. Even more so given economic conditions which are not set…
Stop Planning; Start Doing…
May 27, 2013 | The Bull
When I started my first business in the mid-90s the internet barely existed. If you wanted to learn something you read the newspaper, watched TV, visited the library or bookstore or talked to people more knowledgeable than you were. …
Why a bit of ‘Niggle’ is Important…
May 22, 2013 | The Bull 1
A not often discussed but nevertheless critical ingredient for any successful and enduring business relationship is a bit of ‘niggle’. Notice I said ‘a bit’. I don’t mean it in a negative way but rather in …
The birth of ART…for Opportunities: An Interview with the Founder
May 17, 2013 | Courtney van der Weyden
White Spaces recently sat down and spoke with ART for Opportunities (AFO) founder Lauren Ivery about her not for profit that was envisioned during a recent trip to the Thai-Burma border. Now a reality, AFO is raising much deserved funds…
Management Evolution
May 15, 2013 | Marina Paronetto
Organizations are comfortable with the term ‘Manager’, but very rarely, maybe never I hear ‘Facilitator’. Managers usually implement projects, strategies, sometimes a vision. They are required to minimise waste, allocate resources…
You get What you Tolerate…
May 13, 2013 | The Bull
One of the hardest things to do in business is to let people go. It’s never an enjoyable task and most of us will have a few sleepless nights building up to it. We’ll also internally debate whether it’s “easier” just to persevere with…
For the Family, Friends and Supporters
May 8, 2013 | Rebekah Campbell
Every so often, an aspiring entrepreneur reaches out to ask for advice. Last week I met with a young man called Mark who contacted me on LinkedIn. He was passing through New York and heard I was here. Mark had a great startup idea and a well-formulated…
What do you Dislike in Business?
May 6, 2013 | The Bull
I was once asked what I disliked in business. There are a few things but my pet hate is when customers don’t pay their bills on time. It’s even worse when clear payment expectations are agreed up-front, the goods or service are delivered…
Empirical Innovation
May 1, 2013 | Rui Rodrigues 2
People say that if you want to achieve things no one else has achieved you should do things no one else does. True, but you can always get some inspiration from specific contexts that have already generated some innovative thinking and who knows…
Good, Fast and Cheap – pick any two…
April 22, 2013 | The Bull 4
A few weeks ago I was in a $2 Shop listening to a customer berating the sales assistant because the $3 toy they had bought 10 days ago no longer worked. It would have been amusing had it not been for how strident the customer had been with their…
Words to Live by?
April 15, 2013 | The Bull
One of the most enjoyable movies I have seen in a while is Act of Valor. It is a salute to the US Special Forces and the “stars” are active-duty Navy Seals. This makes it unique and lends an incredible sense of reality to the movie taking the viewers…
Announcing The Rise & Rise of Made Better in China
April 11, 2013 | Ben Rennie
At a recent conference for the Australian Tourism Industry, I was asked to speak about consumer behaviour and emerging trends. During my research, all roads led to China.
The travel industry in Australia is in a good place. After…
Don’t Give UP
April 10, 2013 | Angelique Milojevic 1
In the early phases of attempting to grow a business, it’s chaotic. There never seems to be enough time, your energy is constantly drained, you have limited resources, it’s manic. You have to put out fires quickly before the next one pops…
When (and how) to say sorry…
April 10, 2013 | The Bull
A while ago a long standing supplier to a business I am associated with really screwed up. They let us down badly on what they had promised us. It cost us money and was a huge inconvenience. It could have been the end of the relationship but it wasn’t.…
When do your best ideas come to you?
April 3, 2013 | The Bull 13
I can’t recall the last time a really good idea came to me when I was sitting in my office trying to think one up. I don’t think it’s ever happened. Maybe I’m not in the right frame of mind for it to occur. Or there are…
Why Character is more Important than Passion
March 25, 2013 | Josie Gibson 1
“Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage.” Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War
In an Age of Passion, Cal Newport’s is a lonely voice.
A computer scientist at …
Fixed vs Growth Mindsets
March 25, 2013 | Andrew Fallshaw 1
Were you born with it, or did you just work really hard?
Surprising realisation #1
Telling a child they are really smart, really talented, or really good at things is not in their best interests
Surprising realisation #2
One of the biggest influencers…
Best or Better?
March 25, 2013 | The Bull
I remember being involved in a chat with a couple of successful guys who owned their own businesses. At one stage one asked the other whether he thought he ‘was the best at what he does.’ The guy responded that he didn’t know, couldn’t…
Brainstorming – the key is in the approach taken…
March 18, 2013 | The Bull
I love a good brainstorming session. Throw a diverse group of people together with a different set of experiences and backgrounds. Give them a problem to solve and add in some time pressure and you’ve got a good formula for getting something…
Stop Typing and do it in Person
March 13, 2013 | The Bull
If you need to get anything important done then you have to do it in person. Doing it face to face changes everything. It speeds things up, forces action and decisions and is just a more efficient way to move critical matters forward. It’s…
The Many Lessons Learned
March 6, 2013 | Angelique Milojevic
Nobody told me the psychological impact of starting, running and building a business would have. Nobody mentioned the huge personal development that would occur by leaving the corporate world to go into a small business.
You can’t …
“All our Competitors are Hopeless…”
March 4, 2013 | The Bull
A while ago a company was pitching an idea to me. It was a good idea and well thought through but the company was new and I didn’t really know the people involved. So I asked them – “why do you think your business will be successful…
How to Create a Business When you Don’t Have any of the Necessary Skills.
February 27, 2013 | Janeece Keller 1
You know how it can be time consuming and pretty stressful to organise a family holiday?
Well, Bound Round travel guides take some of the pressure off adults by letting kids uncover all the fun things to do in a location. Using photos, video,…
How NOT to Treat Your Customers…
February 25, 2013 | The Bull 2
A few days ago I spent 1 ½ rapid-fire days interstate on business. By the time I got to the airport for my return flight I was tired. The flight was delayed. OK, no problem. Finally it took off at about 7.30pm. At 8.30pm it was in a holding pattern …
The Myth & Misconceptions of Work Life Balance
February 19, 2013 | Ben Rennie 6
During a Q&A session on the Future of Work, I was asked a question that related to work life balance. The question asked, “How do we get it”. My response is quite simple;
“work life balance is a myth. It doesn’t exist, the idea of work…
The Generosity Series
February 19, 2013 | Eva Muller
FastCompany started the Generosity series – a celebration and investigation of generosity. The idea of this multi-month project is to publish ventures and interviews to better understand causes and benefits of generosity, and to hopefully…
How Connected are you?
February 18, 2013 | The Bull
It’s easy to get caught up in the grind of the 9-5. Catch the same train to work every day. Sit in the same seat. Have coffee at the same time. Buy your sandwich at the same place. Read the same newspaper. Deal with the same customers, suppliers…
How are you Preparing for the Transition?
February 13, 2013 | Josie Gibson
‘The future is rational only in hindsight.’ Matt and Gail Taylor
Science fiction was once for nerds and misfits. Now we’re living it, and the implications aren’t pretty.
Emerging technology is opening doors, finding cures,…
Just be Yourself…
February 11, 2013 | The Bull 2
Recently I did a stock take of my wardrobe. I do it every year or so and it always results in me throwing out a lot of stuff that is worn out, out of fashion or is better suited to washing my car. The stocktake was interesting but not surprising. It consisted…
Remember, Everybody Is a Somebody.
February 7, 2013 | Angelique Milojevic
It always amazes me when I see people treating others less than human in business whether that be the way they treat their staff to the way the treat people they encounter. When the human element is missing from business and it’s just pure…
What Kind of Business Leader do you (want to) Work for?
January 30, 2013 | Linsay Duncan
What kind of Business Leader do you (want to) work for?
If your career has given you the opportunity to experience working for businesses of all shapes and sizes you’ll know what I mean when I say “it all starts at the top”. Businesses, from…
Making It Count
January 29, 2013 | Andrew Fallshaw 2
Numerous ideas are a bit interesting. Several reach the level of ‘insightful’. A select few can help change the way you live your life.
Here are 800 words that have helped change the way I live my life. If you’re time-starved, read that …
TRENDING SPACES
COMMENTS