Strategy that is truly timeless often looks radically simple. You only experience the true benefits of strategy when you practise it repeatedly until it becomes second nature.

Over the past five months I’ve been applying the same framework I use when facilitating strategy for organisations to an unexpected personal project: recovering my knee and avoiding surgery.

My strategy framework is simple:

Q1. What is really going on here?

Q2. What are our options?

Q3. What will we do?

What is really going on here?

This step is about confronting reality honestly, not avoiding it, not minimising it. It means spending the time and effort to understand the situation and gaining clarity for creating options.

After my post-marathon sprinting strain, I did the usual rest, lengthen and strengthen work: swimming, cycling, VMO and glute strengthening, backwards walking and run/walk protocols, slowly sharpening the picture.

Then the time came, as the Walrus once said, “To talk of other things. Of...

I'm thrilled to be invited back to Cairns to speak at a Remembrance Day luncheon at the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino about something every organisation strives to be in increasingly unpredictable times: resilient.

Here’s the reality:

> Around 70% of businesses are fragile, lasting no more than five years.
> About 20% survive between five and twenty years and are robust.
> Only 10% are truly resilient and last beyond twenty years because they consistently make great strategic choices.

In a world where customers adapt fast, resilience isn’t luck, it’s strategy.

I’ll be unpacking the Five Horsemen of Strategic Resilience:

1. Beach Heads – Win small scale big
2. Resource Reallocation – Feed the future starve the past
3. Mergers and Acquisitions – Merge for capability not just size
4. Brand Extension – Stretch without snapping
5. Shift the Efficiency Frontier – Rebuild the engine while you’re still driving

If you’re leading a business in FNQ or simply care about building something that lasts, join us for ...

Most of us need a better brain chemistry plan.

We’re living in the golden age of scrolling.

Flick swipe refresh repeat. A quick hit of dopamine the brain’s “motivation and joy” molecule lights up only to fade seconds later.

So we do it again. And again. And again...

Here’s the problem: those tiny spikes are like giving your brain teaspoons of sugar.

Pleasant in the moment but the cost is dopamine insensitivity. Eventually your chemical baseline for motivation and joy flatline over time.

Think about that: the very chemical that’s meant to fuel your ambition creativity and drive is being quietly drained by mindless habits.

The Good News

Dopamine receptors are trainable. Not all dopamine hits are created equal.

Quick dopamine hits

• Scrolling social media: +50% short lived addictive (think nicotine lite)
• A delicious meal: +100% gone in three minutes
• Winning a game: +200% but it evaporates in 15 minutes

Sustainable dopamine hits

• Meditation: +100% sustained for six hours
...

SPRING

When I was a young man in the springtime of my life, I routinely lived beyond my edge through exhausting athletic pursuits. In my twenties, I leaned beyond my edge again, diving into professional leadership roles.

SUMMER

In my thirties, my summertime arrived. I leaned beyond my edge with big-wave surfing. I remember a huge offshore day when 20-foot sets rolled across the coast. Tow-in surfers were the only ones out. I dropped my 11-foot gun into the nearby river mouth and paddled out for 20 minutes into the deep ocean. Eventually, I picked off a monster 400m off the headland and carved my way the entire length of the beach.

AUTUMN

In my mid-forties, autumn beckoned. I leaned beyond my edge again, this time racing sports bikes. On race days, we signed waiver forms linked to additional disclaimers displayed on six trestle tables. Three ambulances waited patiently at the center of the track to collect the day’s fallout.

Why lean beyond your edge?

Because real growth lives on...

One of the things I enjoy most about keynote speaking is solving the puzzle every organiser faces: "How do we deliver content that truly lands with our audience?"

It’s a challenge that lights me up. Here’s what I’ve learned - and why I love designing talks that rise to the moment:

RELEVANCE
We’re all navigating volatility, AI disruption, and global shifts. I enjoy the challenge of making complex change feel navigable. My talks help leaders spot patterns, stay centered and move with intent rather than panic.

SUBSTANCE
I get a buzz from bridging inspiration with implementation. My job isn’t just to lift the room - it’s to leave people with tools and frameworks they’ll actually use. I love watching the penny drop when a leader sees a better way forward.

RESONANCE
Whether it’s a first-time leader or a seasoned CEO, I relish crafting messages that resonate across the organisation. Strategy is a universal conversation - but how do you frame it? That’s the art. That’s the joy.

STICKINESS
There’s nothi...

It’s not that strategy has been tested and found ineffective - strategy demands the discipline of conversations that matter, ongoing trade-offs and long-term commitment. However, strategy often gets abandoned before it has a chance to succeed.

Strategy is not a set-and-forget process; it’s about continually laying the foundation for the next conversation that matters.

Consider the construction of the Great Pyramid as a strategic metaphor. It wasn’t built in a single day, or even a single year. Over roughly 20 years, a workforce of 20,000 to 30,000 skilled labourers placed approximately 2.3 million blocks - each carefully positioned to create a winning structure that has endured for millennia.

Just as every stone in the pyramid built upon the work that came before it, strategy is a continuous process. Each time we revisit it, we’re not simply checking a box - we’re placing the next foundational block that will support future conversations and guide long-term action.

Yet history shows us wha...

Strategy for the Oceans and the Skies

Not all my work unfolds beneath the bright lights of the conference stage. Some of my most meaningful moments come from sitting at the table with Boards and Senior Leadership Teams, unravelling the intricate dance of strategy that keeps our vast world in motion.

In the past month, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside two major players in air travel and on-water logistics—industries as fluid as the tides and as boundless as the skies. These are fields where precision meets uncertainty, where every decision must account for the ever-changing forces of global markets, shifting regulations, and the relentless pace of innovation.

Last week, both clients extended their gratitude with generous endorsements. An affirmation not just of the work we did together but of the shared commitment to navigating complexity with clarity, resilience and foresight.

To those who trust me to step into their world, to listen, to challenge, and to shape the path ahead, I...

Stepping out of the office creates invaluable opportunities to gain insight and foresight.

Recently, a client proposed holding their annual two-day global strategic planning session at their corporate office.

I countered.

I shared that different times and spaces are crucial ingredients for strategic planning. Retreats - whether at coastal golf resorts or sanctuary-like mountain hideaways - create environments where an executive team can reflect deeply, think creatively, and strategise with clarity.

January and February can be my busiest months for strategy facilitation, with both local and global clients, especially those with calendar-year financials.

There are plenty of excellent retreat venues at a range of price points - many not far from your office - offering the perfect backdrop to bring your team together to tackle the three strategic “what now” questions essential for future-proofing your business.

When I shared my retreat perspective, my client embraced the idea. In the coming week...

By the time we reach our late teens, our personal values are largely set. These values rarely change, except under circumstances of significant stress, sudden loss, or upheaval related to something deeply important.

In the past, personal values were often shaped by religion and family. However, many young people today are products of broken families, which bring their own set of values. In our modern era, social media has replaced both religion and family as the primary influences shaping our children’s person value systems!

In our world, personal values profoundly influence leadership styles, strategic choices, and organisational cultures. 

Tesla’s Elon Musk endured a tumultuous upbringing marked by relentless bullying and a strained relationship with his father. These experiences forged his values of resilience, toughness, and risk tolerance, which are central to his strategic approach. 

Satya Nadella finally became an empathetic leader after the birth of his son Zain, diagnosed with cer...