Five years ago, when finishing my first business book - 'The Strategy Book', I received a handwritten letter from accomplished leadership author Jim Collins, who is famous for identifying five levels of leadership in his book 'Good to Great'.

Jim wrote me:

"There are five levels to most things. When it comes to book writing, Level Five is called 'The Tyrant’"

April has me locked in my battle with The Tyrant, something I had hoped to have completed in early March. Indeed, 'The CEO Book' is 100% written and almost 90% complete.

When you wrestle The Tyrant, you don’t quit when you’re tired, you quit when The Tyrant says so. It is a humbling journey.

Level Five leaders, PhD candidates, authors and people who take on complex assignments all experience The Tyrant.

All those years ago, Jim inspired me to move from good to humble.

If you are in this space, don’t quit. Know that The Tyrant is here to be of service and that you can be victorious.

#jimcollins

#thetyrant...

Tit-for-Tat Strategy Anyone?

The Prisoner's Dilemma is a logical exercise in Game Theory that demonstrates the tension between individual self-interest and mutual benefit. Game Theory is relevant to the current conflict between US-backed Israeli soldiers and the Pro-Palestinian Iran-backed Axis of Resistance. The phrase Military Intelligence is often given as an example of an oxymoron, often for good reasons.

In the current conflict, Game Theory offers good opportunities to play the Prisoner's Dilemma. Currently, the game is being played poorly and all parties are paying a great price. Instead of de-escalation, we see escalating war hostilities, where each party, prioritising their own safety and territorial interests, responds aggressively to the other, leading to a cycle of vengeful retaliation.

This war mirrors the worst decisions possible in the Prisoner's Dilemma, with all parties ending up worse off than if they had cooperated more often. Research into iterated versions of the...

I'm excited to be presenting to AFILE next month in the vibrant Brisbane CBD on how to navigate the future. In these dynamic times, navigating the shifting landscape is crucial. We will dive into some thought-provoking questions:
 
As leaders, what should we be doing in an increasingly complex world?
How can you stay agile amidst challenging and 'wicked' problems?
What strategies can you use to build resilience?
 
I look forward to seeing you there and sharing ideas!
 
#thestrategyguy
#navigatethefuture 
#AFILE

This week, Johanna and I attended the 2023 Scenic Rim Business Excellence Awards and Gala Dinner at The Centre in Beaudesert.

The evening unfolded as a splendid showcase, uniting businesses from across the Scenic Rim and illuminating business excellence across various industry categories.

Steering the event were the Scenic Rim's esteemed Mayor Greg Christensen, Economic Development Officer Cameron Thomas and his adept team, with the graceful guidance of 4BC Radio Host Sofie Formica as Master of Ceremonies.

Our table was graced with the presence of Greg and Denise Christensen, Sofie Formica, Oliver Pring, Greg Schossow, Martin Gray and Jill Gray and Jonathan Krause, all of whom added a delightful presence to the evening.

This year, I was honoured to serve as a judge for the awards in seven award categories:

Excellence in Trades and Construction
Excellence in Agriculture
Excellence in Transport, Logistics, Manufacturing, and Mining
...

For the first time in ages, my event calendar is filling fast.

Even more stages are opening in 2024.
Some conferences have not been held for 5 years!

Face-to-face engagement, entertainment, strategy facilitation and education are back.

Whether you are a corporate, government, not-for-profit or business chamber client from before, I look forward to sharing future trends, strategic thinking and digital business models with your leaders and teams.

Click below for my keynotes and workshops: 
www.halecg.com/keynotes 

#thestrategyguy 
#thestrategybook 
#johnhalespeaker 
#conferencespeaker

This week, I am off to ‘St Stradbroke’ on Stradbroke Island to inspire and collaborate with the island's community and business leaders.

We will be learning how to foster a strategic mindset to strengthen tourism resilience and pave the way for a brighter future, while capitalising on the power of the island's existing infrastructure and natural attractions.

Recent events, including the closure of sand mining operations and the challenges brought about by COVID-19 lockdowns, have had a significant impact on Stradbroke Island's local economy. Nevertheless, one of the island's inherent strengths lies in the deep connections between its businesses and people.

Looking ahead, it's evident that there is an urgent need to accelerate tourism development, with a special focus on nature-based activities and tours. Additionally, we will explore opportunities to increase investments in education, training, and infrastructure projects to generate new employment prospects for the...

This week I am honoured to be part of an informative interactive panel discussion with Miranda Mears, Paul Russell and our host Caitlin Baumann from Business Queensland.

During the session I will share stories about the seven bad actors and how to protect against them:

Identity Thieves: Crafty individuals who aim to steal and misuse personal and financial information for their gain.

Foreign Intruders: Hackers from around the globe seeking unauthorised access to sensitive company data.

Extortionists: Criminals who use threats to blackmail companies for financial or personal gain.

Blackmailers: Individuals or groups that attempt to tarnish a business's or individual’s reputation with sensitive information.

Terrorists: Groups or individuals who use digital means to create fear, chaos, or disrupt operations.

Bad Apples: Disgruntled employees with access to confidential information who might act against the interests of their employer.

Rotten Eggs: Individuals or insiders who...

This week, I enjoyed sharing with Rotary Hamilton how a strategic mindset can be used to increase hope and create a brighter future. Although I love working on big stages with hundreds of people, speaking with small and passionate groups of leaders focused on being useful to their communities is equally rewarding.

When Gordon R. McInally from Rotary International Events announced the theme for the 2023-24 Rotary year, “Create Hope in the World,” Gordon explained that the goal is to restore hope to help the world heal from destructive conflicts and to help achieve lasting change.

One of my audience members, Marcel, sent me a kind message today:

'I want to express my sincere appreciation for your presentation last night at the Rotary Club of Hamilton. It was nothing short of inspirational, and your storytelling, particularly your narrative about your mountain adventure, served as a brilliant guide throughout the evening. Your inclusion of the mysterious skull,...

Recently over lunch, I discussed with a woman named Sally, her critique of Rotary's patriarchal 'boys club' culture. While some of her points were valid, it was disheartening to see many men within Rotary unfairly targeted.

Often, discussions on 'toxic masculinity' reflect the behaviour of an elite male minority, not everyday men. Many men in service organisations like Rotary find much of their worth tied to their Rotary roles.

By contrast, modern talented women like Sally seem to have many other avenues to find usefulness and worth in society.

More than a decade ago, I founded Everyman, a monthly men’s group at Broken Head. Back then, self-worth issues were recurring. Over five years, hundreds of men came along. Many were burdened by depression and addiction, and some with suicidal thoughts. Indeed, analysis of suicide notes reveals words like 'useless' and ‘worthless’ being used most often.

In the safe environment of the men’s group, dozens of men...

I had a positive day with the Zero Positive (ZP) Team again today. We dove deeper into our ongoing strategy conversation.

I couldn't have asked for a more passionate team to work with.

ZP is on a successful mission to provide precise, data-driven climate change solutions to measure CO2 emissions and promote awareness and behavioural change.

In today's world, where greenwashing is losing credibility, and climate change costs are on the rise, ZP is gaining significant interest, investment and sales.

ZP have shifted my understanding of our grave human impacts and how ZP can help the most responsible of corporates measure and correct their course.

These words from 4 years ago ring truer today than ever:

“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are at the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal...