You might recall that when we were last together, there was a suggestion that we would all meet at our place on election night to observe, monitor and celebrate or commiserate the election outcome.


It pains me to say that I find the current political environment so distressing that I wouldn’t want you to see me lose myself in the bottom of a bottle of Southern Comfort if/when my team lost. Furthermore, if/when my team loses, I can hardly pick up my stuff and go home!

Therefore, with a heavy heart, I advise that the night is cancelled – finished – caput – over. However, we are happy to get together with anyone at a pub, restaurant, footy ground, brothel or elsewhere. Just let us know.

I don’t have the strength to maintain my usual façade of sophisticated urbanity and moderation in the face of the earth opening up and being swallowed by lying, self-serving, rapacious sycophants and malevolent politicians (of either persuasion).

If you want to get together after the election, then please let us know – you’ll need to leave enough time between the election and however long it takes to get over a very bad alcohol-induced depression. If you miscalculate (assuming you ever want to see us again) and find that it’s a REALLY long time before we see each other again, you might find us living on a desert island.

All our love and suitable warning for casting your vote responsibly.

I observe the current election process and my heart weeps with pain and anguish for what could be - for what should be.

Where is the statesmanship? Where is the vision? Where is the desire to be fair, equitable and progressive - to do good and be good? Where are the promises to elevate this great country of ours to a place where we can all hold our heads high as a beacon to all nations of what can be done when good people of a like mind will it to be done?

All I see is a swarm of power-obsessed political attack dogs playing a life and death game of "gotcha". Trying to find the simplest and most innocent statement and latch on to it; leverage it; bleed it of all the probable innocence and reasonable intent that was meant when it was uttered. Attack dogs who swarm like vicious, marauding drooling killer animals ready to tear apart anyone who raises their voice toward progressive thinking or stands in their way toward political power - even eating their own breed if needed.

And then there is the media, who because of their insatiable news cycle, latch onto a person or issue and suck it dry of its humanity and balance. Each reporter seeking a more sensational story than the next - each looking for personal promotion and journalistic notoriety - all at the expense of the Australian democratic process and of the Australian idiom of giving people a fair go.

Australia is in a malaise - dominated by a rampant media, enfeebled processes, devoid of balance and fairness, yet over-represented by power-obsessed individuals who seek the political throne.

What we need is someone or something that will rekindle the light of  progress, fairness, balance, wisdom and justice. What we need is a Nelson Mandela or a Martin Luther King - but alas, all we have are the mere proletariat politicians of today with their short sighted, power-focussed and self interested motivations.

For the love of humanity, we need to lift our voices and demand something better - for all our sakes.

(Published The Age 10 August 2010)

Technically, strategy is a plan of action.


In guru/consulting speak, a "Strategic Plan" is understood to mean a "high-level" statement of direction. All "operational" plans must support the "Strategic Plan". If there is mis-alignment between the two, then there will inevitably be a sub-optimisation of effort and resources (and opportunity).

In a management context, a strategy is the set of actions required to deliver a stated outcome.

From a Board perspective, an "Organisational Strategy" is the way the corporation will deliver its stated KPOs (i.e. its Mission Statement). It is not, "inventing" KPOs to chase and it is not pursuing the "Vision" per se. The "Vision" is the way a corporation/organisation sees itself at some time in the future delivering its Mission - not the other way around. If you have also "invented" your mission (e.g. being the biggest or the "best"), then your vision will give you (assuming you achieve it) something that, in all probability, is unaligned to your shareholders' objectives - and is thus unsustainable.

No shareholder that I know invests in a company because it is the "biggest" or the "best". Rather they invest in it because of the benefits they achieve from it being the "biggest" or the "best". Therefore, understanding the difference between objective and enabler becomes critical.

Ultimately, what "Strategy" means in not as important as having a uniform interpretation within the one organisation. For example, going to a weekend retreat to review a company's "Strategic Plan" will be problematic if some people go expecting to challenge a high-level view while others go expecting to review tactical tasks toward it. Clarity of understanding is important.

As an another example, some organisations draw the distinction between "Strategic Marketing Plan" and an "Operational Marketing Plan". Since both are so intrinsically tied together, the real distinction is between an effective marketing plan and an ineffective one.

In the hundreds of strategic sessions I have run, I always commence with the question of "What is it that this organisation has to deliver to its owners?" Everything follows from that question. If you don't know what your shareholders want, then how can the Board and/or management reasonably justify any corporate activity?