As sincere and important as thankfulness may be, the core issue for the world at this time is how we lift the masses of those who are 'empty' to those who have 'at least something in the belly'?

In a Western culture of 'survival of the fittest', thankfulness for one's blessing seems appropriate. But at some time in the future, don't be surprised if those who are 'empty' determine that the 'fittest' have also been the exploiters. To remedy this, one must enhance the quality of life for all - in that way, we all win.

As with most things - it depends.

You can get lousy consultants and great consultants. You can also get naïve or stupid clients, and informed and focussed clients.

Good clients can make a mediocre consultant look good while lousy clients can thwart even the best consultant.

The experienced consultant (strategy or not) will be able to:

1. 'Read' the client's seriousness and competence quickly - certainly before he/she commits or even scopes the project.
2. Read the client's culture.
3. Explore the client's change history and readiness.
4. Explore the client's experience and behaviour with consultants.
5. Establish whether what's needed in the consultant's experience sits within the client's expectation for the task they're asking the consultant to deliver.
6. Determine whether the robustness of the relationship between the 'objective' of the initiative and the work effort required to deliver it is clear and compelling (i.e. that the 'cause and effect' are indisputable.)

I have found that strategists that become too familiar with a client's environment tend to think like the client. If that were not so, then all the problems in industries in which strategists work would have been resolved - and that is certainly not the case.

I have also found that coming into a problem with 'new eyes' (and ears) allows lateral solutions to be introduced - and  real value delivered.

The Governor General, Quentin Bryce, has suggested very politely that Australia should/will eventually become a republic.

Very gutsy on her part, but entirely logical and correct and a wonderful morale booster for the Republican Movement.

To remain tied, in whatever form, to the 'motherland' which decreasingly represents Australia and Australians, is a sign of immaturity. The fact that the UK is legitimately focussed on its own region is both logical and rational - from which Australia should take a lead.

It is inevitable and will happen - it's only a matter of time.

There is little doubt that the Indonesian Government was aware that Australia was 'observing' it and others in the region. In the same manner, Indonesia undoubtedly observes Australia and others.

Both of these realities probably long pre-date both incumbent governments.

The current mess appears to have been caused by two significant factors.

1. Australia bugged SBY - the President and his wife among other senior government officials. No wonder he's pissed off. That signals that Australia doesn't trust him, and/or that Australia thinks the maintenance of Indonesia's relationship with Australia isn't a priority for him and his government.

During SBY's Presidency, all Australian Prime Ministers have gone out of their way (and rightly so) to build trust and a relationship upon which both people and both countries could rely. There was and still is a lot at stake - all now in jeopardy.

I don't think that SBY is particularly surprised by the spying - however I think he is insulted and hurt by it. With an election on the horizon, he needs to react in a suitable, publicly acceptable manner - and he can't be blamed for this, particularly when Tony Abbott's behaviour (and that of his advisors and minders) is also driven by their perception of public opinion (i.e. delivering the stupid pre-election promises).

2. Abbott and Bishop's hopeless handling of the matter hasn't helped. How is it that when the US bugged Germany's Angela Merkel, President Obama had a personal conversation with her, presumably pledged that it wouldn't happen again, and the whole matter appears to have 'blown over'?

Now that's powerful, sophisticated and effective diplomacy - clearly beyond the capability of Australia's current government.

To Indonesia I say, please be patient and understand that you are dealing with a very weak and unintelligent government that is drunk with testosterone that makes it impossible for it to 'do subtlety'.

This will pass with time. A new President will emerge after the Indonesian elections that will allow Indonesia to reapproach Australia with some stringent 'rules for an effective and renewed relationship.' Australia will agree because Abbott needs to be seen as being able to recover from this disaster. Cooperation will be re-established between the countries on refugee boats, live animal exports and military cooperation.

The people in the street will forget, but governments won't. It will take Australia a long time to recover from this.

How empty must people's lives be, to watch the tripe that is dished up in most of the Reality TV shows?

An area of lousy decision-making relates to M&A decisions.

The over-optimistic (and often unrealistic) value of potential synergy between buyer and seller to justify paying premium (over-market) prices.

The vast majority of promised synergistic benefits from an acquisition or merger do not materialise for a range of reasons.

The decision to proceed with such an acquisition rarely has to do with commercial pragmatism, and more to do with career and ego of managers and directors (and always to the cost of shareholders.)

The premise of some people is that to exhibit difference (e.g. feminism) in the boardroom, implies subjectivity in decision-making. Maybe.

But if you hide the difference and everyone appears the 'same', then are you also postulating that you stop the subjectivity? That is nonsense.

People will always view matters through their own veils of subjectivity, experience and context - regardless of what they wear or how they present themselves.

I would much prefer to deal with the person who is 'real' and open than deal with people who conceal their essence. It's much easier then, to understand their perspective and view. Doesn't mean I agree, but at least I understand.

The United States has given plenty - much that is good and beneficial, and some that is arguably counter-productive to a strong and harmonious society.

It is hard to argue against the individual freedoms that Americans hold so dear. Yet it is those very 'freedoms' that are causing the US such heartache, and delegitimising it in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Of course, the US is free to do whatever it wishes to itself. But because the US is such a dominant influence around the world, it is hardly surprising that the world observes US society - probably much more intently than the US observes others.

Individual freedom in the US has been adopted as an almost 'absolute' right. Yet it must be contextualised to have real meaning and usefulness. Although people are pretty much free to do what they like within the law, those very laws define and contextualise the extent and dimension of such freedom. You can't drive on the wrong side of the road, for example, because it is dangerous and disrupts social harmony.

The right to say pretty much anything you like under the freedom of speech is wonderful in principle but hurts those people and groups who are the target of frivolous comment and accusation and who are often powerless to protect themselves or their reputations.

Where the law and freedom of speech collide, the American legal system commonly rules in favour of freedom of speech as the higher principle.

Under the cloak of freedom of speech, many lies are presented as facts; peoples' mind are poisoned with unsubstantiated accusations or statements; vested interested are championed and the minds of the weak and unthinking are twisted and manipulated.

Maybe that's the price the US society is prepared to pay for its 'freedom of speech' - but those minds are also the minds that vote. And just look at the mess the US is in at the moment. Some of it, caused or at least inflamed by a governments elected by myopic, uneducated, doctrinaire and naïve people who have been seriously manipulated by conniving  and ruthless power-hungry individuals and groups who are commonly promoting a cause that seriously disadvantages or discriminates against a range of people.

People living in a society cannot realistically expect to be able to insult and threaten others within that society, in the name of free speech, and still expect that society to remain harmonious. If you are free to say anything you want, then at least make people accountable for the consequences of causing harm used by that freedom of speech.

Again, maybe this disharmony is the price one pays for free speech.

On another matter, the right to bear arms, appears to the rest of the world, to be insane.

Modern man is more a social being than he is a protector of life, possessions and land. In other words, most of us are more involved with other people in our normal lives than we are in protecting our livestock, farms and selves from real and imminent threats. We live as social beings in a social context, and as such, the definition and application of 'bearing arms' needs to be interpreted in that context.

The right to bear arms in a social context is both the threat and the counter to the threat at the same time. This understandably generates tension which is visible in many US cities today. Just look at the spate of mass shootings.

My last reflection at this time, is about the Western, Capitalist and individualistic society in the US - one which is being increasingly adopted by others.

As I understand the US culture, it is all about individualism and the ability of maximising oneself - as an individual, as a wealth accumulator, as an experiencer. Embedded in that context is the implied ethos that "I am striving to be the winner," and for me to achieve that, "you need to be the loser."

This is having catastrophic impacts on American society and it's future. Firstly, those with means are most commonly the winners. Those with means have access to the law. Those with means have the connections and relationships to ensure victory. These factors reinforce the old adage, that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The US has one of the largest discrepancies between rich and poor in the world. These discrepancies are manifest in education, housing, access to medical services, career opportunity, retirement sufficiency, and so on.

The inevitability is that the gap between rich and poor will worsen over time rather than improve. And the problem is that the poor have guns by virtue of their constitutional rights. Therefore the future looks quite bleak for American society. Desperate people will resort to desperate measures to protect and feed their families.

A modern enlightened society should be all about 'Optimisation' rather than 'Maximisation'. When you optimise, everyone gets the best outcome possible for all. If everyone maximises, then you get a lot of losers.

And before someone accuses me of being a Socialist or Communist, (and I am a confirmed Capitalist), government has the responsibility of looking after all its people. It does that by allowing and encouraging capitalism and entrepreneurialism, but also by having a tax system that contributes enough to provide necessary services to lift all people above poverty and enable them to live in personal dignity. Those who wish to work hard, can and are encouraged. Those who can't work, need to be protected from indignity and poverty.

The American system is clearly not doing this and thus is creating the dialogue for its own impending social troubles.

There is little dispute that the last Australian government deserved to lose. They displayed  both incompetence and disunity - a lethal combination for any government.

There was considerable reservation about a potential Abbott government but the smell that surrounded the Labor government easily (as it turned out) outweighed the indecision around the Abbott government.

It's hard therefore, to deny that Labour lost the election rather than the Liberals winning it.

We have now had a few weeks of the Liberal government, and alas, their apparent incompetence promises to make Labor's screw-ups pale into insignificance.

In a matter of days they have turned Indonesia, Australia's strong friend and ally, into an antagonist. They have sought a massive increase in the debt ceiling when, before the election, they complained about the level of debt. They have got rid of the Climate Commission when the overwhelming body of science accepts absolutely the threat of climate change.

So far, the government's pre-election jingoistic promises are being thwarted.

Not only does this government appear absolutely incompetent, but they also appear to be dangerous.

I am delighted to announce the publication of my latest book Living on Purpose- How to take control of your life and achieve your personal vision of happiness

Living on Purpose is a unique book. Essentially, it’s about identifying, developing and delivering your personal vision of happiness.

In moments of absolute honesty, most people will tell you that they’re not as happy as they’d like to be, yet they’re not exactly sure of what will make them happy. Living on Purpose helps you define and achieve your personal vision of happiness, whatever you find it to be. For many people, it’s as simple as defining the elements that can deliver their happiness and mapping a path to that delivery. For others, it’s more complicated.

Drawing on more than 35 years of experience, I have developed Living on Purpose from my experiences of counselling thousands of individuals on a range of issues related to work, finance and personal development.

This book helps you identify your personal vision of happiness (however complicated), the elements that comprise it, and the strategies and tasks needed to turn your vision into reality. You can focus on a wide range of areas – from relationships and lifestyle to professional and personal aspirations – and identify where you might need assistance (and how to find it) to help you on your path toward true happiness. Living on Purpose is fully supported by the website www.livingonpurposebook.com where you’ll find tables to download or print and an image library. Here you’ll also find more information about the book and me.

We all deserve to be happy. In our culture, focussing on ourselves and the delivery of our personal happiness is often viewed as selfish, but the truth is that we really can’t be effective in our jobs and emotionally present for our families and friends if we aren’t fulfilled ourselves.

Available now from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Living-Purpose-Jack-Jacoby-ebook/dp/B00GK8HV6W/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384049615&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=living+on+purpose+dr+jack+jacoby#_