Filed under: 2025, 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Age, Attitude & Aptitude, Colenso, Colleagues, Doctor, Eye, Generosity, Happiness, Health, Hope, Metallica, NHS, Nurses, Process
It’s Monday. In the first few weeks of going back to work after a longish break. And all we are hearing is shit, depressing news from all over the World … so you would imagine today’s post would continue that theme of darkness, and yet it isn’t.
No seriously. It’s bordering on embarrassingly cheery and happy. Admittedly, cheery and happy for me – but given so many people have contributed to the reason for this, I’m hoping it has some positive effect on you too.
So as the title of this post states – a lot can happen in 12 months.
I appreciate you’re saying “no shit”, but as I pointed out, I’m not talking about global events, tech companies or the economy … I’m talking about this from a very, very personal point of view.
Truth be told, when you get to my age, a lot of life has found its natural rhythm so while there will be ups and downs, overall you tend to know how to surf life’s waves.
But the last year for me was pretty extreme.
Don’t get me wrong, the overall view of the year was good – as I wrote about here – but apart from the tragedy of losing many friends and a fucked-up situation with someone I thought was a better human than they proved themselves to be, the biggest challenge I faced was my sight.
I’ve had eye problems since I was 21 but in January 2025, my ‘good’ eye got an infection in Penang, Malaysia that commenced one of the worst medical rollercoasters I’ve had in my life.
And I’ve had a few.
What was initially considered to be a few weeks of discomfort turned into weekly – often daily – hospital visits, endless tests, a range of medical experts being called in, over 50 meds-a-day, a diagnosis so rare it become a medical ‘white paper’ and … worst of all … blindness.
Proper blindness.
The impact of all this on my mental health was pretty severe. To be honest, I hadn’t really realised how much until the festive holiday where my body had the time to finally start to loosen the tension it had been holding – and this was despite visiting a psychologist both after a particularly bad test result and when I was weighing up whether to do the operation as the risks were pretty high.
I say all this because last week I went in for another check-up. My first of the new year … and while the operation had been a success – thanks to my doctor, my surgeons and the intervention of the wonderful PM and his high profile ‘clients’, who organised the specialist who actually invented the operation I was going to have, to come to NZ and consult on my procedure – we didn’t know if it would turnaround my situation.
The good news was after the op, I had some vision – which was a massive news, however I couldn’t see much other than certain blurs of beige.
But over the weeks, with the post-op meds, rest and time – I did sense things were improving, but given one of the issues I had was pressure build up [which you don’t feel] I was pretty apprehensive.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, my check-up revealed the pressure was very good – as in, ‘fully under control’, which meant the main part of the operation had not just worked, but was holding. But then the shockingly good news.
My eyesight was better than my other eye.
That’s right, my operated eye was – under certain conditions – performing better than the eye I’d been relying on for the past 12 months. The irony being that eye was previously shit given my detached retina when I was 21 … but such is the magic of the brain, it has somehow improved to compensate for for my blindness, but now – as the other eye was getting better – it decided not to try so hard.
I cannot tell you what it felt like to hear that.
To be fair, even the specialist and surgeon were shocked at the level and speed of improvement … but they have not just given me the ability to see again, they’ve almost returned my eyesight to pre-illness levels.
No more bumping into people.
No more having my phone screen on max zoom.
No more going to hospital every day and week.
And maybe, no more dressing like a ‘festival chick’ for the Colenso Christmas party.
[Which happened post-op so I literally have zero excuse, haha]
I know, your eyes are now fucked after that image aren’t they. Sorry. At least I can recommend some excellent medical experts. You’re welcome – hahaha.
Anyway, while I’ll need medication for the rest of my life, have regular check-ups and be mindful of lifting heavy items … it really feels like I’ve been given my whole life back.
I know that sounds dramatic. I know there are many others worse off than I ever was or would have been. And I appreciate I was very lucky that I saw a GP quickly … they recognised the severity of the problem straight away … and I had the insurance – and unexpected contacts – who got me the best specialists and surgeons in the country (and worldwide) but there were moments where I felt, with good reason, that the life I had may be taken away from me.
I know I’d have survived.
I know I’d have got through it.
But the problem is at the time, you focus on what’s going to change rather than what you’re going to do … which is why I’m so grateful to everyone who helped, supported and encouraged me over the past 12 months.
From family and friends to nurses and doctors to colleagues and clients to acquaintances and strangers. All of you helped make sure that however dark some moments were, the light was never completely out. Even it is was in my eye. Ha.
So thank you. Thank you so, so much.
And god bless medicine and all you work with it and practice it. At a time where we have global leaders trying to diminish and undermine medical science and medical care, it’s the doctors and nurses we should be listening to, celebrating and compensating – they’re the hero’s, not the entitled egotists who claim to represent the people but only care for themselves.
And if I thought I could see through their bullshit before, I can see it even more clearly now.
Literally and metaphorically.
So with that, happy Monday … but probably not as happy as I will be.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, AI, Attitude & Aptitude, Business, Comment, Technology
This post kind-of follows on from yesterday’s.
You see, recently I saw this image from the IBM training manual of 1979.
Interesting isn’t it.
That even then, they both saw the power and the potential folly of enabling technology to have ‘too much’ autonomy.
But these days, it’s all the rage … driven far more by a quest for profit than a desire to make life better for all.
As I have written many times, the issue is rarely with the tech, but the people behind it.
Not just in terms of their motivations, but their frames-of-reference.
In many cases, they’re spoilt, little boys all desperate to be seen as the next Edison, Tesla or Newton … conveniently forgetting that Tesla, Edison and Newton were driven by a desire to expand and enable human possibilities rather than neuter it.
Of course, what accelerates this attitude and adoption is a sharemarket that blindly rewards any organsation that spouts those two little letters in all they do … which helps explain why I am seeing the letters ‘AI’ being thrown about in the same way WeWork tried to convince everyone they were a tech company rather than an office leasing company.
Just recently I watched an ad for an air conditioning unit that said it used AI to work out what temperature they needed to be.
Errrrm, excuse me … but hasn’t that option been around for donkey’s years.
Same with the car brand that claimed they used AI to ensure the car would perfectly match the driving conditions.
Give me a fucking break.
It’s Emperor’s New Clothes all over again … except people aren’t buying the bullshit so easily because on top of the snake-oil so many companies are trying to push, the reality is many people are losing their jobs and livelihoods and so see AI more as the enemy than the enabler.
It doesn’t have to be this way because used right … AI can/could liberate and democratize society in ways previously considered impossible.
But to do that requires people who want everyone to win, not just themselves … and that’s why we don’t have a generation of Tesla’s, Edison’s and Newton’s, but Musk’s, Zuck’s and Trump’s.
I’ll say this for AI though …
For all its incredible uses, its real power is its ability to reveal the real motivation behind the companies who embrace it and that’s something no amount of mission statement, purpose campaign or focus group will ever be able to hide.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Brand Suicide, Business, Career, Clients, Collaboration, Comment, Complicity, Conformity, Consultants, Corporate Evil, Creativity, Culture, Delusion, Distinction, Effectiveness, Egovertising, Freelance, Honesty, Individuality, Innovation, Insight, Leadership, Loyalty, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Mediocrity, Perspective, Planners, Relationships, Relevance, Reputation, Research, Resonance, Respect, Standards, Strategy
OK, I’ve given you a couple of days of niceish posts to help ease you into the new year, so I think it’s time I write some stuff that lets out some of my seemingly endless frustrations – ha.
As we all know, there’s a ton of talk about the longevity of the industry with things like corporate consolidation, AI and processes and systems.
I get that and there should be that … but what bothers me is a lot of the conversations are not focused on what got us here.
Because for all the talk about the obsession with efficiency and the ‘illusion’ of effectiveness, what is rarely discussed is the lack of investment in training.
Don’t get me wrong,’outsourced, for profit’ training programs have their role and value in developing skills – even if many have been devised by people who have often never even worked directly in the industry, let alone made anything of note within it – but so much of this is about creating industry conformity, rather than creation.
Worse, it’s industry conformity often based on an individuals definition of what good work is … which is ALWAYS self-serving for them.
And while – as I said – it still offers some sort of value, it also actively devalues individual talent, potential, craft and creativity.
Or said another way, it allows all the things we are spending so much energy complaining about – to thrive.
Add to that too many people only wanting to develop in a bid to get more money – rather than more ability – and you can see how we got where we’re sitting.
But what bothers me most is how some companies are reacting and responding to this shift.
I don’t mean agencies – who, in the main, are not exactly shining with their ‘strategies’ – but companies.
Because for all the demands they have in terms of expectations and standards, they end up showing nothing really matters as much as cost and time.
Part of this is because – sadly – many companies don’t know the difference between quality and quantity.
Part of this is because – even more sadly – there is a lack of training in their organizations as well, so they’re only empowered to say ‘no’, rather than ‘yes’.
Part of this is – possibly most tragic of all – is that many companies have put themselves in a position where they have allowed procurement to be the ultimate decision maker – despite the fact the only thing most know about other industries is how to ‘compare prices’.
Case in point …
Recently I spoke to a strategist who is not just incredibly experienced, but is pretty incredible.
By that I mean the work they’ve done and the impact they have enabled.
And yet, despite all this, they’re finding it hard to find work … exemplified by recently losing out on a project where – objectively – they would be one of the most qualified people in the entire industry to do this job.
They didn’t lose out because they weren’t known.
They didn’t lose out because they weren’t available.
They lost out because the company thought they could ‘hack the system’ by hiring someone who had worked at the same company as the strategist in question, who was asking for a much lower fee.
Now I get – on face value – that sounds a smart move.
Except that was the only requirement for hiring this person.
They ignored the fact these strategists didn’t work in the same office.
They ignored the fact these strategists didn’t work on the same clients or category.
They ignored the fact they never worked or interacted together.
They ignored the fact one strategist has led work, the other has just supported it.
They ignored the fact one strategist has 16 years of experience, the other has under 5.
They ignored the fact one strategist is at a ‘head of planning’ level, the other is ‘strategist’.
I should point out this does not mean the strategist they chose isn’t good – I know who they are and they have some interesting perspectives – but their experience, context, exposure to senior leaders and overall ability is miles off what the other strategist in question has to offer. There is literally no comparison.
Now this is not their fault … with time, I imagine their abilities [like all of us] will increase dramatically, or it will if they are exposed to people who are willing to develop them, rather than expect them to just execute which sadly – even if they had a full-time job – is increasingly seen as a ‘cost’ rather than an investment … but while I have no desire to deny anyone the ability to make a living [especially young talent who have been forced out of jobs because of costs, workload or mental health] everyone is going to lose here.
Everyone.
The ultra-qualified strategist has to look for another job.
The strategist who has been hired is going to only execute based on their frame-of-reference and standards which, as I pointed out, is not what a job of this magnitude requires. And that’s before we even consider how much this job could hold back their development because they’re not being paid to learn, they’re being paid to do.
The company ends up having a solution that doesn’t liberate the opportunity they have … or the issues they need to contend with.
Of course, where you work has a huge impact on how you grow … and the place both these strategists worked, is excellent.
But there’s a massive difference between being there a few years and many years – not just in terms of the work you do, but the challenges and growth you are exposed to – and so when companies choose to deliberately ignore this … be it for cost, convenience or control reasoning … not only are they undermining their own business, they’re undermining the potential of the person they hired and so we all end up contributing to the situation we’re complaining about while also being blinkered towards.
Train properly.
Pay properly.
Place value on experience, standards and craft.
If you don’t, the position of mayhem that we’re in now will be seen as one of the golden ages of where we’ll end up.
Happy New Year … hahaha.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Birthday, Bonnie, Comment
Hello 2026.
Sure, it’s been around for almost 2 weeks, but that’s the magic of NZ.
As I’ve written before, the whole country closes down over this period and the benefit of that is not just that you get a long break, it’s the knowledge ‘everyone’ is away so your entire body can chill, safe in the knowledge you’re not missing anything or being left behind by any shifts.
It may seem a small thing, but I can tell you – the reality of the experience is very big.
Because of my eye situation, we didn’t do much.
Trips overseas were not allowed.
Driving too far was not allowed.
Doing work was not possible.
The result being I actually feel refreshed and a bit excited for the year ahead – albeit that it took quite a long time before I started to to actually feel I was relaxing. And while we’re not even 2 weeks into the new year, I know there’s a bunch of good things that will be happening. I don’t mean that theoretically, but already booked-in … which feels almost unfair given last year was pretty good for me, admittedly with a couple of tough bumps in the road along the way.
Of course, how I’ll review 2026 will only become clear in December … and while no one wants the shitty bits, they do help you appreciate the good. What’s interesting is that as I’ve got older, what equates to ‘good’ has evolved.
Underpinning my evaluation is a much greater emphasis on fulfilment rather than achievement. That doesn’t mean I don’t want the things I am a part of to be successful …. it just means I place greater importance on what and how I do things rather than simply what they enable me to get out of them.
Or said another way, I play to be proud, not simply for the win.
Now, if truth be told, that’s a trait that was drilled into me by my parents who told me to live a life of fulfilment, not contentment. But as I’ve written many times in the past – I didn’t really work out what that meant until I was about 35, so there have definitely been times where I took a short cut here or was performative there.
I guess we all do to some point … but what I realized a while back, is success – at least for me – is not about titles or popularity, but the feeling you lived up to who you hope you are. Again and again and again.
But what I’ve also learned along the way is that it’s not just what you do, but what you stop doing … and that’s something I spent a bunch of time over the holidays thinking about, resulting in me letting go of some things that I realized I’d been doing more out of financial regularity rather than emotional reward.
Now I totally appreciate the privilege/stupidity of being able to do that – especially when you’re the main breadwinner and never want to put your family at risk – but as you get older, you value time far more than you ever did because you see it is something you need to get the most out of rather than something that just tells you how long you’ve been engaged in something … and it’s that shift that has led me to making some choices and decisions over the last few weeks that will set the direction of 2026 and beyond.
And while I still have a way to go to see how it all turns out, I feel I’m now at a new starting point for the future – rather than just something I hope I can get to – which is why I’m approaching 2026 with the goal to spend most of my time focused on the things that truly interest and intrigue me and if there’s anything life has told me, it’s when you’re open to everything, anything can happen.
Now I/we see if I’m full of shit …
Before I go, I can tell you one brilliant thing about 2026, it’s this.
Yep, it’s Bonnie’s first birthday.
I’ve written a bunch about her over the past 12 months.
How she helped us get over the loss of our dear Rosie.
The incredible impact she has had on Otis’ confidence.
The life she has brought into the house.
It may explain why I thought it would be cute to get a Lego version of her made, when I saw an ad on insta promoting this product.
All you had to do was send them a photo of your pet and a stupid amount of money and they would send you the finished article.
So I did it.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And then, eventually I received a package containing some brown and white bricks WITH NO INSTRUCTIONS!!!
None. Nada. Zilch.
I then spent 4 fucking hours trying to recreate our dog – albeit, not remembering which photo I sent them to base it on – and created this.
I know, I know, it’s utterly shit … and that’s when I came to the conclusion the photo was immaterial because all the evil geniuses did was send me some fake Lego bricks that just correspond to the main color of whatever pic you send them.
I’m more angry at how brilliant their business model is, than my stupidity … but I do want to say sorry to our beloved Bonnie. It’s not representative of how much we love her, but it is representative of the standard of blog post you’re going to get. Not that you should be surprised, given this is the 20th year [TWENTIETH] of this shit, so at this point you’re going to have to accept you’re somewhat responsible for your pain too.
See you tomorrow. Hopefully.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Business, Childhood, Clients, Comment, Confidence, Creative Development, Creativity, Dad, Effectiveness, Emotion, Empathy, Experience, Family, Friendship, Loyalty, Marketing Fail, Mum, Mum & Dad, Tom Stoppard
First of all a huge thanks to all the people who got in touch about my good eye news yesterday. Given how much your support through the challenge of last year meant to me, you just added the icing on the top.
So back to the post …
A while back, the great playwright, Tom Stoppard, died.
His death affected me because he was someone my family didn’t just respect highly, but knew well.
Especially my Auntie Silvana, who first met him when they worked at the iconic Aldwych theatre, London.
If truth be told, I’d not thought about Tom for years but on hearing he had died, I realized the people in my life who would be the most upset at this news – namely my Mum, Dad and Aunt – had all gone, and somehow that made the news the more potent.
Unsurprisingly, news of Tom’s passing led to many stories about him being told in the international media.
Stories about his talent.
Stories about his stories.
And stories about his integrity.
The word integrity is one that is often overused and incorrectly used.
Too often used to justify a one-off decision and/or a small act of consciousness within a big pattern of complicit acts.
But Tom wasn’t like that.
Even those who would label his decisions as ‘stubborn’ would grudgingly acknowledge – and respect – he was simply being Tom. Doing what he said he would do, regardless of opportunity, pressure, money or fame.
At a time where people and companies will seemingly destroy any relationship, promise or agreement for the ability to squeeze out $1 more than they had before … it’s beautiful Stoppard would never entertain doing such a thing.
Nothing sums this up more than this story of when Spielberg wanted him to write the screenplay for Jaws …
Isn’t that amazing?
It was also smart … because not only did it make Spielberg want to work with him even more, it had the same effect with the people at the BBC.
As I wrote a while back, our industry loves to talk about integrity and relationships but rarely seems to understand what those words actually mean, let alone how deeply entwined and interconnected they are.
As I wrote a while back about a private client of mine – the biggest street fashion investor and most profitable retailer on the planet – powerful, valuable and sustainable relationships aren’t built on convenience, but on inconvenience … and how your actions, honesty, transparency and focus continually demonstrate how you never lose sight of what you’re building together, how you want to build it and what each other is able to do because of it.
Also known as integrity.
Thank you Tom. We need more people like you … or at least acting like you.