If you’re picking apples from a tree, how would you choose the best apples? You might decide based on colour, shape, size, texture, and other physical attributes. But research from University College London suggests we subconsciously also factor in the ease of reaching the apple. The low-hanging ... 
In March 2015, almost six years ago, Bill Gates, former Microsoft CEO and now one of the world’s leading philanthropists, delivered his sixth TED Talk, this time on the topic, “The next outbreak? We’re not ready”. In his presentation, Gates described a global pandemic scenario that matched ... 
As part of my mathematics degree at the University of Western Australia, we calculated how objects in space – such as planets, asteroids, and moons – would interact with each other, based on their mass, velocity, and other factors. We assumed these objects were perfect spheres, which was a reas... 
Unless you’re an evolutionary biologist, you probably aren’t an expert in the theory of evolution. For most people, all they know about it is the name Charles Darwin, the occasional debate about whether it’s true (spoiler alert: it is), and some vague idea about “survival of... 
As we come towards the end of this wild and crazy year, you might be looking ahead to a very different 2021. In this episode, I share 12 quotations I use with my audiences and clients when talking about innovation, change, disruption, leadership, and making a difference.
Here’s the list of th... 
Remember the devastating bushfires around Australia at the start of 2020, when we thought that was the worst possible thing that could happen to us this year? Last week, I spoke at a conference for 750 of Western Australia’s firefighters and marine rescue workers. Some of these people and the... 
The coronavirus pandemic has thrown all our future plans into disarray. Most of Australia is doing very well in controlling the health crisis, but the economic crisis will last for longer, and we still don’t know what’s around the corner in the next few months. In an uncertain future, m... 
How well do you deal with uncertainty? Probably not as well as you’d like – and that’s a problem, because the uncertainty we’re facing in 2020 will continue for some time to come.
Unfortunately, we’re hard-wired to prefer certainty, and there’s research to prove it. In 2016, a t... 
Last week, I had an interesting conversation over lunch with a smart, savvy friend who’s a senior leader in a large global organisation. We were discussing the changes to workplace dynamics due to people working from home. As one example, she compared online meetings with in-person meetings ̵... 
The coronavirus pandemic has affected different industries in different ways, and even within an industry, businesses have felt its impact differently. We’re not all in the same boat; we’re all in the same storm, but in different boats, navigating our way through the storm. The key skill you ne... 
