Insights & Musings
This is where I share sharp observations, strategic commentary, and behind-the-scenes thoughts on relocation, taxation, sovereignty, and life beyond borders. Not everything here is polished — but it’s real. If you want to understand how I think and what’s coming next, this is the place to start.
Where to Start with Start-up Investments
Everyone talks about start-ups. They are either starting a start-up or looking to invest in one.So, where to start when it comes to start-ups?You can find a lot of advice about starting your own business but, perhaps not surprisingly, much less so when it comes to what start-up business to invest your money in.Let’s start at the beginning. What does any investor look for when looking to invest?
What Do CEOs Do Anyway?
I’m a CEO.Have been for a number of years. And so I started thinking about my “role”.Normally the CEO is one person in your organisation who does not have a job description. That’s because it is often – certainly in the world of entrepreneurs- the CEO who has invented the company, set it up, made it all happen. But, largely on account of that, the CEO will rarely have anything resembling a job description. They may never have even thought about what it is they do, while all the time designing jobs and job descriptions for the people they are hiring.
Work, Life And Balance
January is that time of year that reminds us all of that often repeated contemporary mantra: work-life balance.Those three words roll off the tongue and have rolled off the tongue for many an employee, boss or even, heaven forbid, an HR Executive.They have become the sort of benchmark to one’s life. If for any reason you don’t have it – that mythic balance – then somehow you are not a very good human being let alone employee.
Business Leaders and Historical Military Leaders - Really?
In recent years there has been a trend to use military metaphors when dealing with business. Even the straightforward and omnipresent expression “ to hit the ground running” is reminiscent of parachutes and invasions. Advertising agencies talk of “campaigns” which in turn reminds us of Napoleon trudging through the snows of Russia circa 1812.The extension of the military metaphor to the business world is, however, never more so than in the world of leadership training. In recent years the world of business has looked to the great men – and they were mostly men – who led the biggest and the brashest military campaigns in history. Think Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Attila the Hun, Napoleon, and even Winston Churchill. I say “even” because before the glory of the Second World War Churchill had proved a disastrous military tactician, just ask anyone who was on the beaches of Gallipoli.
A New Year With Our Friends Electric
New Year’s Day!Don’t you just love it?Well, I’m here in Scotland. And there is nowhere better to enjoy the end of one year and the start of another. They call it Hogmanay up here, which translates into English as a great excuse for a gigantic party. North of the Border it is not just New Year’s Day that is a public holiday but January 2 as well. Yes, it’s that good a party.