When a madman is at loose expect many Critical Moments. That’s why Russia’s war with Ukraine is a series of near disasters and an equal number of opportunities. Sociopaths do reach high office. Their cunning – which partly describes them – and their pathological fixation on what they want to achieve are a formidable combination,…
Read more
The Power of Words first appeared in Business Times on 21 March 2022 https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/leadership-management/the-power-of-words Whichever view we have about the Ukrainian War most of us will have two lasting memories – first, the dreadfulness of war at any time but especially in 2022 and second, the amazing power the Ukrainian President has managed to bring…
Read more
One day – in how many years from now I know not – you will be my age, teetering on the brink of ninety. I hope you will remember Putin’s War. Unless you are Ukrainian or a Russian military you won’t have lived directly through it. But you will have watched the news reports, seen the…
Read more
It was the invasion of Poland that started WWII. I remember it well, but not as well as the Polish people of my age do. It started a grim, debilitating and disastrous war. It is interesting, therefore, to find Mateusz Morawiecki, the Prime Minister of Poland, concluding his statement on 27 Feb 22 with these words “Peace…
Read more
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia leaves the rest of us looking fragile. The sanctions imposed as acts of objection to carnage and destruction are pathetic gestures. They are shows of weakness, almost of not caring – though there are many of us who do care deeply. They are an invitation to others to make…
Read more
Zoey Lim, Terrific Mentors International Deborah, a 17 year old intern working with a company took some money from the petty cash. She was found out. Manager Z was greatly concerned and wanted to help. He cared for her feelings and wanted to avoid a nasty confrontation. He tried easing into the conversation by asking…
Read more
Ukraine: The bit they have not yet decided to invade President Biden is playing the game of dare. I expect you have already seen that. In case you didn’t notice it, you might like to recall your childhood days when Dare was an important way of establishing the pecking order. The Dared is threatened with…
Read more
You may, like me, think the British Prime Minister is a nasty bit of work. It seems a lot of his MPs think so too. You can’t blame them really. He lies like a trooper, flusters all his answers and appears to have lost his hair comb. Such behaviour is not becoming for anyone in…
Read more
In an excellent review of, and reflection on, Squid Game (Straits Times 08Oct21) Fani Papageorgiou faces us with the key driver as “Our innate tendency towards violence is immense”. As a skill, a lesson in how to circumvent life’s problems rather than charge them head on, we have much to learn from this engagement. Life…
Read more
You probably don’t want war and I sure as hell don’t want war. I have eleven grandchildren making their way successfully in life and seven great grandchildren opening their eyes to the possibilities they will have when they are educated. I want them all to live in a peaceful, cooperative world. But I also want…
Read more