
What you say is as important as why you say it
As with all thinking endeavours, it is as much what you say that determines the richness of your thoughts, as with how you think it. One...

What is stopping you from…
Hi Ian, I attended your strategic thinking program last year, and I must admit that it was not easy applying what you taught. I find that...

How much do you know yourself, and what does that mean?
I learnt last year that my MBTI type is “INTJ”. Not one for labels, I didn’t really think much about it then. But out of curiosity, I...

Angels go in where fools fear to tread - should we be afraid of the unknown?
They say that there are known knowns (we know what we know), known unknowns (we know what we don't know), unknown knowns (we don't know...

Embracing the growth mindset is less risky
When you are faced with a new and uncertain business opportunity, which of the following questions would you more likely ask, “But what...

When you need more juice to solve your problems
So you have a persistent problem, and you need a great solution. How are you going to juice up your options so that you can get at the...

Is it a bad thing to be risk-averse?
This is a difficult question to answer because it presupposes a dichotomy of thought: you’re either risk-averse or a risk-taker. This...

A stitch in time saves nine
Recently, my 10-year-old water heater, which showed signs of corrosion at the joints, crashed from its perch, bringing down the water...

5 simple and effective reframing techniques to be more balanced in your thinking
Prof Henry Mintzberg, McGill professor of strategy, explains that strategic thinking is the application of different sets of perspective...

As in government, so too in business
Last Saturday, Mr Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore wrote an...