In the early 1800’s, John McAdams recognised that the roads in England were in terrible condition and caused major issues for transportation. He realised that if you raised the roads above the adjacent ground, covered first with rock and then stones and then bound with...
“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same…” This is taken from one of the most inspiring reads we’ve recently come across. And not from a modern doyen of entrepreneurship, but a 100-year old poem by Rudyard Kipling....
Being “busy” is often a default response when asked “how are you?”. It’s an easy and expected response, but a mindless one that’s become largely meaningless. Sadly, busy is considered a status symbol according to a group of US academics. You can see the Harvard Business...
OK, full disclosure, I’ve paraphrased Homer Simpson who once said, “To Alcohol! The cause of and solution to all life’s problems”. And, while I’m at it, the statement is not entirely true is it? I mean the first part of this sentence is right, digital...
A long haul airplane will point directly at its destination for less than 10% of the flight. Which means that for 90% of the flight it looks like it’s going somewhere else. This occurs because the pilot has to make allowances for the curvature of...
Making decisions is tough. There are always trade-offs, pros and cons, risks and rewards. But life generally requires us to make decisions, some big, many small. The problem is that decision making can be exhausting and lead to fatigue and when fatigue sets in, your...
Corporate values, for some this term is an oxymoron. Corporations don’t have values plural, they have a thing they value, singular. That “thing” is profit. Everything else is window dressing designed to make stakeholders feel a little better about the corporation. Granted, that’s a pretty cynical...
There’s a certain irony to cosmetics marketing. All the focus appears to be on the external, (highly) visible, outward facing subterfuge. Be it the models, the evocative imagery, the glossy magazines, the fashion or, of course, the celebrities. And all of these paid communications are...
It’s easier to fall for anything than it is to stand for something. When you don’t have a North Star; a clear objective, a well articulated purpose or a deep sense of self, life seems easy. You simply go in the direction of the prevailing wind....
This week at Sonder we’re tapping into our inner-hippie, cleansing our chakras with a wire brush, zoning-in and, most importantly, getting in tune with the seasons. We all know them – Summer, Autumn, Winter and of course Spring, which, for those of us in the...