Category: Business

Organisation/Industry Scandals: It’s the Regulators, Dummy!

ghubbard2014Leave a comment

It was the ‘fake honey’ story that finally got me. How could any organisation even conceive of ‘fake honey’, let alone produce it in their products?  Each day as I read the news, the headlines are familiar. Another organisation, another industry fails to be ethical, fails to follow the rules. Each day we are shocked…by what is the same issue much of the time: it’s the lack of regulators or lack of regulators enforcing the rules. Here’s how to fix many of the organisation/industry scandals that arise from the lack of regulators.Read More »

Advertisements

Dear Josh (Frydenberg)

ghubbard20141 Comment

 

I write to you as my local Federal member of Parliament.  After the shambolic chaos of your party’s internal power plays last week that led to yet another new Prime Minister and you accidentally being elected Deputy Leader and Treasurer, I realised that the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) you had fought so hard for, though very flawed, was a genuine attempt to plot your way through the minefield of environment and energy policy.

Though I campaigned against it, and against you because of your support for coal mining, I realised that you almost achieved balancing a carbon emissions reductions target, an energy supply guarantee and some commitment to price reduction, in the face of the warring sections of your party.  Here’s why I’m sorry now that you failed and what you need to do if you want to be the next leader of your party.Read More »

The Plastics War? We’ve Barely Started

ghubbard20141 Comment

So we (Victorians) have just stopped using single-use plastic bags in supermarkets and we are feeling very good about ourselves.  But this is just a drop in the ocean in our plastics use.  Research shows that over 800 million – yes million – pieces of plastic enter Pt Phillip Bay from just its two main rivers each year.  Research shows that plastics have infiltrated every ocean, every water supply and many food products.  Films such as ‘Blue Planet’ and ‘The Plastic Ocean’ and TV series such as ‘The War on Waste’ show how badly our environment has been and is being damaged by our uncontrolled use of plastic.  How can we address this environmental disaster?Read More »

HOW GOOD IS YOUR WINE?: GRADE INFLATION IN WINE RATINGS

ghubbard2014Leave a comment

I love wine.  But I am influenced by expert ratings and gold stars on the bottle – I can’t taste every wine before I drink it!  Over time, I’ve felt that the number of wines receiving high ratings and gold stars has increased significantly – when was the last time you say a wine rated below 90?  A bit of numerical analysis supports this:  either wines are highly over-rated…or Australia has the best wines in the world.Read More »

The Silent Chinese Invasion of Australia

ghubbard20141 Comment

Respected thinker Clive Hamilton’s new book, ‘The Silent Invasion:  China’s Influence in Australia’, is very scary essential reading.  This book’s deep research opened my eyes to China, especially now that Xi is President for life.  It’s essential reading because it exposes so much that has long term impacts.  If we don’t recognise these factors soon, it may be too late.Read More »

Rethinking Recycling, as China Pulls the Plug

ghubbard20141 Comment

Following the irony of environmental leader China (??) refusing to be the recipient of the world’s ‘recycling’ rubbish, Australian government responses seem to be:  ‘OMG, we’ll have to stop recycling’.  Another chance for Australia to be a world leader looks like going begging.  Surely there’s a better response than putting our head in the sand, as plastic and other recyclable products pile up on ocean beaches, in fish and in us, all over the world.Read More »

Effective CEOs Use Time Better

ghubbard2014Leave a comment

I spent 20 days recently with a CEO friend on a group trip with other very smart common friends.  After observing her management of the group and reflecting on my own pretty effective use of time, I concluded that effective CEOs, having more energy (a topic I’ve blogged on before), just get a lot more done in their day than the average person.  Here’s how.Read More »

From Mad Men to #meNOmore and Beyond

ghubbard2014Leave a comment

Another stage in the sexual equality revolution has finally arrived.  I’m thrilled – and stunned – by the rapid spread from Weinstein to the outing of many other outrageous men to #MeToo and now to #meNOmore, as women across the world stand up in many industries against the organisational and reputational power which men have exerted over them.  We’ve come a long way since Mad Men.Read More »