Last week I travelled to Victoria, the first such trip since the last lockdown – it was good to get moving again. Things were looking up; people are making holiday plans and then, like many of you, I heard the news on Friday about the latest variant.

Business leaders know they need to embrace technology, and many of us are aware we should be doing more.

Many of you know that I am on the board of several private companies, five of which are manufacturers. We love manufacturing here at Oasis Partners.

I was struck by an article in the AFR on Wednesday (18th August) in which writer James Weirs correctly observes that we as humans are hard-wired towards negativity.

I refer to the syndrome of never getting out of the details as being "in the weeds."

In speaking with a lot of owners of private businesses, I often hear stories of them being approached - seemingly out of the blue - by someone knocking on the door and looking to buy their business.

You will exit your business one day. This is just an irrefutable fact; as the saying goes, ‘death and taxes are the only two certainties!'

Successful businesses are often run by people who are very good technically who then develop the ability to work in a team before becoming leaders in their own business.

This question was recently addressed by our European colleague John Willcox-Jones. We’ve shared his insights here because they’re very relevant to Australian businesses.

A quote that you will rarely hear when remaining life becomes short. The opposite comment is almost invariably the case.