When people ask me what it’s like being on top and what my trick is for maintaining this position, I can quite simply say it’s because I expose myself daily. MBA Thinking doesn’t come easily at first. It’s something that needs to be nurtured. And for me, I find that daily stimulation has paid off, […]
Professor Longsword
Professor Longsword
A Lunchtime Lockdown Lecture with Professor Longsword
Having been made aware that many people are struggling during this return to lockdown restrictions, I crafted a special, Lunchtime Lockdown Lecture to bring you some relief, some inspiration, and indeed a shot in the arm – both literally with vaccination, and figuratively with some MBA THINKING. In this lecture, I explored three themes. Applying […]
Life, death, and Adelaide trams: No laughing matter for Cranker Comedy audiences
I took academia to the masses last night at a comedy event called, Cranker Comedy. This weekly gathering in Adelaide attracts a full house of “punters” venturing out to enjoy a mix of emerging and experienced comedians at the Crown and Anchor Hotel. Not being a comedian, I opted to use my time to conduct […]
Banksy Hacking Workshop For Creative Wonderment And Strategic Surprise
An official apology. On behalf of The MBA School Of MBA Credentials, our faculty, and our students, I would like to formally apologise to University of South Australia for the hacking that took down their computer systems today. We are champions of MBA Thinking and we do our best to champion innovation by bringing different […]
3 satisfying ways Port Pirie can hit paydirt over its label as a shit town
This article came to pass because one of our MBA students, who is from Port Pirie, bemoaned the fact that their town was named the most “shit town” of Australia by the Shit Towns of Australia newsletter. It intrigued me that they were so upset by a fictitious entity’s made up label but as I […]
3 bright ideas to help Adelaide University embrace and learn from shutting down for a week
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic robbing Adelaide University of international students, the institution is shutting down this week to save money on wages and electricity but it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. In fact, there are some glowing reasons why going dark for a week should be embraced. In the […]
weword: After wework, will Hulu make a new documentary about another exaggerated start-up?
The Hulu network is launching a new documentary this weekend called, WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn. See trailer below. It covers the rise and fall of wework, an American commercial real estate company that markets flexible and shared workspaces for technology start-ups and services for other enterprises. The company […]
Tertiary Studies and Careers Expo Adelaide – an opening speech by Professor Longsword
Here is the text of a speech written by Professor Sebastian Longsword for the opening of the Tertiary Studies and Careers Expo Adelaide, March 28 and 29, 2021. What a wonderful moment it is, to be officially opening the 12th annual Tertiary Studies & Careers Expo Adelaide which is also known as (TSCEA) for short. […]
Adelaide’s MBA School Of MBA Credentials to offer a Qualification Swap for dissatisfied students from Victoria’s top 5 universities
The academic world in Victoria is in shock after its top universities drew the strongest dissatisfaction ratings from students in the federal government-commissioned 2020 Student Experience Survey. In the survey, the University of Melbourne and Monash University “recorded the largest declines in students’ overall ratings of their education experience”, according to this Sydney Morning Herald […]
Tackling Repetition Blindness through the Adelaide March 4 Justice event
Some people believe The MBA School Of MBA Credentials exists in an alternative universe but whether or not that’s true, there are universal issues that demand vigilance and the lifting of heads out of books, no matter which dimension or era one exists in. And one such issue is the need for justice and action […]
Professor channels former PM Bob Hawke and calls bosses bums
I had a little taste of media exposure today, when asked to appear on a television program to discuss employees having time off through the day to attend A Lunchtime MBA. It began as a discussion about the importance of the business lunch. This is something very important to all MBAs because we know much […]
How much is your MBA worth? Reflections on Mariana Mazzucato’s book, The Value of Everything
What do you value? And how do you realise the value of anything? These are questions we’ve been wrestling with while running A Lunchtime MBA, in which students can attend our daily sessions at Treasury 1860, grab a lunch and a drink, and leave with an MBA Degree for the princely sum of $50. Is […]
Art is the fifth wave of business
I am convinced that artists hold the key to our world’s future, which is why I was delighted to have been asked to formally open a new art exhibition by Campbelltown Arthouse Inc for the 2021 Adelaide Fringe. I was doubly delighted when I discovered the theme of the exhibition is Wave. This is because […]
One Time Round: Dr Gill Hicks and the consequences of our actions
I was telling my good lady wife about a chance meeting I had with Dr Gill Hicks in the bushes of the Adelaide Botanic Garden, while discussing her 2021 Adelaide Fringe show, Alive And (still kicking). She has long been an admirer of Dr Gill’s and she relayed to me something that had come up in conversation […]
Make South Australia the MBA state
South Australia’s Department Of Premier And Cabinet, has released a document this weekend entitled, Future Adelaide: State Of Illumination. And this glossy magazine and website – futureadl.com.au – are certainly shining a light on some of the best and most exclusive aspects of South Australia you can imagine. From pristine underwater scenes to dusk photography […]
Wine and Book Pairing: Poke The Box by Seth Godin with a Spider Bill Wines Barbera
One of my favourite authors is Seth Godin. Seth has written many quirky books, many that even fail to communicate complete ideas, favouring, instead, fragments of thoughts with the onus on the reader to pull it all together. I particularly enjoy having read Linchpin and Purple Cow because I saw a pattern in Seth’s writing. […]
Tim Minchin is an exemplar of MBA Thinking and the Professor will carry his flame throughout the Adelaide Fringe
It was drawn to my attention that Tim Minchin AM will not be appearing at the 2021 Adelaide Fringe, leaving the role of higher education messaging to my good self. It is a heavy burden to bear but I do so gladly. What do we have in common? We both command stages in front of […]
Summon the elders: Why businesses should not make retirement compulsory
It is with much surprise that I awoke today to news that consultancy firm, Deloitte, expects its partners to retire at the ripe age of 62. This is very surprising, when one considers that Deloitte is probably home to more MBAs per capita than any other firm on the planet. How could this haven for […]
Wine and Book Pairing: The Naked CEO by Alex Malley with a Ballycroft Small Berry Mataro
The Naked CEO is a “bare it all” tale about what makes Alex Malley tick. And it seems that hinges on being able to still be a goofy kid when being an adult. This made it a perfect wine to pair with Joe Evans’ Mataro from Ballycroft in Greenock because Joe is quite the larrikin, […]
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki paired with Wolf Blass Grey Label Shiraz
A book that can instil financial literacy and curiosity in young and old alike is Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. For MBA students, there are wonderful stories of cunning and ingenuity throughout this light read that have potential to impact the balance sheets of any business or endeavour they might be involved in […]
Adelaide breakfast radio music is hurting South Australian productivity
I know this headline makes a bold claim but as someone who lives by MBA Thinking I cannot afford to shirk my responsibility to speak the truth. There are many sources of self-help information and pop-culture leaders who preach that happy workplaces are healthy. Oh, how I wish that were true. But, alas, the data […]
Exeter Hotel Adelaide: A review by Professor Longsword
I’m not one for writing reviews of establishments but something struck me this evening as I stumbled into the Exeter Hotel in Rundle Street, so I had to write about it to “think out loud”. I was in the area because I’ve been invited to join the breakfast program on Radio Adelaide on Friday morning […]
Influence: The Persuasion Of Psychology by Dr Robert Cialdini paired with Eight At The Gate Shiraz Cabernet
How many wines are there in the world? How many business books are there? There are countless samples of both. However, how many of these books have been paired with wines by a Professor using MBA Thinking? Only nine of them, to date. This, my friends, is scarcity. And as Dr Robert Cialdini explains in […]
2021 Adelaide Oxford Honorary MBA Degree List
The first of February is one of the most important dates in the English-speaking world because it was on this day back in 1884 that the first portion (or fascicle) of the Oxford English Dictionary was published. We hold this day dear to our hearts because not only was I born in Oxfordshire but I […]
Adelaide MBA School to teach GameStop-like investment in Adelaide Adventure Rooms
Many students have asked me to analyse the GameStop phenomenon that has taken Wall Street and the popular press by storm. And it is healthy that a new crop of MBAs should be keen as mustard to learn from the experiments and mistakes of others to seek new ways of deriving profit from strategic street […]
Wine and Book Pairing: The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey with a Shanahans Silence Is Golden Barossa Shiraz
Do not waste another week, day, hour, or minute of your life, says Stephen Covey in his famous book, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People. However, that does not mean cramming every second with activity. On the contrary, Covey points out that we need to balance our Production with our Production Capability, which is […]
Wine and Book Pairing: How To Be An Inclusive Leader by Jennifer Brown with a Yellow Tail Shiraz
What a heady week it’s been with my first appearance at an Australian Marketing Institute meeting (my confidante, Steve Davis, is a CPM and Fellow) and my first taste of seeing an infographic of an entrepreneur that attracted a male-skewed conversation in 2021. Before we get to the Wine and Book Pairing, let’s just look […]
How the Adelaide Crows new Chief Executive can restore the Football Club with MBA Thinking
Let’s face facts. The Adelaide Crows aka Adelaide Football Club has fallen from grace in recent years and it does not augur well for the year when the first official duty of Chairman John Olsen at last night’s 2021 season launch was to announce the resignation of CEO Andrew Fagan. If ever an organisation needed […]
Wine and Book Pairing: Marketing by Philip Kotler et al with a South African Pinotage
Marketing is one of the most important topics in an MBA because, let’s face it, without Marketing the Higher Education sector would not have been able to create the MBA industry. God bless it! And the “go to” tome in this field is Marketing by Philip Kotler et al. It’s quite a gift to take […]
Wine and Book Pairing: Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr Spencer Johnson with a Grosset Riesling
The late author, Dr Spencer Johnson, was famous for his One-Minute Manager book as well as his fable-style book, Who Moved My Cheese? And yet, sadly, the “light” nature of the book means that “serious” MBA students might be tempted to skim through it or dismiss its messages due to its childrens story format. Which […]
