Oliver Roberts

Zoom has become part of all our lives over the past few months. Here’s a light-hearted look at some of the quirks of the video meeting platform, as well as some of the things it’s taught us about ourselves and our colleagues… A – Audio only. The choice of beginners and introverts. That is until you’re the only one with a black screen so you crumble to the social pressure and go full video. B – Bad connection. But you pretend to hear everything the other person says anyway. C – Caught unawares

You no doubt know that starting and running a business requires huge amounts of time and energy. Honestly, it’s this crazy effort that forms part of the appeal and reward of being an entrepreneur—the 12-hour days, the 7am meetings, the adrenaline of creating something that belongs to you and maybe reflects your values. You believe in hard work. You’ve never been scared of it. In fact, it’s when you’re working that you feel most alive. It shapes your life, gives it meaning and purpose. It become

Think about all the things you most enjoy—spending time with family and friends, reading, exercise, that first cup of tea or coffee in the morning, the Wednesday night curry club, sitting on the couch with the Sunday papers. Then, think about all the things you know you should stop doing—getting annoyed on the road, eating too many sweets, idly swiping through your phone in the evening, drinking too much on a night out. All of these are habits. And on both surface and deeper levels, habits—the

We all know sleep is vital for our mental and physical wellbeing. However, as an ambitious and dedicated entrepreneur, do you sometimes find yourself lamenting that you have little choice but to dedicate around a third of your day—of your life—to this unconscious state? Wouldn’t you like to find a way to maintain a level of productivity while you sleep? Instead of your dreams being made of nonsensical images and unlikely plots, how about being inspired by them? Welcome to the otherworld of luci

Being the astute self-examiner that you are, there’s a good chance that somewhere along your entrepreneurial journey you’ve asked yourself, “What made me who I am? What made me decide, despite all the fear and potential hazards, to set out on my own and define success for myself?” Perhaps you’ve even analysed your progress through life, considered the circumstances you grew up in, your personal and social influences—what effect did these have on your abilities as a leader? Or was there somethin

At 34, most of us are content in the knowledge that, if things go well, we have at least another forty to fifty years left to accomplish everything we want before enjoying a comfortable, satisfied sail into the Great Unknown. But not Serge Fauget—he plans to live forever. Fauget is one of a number of Silicon Valley millionaires spending fortunes on biohacking—the latest craze among wealthy techies who believe the human body can be hacked or programed just like a computer’s (or robot’s) and turn

An arrow, a cube, a flower… which one are you? When it comes to the world of doodles, your favourite meeting-time meanderings might say a lot about what’s going on inside your head. And don’t let anyone make you think doodling means you’re not concentrating—as you’ll see shortly, it’s quite the opposite. The word ‘doodle’ has more than one origin, and unfortunately none of them are particularly complimentary. Depending on where you look, doodle is either derived from the German ‘dudeltopf’ or ‘

When sailing solo in the middle of the ocean, you may as well be on another planet. If something goes wrong help could be weeks away, communication with other earthlings can be unreliable, and you’re at the mercy of unpredictable weather systems that can easily knock you off-course and pull you further into the silent, watery void. For Pip Hare, who in November 2020 will compete in the prestigious Vendée Globe yacht race—once around the globe, solo, non-stop and unassisted—being alone on the oc