I’ve built businesses from scratch, lost one in circumstances that taught me more about people than any MBA could, and started again. Twice.
This is where I write about entrepreneurship, leadership, and working life — without the LinkedIn polish.
Forty years ago today, on 5 September 1986, I left Varennes-sur-Allier, my village in rural France, with two suitcases and a plan that was only ever meant to last six months. Learn English, then get a job on a cruise…
Two messages landed this week that couldn’t have been more different, and both taught me something. The first: a company got in touch on LinkedIn with genuinely serious IP. Grade one licences, the kind that gets buyers who usually take…
Got headhunted this week. First time in a long time anyone’s tried to pull me somewhere else, and I won’t pretend it wasn’t flattering. When you’ve spent years building your own thing, you stop expecting the phone to ring like…
I turned 65 this week. My present was Covid, four days on the sofa instead of celebrating. Someone else picked up an unplanned windfall this week too. Unlike mine, theirs is worth having. The US Supreme Court struck down the…
My Airbnb host in Nuremberg just cancelled my booking for Toy Fair 2027. Booked a year out, gone, no explanation. Try finding anything similar for the same price now. You can’t. Old town, two minutes from the U-Bahn straight to…
Took a little time off last week and went to Hua Hin. Lots of beach walks early morning with Sarra, chasing seabirds and not catching a single one. But participating is just as fun. Seabirds chased: 34. Seabirds caught: 0.…
Prague International Toy Fair has been postponed to 2027. Again. I’ve lost count of how many times this show has been rescheduled. At some point a postponement isn’t news, it’s just confirmation of what everyone already suspected. Toy Sourcing International…
A magpie built her nest from twigs she’d gathered everywhere: a jay’s discarded ribbon, a squirrel’s forgotten thread, a sparrow’s clever weave copied stitch for stitch. She never invented a single pattern. She simply watched the forest, took what worked,…
The numbers say the toy industry is having a strong year. Circana’s data shows 13% dollar growth in the US through April. Triple-digit growth in sensory toys. The kidult market expanding. All good. I’ll be honest with you. I’m not…
Because of the recent press releases about my career change, I have received quite a few requests for contacts on LinkedIn. My rule so far has been that unless I have met somebody in person or we are part of…