Swart Donkey

Reality is complex. We can’t simplify it as much as we would want to. We can create structures and simplifying stories to help us make decis...

There is a wrestle with the way people dole out respect. It is trite to say “don’t care what people think about you”, but umuntu ngumuntu ng...

Local markets should be more responsive to changes in preference, because they are able to respond to tacit knowledge. The stuff we can’t pu...

Adam Smith’s big insight was that win-win (the wealth of nations) beats win-lose (nations fighting). Open-Architecture, breaking down walls,...

To outsource your decision-making, you need to develop trust. I like to believe in a world where we can have open conversations. The reality...

What do you do if autonomy is really important to you, but you find something or someone else makes better decisions than you do? Imagine yo...

We do not have full knowledge of other people’s stories. It helps to build an environment that supports repeated interaction. Connected stor...

People are interested in people who are interested in them. I have a deep reserve of inner confidence, partly because my Mother was always f...

The Holy Grail is a direct, sustainable, relationship with decision makers with money, where you have their trust and confidence. Trust that...

The Corporate world is a game, best played as a game. I wasn’t good at it because I wasn’t willing to accept the veil of meritocracy. I to...

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Balanced Scorecards are ways of managing performance. They are particularly challenging in areas that...

The hardest part of making money is finding customers. It is the same thing as getting a job. It is preferable to get to come back tomorro...

If we were all farmers, delegation would be easier. The person giving the task, and the person accepting the task would understand each ot...

My income comes primarily from my Engine. I spend very little time managing that Engine. My investment philosophy has become gradually mor...

Diversification is a recognition that there is both a good chance you are wrong about any decision, and a good chance that there is so muc...

Unconditional Positive Regard (HT Daniel and Rolene Strauss) is the idea of giving people the benefit of the doubt at all times. When comi...

Stay home doesn’t have a universal meaning. The self-evident truth of the current Global Crisis is that while we are all in the same storm...

People need Cash. Without a living wage, or a buffer, or Capital, or friends or family to assist, or time, it becomes the only problem tha...

Money is a communication tool. Like words and numbers, it helps us organise ourselves and share our skills, knowledge, and resources. Slig...

Just over five years ago I decided to step away from the world of money as much as possible. I had saved aggressively and put my money to ...