The Diversity Blog – SaaS, Cloud & Business Strategy

Dear Xero, I got your email. Let’s talk about it.

It landed in my inbox with the usual cheerful corporate energy: “We wanted to share information about an increase in the price of your Xero plans.” Ledger up 7.7%. Cashbook up 6.25%. Ignite to $37. Grow to $89. Comprehensive to $117. Ultimate to $135. And if you’ve got clients running payroll for more than 10 staff on U...

There comes a point every New Zealand winter where I realise I’ve somehow become shaped like a prawn. Maybe the last few days’ sub-zero runs at 5am have something to do with it.

Either way, it’s not an overnight transformation. It happens gradually, somewhere between the first genuinely cold morning and the discovery that the sun has once again decided the working day ...

I was never good at sports. In fact, my claim to fame was always having an excuse to miss PE lessons at high school. It wasn’t until I discovered cycling after I left school, and running in my 30s, that I became athletic in any meaningful sense.

This lack of exposure to team sports means my athletic interests are heavily skewed towards individual events, and highly obs...

Indulge me for a moment while I wander off on a self-absorbed literary detour. Those who know me will recognise this as not entirely out of character.

My working life has zigzagged between trades, technology, business, governance and the outdoors. Threaded through all of it, though, has been a long-standing affection for books and stories, which is mildly ironic given ...