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“We have long assumed that those who rise to high office will be ‘good chaps’, knowing what the unwritten rules are and wanting to adhere to them.”

So writes British constitutional historian Peter Hennessy, whose “good chaps” theory of government (or as I’m calling it, good eggs) has been under considerable strain. 

This is not new to managing a business, of course.

We often have to decide whether to structure around good eggs or bad apples. Striking a balance between freedom and regulatio...

"You can't change an organisation by just talking about why change is necessary...You have to integrate people's desire for money, influence, and power..." Rishad Tobaccowala

These desires are usually unstated, but know that they’re there.

Here's the subtlety, though.

It’s not gaining money, influence and power that really motivates, although that’s nice.

👉 It’s losing these things.

The main reason change initiatives fail is people’s fear of losing what they have.

Fear of losing cred...

Note: This article was written before the referendum was held. It has now been updated to acknowledge the referendum was resoundingly beaten, with 61% of Australians voting No and 39% Yes. 

In business we spend a lot of time chasing ‘yes’.

Yes to buying from us. Yes to renewing. Yes to choosing us as their employer.

So it’s through this lens that I want to analyse the campaign for and against a Voice to Parliament. Behavioural science suggests that one side of the campaign has been much more ...