Great organisations aren't built by chance. They're built through discipline, preparation, and consistent leadership.
This week's newsletter explores lessons from Jim Collins, Sun Tzu, and even the world's greatest athletes to answer one question:
What does it really take to become great?
From building a true Safety-First culture to using technology to empower people—not replace them—each article focuses on creating safer, stronger, and more resilient terminal operations.
I hope you enjoy this week's edition. As always, your thoughts and perspectives are welcome.
This newsletter seems heavy - just like the "road is long". as I write this on Friday evening, the last thing on my mind is martial philosophy, strategy or topping the charts.
But in reflection, this was a week with some great posts - and I loved the work the graphics team did for the Sun Tzu post. If you guys have not read the book, or don't have a copy - please do buy them both. They make great reading and with make a great bequest.
But in being great, lets come back to football and reflect on the two semi-finals and what a cracker the final of FIFA 2026 on Sunday is going to be. Football has had many greats and at this time, we speak of Messi and Messi alone.
Something I have taken away from watching him is his calm, his spatial awareness, his visualisation of opportunity, and then the acceleration and delivery with pin-point accuracy.
PS: Sadly, as I write this post script, the greatness ended with a whimper. C'est la vie. The Final was not what we all hoped Lionel Messi would be remembered for.C'est la vie.
But the lesson in how to become great remains.
What can one of the greatest business thinkers and the greatest military strategist teach us about terminal safety? More than you might imagine.
This week, I draw five leadership lessons from the unlikely pairing of Jim Collins and Sun Tzu. Knowing your enemy, seeking victory before battle, the flywheel, consistent force, the terrain of chaos, the interplay of tactics, strategy and people. All these contain kernels of wisdom that go far beyond their eras and specific domains.
truly knowing your risks; winning through preparation; momentum via discipline; confronting truths hidden in data; ensuring people, strategy, and technology work together.
These are how Collins & Tzu come together for me. A key insight they both might converge on? Greatness is not a function of circumstance, it follows from choice and discipline.
The central message is simple for our industry: the terminals that will lead the next decade will not be those that respond fastest to incidents, but those that prevent them before they happen.
👉🏼 Read more on LinkedIn.
One of the lessons from When Jim Collins Meets Sun Tzu is that great organisations are built by disciplined people, not technology alone.
The same principle applies to safety. A true "Safety-First" culture isn't created by PPE, policies, or posters. It's created by leaders who encourage people to speak up, report near misses, stop unsafe work, and consistently choose the right action over the easiest one.
Technology can strengthen these behaviours, give them wings… but leadership is what makes them part of the culture.
👉🏼 Read more on LinkedIn.
Sun Tzu teaches that preparation wins you battles before they begin.
Technology plays an important role in getting us ‘battle-ready’, but only when it strengthens human judgment. Not while replacing it. Real safety transformation happens when people and technology work together to prevent incidents before they occur.
The best safety systems don't replace people. They empower them.
👉 Watch the video on YouTube
When Jim Collins Meets Sun Tzu, one message stands out for me: great organisations don't wait for problems to prove they're prepared.
The same is true for terminal safety. A low TRIR or a green dashboard indicates sound past performance, but great safety is built on what happens before an incident- reporting risks, learning from near misses, and acting on leading indicators.
My quiet but steady hunch- a green dashboard usually says more about reporting than it does about safety. That's the difference between looking safe and being safe.
👉🏼 Read more on LinkedIn.
Till next week, stay safe.
