Bram, A Spy Story, is free this weekend.

This was my first ‘spin-off’ novel. Like many writers, I started crafting fiction during lockdown, and my debut creation, Meet Molly, grew into a trilogy. In the second book, I introduced a character called Bram, based on the Isle of Kasta off Scotland’s west coast.

Bram runs a camper-van site, but oblique references throughout hint at an ‘interesting’ past. I couldn’t resist exploring his history in a separate story: Bram, A Spy Story.

The novel has an unusual structure: I’d been listening to Paul McCartney on the radio discussing how the magnificent medley on Abbey Road’s B-side was assembled from multiple unfinished pieces; fragments that were not substantial enough to stand alone but created something extraordinary when woven together.

I decided to try something similar, combining two separate story ideas into a single narrative. See if you can spot the join; most readers don’t!

Free this weekend.

Pipeline

Pierre Lambert 2 (working title) is progressing well. Late this year I imagine. Many supporters have said they would love paper and audio copies of my books. Well good news, I’m finally giving attention to that.

On non-fiction, HunterGatherer21C is progressing as are total revisions of Instant MBA, Unplugged and several others.

Go read.

The Beatles. What were their best and worst decisions?

Best Decision: Hiring Brian Epstein (1962) This transformed everything. Before Epstein, they were talented but scruffy lads playing Hamburg dives and Liverpool’s Cavern Club. He made them professional: suits, choreographed bows, strategic bookings but without killing their spirit. More crucially, he secured the EMI/Parlophone deal after being rejected everywhere else. Without Epstein’s vision and relentless advocacy, they might have remained Liverpool’s best local band.

Close second: Rejecting the establishment by stopping touring (1966). Revolutionary at the time, it freed them to create Sgt. Pepper, The White Album, and Abbey Road, work that simply couldn’t have happened while grinding through “She Loves You” to screaming crowds.

Worst Decision: Apple Corps (1968) Their utopian business venture haemorrhaged money spectacularly. The “Western communism” approach of giving money to any artist who asked, launching random ventures from boutiques to electronics was chaos. It attracted freeloaders, created tax nightmares, and intensified the business tensions that helped destroy the band.

Close second: Not properly resolving the management dispute after Epstein’s death (1967). The Klein vs. Eastman battle became a proxy war that made the split inevitable and poisoned relationships for decades.

To Study The Beatles is To Study Life.

The Tools of Excellence

Number 39 of 70

The 2x2 Matrix

The 2x2 matrix, two axes (one vertical and one horizontal) creating four quadrants, is the most straightforward and most powerful tool for decision-making and prioritisation. Draw a cross on paper, label the axes, and suddenly, complex decisions become visual. The classic application is Eisenhower’s urgent/essential matrix: the horizontal axis runs from “not urgent” to “urgent,” and the vertical axis from “not important” to “important.” Four quadrants emerge: urgent and important (do now), important but not urgent (schedule), urgent but not necessary (delegate), neither urgent nor essential (eliminate). Plot your tasks, and your priorities become obvious.

The 2x2 works for any two-dimensional decision. Evaluating job offers? The axes could be “compensation” vs “fulfilment.” Choosing where to live? “Cost” vs “quality of life.” Deciding what projects to pursue? “Impact” vs “effort.” The matrix makes tradeoffs visible.

This is the T-bar decision sheet’s sophisticated cousin: the T-bar handles single yes/no decisions and the 2x2 matrix handles multiple options evaluated against two criteria simultaneously. Both externalise thinking, making hidden patterns mentally obvious. Of course, keep it simple. A scrap of paper and thirty seconds of drawing are sufficient. The power isn’t in the tool’s complexity; it’s in transforming abstract decisions into concrete visual relationships.

The Tools of Excellence, the book now available.

Instant. Kindle. Budget. Worldwide.