Killick Leadership Group Ltd.

My morning read... Economic growth does happen under extractive regimes based on exploitation of an existing resource. With power and profit consolidated in elites, innovative thought and creative destruction is constrained. Without new ideas, growth eventually stalls and fails.

My morning read... contingency shapes nations. In 1588 English defeat by Spanish invaders seemed inevitable. The Spanish commander died, was replaced by a less experienced leader and the English prevailed. Leading to English dominance at sea and the growth of their merchant class

My morning read...The Black Plague rolled out of China in 1346. The resulting labour shortage lead to increased rights for peasants in England, not in France and Spain. English parliament’s relationship to the Crown at that time set the foundation for the industrial revolution.

My morning read... extractive economies can generate economic growth if supported by centralized political power but are growth limited due to lack of creative destruction and innovation. These economies are fragile. Interested in their thinking on China. Is there a top out?

My morning read... the economic progress of nations relies on its ability to centralize political function while ensuring that power is shared. Peace Order and Good Government works while power is shared. It falls apart when citizens distrust that POGG is in their best interest.

My morning read... pg75 Inclusive economic institutions foster economic activity, productivity growth, economic prosperity. Secure private property rights are central,since those with such rights will be willing to invest and increase productivity. Communalism doesn’t motivate

My morning read... pg68 poor countries are poor because those who have power make choices that create poverty. They get it wrong not by mistake or ignorance but on purpose. Economic development policy without political analysis is useless. Rural development lives this truism.

My morning read... the Portuguese brought the plow, wheel and gun to Congo in the late 1400s. Uptake on the first two was slow despite missions to teach agricultural practices. Quickly adopted, guns were used to capture slaves for the profitable export market. Better margins win.

My morning read... get out of the way of business is a popular political slogan but government oversight has a role. In 1998 Microsoft was found guilty of abusing its monopoly and penalized. Mexico’s poverty demonstrates the outcome of lack of oversight for the public good.

My morning read... With a rich resource base and larger population to enslave, South America was profitable for the Spanish. After several attempts to enslave their own settlers, the English were forced to allow local control. The settlers wanted influence in exchange for labour.

My morning read... in the 1500’s the Spanish took the Incas wealth, using their own social structures against them. The English hoped for the same further north. In 1607 King Wahunsunacock refused to meet them in Jamestown and nearly starved the settlement by refusing to trade.

My morning read... Drawing on fifteen years of original research Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is our man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Will China’s economy...ultimately overwhelm the West?

My morning read... p532 The Keynesian bargain of peace, equality, and prosperity ought to be irresistible in a democracy. It instead has been fleeting and fragile. Keynes believed that good ideas would eventually triumph over bad ideas. Was he naive? We live in cynical times.

My morning read... The power of choice. You can choose and by choosing you take on power. Sometimes we feel that we have no choice? But we do. The question really is: are we ready to take on the power of choice? Or is learnt helplessness comfortable and safe? @GregoryMcKeown

My evening read... pg206 Political leaders are like garment workers. Their job is to stitch together the alliances needed to govern transformations, eschewing personal rewards. They are keepers of the social fabric...the identifiers of the public interest and its articulation.

My morning read... My annual January check in. Am I focussed on my highest contribution? Am I prioritizing my life or am I allowing someone else to do that? Last year I absorbed the buffer... chapter15. If you have 15 or 10 or 7 priorities, might want to do a check in too.

My morning read... Are you ready to rethink how you approach life? Partly existential, partly pragmatic. This book changed how I fill my gas tank, mine and my car’s. Join me in January as I work through @GregoryMcKeown ‘s approach to life. It’s my January tradition.

My morning read... pg192 the role of tribunal in ethical failures is to support the public official in understanding that failure, reconciling and changing. Social media cabals claim to bring ethical failures to light but retribution not reconciliation are the goal and outcome.