I'm saddened by the news this week that Phillip Cottrell died of the injuries he sustained from an assault walking home from his regular shift as a journalist at Radio NZ in Wellington. While details of the attack remain sketchy, Police have revealed that Phillip was a quiet, unassuming man who died for the sake of a few dollars taken along with his wallet. 

It was also revealed that he had a degenerative bone condition, or "brittle bones".

As someone who lives with the same condition (I don't know Phillip's exact diagnosis) I feel especially moved by this tragedy. Over the years I've experienced dozens of broken bones including arms, legs and vertebrae…mainly from simple falls that most people get up and walk away from. 

Lance Wiggs blogged yesterday on Air New Zealand auctioning themselves to the lowest bidder. I added my own thoughts in the comments, but I thought I'd take a moment to explain why I think Trade Me is wrong to assume they will continue to be the default venue of choice forever and ever amen. 

Trade Me works for most people because it has the greatest number of buyers and sellers. If you want to sell something (e.g. a heater) you want to sell it in the marketplace with the greatest number of people looking to buy a second hand heater (Trade Me). If you're looking to buy a second hand heater, you want to shop in the marketplace with the greatest number of second hand heaters for sale (Trade Me). It's a "winner takes all" cycle that's difficult to break and it has allowed companies like Trade Me and eBay to remain dominant for over a decade despite their relative lack of innovation compared to would-be competitors.

But the thing about auctions, is that you only need two people to want it badly enough to achieve a fair market price (add a Buy Now, and you only need one). In the case of Air New Zealand auctioning international airfares for $1 reserve, there will be no shortage of people willing to suffer the pain of taking 30 seconds to sign up to a new site in order to place a bid. With Facebook Connect - you can now sign up to site with a single click. It's worth it, and Air NZ wouldn't be choosing alternative venues year after year if it wasn't working for them.

I've pondered recently the true impact of procrastination and come to realize the real problem isn't that you get less done by procrastinating, it's that you're less happy during the time you spend avoiding doing something unpleasant.

Consider for a moment the prospect of going to the gym. Few of us actually look forward to going. It's uncomfortable and quite frankly, boring. Promise yourself you'll go in the evening, and you'll spend most of the day dreading the thought of actually going. Your mind will wander, you'll complain to other people and wind up being less happy throughout the day than you might otherwise have been.

The same applies to most anything unpleasant. Filing a tax return, having an uncomfortable conversation, doing the dishes, finishing an assignment and so on. There's no doubt you'll wind up doing all of these things anyway, you'll just make yourself unhappy thinking about it beforehand. 

New Zealanders aren't usually ones to blow their own trumpet, so I'm making it my business to talk to some of our less-known industry leaders and gain insight into how they got to where they are today. First up is Grab One founder, Shane Bradley.

In case you've been living in a cave for the past year, Grab One - founded by 33 year old Shane Bradley - rose quickly to become New Zealand's #1 daily deal coupon site (65% market share), despite being third into the market and up against some deep-pocketed competitors including Trade Me, Mediaworks, and US-based Groupon and Living Social.

By all accounts the site is a run-away success, having recently sold $500,000 worth of coupons in a single day, and with a growth curve not seen on a kiwi web site this side of Trade Me. So, how did he do it? And more importantly, what lessons can be learned and applied by other up-and-coming Kiwi entrepreneurs?

Recent news that Fairfax may float part of the Trade Me business they acquired in 2006 has led some Internet commentators to speculate the auction giant may now be worth much less than the NZ$750 million they paid in 2006.

Unlikely.

Online auctions may be yesterday's news, but in a "Web 2.0" Internet where many ventures remain cool but wildly unprofitable, Trade Me continues to truck on and generate upward of NZ$80 million per year in earnings for Fairfax - and growing.

We all know about deposits in a monetary sense, but deposits can be just about anything: a small favour for a friend, consistently arriving early to work, doing little things to show your partner you care, remembering your friend's birthday, answering a call for help from a colleague, always replying to email in a timely manner, checking in with family and friends who live outside your weekly routine, paying your bills on time, going out of your way to do small favours for customers, being punctual to appointments and so on and so forth.

The thing about small deposits is they add up to something big and you get to cash them in. Life is a lot easier for people who consistently make small deposits, and equally difficult for those who don't. Favours are more willingly given to friends who help friends. Employers are more flexible with time off for errands or illness when employees are punctual or have been generous with their own time. Colleagues are more likely to have your back in a tight situation if you've previously helped them in kind. Friends and partners can forgive tardiness or forgetfulness if you've been consistently thoughtful and made time in the past. Customers forgive screw ups if you have previously demonstrated attention to detail and good service.

Cut yourself some slack. Make small deposits.

The 40 Hour Famine has moved into the 21st century and delivered a master class on how to set goals and achieve them.

Door knocking for sponsors? Gone. Hand-written sponsorship booklets? Gone. Collecting your earnings? Yup, that's gone too.

Replacing all of that is your own personal web page that proudly displays exactly how much money you're aiming to raise. Friends and family can see your goal, and sharing the link via email, Facebook and Twitter makes getting the word out easier than ever. Payments are collected online and sponsors and would-be sponsors can track your progress in real time. Brilliant.

Paul Watson is one of the most passionate animal rights activists alive today, and this short video beautifully illustrates why he's so effective. He really understands human nature and what motivates people.

Understanding motivation is key to putting together a great team. Paul chooses volunteers over employees because employees are often motivated by money, not passion or a strong belief in the cause. Paul weeds these people out by removing money from the equation completely. This is a great insight for business owners. Paying high salaries isn't necessarily going to attract the best candidates.

Most individuals and organizations are motivated by profit. Every time Paul disrupts a whale hunt he denies the whalers of income selling the whale meat. When the costs of whaling exceed the income, whaling ends. The same principle applies elsewhere. Buying McDonalds isn't smart if you believe factory farming is wrong. Treat your dollar as a vote and choose carefully.

Our lust for multi-purpose devices has reached fever-pitch. Even an Amazon Kindle is seen as redundant when "an iPad can do all that, and more!" A telephone is no longer a device you exclusively use to speak on, or even communicate with. It's now a phone, a camera, an email client, a web browser, a GPS, a compass, a map, a gaming console, a social media-platform and a computer. And not necessarily in that order either.

It's great, right? Or is it...

The problem with a multi-purpose device is that you're never quite sure what you should be doing with it. Am I sitting at my computer to work, or to read the news? Am I using my iPad to read a book and learn something new, or browse Facebook and chat with my friends? Am I reaching for my iPhone to communicate, or am I just avoiding talking with the people I'm already with? Unless you have amazing self-discipline (and most people don't) it's actually really difficult.

Natural talent is overrated. What's really required is a lot of hard work.

I've had the good fortune to work with some very talented people, both professionally and in my capacity as a musician. However in every case it's wound up being hard work and putting in the hours to gain experience that ultimately got them to where they are today.

We're all born with unique talents, and as children it's easy to identify the especially talented and raise them up on a pedestal. We can all remember the kid at school who could play grade 8 piano at age 9, or who consistently came first in the school cross-country.