Author: Luke Furness
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The crossroads of work and passion
Nobody tells you to go do Hip-Hop Dance. It’s not that work doesn’t want you to or doesn’t find it interesting (in fact, changing into street wear can raise a few eyebrows in the lift wells). It’s just that, in the scheme of things that your work cares about, finding your new hobby isn’t one…
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A refreshingly simple lesson on leadership
One lesson in leadership really resonated this week at the Senior Associate induction down at Clayton Utz Sydney. There was a sheet of paper with examples of great leadership traits. One was refreshingly simple: “Cares” Cares about me, cares about juniors, cares about their family, their clients, their community… or not. “That person cares” is…
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The sobering truth about who you are (and it’s not what you think)
The other day, I had lunch with a friend who recently moved from a job that sucked to a job that has changed him for the better. His new role seems to offer him a form of quiet bliss and a smooth grin appeared on his face as he described his newfound happiness. Knowing him…
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Finding your passion outside work
Last week, I spoke at the University of Queensland Young Alumni Conference on finding your “Side Hustle.” I remember being asked if I would speak. Not for the first time, I said “yes” and then furiously googled “Side Hustle” to find out what I’d be talking about. Moments like these remind me of how out of…
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Diversity’s fork in the road
It’s great to be back here. It’s especially great to be back when so much has happened and there’s so much to say. There’s no doubt we’ve come a long way. Some of us have walked this road for decades and the results speak for themselves. We’ve taken so many great steps towards a world where homophobia,…
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The monster you become to get what you want
The Chimera is a monster of Greek Mythology. It has the head of a lion, the middle of a goat and the tail of a snake with the scales and fire-breathing talents of a dragon. It’s also kind of ugly, but in a cool, dangerous way. Chimeras are part of a surprisingly large class of…
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Better relationships start with four words
Self-help books are a lot like cults: tremendous followings largely attributable to master orations, exciting taxonomy, baiting titles and promises of getting a lot while doing not much at all. Most of their claims are questionable and only one or two books are every likely to work for you. But last year, I read a…
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4 hard lessons that make networking less terrible
January was your break from it. Now you’re back at it. The invitations are pouring in and will continue for the rest of the year. I used to hate meeting people. The fear of looking like an idiot. The pressure to be interesting. The precarious, multi-layered canapes that seem destined to topple down my new,…
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3 things I thought about law that are totally wrong
So you’re fresh out four-plus years of law school. It’s true, you’re smart. If you got a job at a big law firm, you might be very smart and are almost certainly very lucky. I felt lucky. I remember getting the offer that I really wanted and feeling embarrassed. “Obviously they’ve made a mistake”, I thought, “their records must…
Luke Furness 