We grabbed our bags off the carousel, flung them onto one of the ubiquitous airport trolleys and made our way for the exit. The friendly face holding the sign of the company that arranged our transfer from Nadi Airport, in Fiji, to the Shangri La Yanuca Island, took us outside into the humid warmth of the night time air and introduced us to our driver.

I stepped out for coffee early on a weekday. It’s not often I do, but on this day, with an appointment free diary and some prep work to get underway on an upcoming workshop for a group of professionals, I packed up my gear and headed for my local coffee place.

I recently had occasion to spend time with around 40 small and family business owners attending a conference in Fiji.  As a guest speaker at the event, one of my tasks was to facilitate some short information sessions, talking with business owners about whatever happened to be on their mind.

My wife and I headed out for dinner one Saturday evening recently. We’ve been trying a different place and the food is pretty good, even if the lack of soft furnishings inside the restaurant mean its louder than it should otherwise be.

I have a regular, early morning meeting in the City, so I leave home before sunrise and tackle the drive before the Sydney traffic truly takes hold. It’s amazing how many people are actually on the road at 4.30am, making their way in life, one day at a time, on the M5.

It’s early Sunday morning and I’ve popped in for my first coffee of the day. As usual, I’m in pole position – first customer in the door. It’s rained overnight and whilst the air is cool, it’s not as cold as it has been.

It’s been a great year for working with some really interesting clients. Some of them have come via referral from others in my orbit. Others have come as a result of the fact that we’ve worked together previously. Each of them have been absorbing, not only in what their needs are, but who they are as individuals. It’s a pleasure and an honour to be invited inside of these family businesses and, by extension, these families.