Daily Letter

Rambling thoughts on why we do what we do, strategy, building teams, building you, and doing work that matters.

  • "A thought-provoking collection of ideas and musings that if taken to heart, have the potential to add immense depth and richness (with compounding interest) to your life"

    Shane

  • "Not once have I been sorry that I signed up for Pierre’s newsletter 😁"

    Nerine

  • "Getting this letter is a breath of fresh air amongst the sea of emails in my ever-growing inbox each day. It’s the one I excitedly click to open, waiting to see what image will load accompanied by an insight into Pierre’s wonderful strategic brain."

    Mireille

  • "It delivers a daily dose of thought-provoking insights that encourage you to pause, reflect, and ask new questions – a powerful boost for advancing my personal strategy!"

    Ronel

  • "If you want to be reminded how to be a decent human in just a few sentences, then this is it."

    Ronel H

  • “Pierres’ Daily Letter has become the weekday spark of inspiration, motivation and perspective for me. To me his letters serve as a reminder to not turn my rhythms into routine, but to stay intentionally present in every day”

    Jacobs

GUMNASIA Pierre du Plessis GUMNASIA Pierre du Plessis

Mastering

The second double edged aspect of the warrior, is control, and specifically control of the self.

The image here is of a Khoisan hunter crouching for hours,

Read More
GUMNASIA Pierre du Plessis GUMNASIA Pierre du Plessis

Gathering and scattering

I’ve been musing lately about the speeches and the actual physical movement of the civil rights protestors under the leadership of Martin Luther King jr.

Read More
GUMNASIA Pierre du Plessis GUMNASIA Pierre du Plessis

It's a good day to die

Samurai, like all great warriors, live with a constant awareness of death. That today might very well be their last day, their last battle. So, it is best to give it all you’ve got.

Read More
GUMNASIA Pierre du Plessis GUMNASIA Pierre du Plessis

Wear light armour - Katchu

Samurai choose to wear only lightweight armor, offensive armor. Defensive armor is heavy and difficult to move in, but light offensive armor gives one the advantage of speed and agility.

These two are completely different attitudes in life,

Read More
GUMNASIA Pierre du Plessis GUMNASIA Pierre du Plessis

Kamae - Take the Battle Stance

The samurai is always taught, “Test your armor, but only test the front.”

We all face battles, attacks, from the inside and the outside. Yet, very few admit it and most prefer to either ignore the attacks or just take them lying down.

Read More
GUMNASIA Pierre du Plessis GUMNASIA Pierre du Plessis

Zen 7. Ken 3.

The Samurai, the elite japanese swordsmen, had a very specific code that they lived by called the Bushidō . There was a saying about what was important when training to be a Samurai; Zen 7 and Ken 3. Zen is spirit and Ken is sword.

Read More
GUMNASIA Pierre du Plessis GUMNASIA Pierre du Plessis

Imagining

Yesterday I talked with a group of leader for the morning at a retreat centre just outside Hermanus. The topic was innovation, creativity, and what there is to do once you have reached the last third of your career and your life.

After the three hour session, I told them how I would design an organisation if I could do it from scratch and asked them in return what they would do.

Read More