As I went to get my coffee this morning I saw a middle aged man who was wilting in the autumn sunshine holding a beer can.

I decided to ask him if he wanted me to get him a coffee. He declined but thanked me and we then engaged in a conversation that gave an explanation to his predicament. It didn’t take long to realise I was talking to an extremely bright and intelligent human being who had clearly fallen on desperate times. As his story unfolded I discovered that he had reached the top echelons of our educational system, worked some of the top jobs you could imagine and yet here he was a dim reflection of such a promising pathway. 

My heart was breaking as I saw his unlimited potential battered and bruised by his journey. He was clearly a casualty of cut throat competitive environments that had either failed to see his struggle or did not know what to do to help. I have seen it all before. The competitive bandwagon must keep moving at all costs. Results are prioritised and the very...