Kairos is the ancient Greek god of timing and opportunity, he is a winged god like Hermes, and equally mercurial, he carries scales balanced on a razor which he tips with his fingers. He also has a prominent tuft of hair flowing from his forehead over his face, symbolizing that you can only get a hold on him as he is approaching you. Timing is important, too early, too late, too little or too much is never good enough as those of you partial to a trade will know.

Rates. You have a tank and two taps, one empties it and one fills it, it is their relative flow rates that make the tank level rise or fall. This applies to your cash flow, your calories, the favours you owe and are owed and pretty much everything of any value. Rates are important and are described by differential equations, this is “one level up” stuff and that kind of stuff is what gives you an edge.

Which brings us to Margins. Races are usually won by fractions of a second, one breath too few, the premature assumption of victory and it is gone to the competitor. The edge is important. You don’t have to beat the competition by miles, just a millimetre will do. My favourite parable is of the two campers who see a bear charging them at a distance, one starts to put on his shoes and the other remarks that this will not help outrun the bear, to which he replies: “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I only need to outrun you”.