The Magic of Business: Turning Effort into Ease

What a night at Maho Magic Bar taught me about creating extraordinary experiences in business.

Last night, I went to the Maho Magic Bar pop-up with three friends in Brisbane. It was an intimate setup—a mix of cocktails and tricks—where you couldn’t help but question your senses. Watching the magicians effortlessly manipulate cards and coins got me thinking about business—specifically, the magic we create in our professional lives.

Magic sometimes gets a bad rap in business. The phrase “sleight of hand” often makes people think of trickery or dishonesty. But as Rory Sutherland brilliantly explains, “Magic isn’t about deception—it’s about delight.” Whether you’re performing on stage or running a business, the goal isn’t to fool people but to give them an experience that feels effortless—even if it’s far from simple behind the scenes.

When a client hires you, they’re not interested in the grind, the late nights, or the hours spent fine-tuning a deal. They just want results. Like a magician, our job is to transform chaos into clarity, complexity into simplicity. For them, it might look like magic—and in a way, it is.

Think about those moments in business when a client says, “You’ve made this look so easy.” That’s not because it was easy, but because you’ve mastered your craft to the point where the effort disappears, leaving only the polished outcome. That’s where the real magic lies.

And this is what Sutherland hits on so well: people value the intangible. The sparkle. The “how did they pull that off?” If every interaction is purely transactional, it’s forgettable. But if it feels magical, it’s memorable.

Last night’s show reminded me that magic in business isn’t about hiding the truth. It’s about orchestrating experiences that feel extraordinary, even if the work behind them is invisible.

So, next time you’re knee-deep in a project, remember: the magic isn’t in the grind—it’s in how the end result feels to the people who see it. And that, my friends, is worth perfecting.

Cheers,

NB