I have visited many people in hospital before – to encourage friends and family, pray for their speedy recovery and wish them well. I have also had my own personal moments of being a “guest” at a number of such institutions – being pampered, eating special meals and having a plethora of tests with sophisticated…
I am surprised at how many people hate feedback, whether it centres on performance, personality, character or behaviour issues. There seems to be a fear that the one giving the feedback does not have your best interests at heart and that the feedback will be detrimental, rather than uplifting, in terms of your growth and…
I have been doing some work of late for a manufacturer, linked to the automotive industry. The senior management team are really great people – warm, kind and clever. Their outlook on the production personnel, however, is less than favourable – they “make excuses, shirk responsibility and somehow skirt accountability for issues that are less…
Dr Stephen R Covey of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People fame, at an address that I attended in the USA, related a story regarding exceptional client service in a hotel at which he was a guest. He had, through his secretary, made a reservation at the hotel chain that he usually used whilst travelling…
During my mid high school years, my interest in leadership development, growth and effective human interaction had been sparked by a vocational guidance teacher, Gordon (Billy) Bauer. He somehow always managed to stretch minds, challenge hearts and bring out the best in the individual. As one of the students of his more holistic education efforts,…
Growing good citizens who contribute fully within society is perhaps one of the key goals of parenthood. Children who have been raised well realise that life doesn’t revolve around them – they treat others with dignity and respect, they attempt to fulfil their own respective callings and they assist others with the journey of life….
So, you’ve been appointed to a management position – well done! This is an opportunity for you to express yourself, use your initiative, contribute something worthwhile and exercise your leadership ability. Clearly, senior leadership have recognised your character traits and skillsets and have deemed them to be desirable for the growth of the business, so…
I have been doing some consulting work with a multi-national company recently, a company that has over two hundred brewing and bottling facilities all over the world. The company is well established, its oldest plants being almost two hundred years old. I imagine success partly can be attributed to the quality and desirability of its…
As organisations grow, they get fat. As they get fat, the ability to be flexible, grab new possibilities and make subtle shifts in focus or direction is impeded. The impediment causes frustration and results in everyone “working harder” in activities that are possibly not relevant to the prevailing market needs. The irrelevance in the market…
Solving the world’s poverty dilemma is surely too big a topic to handle in a short article. A key emerging facet of the solution, however, is the steady increase in entrepreneurship worldwide. Small and large projects, when managed well through skilful leadership, develop profit, offer job opportunities for many and uplift the communities in which…
Life is full of “curved balls” – some of them surprising and pleasantly beneficial, but others testing and even painful, to say the least. Just when we think all is turning in our favour (“things are getting better now”), some or other hardship comes along to seemingly confound our good attempts at making real progress….
I love watching cricket in all its forms, but the excitement generated from a T20 (20 overs per side) game is catching. In a moment, one is sucked into the drama and emotion of the match and shortly, one is living and sharing in the pressure of the clash. The high expectations of the supporters…
