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…
In the early 1980’s, plans were well underway within the Boeing “family” to build the Boeing 777. When they began to consider building the largest and most complex plane ever designed, Boeing developed a new set of values, which led to a specific set of long-range goals. The same were cascaded into a large set…
One of my worst recollections of corporate life was the amount of meetings I had to attend – not because they were not necessary or unimportant, but because they were either not focused and boring, or because a few people dominated what was supposed to be a discussion and deliberation. Non-participation in processes (including meetings)…
The Year 2000 Problem (or Y2K) was a crisis for both digital (computer-related) and non-digital documentation and data storage situations which resulted from the practice of abbreviating a four-digit year to two digits. This practice became problematic with logical errors possibly arising upon roll-over from x99 to x00, causing date-related processes to operate incorrectly for…
In the Arthurian legends, Sir Perceval, one of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table, was raised by a mother who taught him the importance of asking questions. The instruction was proved invaluable during his youth when he escaped from a group of knights by asking questions rather than giving answers. By the time he…
The A-Team was an American action-adventure television series, running from 1983 to 1987, about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as “soldiers of fortune”, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a “crime they didn’t commit”. The A-Team was portrayed as acting…
In my travels to a variety of organisations, both locally and abroad, I have been amazed at how much training actually takes root amongst management and staff in spite of mitigating circumstances – almost as if people in general actually do want to grow and develop themselves to take on new tasks and become more…
In our current turbulent business environment, organisations worldwide are finding it necessary to adapt to ever-changing financial circumstances, revisit product offerings for more nuanced customer needs and strive for innovation and creative solutions to stay ahead of the game. The quest for sustainable growth requires the adoption of new technologies, process re-engineering, restructuring, culture change…
One of the most striking features of my interactions with companies all over the world is the lack of performance from many teams. Of course, some teams excel and do their respective organisations proud, constantly producing great results and moving their companies forward. Many teams, however, even with bright and industrious team members, don’t seem…
A delegate, this past week, shared his love for computer games with the rest of the group – over the years, having spent well over US$ 7 000 on Play Station 3 (PS3) and associated games. He explained to all of us that some people enjoy hiking, others surfing, some watching movies – his “thing”, however,…
Gillian Barbara Lynne (CBE) was born on the 20th February 1926 in Bromley, Kent, England and was recognised as a dance talent at a young age. Teaming up with her childhood friend, Beryl Grey, while still at school, she danced to blot out the tragedy of the violent death of her mother in a car…
Gerrit Cloete, former colleague and now owner of Productivity Pitstop, told me about one of his weekend adventures – he often walks among the beautiful mountains of Cape Town, both for exercise and relaxation and also for the opportunity presented for reflection. On this particular occasion, Gerrit decided to park near Signal Hill and climb…
