The worldwide rush to secure a suitable and effective vaccine to counter the COVID-19 pandemic’s reach has reached frenzied proportions. Governments are jockeying to be first in the queue – unfortunately, with some wealthy countries playing geo-political games to outmanoeuvre other less wealthy neighbours, probably to their own demise. Cross-border travellers carrying the virus will…
2020 has been a tough year for everyone – not just for us mere mortals on account of the COVID-19 pandemic and related financial stresses, but for Santa, too. His core business, the manufacture, production and delivery of toys and other goodies, has shrunk considerably. A general lack of disposable income is a worldwide phenomenon,…
2020 has been a year like no other – some are even saying: “It’s the end of the world as we know it”. People have endured hardships everywhere. The COVID-19 pandemic has been pervasive with virtually no-one left untouched. Lives and livelihoods have been lost. Economies are under huge strain. The prospects for any quick…
The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of people worldwide in so many ways, not least of all by taking a serious toll on the emotional and financial well-being of its various population groups. In a recent online survey conducted by the South Africa Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), for example, the survey results…
Steve Goodier, Methodist minister and author of “One Minute Can Change a Life” (and a number of other books), tells the story of one of the greatest of USA story-tellers, Abraham Lincoln, related by the president during the American Civil War. A delegation of well-meaning patriots tried to impress upon the president the gravity of…
There seem to be two views on necessary business change within leadership teams: Step change (significant change in policy and attitude, especially one that results in an improvement and increase) is risky and implies disrupting repetitive processes that leaders have been rewarded for improving over time Change is something that can be delegated, like other…
While the primary threat posed by COVID-19 is on people’s physical health, the pandemic is also taking its toll on people’s mental health and wellbeing. As news about the Coronavirus dominates the headlines and public concern is on the rise, people increasingly experience waves of anxiety, panic and fear. Psychologists refer to these feelings of…
The fall-out of the current COVID-19 pandemic is significant – not only are millions of people worldwide contracting the disease and suffering as a result (many of whom are dying), but also economies are shrinking and millions of people are losing their jobs. Although some progress had been made in relation to addressing poverty, the…
It will probably take many years for the world to recover fully post COVID-19’s impact on life as we currently experience it. Like all pandemics, quite apart from sickness and death, negative ripples touch every part of society – disrupting social cohesion and the economy, thwarting the ability to generate income, initiating mental illnesses, etc….
Have we not just been given a huge window of opportunity? Has God not just opened up a crack in the “what’s possible” door during lockdown? Have we not just been given another chance to rectify all the things that we have been doing badly that will ultimately destroy life as we know it? Many…
During this pervasive corona pandemic, there has never been a more telling moment for those working in the human resources field to care for their colleagues, many of whom are part of essential services and find themselves on the frontline of defence against the COVID-19 virus. Those in the human resources component of the business…
In these extremely difficult times that the world is experiencing with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, populations have been asked to retain a physical distance between each other to prevent the transmission of the disease. The human being, however, is hot-wired for social interaction. It is a basic human need to feel loved, appreciated…
