I was fascinated watching my seven year old grandson paint a picture using watercolours that had been bought for the holidays. He had decided to paint a yacht – a majestic vessel that was cutting through the choppy sea. He chose colours for every part of the boat, maybe colours that I wouldn’t have chosen…
We need to be aware as a manager, having adopted and implemented a 21st Century approach of truly engaging our employees with authenticity and care, that there might be one or two employees who pull the ring out of things and attempt to get as much out of the manager as possible. These specific employees,…
For companies, effective communication is essential to effect change and create and sustain a culture of collaboration and engagement. Companies are not always successful in terms of designing communication in such a way that it accomplishes the desired outcome. In fact, many businesses fail dismally with their communication efforts – the same communication being fragmented,…
The word “snoop” means “to investigate or look around furtively in an attempt to find out something, especially information about someone’s private affairs” and conveys the image of someone prowling around looking for fault inquisitively or in a meddlesome fashion (sticking one’s nose into someone else’s business). Interestingly, in Dutch (snoepen), the word has the…
“Composites” are materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties that, when combined, produce a material with characteristics different from the individual components. The new material may be preferred for many reasons – common examples include materials which are stronger, lighter or less expensive when compared to traditional…
From the earliest histories of populations and cultures, walls have been built not only to support roof structures and other forms of shelter, but also, and perhaps primarily, as a form of defence – to keep marauding tribes and other instruments of hostility out. Walled cities were the norm and eventually walls were used as…
I have spoken to many employees in various business contexts who feel that their voices are not heard – their ideas are not listened to. As such, they feel that they don’t have a real contribution to make, feel undervalued and overlooked. Typically, this translates into despondency and many leave their energy and passion at…
“We are hiring!” Many adverts are boring, but some job postings are fun – like this one I happened to read recently: “Thanks for taking a look at the job description for … We felt a little bit impersonal just throwing you right in there with words like “revolutionising” and “disrupting”. As such, we want…
“It does not make sense to hire chess players and then treat them like chess pieces” (Anon) I was always taught to treat the cleaner like I treat the managing director/CEO – i.e., with dignity and respect. This should be true of how we treat people from every level in the organisation, particularly those that…
“We don’t seem to be making any meaningful headway. There’s conflict and back-biting amongst team members, each team is very protective of their respective pieces of turf and the business lacks focus”. I hear this quite frequently as I consult with companies – strategic goals not being executed effectively as a result of a lack…
I finally landed at the international airport, on my way home after a week-long trip abroad. It was an early arrival and I approached passport control, greeted the official, who answered: “Yeah”. I asked somewhat irritated: “Is that all I am going to get – just yeah?” He answered rather rudely: “Well, what do you…
“Feeling isolated at work could be the difference between loving your job and dreading the thought of Monday morning” (Amy Simpson – Workplace) No matter how large or busy a company, many people carry the burden of feeling lonely and isolated at work. Often induced by an environment that is non-inclusive with respect to diversity…
