Work is a gift! Work is not only a means to a financial end, but an opportunity for you to express your unique giftedness in special ways. In fact, Thomas Aquinas, the medieval monk and scholar once said: “Without work, it is impossible to have fun”. Without attempting to romanticise the work concept, work almost…
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….
In the early 1990’s, Frank C Nahser, Inc., an advertising company based in Chicago, did a 450 page study entitled “What’s Really Going On?” – the study was designed to provide business with a new method of determining what’s really going on in the face of information overload. Recognising the need for and value of…
A lady friend of mine went to go and do her regular shopping in one of the many malls that dot our cities and on this particular day, she was mugged and her handbag was snatched by an opportunist thief. She was devastated and although physically unharmed, felt scared and emotionally distraught. She was also…
I am surprised at how many people hate work. Wherever I go, I come across hundreds of people who prefer the duvet rather than the desk, the coffee station rather than the computer and “five to four” rather than “five to eight”. Work is an ordeal for them – a necessity to be endured, but…
Having the opportunity of consulting and working within a number of industry sectors and various companies in many parts of the world, I am continually intrigued by the “motivation questions” that are so often asked – how can we motivate our staff well to achieve better productivity? How do we get our staff to take…
Employee engagement is essential to keep staff motivated, increase business results and enhance staff retention. When I worked for a banking corporation many years ago, I attempted to spend time with each of the individuals who reported to me, primarily to get to know them better and discover their passions, giftedness and unique characteristics. I…
During the past year or so, I have been working with a number of companies on enhancing performance, and subsequently results, through refocusing these business entities on employee engagement and quality leadership processes. Creativity and strategic thinking has not just been left to senior management as their responsibility, but the need for thinking strategically has…
Many years ago, I had the privilege of working in conjunction with the UNDP in Namibia as part of a team who took the government ministers away for a weekend to Walvis Bay on a leadership development exercise. The Prime Minister, ministers and all the deputies were present at the venue at this coastal town….
I had the privilege of a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in early 2012, to coach some managers whom I had trained on a previous workshop. On an off day, sitting at a roadside café drinking coffee, I noticed about 65 high school students walking past on their lunch break. What was surprising about this…
One of my favourite day trips, when in “relax mode”, is to take a trip to the Cape Town Waterfront in South Africa – the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront is set in Cape Town’s working harbour, with beautiful Table Mountain as the backdrop to this sprawling shopping mall area, yacht basin, hotels and a hive…
On a trip to Asia, I had the opportunity of exploring a densely populated Bamboo forest – a surreal experience, where the wind causes the bamboo to creak and groan as the tall plants rub against each other. In the Asian humidity and with the right soil conditions, these monsters grow into giants alongside each…
