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,…
A senior manager in a large corporation in downtown Manhattan was hosting a lunchtime business meeting in the boardroom of the company. At about 10:00 on the day of the meeting, he took the elevator to the penthouse floor, the same of which housed both the boardroom and the CEO’s office. He had gone up…
A beautiful evergreen tree graces the area outside my bedroom window – commonly called “Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow”, the endemic Brazilian brunfelsia pauciflora, with its mauve, lavender and white sweet-smelling flowers, provides a perfect picture for the onlooker and lovely aroma for one to drift off to sleep at night. Apparently, the tree gets its common name from…
Professor Reginald Revans developed the concept of action learning. It originated with his experience training as a physicist at the University of Cambridge. In his interactions with this bright group of scientists, several of whom won Nobel prizes at a later stage, he observed the importance of each scientist describing his/her own ignorance, sharing experiences…
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…
Entrepreneurs can certainly be admired, quite apart from any injection of personal cash, for the courage, zeal and creativity they invest in a start-up company. Hours of tenacity-characterised effort and many late nights working on administration often mark the long day of the entrepreneur. As the company grows and gains more clients, however, there is…
“To Do” lists are created as helpful reminders of what needs to be done, the stuff that is still outstanding and the activities that need our attention. They find their way on to refrigerator doors, pieces of paper that clutter our desks or on to digital and other electronic devices as “prompts” demanding our attention….
A friend of mine told me about one of his employees who repeatedly came late to work. The young man was hard-working and focused, so performance was no issue. He just started work late each day and if unaddressed by management, would send all the wrong messages to the rest of the staff. His manager…
International sport is fascinating, especially to note the trends, changes in approach and changes to the rules of whichever game is being played and the dominance of certain countries in the respective sport expressions that are national favourites. In soccer, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany and now Spain have all had their moments. With cricket, Australia…
Businesses exist to get results, make profit and deliver value for shareholders. Anything less than this means a lack of fulfilment of the business dream, inadequate execution or a strategy that is not effectively aligned to the money-making model of the industry in which the company finds itself. In my exposure to many hundreds of…
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…
I love motor vehicles, especially those that are designed to perform at optimal levels in races on tracks or on the dirt in rallies. The back-up crew of mechanics and engineers are critical to any driver’s potential success, as the crew spend hours tweaking the performance and ability of the vehicle from engine to suspension,…
