I am surprised at how many people hate feedback, whether it centres on performance, personality, character or behaviour issues. There seems to be a fear that the one giving the feedback does not have your best interests at heart and that the feedback will be detrimental, rather than uplifting, in terms of your growth and…
As organisations grow, they get fat. As they get fat, the ability to be flexible, grab new possibilities and make subtle shifts in focus or direction is impeded. The impediment causes frustration and results in everyone “working harder” in activities that are possibly not relevant to the prevailing market needs. The irrelevance in the market…
I love watching cricket in all its forms, but the excitement generated from a T20 (20 overs per side) game is catching. In a moment, one is sucked into the drama and emotion of the match and shortly, one is living and sharing in the pressure of the clash. The high expectations of the supporters…
Stress is part of all of our lives. In fact, a little stress is good for one. A violin string in an un-stretched state can’t produce a note. Tightening it to an optimal tautness, however, the string produces the quality tone that it was designed for in the hands of a violinist. Likewise, some stress…
I love drawing and painting, especially out in nature. Sitting down with a canvas or sheet of water-colour paper, choosing an optimal vantage point to capture the scene or parts of the scene that I want to paint, setting up the materials and relaxing in the environment that nature so generously offers – the thrill…
Technological advancement is part of everyday life. The acceleration of development in this area is overwhelming and astounding. The computing ability of some of the smaller gadgets and devices takes your breath away and the instruments become sought-after and very desirable “must-have” accessories for ease of access to online information, business and social media connection….
Dr Gerald Bell of the University of North Carolina conducted a survey where four thousand retired executives were asked the question: “If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently?” Overwhelmingly, the vast majority of the executives’ answers reflected a desire to take better ownership of their lives. Fundamentally, they responded…
I love flying – just as well, as I do a lot of it! When I was a boy, dreaming of wanting to become a pilot, one of my greatest memories was attending an air show, watching pilots go through their pre-flight routines, checking instrumentation and getting weather reports. I would be fascinated at the…
Charles (Chippy) Brand (civil engineer) bought a defunct little road-building business from his dad and moved back to a rented house in Carltonville, South Africa, to manage the company, C & J Reid. The company had few assets – antiquated steam-driven rollers, two motor graders which ran off power paraffin, a couple of ancient bulldozers…
There’s a wonderful sign on one of the lengthy dirt roads in South Africa which reads: “Choose your rut carefully as you will be in it for the next one hundred kilometres”! “Ruts” are not particular to gravel roads, however, but seem to be part of the regular human experience as people get stuck in…
Fish have always fascinated me – not only are the edible ones tasty, but it is also such a relaxing and particularly interesting experience to go down to the local aquarium in Cape Town to view what one does not normally have the opportunity of seeing in their “natural” environment, unless you are a regular…
There are numerous stories of those who had to overcome difficulty, were resilient and triumphed, even in the face of criticism or extreme hardship – Ignace Paderewski, the great Polish pianist, was told by his first piano teacher that his hands were too small to master the keyboard; Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper…
