Ethics, Integrity & Sacrifice in the Workplace

The modern day manager finds himself, or herself if you like, in the tumultuous torrent of demands, expectations, requirements, compliance and regulatory pressure. As a sub-text to this malaise, one finds the issues of ethics, integrity and sacrifice as additional priorities in the managers intentions to lead effectively. Managers unite in the call to take these important issues in their “stride” as a qunitessential “lines of duty” in maintaining a profitable workplace. Clarke N. Western has now published this useful handbook that provides solace, encourgaement, practical tips and affirming stories of managers who have successfully navigated the murky mire of Management.

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Making sense of Generation Me

The Washington Post of 21 May 2006 carried an article entitled, “Big Babies: Think the Boomers are self-absorbed? Wait until you meet their kids.” It is a review of a new book by Jean M. Twenge, called: “Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled — and More Miserable Than Ever Before”. Read the review here. Buy the book or download the eBook at Amazon.com or Kalahari.net.

According to Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University, when it comes to unbridled self-interest, even the self-absorbed Boomer Generation pales in comparison to its spawn: three decades of coddled kids whose untrammeled egos are now running amok in our schools and workplaces….

Children born in the last 30 years, she argues, have been taught that feeling good about yourself is the most important thing in life. Self-love is not so much a goal as a birthright, affirmed by the cloying lyrics of a hit 1986 Whitney Houston song (“learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all”). Old-fashioned values like hard work and skill have been cast aside in favor of giving everyone a gold star — because they’re good enough, smart enough, and doggone it, people like them!

The daily affirmations aren’t limited to school. Members of what Twenge calls the most wanted generation in history — thanks to advances in birth control — are told that they can be whatever their hearts desire. In this age of celebrity worship, the preferred career track is wealth and fame (talent notwithstanding). Desiring is the same as deserving — as evidenced by the “American Idol” phenomenon, in which tuneless singers reject the verdict of the more discriminating judges and howl about their greatness, as their cowed parents nod in agreement. (Twenge might as well have dubbed these budding narcissists “Generation Moi,” à la Miss Piggy.)

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No Name Brand

The “No Name” brand is instantly recognisable by any South African. Its a brain child of Pick n Pay (SA’s equivalent of Tesco’s, Safeways, etc). The concept was to provide quality products, from a trusted source, without having to pay the costs of a brand name.

As I was driving into Durban this morning, I saw a big billboard with the standard phrase: “Why should you pay extra for a brand name?”, promoting No Name cooking oil. But, I noticed for the first time (maybe just because it was so big), that “No Name” is trademarked. It is No Name^TM. How ironic!!

Did the advertisers not see this irony? Did Pick n Pay not see it? Its “No Name” BRAND!

Not a deep thought, I know. But its my thought of the day.

When Books Died

I spend a great deal of time in my car. In the past, if I was to maximize the value of that time, I had a number of choices. I could listen to the radio. Sadly, I have never found a commercial station offers me a three solid hours of stimulating listening. I could catch up on phone calls. Productive and meaningful, provided I use my hands-free kit, but seldom taking more than a half hour to complete. As I got increasingly busy, I had a growing concern that I was grossly underutilising my car QT.

At about the same time a number of peers and mentors were almost serendipitously reminding me that I was reading very few books. Having always been an avid reader, this was an enormous frustration for me. I realised I had to do something about my flailing reading commitment. I tried and failed. All my good reading time was taken up with online content – with my job.

Then I read a recent article by Jeff Jarvis’ BuzzMachine blog – see it here – and realised that my perceptions were possibly skewed. It occurred to me, and this can be argued, that the value of books lies more in the content than in the medium. If anything, the book medium (bound pages and ink) is horrendously outdated. It isn’t searchable, it isn’t conversational, it isn’t interactive, it isn’t inter-linkable. To quote Jeff – “I have nothing against books. But the book is an outmoded means of communicating information.â€?

Then I clicked (in a manner of speaking). I was a tech savvy guy. I owned an iPod. I’d been listening to my iPod in the car – customized playlists and podcasts had become my personalized radio content. But what if I could read in the car? Well, you’d most likely crash, I hear you say. Fair enough. But what if I could listen to my book instead? How much valuable reading time could I sneak in while commuting?

In a flash, the Google god told me where to find Audiobooks. Audible.com, he said. I went, faithful and expectant. I offered up my credit card and was blessed with two Gladwellian treats – The Tipping Point and Blink. I downloaded. I imported. I celebrated.

I am half way through Blink and loving every minute of it.

Staying alive through Marketing

There’s a well used analogy around the buggy-whip and the introduction of the motor-car. It didn’t matter how good your whip was. Didn’t matter how cheap. Didn’t matter how well you could make them. No market = no sales.

There was an interview in my Sunday Times (newspaper) with Dr Ismail Jakoet (SA Rugby’s Medical Officer) this weekend around school rugby and injuries. One of the questions asked revealed that the headgear worn by Rugby players,

has proven to be useless in preventing certain injuries, but is still being worn.

When the reporter asked why they were still being worn, because that was the primary reason for wearing them, Dr Jakoet responded with,

No, no, no. If you look at your professional players, it’s the revenue they can derive from wearing those things. High-powered players have told me they know it doesn’t wor but they get payed for wearing them.

So rugby headgear has learnt at least something from the buggy-whip… when you’re looking down the barrel of a gun, market your way right outta there.

Managin the Quarterlife Crisis

Yes, it exists … and you thought life was tough through your mid-life crisis. The Quarterlife Crisis is an often misdiagnosed period in the life of 20- and 30-somethings when the sheer weight of lifes choices bear down on the young and threatens to render them imobile. Travel, career, relationships, marriage, identity, passion, dreams, location … these are the decisions that Quarterlifers need to address when they are just shy of 30 years of age. Generally defined, the Quarterlife Crisis is that unique crisis of modern 20- and 30-somethings who are faced with overwhelming choices and expectations regarding their future.

Joanne Jowell weaves a wonderfully smooth narrative of her Quartlife experience when she woke up one morning in Cape Town and reliased that there was no script to guide her in decisions around career, home, idenity and dreams. This is a book that many young adults will identify with – Jowell has captured succintly the nuances of becoming an adult in todays changing world. Never before have people in their 20s and 30s had to face the magnitude of life choices and decision-making that we face today.

Jowell outlines her own Quartlife crisis and offers some observations and explanatiosn that will help fellow Quartelifers address the looming crisis in their own lives. Based in futurist observations, Jowell identifies how being a new generation in this world, along with advances in technology, travel, equality and early retirement creates a crisis that many folk don’t recognise, nevermind overcome. The book provides some wonderful to our Being Talented framework.

Buy it from Kalahari or find out more at The Quarterlife.

Predictable Surprise: China has a labour shortage!

For a number of years, the futurists in TomorrowToday.biz have been saying that although there is some short term pain around offshoring to India and China, that the overall trend was not sustainable. Simple supply and demand logic indicated that a threshhold would be reached. A number of factors are driving the fact that globalisation will (quite quickly, in historical terms) make sure that a competitive advantage based on moveable, non-geographic assets (i.e. people, intellectual property, patents, finance, etc) would be wiped out.

For example, massive wage differentials between the USA and the developing world cannot be sustained. This is good news for the developing world, as average wages in Asia, Africa and South America are set to rise, and continue rising for many years. We have previously talked about this in a post in April 2005 entitled, “Why you shouldn’t be worried about India and China“, where we talked about massive rises in Indian engineer’s salaries over the past 5 years, bringing into line with global wage levels. This is bad news for America, who will need to reduce overall wage bills (by retrenching, or reducing salaries – or, at best, capping salaries in a non inflationary environment for the next few years. From a pure economic standpoint, Americans are overpaid for the value they add to the world!).

But here’s an important article from Businessweek of Mar 27, 06: “How Rising Wages Are Changing the Game in China: A labor shortage has pay soaring. That is sure to send ripples around the globe.” (read it here). Yes, its true. There is a labour shortage in China. Sure, they have millions of unskilled, rural labourers – but they don’t need too many more of those. Africa has the same problem. South Africa has about 25% unemployment, yet has a chronic labour shortage! Its because we’re living in a transition moment, when new skills must be learnt. Education is the key. New frameworks are needed.

But no-one should be surprised by this.

Mark Cuban – Blogging vs Traditional (Mainstream) Media

Mark Cuban, charismatic owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, is an extremely popular blogger and web personality.

Mark spends a lot of time commenting on the impact of emering social (or consumer-generated) media on mainstream media, and recently wrote an excellent entry on the relationship (or divide) between blogs and what we understand as ‘traditional media’.

Here are some of his key points:

In traditional media, you are first defined by your medium – “There is a cost vs time vs interest vs access series of constraints that determines who your audience is, how
you reach them and what they expect of you. Over time, that has evolved our media into very defined roles”, says Cuban. However, blogs cost nothing to create. Blogging is personal. It is a tonal factor that most distinctively divides the two media: “Traditional media
has become almost exclusively corporate while blogging remains almost exclusively personal”.

Another key factor to blogging is the varying roles one author can take – and the subsequent diverse audiences it attracts. I can identify with Mark on this one. I write very differently for my MoneyWeb blog, my Citizen Op-Ed and my other blogs, but all the content invariably gets posted here. So you as the reader are offered a pastiche of journalistic flavours from conversational-informal to print-formal.

One last great quote from the man:

“Traditional media goes to work, bloggers live their work.”

M-Web should rule ADSL

Two or three weeks ago I told Telkom Internet that they could kindly take their service and…. well, take it somewhere else. This after one of the most incredulous customer service experiences I’ve ever had.

It all started a few months ago when Telkom hard-capped me because I used 16gb of data in a month. Hard-capping refers to them basically suspending your account. Investigating this uncovered at least one piece of interesting info.. while the call-centre rep didn’t say it is as directly, he did hint that Telkom may be having some problems with usernames and passwords being leaked out, and that someone could easily be stealing my share of the 3gb I purchase each month. I monitored it, and it stopped as mysteriously as it started.

But then last month while away in Durban for a weekend (away from my DSL connection) my account clocked up over 11gb in 4 days. Telkom call-centre suggest I send an e-mail to abuse@telkom.co.za. I did this and the results were as suspected… someone else was logging into my account from a different location. But here’s the kicker… on the day I sent the mail, Telkom Internet once again hard-capped me. when I phoned they told me I had to buy more bandwidth, and when I pointed out an investigation was happening by Telkom through e-mail (the only channel available) and therefore would not be able to resolve it, the call-centre rep offered to e-mail abuse@telkom.co.za for me. This after I’d just waited the normal 30 minutes on the phone for her to answer. I politely told them, ‘no thanks’, and went to NewsCafe to get access to get the results of the missing data.

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A missing link in Innovation

The Wisconsin Technology Network reports on innovation and invention, and asks why so few innovations actually work. In fact, 96% of all innovation initiatives fail (!!). Read the full report here.

Yet, “business leaders see constant innovation as the only way to prevail against increasing global competition. Innovation has become one of the most popular business buzzwords. Books on innovation frequently become best sellers. Magazine editors like to create lists and give awards to the most innovative products and companies. Trend spotters say that Innovation Coach is one the latest emerging job titles.”

So, what’s the missing link?

The first problem is confusing invention and innovation. “They are different. Innovation is process and not a product. Some managers think that innovation means a clever, novel form of invention. They will stress skills like problem solving, out of the box thinking, and conceptual blockbusting. All of these skills can produce ideas. But ideas are not enough, as adoption is the real test of innovation.”

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Property Purchasing by SMS

I spoke to a group of Estate Agents last week. At the lunch break a person came over to me, to tell me of an experience she had handled differently because of her understanding of how different age groups, generally speaking, prefer different chanels of communications.

Somewhere during the last year she recieved an sms enquiring about a piece of property. She was about to pick up the phone to contact the person, when she said she remembered what I’d said about ‘young people finding sms communication easier’. So she responded through an sms. Aparently this person has gone on to purchase 3 properties through her, and the only time she connects with him on the phone or face-to-face is when the docs need to be signed.

A great story of generational difference and preference.

Keeping Talented Workers: Survey

“Survey: Workers Happy With Pay, Want More Flex Time” (Workers Also Want Parental Leaves, Personal Days). WBALChannel News, Baltimore, USA. (Read it here).

A new survey found that nearly 75 percent of all workers are very or somewhat satisfied with their compensation. On the other hand, 44 percent said they would change their mix of cash and benefits if they could.

According to the Hudson Highland Group, 33 percent of those surveyed would like a more flexible work schedule, while 22 percent would opt for additional family benefits such as parental leaves and personal days.

This is something we think is critical to attracting and retaining talent – understanding that work-life balance (or work-life integration as we prefer to call it – see TomorrowLife) is more important than a standard/traditional remuneration package approach. Today’s talent also want to be paid for their OUTPUTS, rather than for their inputs. Get these two things right, and you take a quantum leap beyond your competitors in terms of your “Talent Quotient”.

The Great Explainer

I am not the greatest fan of TIME magazine. But there regular special editions are normally excellent. I especially enjoy their annual “100 Most Important People”. I enjoy it, not only because of the 100 profiles they give of current movers and shapers, but also because of who they get to do the writing (this year, Condoleeza Rice does Oprah, Laura Bush does Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Ralph Nader does John McCain, Rick Warren does Peter Akinola, etc). It never fails to bring a smile to my face, reading how the writers try and self-promote. You almost get 200 profiles for the price of 100

One of the profiles which caught my attention was about Nandan Nilekani, the Indian entrepeneur who heads up Infosys Technologies, one of Indian’s biggest IT companies. Yes, he’s a rich, powerful Indian, changing the world. But Thomas Friedman (yes, he of “World is Flat” fame) interestingly credits him with a fascinating attribute, that he claims is the heart of his success: “But the reason Nilekani, 50, is so sought out is that he has a unique ability not simply to program software but also to explain how that program fits into the emerging trends in computing, how those trends will transform the computing business and how that transformation will affect global politics and economics. It was his insight that the global playing field was being ‘leveled’ by technology that inspired me to write the book The World Is Flat.

In this era of mounting complexity—with more people, systems and products entwined in a bewildering web of global networks—explaining is an enormously valuable skill. And it explains why, if you sit outside his office for a day, you notice that half the people going in are employees looking for instructions or customers looking for deals; the other half are politicians, journalists and ministers from around the world looking for an explanation of what it all means.”

Its like we say: Savvy Leaders in the 21st century must become great storytellers.

Read the full profile of Nandan here. Read the full 100 profiles here.

Talent – Barrie and Aloysias

Talent is an issue on everyone’s agenda. Especially in the Connection Economy.

“We’re good enough, therefore we’re old enough”. – The voice of the Young Snots.

“Call me by my first name – I know I have to earn your respect”. – The voice of a Savvy Boss.

Some companies feel like managing talent is just like herding cats. We’d like to suggest it’s not about trying to herd cats. You need new stategies. The danger is trying to offer perks, and attemting to strangle them once they’re in.

“Where are you?” – the mobility factor. Today’s talent can conduct business from anywhere, say the front of a conference room for example (a random example). Young people graduate to the world. See what Wikipedia has to say about talent here.

We hope to prepare business in terms of attracting, retaining and nurturing this talent.

They’re also a Gaming Generation. Their virtual reality interacts with their ‘real-life’ reality. Games have taught our young people how to learn from their mistakes.

“If at first you don’t succeed, learn from it and try again”.

Failure IS an option.

Google’s Product Plethora

Ever clicked on the ‘more’ link just above and to the right of Google’s search box?

It’s got to be the Web’s best kept secret. Behind the discreet little hyperlink lies Google’s veritable goldmine of products, services and offerings. Some of them you’ll be familiar with – Adsense, Gmail and Google Earth are terms you may have stumbled across in recent times.

But did you know the mighty search machine also offers a Financial portal, web-based Calendar, Book search, Video directory, and that there’s even a Health portal on the horizon? Let me offer you a glimpse into some of the nifty tools Google has hidden behind the ‘more’ link.

Gmail – Google’s webmail service. Competitor to Hotmail and Yahoo! mail, Gmail offers over 2 GB of storage space, a smooth Ajax-powered interface, integrated IM and Talk (Instant Messaging) service, virus scanning, free POP access (unique to Gmail – allows you to receive Gmail in Outlook), mobile compatibility, an address book, spam filtering, and the list goes on. Signing up for a free Google account also opens up the option of a Google Personalized homepage – another great feature. Read more about Gmail here.

Calendar – Google’s calendar service. Recently launched and fully integrated with Gmail, Calendar offers the following features (taken from the overview page):

Calendar Sharing – set up a calendar for your company action cricket team, and share it with the whole roster. Or share with friends and family so you can view each other’s schedules side by side. Invitations – create event invitations, send them to friends, and keep track of people’s responses and comments, all in one place. Your friends can receive your invitation and post responses even if they don’t use Google Calendar themselves. Gmail Integration – add your friend’s Super 14 braai to your calendar without ever leaving your Gmail inbox. Gmail now recognizes events mentioned in emails. Search – find the exact date of the same braai (you knew it was sometime this summer) using Google powerful search technology. Or, search public calendars to discover new events you’re interested in and add them to your own calendar. Mobile Access – receive event reminders and notifications on your mobile phone. Read more about Google Calendar here.

If you hadn’t figured it out yet, Gmail + Calendar = Outlook online. And it’s free. And it’s web-based, so you access your personal information from any mobile, connected device, anywhere in the world, anytime. While we’re talking about an online office suite, it’s worth mentioning that Google purchased Writely earlier this year, a web-based word processor that rivals MS Word in functionality and performance.

As increased broadband connectivity, albeit slow in coming, improves our access to the Web, it is becoming more and more feasible to shift your entire personal desktop online. For free.

Moving on…

If you’re into tracking the online buzz to make sure you’re at the cutting edge of new developments in your industry, around your brand or even mentions of your own name, use the following powerful tools:

Alerts – once again free with a Google account, Alerts allows you to enter a search term once-off, and have updated results sent to you via email when they appear on the Web. I have alerts for my client’s company names, my favourite search topics (youth markets, as an example), and more. If you find you regularly check Google for the same or similar search terms, set up an Alert and have the results delivered to you instead. Nifty!

Blog Search – If you’re still in the dark with regards to blogs and blogging I’ve written muchos info here. Blog Search will help you keep track of what is being said in blogs worldwide.

Trends – still in Labs (development) phase, Google Trends allows you to compare search term results graphically. The search will highlight news results corresponding to the graph and normalise results by region and city, if necessary. As an experiment, try running a search for ‘Nedbank, ABSA’ and peruse the results. To quote Steve Rubel, PR expert and A-list blogger: “This tool is a must-bookmark for every PR person and marketer worldwide. Search is so important to how brands are perceived. As I noted earlier today, it’s critical to understand how people are searching for you and your competitors. The news volume tool is an awesome value add for PR measurement.” And it’s free.

There are stacks of other value-added services hidden behind Google’s discreetly placed ‘more’ link. My advice – take some time out to explore the possibilities and try out some of the products. You’ll soon be Googleized.

The Little Things

This is a photo of the ’smoking section’ in the Keg, Johannesburg International Airport. I think it’s a stroke of genius. In most restaurants, tucked away in some corner, smoking sections often resemble neglected herpetological exhibits. I’m not a smoker, but I often feel sorry for our oxygenically-challenged brethren.

The Keg has turned this perception on it’s head by enclosing the busiest area of the restaurant off and calling it a Cigar Lounge instead of a smoking section. Ironically enough, it was the busiest section of the pub when I visited this evening, and my guesstimation was that less than 50% of the people inside where smoking anything at all. It appears that it is quite cool to sit in the Cigar Lounge and leaf through the morning’s paper, regardless of whether you smoke or not.

Sometimes the difference between brilliance and a missed opportunity is just a little thought. Another great example is an ancient old lady that works a till at our local Pick ‘n Pay. She always greets me when I arrive at her station by looking me in the eyes and smiling. She scans my groceries as though they are ming vases. If I pay by credit card, she glances at my name and says, “thanks for your business, Mr. Stopforth. Enjoy the rest of your day”. Mr. Stopforth. I’m one-eighth her age, for crying out loud.

Small acts of brilliance, huge impacts.

Rethinking the Value of Talent

“Classifying employees by their role in the success of your business rather than by their function can improve the effectiveness of recruiting, staff development, and deployment.” So write Jeffrey Joerres and Dominique Turcq in Strategy+Business, 27 Apr 06 edition.

If companies managed financial assets as carelessly as they do human assets, shareholders, auditors, and regulators would come down hard on them for inefficient use of funds. Yet although it is commonly accepted that individuals are crucial to the success of organizations, many companies are unable to measure or manage their employees’ contribution to corporate value.

Two significant barriers stand in the way of a more productive or strategic approach to recruiting, developing, and deploying employees. First, many managers are reluctant to categorize people, for fear of appearing elitist. Second, human resources departments typically classify individuals according to the functions or the business units — the vertical silos — in which they work, not how essential their roles are, or what experience or other personal qualities are required to perform the role. No attempt is made to classify people horizontally across functions or business units, according to how “business-critical” they are. And even when a company does consider people’s contribution to the success of the organization, it is all too often limited to a discussion about an individual’s performance rather than a consideration of organizational measurements of success.

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USAAF and fuel consumption

In an age of expensive petrol and attempts to reduce carbon emissions, it seems that even the US Air Force.has to now do something. According to an article in the New York Times, an F-16 lights up its afterburners, it consumes nearly 28 gallons of fuel per minute. No wonder, then, that of all the fuel the United States government uses each year, the Air Force accounts for more than half. The Air Force may not be in any danger of suffering inconveniences from scarce or expensive fuel, but it has begun looking for a way to power its jets on something besides conventional fuel. In a series of tests first on engines mounted on blocks and then with B-52’s in flight the Air Force will try to prove that the American military can fly its aircraft by blending traditional crude-oil-based jet fuel with a synthetic liquid made first from natural gas and, eventually, from coal, which is plentiful and cheaper. While the military has been a leader in adopting some technologies light but strong metals, radar-evading stealth designs and fire-retardant flight suits, for example any effort to hit a miles-per-gallon fuel efficiency rating has taken a back seat when the mission is to haul bombs farther and faster or push 70-ton tanks across a desert to topple an adversary.” Learn more in the New York Times.

The evolution of Dance

One of the marvels of the internet and the digital age is the ability for ordinary folk to share their talents, idiosyncracies and passions with the world. And the speed at which really wacky, goofy, different things can seed themselves across the world at a click of the mouse. And the ease with which we can interact and share with each other.

Meet Judson Laipply.

Group dynamics and facilitation course 5-9 June 2006

As promised, the second course for 2006 is taking place 5-9 June. The facilitators are Greyling Viljoen (Clinical Psychologist) and/or Dr Drikus Kriek (UNISA SBL), depending on the size of the group. This course is unique in that it does not start with facilitation tricks and techniques. Rather, It starts with the group. You cannot facilitate the processes, discussions and dynamics in a group if you do not understand groups. A totally practical (and very intensive) process that will have a definite impact on your understanding of groups and of yourself. You need to be able to attend all 5 consecutive full days. Cost: R4000 ex VAT pp. Venue in Centurion/Midrand to be confimed. Book early as places are limited. Contact Jean Cooper at jean@tomorrowconnecting.biz or on +27(0)82 3349362.

Tracking the World Wide Buzz

Marketing, media and consumer behaviour redefined

Standard Bank recently had a few marketing and banking tongues wagging after forking out millions to change their well known and fairly acceptable ’simpler. better. faster.’ pay-off line to the abstract, Triple-B: ‘inspired. motivated. involved.’

Sentiments echoed across the blogosphere were all somewhat scathing, which illustrates the power of blogging and the fact that consumers have found their voice and are not shy to use it. (A good example of what was and is being said can be found on the popular community blog about all things cherry – Cherryflava). One wonders what results Standard Bank would have enjoyed had they pocketed their marketing budget and instead implemented a direct mail campaign asking clients for recommendations on the new slogan. They could even have thrown in a sparkling new iPod as a prize for the best submission. Let’s face it, for the most part 50,000 heads can only be better than 50.

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GenerationWatch – May 06

Please – no more!

If I have to read one more article about the looming crisis facing the world economy as Boomers prepare to retire, I think I will scream! None of us need reminding about this fact anymore (although many businesses need to wake up to it – which is exactly what TomorrowToday.biz helps many to achieve) – but the Internet seems obsessed with the fact this month! Similarly, there is an overabundance of articles on the looming pension crisis and the sale of retirement properties and so forth. But is this all that is to be said about Boomers these days? Not good for their self-esteem, I’m sure. So it’s no surprise that, according to WQOW 18 in Chippewa Valley, drug counsellors are increasingly treating Boomer Meth-addicts! If there is nothing left to say about a whole generation other than their retirement plans, it must be getting very dull indeed. Women in Canada, apparently, are trying to buck the trend by working longer than their husbands. And in Japan, some women are waiting until their Boomer husbands retire before going out to get their own job! Things are not so simple as it seems at first…

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Cross-roads or Crucifixion: A generational view of the Life Insurance Industry

Anyone involved in the life insurance industry knows that it is an industry in crisis. The industry is at a point in its lifecycle where every facet is being tested and prodded. The traditional modus operandi is under attack and the future is far from rosy. In trying to understand the current scenario, it is helpful to examine how we got to this point in order to appreciate where we are going. Generational theory provides a useful framework for this evaluation.

The life insurance industry has four generations that it is either servicing or selling to. These are the Silent generation, the Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millenials or Generation Y.

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‘Even Chuck has to Change’: Leading in a changing world

In times of change, leaders who are prepared to learn will succeed, while those who consider themselves to be learned will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. We live and lead in a sea of constant change. Anyone who needs to be convinced of this reality is most likely just visiting from another planet. However, it is one thing to acknowledge the constant change that surrounds us and quite another to be able to unlearn, relearn and learn in this tumultuous sea of change. According to Alvin Toffler in Future Shock, “the illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn”

In my experience, many leaders are not coping well with the need to change. In fact, several are swallowing unhealthy amounts of water as they struggle to stay afloat in the turbulent swells that surround them. After all, attempting to swim in such conditions is certainly not for the faint-hearted or those in need of water-wings! However, here are four reminders – or perhaps lighthouses that serve to warn of peril – for leaders everywhere when it comes to leading in today’s world:

Be prepared to change.

Savvy leaders realise that in such times even Chuck (Norris) has to change. … Continue Reading

The community employer – a new employment contract

It is not breaking news that business paradigms are shifting significantly. The difference, in historical terms, is that the shift is taking place on a global scale never seen before. Thomas L. Friedman, in his seminal book The World is Flat, describes how our world is being flattened by historical events and forces that in the last 15 years have resulted in the globalised, connected, speed-orientated world we live in.

Many factors contribute to these changes – the advancement of the internet, outsourcing, production techniques, and many more. Although the global economy is a product of the cumulative efforts of local economies, many countries are finding themselves in precarious positions where some are forerunners and some are being left behind. Emerging economies are challenging the way we operate significantly. It is a defining time in history that no country is exempt from.

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Thoughts on Entropy, Voltage and Learning

Introduction

Some people think that there are patterns in existence that can be re-used between various disciplines like Physics, Religion and Business. This article explores the similarity of thought between several domains and tries to see how understanding in one area can help understanding in other areas.

Entropy in Physics

In physics, the concept of Entropy can have the following meanings: the degree of chaos, or disorder, in a system; or the amount of useable energy in a system. All physical systems tend towards states of least order, or maximum chaos. That is why eggs break, but can never spontaneously un-break, and why when a glass of water spills, it runs into a flat puddle and does not sit on the floor in a glass-shaped globule.

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Talent management is now a job for the CEO

The Economist Intelligence Unit (the research arm of the Economist.com) has a short report on how important talented people have become to business.

Talent management now features prominently on the CEO’s agenda, according to a white paper by the Economist Intelligence Unit, in co-operation with Development Dimensions International (DDI), a global human resources consulting firm. Once only of concern to human resources (HR) departments, it is now among CEOs’ most pressing responsibilities, taking more than 20% of their time. The overall view is summed up by Tom Wilson of US insurance giant Allstate Corp.: “The most important thing I have to worry about is people.”

Read the report here.
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You were part of history

While you were sleeping in the early hours of this morning an event that only happens every one thousand years happened. And while you probably weren’t aware of it, you were there.

A little after midnight the time and date stamp was: 01:02:03 04/05/06

Kewl. It’s not going to happen till 3006. But you you were there!

The five greatest lies in Business!

This is a great article from Fast Company. How many times have you heard “people are our greatest asset” when in fact management has no idea of what that means, evidenced by their actions. To quote the article “Paul LaFontaine left Bertelsmann Music Group in March 1997 to advise other businesspeople about radical honesty. He has lots of work to do.” “There are as many lies in business as there are people in business,” he says. Here are his nominees for the five most common lies:

• “People are our most important Asset”
• “This was a rational decision”
• “We judge people by their performance”
• “This is business, it isnt personal”
• “The customer comes first”

For more detail on why these are lies, go to the FC website here A good article…

The Moleskine Evangelists

Perhaps you own one. I don’t. I barely write anymore – most of my thoughts get hammered out on a keyboard or spoken directly into a digital recorder. But I’m intrigued. Not by the odd Moleskine-bearer strolling nonchalantly around Melville or Rosebank (I usually dismiss them as artsy-types), but rather by the phenomenal online following the ol’ Moleskine brand enjoys.

The Moleskine (pronounced mol-a-skeen-a) is simply a brand of notebook manufactured by Modo & Modo, an Italian company, bound in oilcloth-covered cardboard (Moleskin) with an elastic band to hold the notebook closed and a sewn spine that allows it to lie flat when opened. Not particularly high tech, or particularly sexy, for that matter. The pocket notebook’s reputation has grown in stature through the endorsements of the likes of Bruce Chatwin, Neil Gaiman and Pete Doherty, and rumour would have it that the Moleskine was a favourite accessory to the likes of Picasso, Hemingway and Van Gogh.

Whether all the folklore is verifiable or not the Moleskine brand, through its product’s minimalist design and stylish simplicity, continues to enjoy a formidable, almost cultish following. I’ve never heard Moleskine notebooks advertised on the radio, nevermind on the telly, and yet everyone who’s anyone either owns one or can tell you something about them. That’s exceptional – the immense power of viral marketing, personified by a wad of blank pages.

I was interested to hear Jackie Huba of the Church of the Customer blog talking about her Moleskine-fetish, and she listed some fascinating links to some of the more fanatical Moleskine Evangelists in the online world. Moleskine blogs, a MySpace site and even a comprehensive Wikipedia entry (from which, just by the way, I got most of the information for this article). All this free marketing by unpaid, enthusiastic citizens, who believe in the unobtrusive allure of an overpriced notebook.

How many citizen marketers does your brand have?