Author Archive for Barrie Bramley

STUCK WITH TALENT THAT JUST WON’T GROW UP?

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on November 25, 2008
in Talent - Bright Young Things
. 0 Comments

- Then Ditch Boomer Thinking in Favour of X-er Integration -

Diversity, innovation, six sigma, decentralisation, Jack Welch’s 70/20/10, Kai-Zen, Feng Shui. All of these (and others) are strategic focus areas that most companies have invested large amounts of resource and energy into with the intention of creating a distinctive value proposition. But the significant focus of the day has shifted and thanks to ‘The War for Talent’ - a well-written research document - ‘Talent’ has taken centre stage on the organisational agenda of precedence.

In a globalising world, with a shortage of numbers in the developed world, and a shortage of skills in the developing world, it’s right to ensure the attraction and retention of the best possible people inside of an organisation. Along with this and its associated challenges is the emergence of a new ‘kind’ of worker. From a values perspective they have been described as Generation X, with Generation Y following on their heels. A fundamental building block in engaging with the skills shortage crisis, is understanding these generations - specifically their value system and worldview. The challenge lies in building the best possible model to ‘attract, recruit and get the best from them’.

What then, is the younger set of today looking for? Insightful observations that can act as signposts include:

Continue reading ‘STUCK WITH TALENT THAT JUST WON’T GROW UP?’

On-the-Job Woes

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on October 13, 2008
in Generations, Leadership, Talent - Bright Young Things and Trends - Future Trends
. 0 Comments

One of my favourite PodCasts is Business Week - Cover Stories. Editor John Byrne interviews the author of that week’s cover story. On 14 August 2008 the cover story was to do with research Business Week had completed on the most common workplace problems. I particularily liked this one because ‘generational differences’ came up as one of the biggest and most interesting issues.

TomorrowToday in South Africa and the United Kingdom has been researching and working with companies around generational challenges for over 6 years now. We’ve gained a large amount of insight and experience with some very big, medium and small companies, around the world, as they find solutions to the different world views and value systems that each generation brings to the workplace.

Today I enjoyed listening to yet another perspective. I identified with much of what was discussed (although I wished they’d said more). I continue to hold the view that many companies still fail to recognise that generational theory is at the heart of many of their people challenges (talent included). Of course it’s not the only one, but gaining a full understanding of this theory, holds the key to some effective solutions.

To listen to ‘On-the-Job Woes‘ PodCast follow this link.

Lucy Kellaway

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on October 10, 2008
in Book Reviews, Global View, Leadership, Organisational Design, Organisational Narrative, Talent - Bright Young Things and Trends - Future Trends
. 0 Comments

If you’ve picked up a Financial Times, from time to time, you may have been introduced to Lucy Kellaway. I discovered her while wondering around iTunes looking for interesting PodCasts. And interesting is just one tiny word to describe my journey with Lucy Kellaway.

I know I’m opening myself to plenty by suggesting that she’s my modern equivalent to business that Luther was to the Catholic Church. She’s been a wonderful breath of fresh air, forcing me to be honest about business today. Forcing me to be honest as a consultant working with people who are ‘in there’ each and every day trying their best to make it all work.

Apart from finding the courage to find a way to invite her to South Africa, I’ve also spent a fair amount of energy and headspace wondering plenty about her philosophies around how business works?

Continue reading ‘Lucy Kellaway’

Put that in your iPod and er, listen to it

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on October 1, 2008
in Connection Economy, Ethics, Marketing and sales, Media tidbits, Ripping and burning - Digital entertainment and Trends - Future Trends
. 0 Comments

Here’s an interesting battle going on in the music industry, with Apple ‘threatening’ to close doors to iTunes, the dominant force in sales of digital music. (BBC has the full story)

If word gets out that music publishers are trying to stick it to consumers, and Apple is fighting to keep prices down on their behalf, well, there’s liable to be public backlash against the labels.

What we do?

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on October 1, 2008
in Organisational Design, Organisational Narrative and TT Internal Issues
. 0 Comments

Our office in the UK recently put some energy and effort into capturing ‘what we do’. An important piece of work to do regularly as a business. Isn’t it easy to end up doing things you didn’t go into business to do? Mostly it gets you into trouble, and of course from time to time it opens up new doors. Still, it’s an important reflection exercise to ensure you’re doing what you’re all about what you’re not, and what you’re capable of delivering on brilliantly.

“In turbulent times, people matter. When you’re trying to attract and retain staff and get them engaged and committed, or when you need to generate sales from new and existing customers, you have to understand what drives peoples’ attitudes and behaviour. This means that it is a business critical strategic imperative to understand their value systems. That is what TomorrowToday specialises in.

We inspire: Our professional speakers are amongst the best in the world, acting as catalysts to change. Through high energy, humour and entertainment our multimedia presentations convey powerful business messages at conferences and company workshops.

We inform: Our clients are quicker and better informed than their competitors about changing business, consumer and societal trends. Our diverse research simplifies complex trends and explains the “why” behind change. Once people understand the why, change is activated with energy and passion.

We impact: Through understanding, our consultants empower leaders and teams to create long-lasting and significant improvements in company performance. We help you analyse your current situation, identify opportunities and gaps, and empower leaders and staff with the skills to embed new thinking, structures, systems, processes, products and services.

We are world leaders in Generations: a valuable framework connecting companies, talented staff and valuable customers. We focus on understanding why people act and react as they do, and helping our clients connect with people more effectively for bottom line business improvement. By understanding their value systems, we can more effectively influence them, and develop high commitment while instilling passion in both staff and customers.”

Leaderment or Manageship

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on September 17, 2008
in Articles and Leadership
. 3 Comments

Since I’ve been in any form of organization, no matter how big or small, there’s always been an attempt to make a distinction between managers and leaders. There are all kinds of definitions that attempt to make the distinction, like this one from Warren Bennis, “Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right things.” And for the most part they’ve done a great job convincing us of the difference.

May I suggest that the distinction between the two is not helpful in today’s business environment!

The lines between manager and leader have become very blurred. In this highly pressurised environment there just isn’t time to make the distinction any more. We’re thin on the ground. We need managers to lead and leaders to manage. Perhaps it’s time to scrap both these terms and come up with a new one. Of course that’s not going to happen. There’s too much money to be made by keeping them separate. Step outside of academia for a while and ask those on the ground whether they’re managers or leaders? Their answer is almost always both. And this is not because they’re not smart enough to understand the difference, it’s because today’s business environment requires them to do both and to be both.

Today, almost all of our work functions are highly documented. Is there a business function left in the world that doesn’t have a manual attached to it, showing in accurate detail, how to go about what it is you do whenever you’re doing it? With that much detail why do we need managers? Just follow the manual. Managers in the context of these manuals have become the go-to reference people. You go to your manager when you’re not sure how to interpret the manual, not because you don’t know what to do. Continue reading ‘Leaderment or Manageship’

ABSA on FaceBook

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on August 18, 2008
in Connection Economy and Social Network Analysis
. 0 Comments

I know this is old news for most people, but I figured we should at least log it on our blog.

Got sent this from a colleague, Jude, a while ago. She got it from BizCommunity, but I can’t find any trace of it through their search function.

They have 2060 ‘fans’ as of today. They’re saying, below, that there are 700 000 South African’s on FaceBook. They have a way to go, but it is a start.

Absa joins Facebook

?Social networking sites offer opportunities for us to establish new channels of communication with our customers, and better understand their needs,? says Christo Vrey, managing executive of Absa Digital Channels, and this is why Absa, South Africa’s largest retail bank, has launched its profile on Facebook.

While Absa is known for its dynamic approach to the younger generation, winning Sunday Times/Markinor Coolest Bank Award in 2006 and 2007, its entry into Facebook highlights the growing importance of social networking sites to traditional corporations.

?More and more companies around the world are embracing social media as a way to develop deeper connections with their customers. We’re excited about the possibilities our Facebook profile will bring,? adds Vrey.

South Africa has a surprisingly large Facebook following: various sources confirm there are about 700 000 members, putting it inside the world’s top 10 countries in terms of Facebook members. Absa already has a significant online presence, with 1.25 million individuals visiting its site each month, and nearly one million Internet Banking customers.

Absa’s Facebook profile has launched with a competition to win an Apple MacBook, around the theme of the bank’s ?Put your best foot forward’ campaign. People will be able to view images and TV videos of the campaign; and have their say.

?We are encouraging people to tell us how they ?put their best foot forward’, and tell us about their philosophies towards life, all summed up within a sentence or two,? says Vrey. 

Absa’s Facebook profile can be found at www.facebook.com/pages/ABSA/12216188250.

See you on the flip side

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on August 6, 2008
in Articles, Connection Economy and Talent - Bright Young Things
. 0 Comments

“It is my contention that in the over 40 years that I have been associated with the JSE, South Africans have always over-reacted emotionally towards the exchange. When there is a bull market people believe it is never going to stop and when there is a bear market everyone believes that the sun will never shine again.” - Humphrey Borkum, Chairman JSE Limited.

This is not another comment on how tough it is out there. There’s plenty of that going around, and then some. This is rather a question on how one should prepare people for the ‘flip side’? And there always is a flip side, whether you’re running a company or flying an Apollo Mission.

There are clearly some difficult decisions to be made when resources are tight, cash flow is under pressure and business isn’t flowing in like it did 12 months ago. Of course it doesn’t help when you don’t know when the cycle is going to turn, how quickly and to what levels the economy will return? Making a bad decision when the pressure is turned up can have far reaching consequences. Containing costs and doing everything to keep sales to an acceptable level are all part of the mechanisms most managers turn to.

What about people in all of this? Continue reading ‘See you on the flip side’

Cement Usage

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on June 21, 2008
in Business sustainability & environmental issues, Global View and Trends - Future Trends
. 0 Comments

Here’s a link worth following. It contains a few images of cement usage around the world by the big users. China’s usage for the past 4 years is staggering.

We all know this, but seeing it in this particular format leaves you with your mouth hanging wide open. It certainly did for me.

I’ve not been to China. I can’t imagine what must be going on to be using this kind of volume?

Talent – I dislike that word!

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on June 13, 2008
in Articles and Talent - Bright Young Things
. 5 Comments

Barrie Bramley looks at the preoccupation many companies have with ‘talent’and the confusion it’s causing; as those who are grappling with it struggle to work out what to do with it? Barrie looks at the problem of scarce skills in the market place and the fact that when there’s a shortage of people with skills, you want to ensure that you ‘acquire’ the best people available.

Continue reading ‘Talent – I dislike that word!’

To err is Terminal 5

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on March 28, 2008
in Connection Economy, Global View, On the Move - Travel and The Quick and the Dead - case studies
. 0 Comments

Heathrow Terminal 5 chaosI write this entry as a South African. I say that because we’re extremely hard on ourselves on this end of the planet. We often compare ourselves to the resources, experience and might of the ‘developed world’ when we open our world class attractions. And when things don’t work the way they’ve been billed to, we simply blame our ‘African-ess’ on our inability to deliver to the standards and levels that were expected.

This week British Airways opened Terminal 5. Since the opening it’s been on the news, flighted as the greatest travel achievement the world has ever seen.

You can imagine my amusement at the e-mail I got from our travel agent this afternoon. Even with truck loads of cash, and wheelbarrows of experience, getting it right isn’t as easy as one imagines. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from : )

Continue reading ‘To err is Terminal 5′

Is Google getting it right?

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on February 8, 2008
in Talent - Bright Young Things
. 0 Comments

Here’s an article I’ve just finished reading, written by Nicolas van der Meer a 2nd year TOPP Trainee at Standard Bank)

He takes a look at today’s companies and their people practice, their people opportunity and uses Google as a company to look at as a beacon of light in the new, but seemingly never ending War for Talent.

Read the entire article

Office 2.0 Database

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on February 3, 2008
in Connection Economy, Technology and Work-Life Integration (and wellness)
. 0 Comments

I’m a great fan of so-called Web 2.0, and what it’s going to mean to our way of interacting and doing business.

Today I came across a wonderful database of Office 2.0 apps nicely arranged into useful categories. For those who are dabbling in this world, or would like to, you need to take a look at this database.

About the Office 2.0 Database:

The Office 2.0 Database is developed and maintained by Ismael Ghalimi [LinkedIn], a passionate entrepreneur and fervent industry observer, founder and CEO of Intalio, creator of BPMI.org, initiator of Office 2.0, and author of IT|Redux. Ismael is an advisor to several high-tech companies, including AdventNet (a.k.a. Zoho), EchoSign, EveryTrail, Open IT Works, ThinkFree, and 3TERA.

Do You Know Talent?

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on October 16, 2007
in Articles and Talent - Bright Young Things
. 2 Comments

What is talent, and do you really want it? If so, how much talent do you want, where will you find it and what are you going to do with the talented people you manage to attract to your company? Barrie Bramley turns his attention to these and similar questions, as he helps companies to see talent as their most important competitive differentiator.

Continue reading ‘Do You Know Talent?’

Some wisdom from Warren Buffett

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on July 24, 2007
in Ethics, Generations, Knowledge Continuity and Work-Life Integration (and wellness)
. 1 Comment

I received this in an e-mail today….

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffett, the second richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity Here are some very
interesting aspects of his life:

  1. He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!
  2. He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.
  3. He still lives in the same small 3-bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.
  4. He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.
  5. He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world’s largest private jet company.
  6. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals  for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.  He has given his CEO’s only two rules. Rule number 1: do not lose any of your share holder’s money. Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.
  7. He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch Television.
  8. Bill Gates, the world’s richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffett.
  9. Warren Buffett does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.

 
His advice to young people: “Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself and Remember:

  A.  Money doesn’t create man but it is the man who created money.
  B.  Live your life as simple as you are.
  C.  Don’t do what others say, just listen to them, but do what you feel is good.
  D.  Don’t go on brand name; just wear those things in which u feel  comfortable.
  E.  Don’t waste your money on unnecessary things; just spend on them  who are really in need rather.
  F.  After all it’s your life then why give chance to others to rule our  life.”

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Transponders, airlines and the people who use them

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on June 14, 2007
in General and The Quick and the Dead - case studies
. 0 Comments

I’m currently sitting on the tarmac of Durban’s Airport, on a 1Time flight having already taken off, circled and landed back where we started. Technical problem with a transponder they tell us? Whatever.

Nothing to do, so I thought I’d ask some questions that airlines don’t like to answer:

  • Why are problems with planes and airports always out of ‘our control’, someone else’s fault, or caused by God? And who is ‘our’?
  • Why don’t airlines take responsibility, through their employees, or employees for their airlines? I’d like the Captain or Head Stewardtron to one day just acknowledge that the airline has morons working for them, or that corners were cut, or maximising profits can lead to transponders not being changed as often as they should be?
  • Why don’t airlines teach their people how important communication is, and then how important communication is to their clients? I’m fairly certain if both those items were done well, airline employees would be able to join the dots? Or not?
  • Why do airlines think we’re interested in how ‘on-time’ their planes are? We don’t care about that statistic. We’d like them to publish how late their planes are when they’re late? If an airline is late 100% of the time but by only 5 minutes each time, that wouldn’t bother me at all. And if you’re late only 25% of the time but 45 minutes each time, that would matter big time.

Continue reading ‘Transponders, airlines and the people who use them’

Locking up information

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on May 5, 2007
in Connection Economy and The Quick and the Dead - case studies
. 3 Comments

The first time I heard about the AACS ’secret’ code (AACS is the anti-copying system built into HD-DVDs) being aired on the net, was the user revolt on Digg that made news on the blogosphere.

Then this morning while browsing through BoingBoing I came across another post with images, songs, tatoos and other fun things people are doing to basically lift a middle finger to the establishment.

Whether you agree with what’s happening or not, the lesson sits in a changing business environment where you can’t behave like you used to. While officials were threatening to sue every web site that carried the code…..

“The AACS Licensing Authority, which controls the anti-copying technology underlying HD-DVD, sent out hundreds of legal threats to sites that had posted the key, including Digg.”

…the code was being spread everywhere.

“Right now, 368,000 pages contain the number, up from 36,000 yesterday. Good luck getting the food coloring out of the swimming pool!”

The Thunderbolt Kid

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on May 1, 2007
in Book Reviews
. 0 Comments

I don’t know if you ever finish a book and feel like something different has happened? Something different to how you feel after finishing other books? Today I finished “The life and times of the Thunderbolt Kid” by Bill Bryson. I felt something different. It’s difficult to explain what, but I felt it at a deeper level than usual. Felt it in a different place and felt a different kind of thing. And while I can’t really pin-point where or what, I do know it felt good. I finished, put the book down, and just sat, stared, tried to think, feel, ….. and when nothing really special happened, I just got up and moved onto the next thing.

It’s a clever book, and being my first Bryson book, I assume it’s clever in the way that he’s known and talked about to be clever. It’s about him growing up in the 1950’s. But it’s really about America, Des Moines, to be specific in the 1950’s. And while I’m not American in any way, shape or form, I knew enough to appreciate and connect with much of what he reflected on.

It’s also about the changes that happened in America and the world toward the end of the 1950’s and the beginning of the 1960’s.

If I had to sum the book up, it would be in a sentence Bryson ‘pens’ on page 267 of the copy I was reading. Toward the end of the book. It was a sentence that grabbed hold of me and I haven’t been able to shake it off. It possibly, probably in fact, says more about me than about the book and what Bryson was trying to say. But perhaps not? Perhaps I’m right on the button?

“We were entering a world where things were done because they offered a better return, not a better world.”

Definitely worth a read : )

So just how important is the planet?

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on April 10, 2007
in Business sustainability & environmental issues and Trends - Future Trends
. 0 Comments

It doesn’t matter what your stand is on the planet and our relationship with it, there’s no denying that 2006/7 has seen a dramatic shift in people’s exposure and interest in what we’re doing to this planet called Earth. The New York Times featured this article about a document recently released by United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Generationally it’s an interesting debate. My very general observation is that older generations are less interested and more apathetic around climate change, our role in it, and our ability to change the current approach (or lack of) by the species called ‘us’. It’s a hot topic as you observe younger people’s approach to the planet. We’re headed for some very interesting times within society and business, as a fresh world view begins to assert its ability to influence the status quo.

What you do and don’t do to the planet will determine both your stage and your audience.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines….. (hydrogen, electric, hybrid - whatever)

Role of the Media

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on April 9, 2007
in Blogging and Trends - Future Trends
. 0 Comments

I heard a comment on the Daily Show a while back (I think they were reviewing ‘Time Magazine’s Person of the Year’). Something about main-stream media turning its back on its responsibility and hence the rise of citizen media in the form of blogs and podcasts, etc.

Here’s the Onion’s version of such a comment, based on the New York Time’s ‘Most e-mailed list‘. It’s a list of which articles are most e-mailed by readers.

The dog certainly has a larger grip on it’s tail. One wonders where this swing is going to turn again?

Do you fly economy?

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on April 7, 2007
in Leadership and On the Move - Travel
. 2 Comments

You sit on the Executive Team of very large company. The company had a tough year last year. All through the business, costs are being contained and cut. You’ve got to attend a company conference a couple of continents away. You don’t travel that often, and while the business has decided that Executive members can fly business class, you decide to set an example and fly economy.

Your boss walks into your office and tells you that you can’t fly economy. Executives fly business class.

What do you do? Do you set the example, fly economy and take on your boss? Or do you fly business class?

I heard this scenario during the week. It’s not really important what happened, but it does pose some interesting thoughts.

So what would you do?

By inviting, you’re dis-inviting

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on March 31, 2007
in Leadership
. 3 Comments

I heard an advert on the radio yesterday. It was put together by one of our government departments. The message was around ensuring that our children go to school, stay in school and do well in school. The ‘carrot’ was by doing that we’d ensure our children have a brighter future with great opportunities.

It’s a great message. It’s a critical message for a country like South Africa. But it was how they communicated it that made me pause and reflect on how easy it is to dis-invite through invitation.

In this case they did it by holding a promising future up against the hard reality of the parents of some of the children they were talking about. There were one or two fathers talking about how terrible their lives were, and how bad their jobs were. They went to work and were told what to do by their bosses. They were shouted at and treated badly. And it was all because of their education or lack of it. What a sad picture for many working people out there. I wondered how they processed this advert. Not a terribly clever one in my opinion.

I’ve picked the theme of invitation leading to dis-invitation, but there are multiple themes to explore here. I’ll leave that to you.

I remember doing some work with one of the larger South African retail companies. We were talking to the Organisational Development Director about the various development programmes they were running. he spoke of the difficulty in inviting 30 people to join one of the programmes. The problem was that they were part of a pool of 70 people. By inviting 30 you were dis-inviting 40. You were sending a strong message, like it or not, to the other 40.

It’s a little like the ‘Talent’ debate at the moment. The so called ‘War for Talent’ being waged out globally. By identifying talented people, you’re dis-identifying non-talented people. What is the impact of that in the short / medium / long term?

I’m not sure how you get around it? It’s certainly a reality. There are some cultures that would simply pass it off as ’survival of the fittest’ and ‘that’s just how it is, deal with it’.

I’m not sure. Is there another way?

They drive me crazy!

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on March 19, 2007
in Articles, Generations and Talent - Bright Young Things
. 0 Comments

Boomers (in their 40s and 50s) and Xers (in their 20s and 30s) have very different communication styles and needs. In the workplace, they can drive each other crazy. Barrie Bramley provides some excellent insights into why this communication gap exists, and gives some great practical solutions for Boomers and Xers.

Continue reading ‘They drive me crazy!’

The Tomato Man

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on February 20, 2007
in General
. 2 Comments

I received this by e-mail the other day, and have no idea who the author of the story is. Thanks to Warren though for sending it to me.

“An unemployed man is desperate to support his family of a wife and three children. He applies for a janitor’s job at a large firm and easily passes an aptitude test. The human resources manager tells him, “You will be hired at minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Let me have your e-mail address so that we can get you in the loop. Our system will automatically e-mail you all the forms and advise you when to start and where to report on your first day.”

Taken back, the man protests that he is poor and has neither a computer nor an e-mail address. To this the manager replies, “You must understand that to a company like ours that means that you virtually do not exist. Without an e-mail address you can hardly expect to be employed by a high-tech firm. Good day.”

Stunned, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn and having $10 in his wallet, he walks past a farmers’ market and sees a stand selling 25 lb. crates of beautiful red tomatoes. He buys a crate, carries it to a busy corner and displays the tomatoes. In less than 2 hours he sells all the tomatoes and makes 100% profit. Repeating the 100% profit several times more that day, he ends up with almost $100 and arrives home that night with several bags of groceries for his family.

Continue reading ‘The Tomato Man’

Hokule’a sets sail

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on February 7, 2007
in Education and Leadership
. 0 Comments

According to Wikipedia:

HÅ?kÅ«le’a is a full-scale replica of a wooden sailing vessel (Polynesian voyaging canoe) used in ancient Hawaii. Its name means “star of gladness” in Hawaiian, and the name refers to the star Arcturus, a guiding zenith star for Hawaiian navigators, which falls directly overhead at HawaiÊ»i’s latitude.

It was built in 1975 by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, and is best known for its 1976 voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti, performed without modern navigational instruments. Since then HÅ?kÅ«le’a has completed seven voyages to various destinations in Polynesia and the United States, all using ancient wayfinding techniques of celestial navigation.

Most surfers are aware of it because in it’s second voyage in 1978, Eddie Aikau was lost at sea. Our (TomorrowLeaders) interest is because of our link to the Asia Pacific Leadership Programme in Hawaii for the past 5 years. Nainoa Thompson, a Hawaiian Navigator who has led most of the voyages, is a guest lecturer in the APLP programme.

This year it sets sail once again to Micronesia and Japan and two of the students from the APLP will be on board for different parts of the voyage.

The Hokule’a is a great story to read up on. Below I’ve listed some links around the current voyage. From there the options are endless for your own voyage of discovery.

Nuf Sed