Talk Story: Signposts for Savvy Leaders

Why do we struggle so with telling stories? Kids don’t struggle in this regard, and perhaps nor do we when with friends, around a meal, in a pub or over a braai (or barbeque for the less initiated). The practice of storytelling is central in any culture with the Hawaiians using a magical phrase, ‘talk story’ – to capture the importance of storytelling in their context.

But assemble a group of adults or leaders around a board room table and story telling can be as painful as extracting teeth from a pit-bull. And as dangerous! Perhaps the problem lies not in the subject but in the context. The ‘work’ context – apart from the ‘water-cooler’ meetings or other informal times and spaces, simply does not invite storytelling. Perhaps we have been too deeply programmed to believe that when it comes to the formal places and spaces within our working lives, there can be no room for storytelling. Of course the irony is that stories do exist – they are always there it is just that in this context, they sit under the surface avoiding detection. This may be the case partly because there might be the uneasy feeling and unspoken belief that such a pursuit is really better left in the playground. And so it is, that in the realm where business-speak rules, stories have no rightful place, they have no voice.

But this needs to change.

… Continue Reading

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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Inviting People to Grow

A universal truth about a group photo is that, once it has been taken and the picture developed, the photo is only as good as each individual thinks they look. Make sense? Next time you are looking at a group photo that includes you, take note of who you look at first, as you pick up the picture. Then watch yourself pass a judgement on the entire photo, based on how good or bad you looked. Forget the fact that there were 70 other people in the photo who may have looked amazing…

Where and what we focus on is important, especially when we’re talking about the growth of people. For too long, in many parts of the world, we have embraced what can be called a ‘medical model’ when it’s come to people growth and development. The term ‘medical model’ is clearly borrowed from the medical profession, and can be simplistically understood as you consider your last visit to your local GP.

Your GP invites you to sit on her examination table and then does an exam looking for what’s wrong with you. I have never met anyone who has gone to their doctor and said, “Tell me what’s right with me, Doc. I want to know all the places I’m fantastically healthy.â€? No, we visit the doctor to find out what’s wrong with us, and then our doctor assists us to get the wrong made right. It is also important to highlight that your doctor is not incentivised to make you super-human in the fixing process. Your doctor spent seven years studying the average human being. Their job is to simply make you average again. … Continue Reading

Leadership Lessons on Teamwork from the Kids

Having written the book, Everything I know about leadership I learnt from the kids, I often get asked if I really believe that leaders can learn about leadership from kids.

Yes, I do. And here’s why I believe leaders can learn from kids.

Last year my daughter Tamryn, was elected as Head Girl of her school (of course the proud parents pointed knowingly to the role that the gene pool had played in the process!). It was interesting to watch her tackle the responsibility and challenges that such a position entailed and I enjoyed some insightful conversations with her as the year unfolded. Once the curtain on the year came down I invited her to send me an email sharing what she had learnt about leadership through the experience.

Besides the obvious need to work on respect for her father, this was the response: … Continue Reading

On using overly-simplistic language to describe complex organisational issues…

Dave Snowden of the Cynefin Centre recently said that the relationship between a terrorist and the state, a tax-payer and the tax authority and an employee and the organisation are very similar: they are all complex, a-symmetric relationships and a simplistic traditionalist approach usually gets the opposite effect than what was intended. Peter Senge refers to a simplistic “eventsâ€? and “trendsâ€? focus in stead of a more complex “systemicâ€? focus when trying to understand the drivers behind specific organisational dilemmas. Graeme Codrington calls it a mechanistic, Newtonian, industrial-age approach to try and solve complex, quantum, connection-economy type problems. … Continue Reading

GenerationWatch – March 2006

The worm has turned…

It seems as if we are reminded on a daily basis – ad nauseum – just how many Boomers are coming up for retirement and the drain they will be on resources. In the US, Leonard Steinhorn has posed an interesting question: “Imagine if the generation getting ready to retire wasn’t the baby boomers, but the World War II generation — or the Greatest Generation, as it’s popularly lionized. No one would be calling those Americans a burden or a drag. If they were retiring today, we’d be writing columns full of praise for their sacrifice and discussing what our nation owes them and how it’s our moral duty to support them. Why the different attitudes toward these two generations? Why is one idealized as heroic and giving, while the other is disdained as self-indulgent and taking? It’s time to reassess…The boomers’ problem is not that they haven’t accomplished a great deal; it’s that we take their accomplishments for granted and don’t give them any credit.â€?

This is a welcome change from recent postings on the Net that have done nothing but criticize and patronize the Boomers. Certainly we see a much more positive portrayal of Boomers in this month’s GenerationWatch.
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Retirement vs. Re-Tyrement

The first Baby Boomers will turn sixty this year and they will do what no other generation has done before them: Re-tyre.

There are a number of factors that are already causing futurists to look at the effects of this upcoming change. Many predict that it will bring about a societal change of Tsunami-like proportions. In America, 70 million Boomers will retire over the next twenty years. One of the factors that have changed the Boomer world is medical science. Many more people are living much longer. The generation behind the Boomers, the Xers, are not as large in number as their predecessors. In the States there are approximately 46 million in Generation X – 35% less than the Boomers. … Continue Reading

March e-zine articles

Aiden Choles, ‘Emotional Intelligence in an Economy of Connection’
“Companies need to align their recruitment strategies with the power and relevance of EQ. They need to reinvent their organizations around the role of connections with employees and customers. They need to begin to feel.” So says Aiden Choles in this excellent article, examining the role of Emotional Intelligence in the 21st-century business world.

Dr Graeme Codrington, ‘How to Get the Most Out of a Job You Hate’
There are aspects of work which we all dislike. Drudgery and boredom is not an uncommon experience. However, for some people, it is even worse: many are stuck in jobs they detest and the thought of getting out of bed in the morning is just too much! In this article, Graeme explores how to survive this situation, how to make the most out of it – and how to thrive personally in a seemingly negative situation.

Jean Cooper, ‘Understand What Your Team Needs’
“Just as individuals are unique, teams are unique. Your team has a unique configuration of individuals, it operates in a unique environment and has a unique history and future. How then, if your team has a unique story, is it possible for you to know what to look out for in terms of your team’s development?” These are the questions that Jean seeks to address in this most stimulating and pragmatic article.

Dr Steve Griffiths, ‘GenerationWatch – February 2006’
In the second of his series of articles, Steve explores the latest thinking about Generations on the Internet. Surprisingly, almost all the new thinking this month is about Boomers! Check out this article to see what is being said…

Barrie Bramley and Vicky Solomon, ‘Being Talented’
When we talk about ‘talented’ people, what do we actually mean? The word talent is currently a buzzword and is being thrown about in today’s society but a conclusive definition is hard to come by.

Being Talented

Written by Barrie Bramley, with Vicky Solomon.

When we talk about ‘talented’ people, what do we actually mean? The word talent is currently a buzzword and is being thrown about in today’s society but a conclusive definition is hard to come by.

Organisations talk about recruiting and retaining talented people as part of their vision. In an office environment, it is not uncommon to hear about an employee or peer being talented. In our everyday lives, we tend to classify certain people as talented, be these people our friends, associates or even a hero. However, when people are asked what talent actually means, a clear decisive answer generally cannot be given. The answer usually is “I’ll know it when I see it�. If given a specific example such as Lance Armstrong, the answer is “Because he’s so good!�

In many cases, it is easiest to define talent by looking at an example. Let’s continue with Lance, winner of the Tour de France for 7 consecutive years. What makes him so exceptional? The fact that he has won the Tour de France not once, but 7 times in a row. The fact that he has pushed himself and his boundaries to limits most of us can only imagine. The fact that he has redefined the limits of cycling and human capabilities. His determination, ability and drive make him stand above the rest. Imagine you were part of Universal Studios. When casting for a male leading role, would you accept any A-list actor or would you want Denzel Washington who will win you Oscars (and draw audiences into theatres)? When recruiting for your organisation, would you accept anyone who is good, who will get the job done, or do you want someone exceptional?

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Emotional Intelligence in an Economy of Connection

The shifts taking place in the global economy are changing the way in which a company establishes its value proposition as a competitive differentiator. A few years back a company could bet on their “quality of product� as a sure winner. Such strategies today do not suffice, and if opted for will relegate the business to the abyss of redundancy as they are surpassed by companies who embrace the values of the emerging economy.

Companies that understand the changes required are positioning themselves in relation to what Daniel H. Pink terms the conceptual economy. Others are calling it the Emotional Economy, the Relationship Economy, or what we at TomorrowToday.biz call the Connection Economy. Whatever you call it, the game is changing, and strategies of old will not work. Tomorrow’s economy is all about connecting. Staying alive, nay, conquering your industry will be a matter of connecting with your customers, suppliers, employees, families of your employees and connecting with the communities your organization finds itself operating within.

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How to Get the Most Out of a Job You Hate

I was recently asked to contribute to a magazine feature that focussed on helping people get the most of jobs, even when they hated doing what they did. This is a tough topic for me, as I enjoy nearly every moment of my job. I also work for myself (although the company I co-founded now has over 30 people in it). But I interact often with people who are desperate to escape. It comes with the territory when you do what we do – we show people what the future could be, and we help companies think about how to make better working environments. So, while doing some research into what others have said on the topic, I discovered some nice pearls of wisdom to add to some of what TomorrowToday.biz would say.

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Understand what your team needs

As a team leader it is important to understand what it is your team needs to optimise its performance. If you can read and understand these needs, you will be better able to respond and help your team to the next level.

But let’s be honest: no two teams are similar. Just as individuals are unique, teams are unique. Your team has a unique configuration of individuals, it operates in a unique environment and has a unique history and future. How then, if your team has a unique story, is it possible for you to know what to look out for in terms of your team’s development? And, if no blue-print of your specific team exists, how can you know that responding in a certain way will have a definite desired effect?

Yes, understanding and leading teams are complex. That is why we often feel ourselves ill-equipped to intervene if we sense something’s holding our team back. The natural thing to do then is to turn towards a team building expert to sort your team out. The problem is that many team building experts have set team building programmes that they use for all teams. A generic model and sequence and workbook with discussion questions that touch on all the essential dynamics of the generic team. But yours is not the generic team.

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Generation Watch

It’s a Boomer Month on the Net.

Sex.

That’s what the Boomers are thinking about these days.

Well, that would be the inference from this month’s GenerationWatch. Do an Amazon search on Sex and Ageing and you will come up with more than 200 recently-published books. Boomer sex is a big thing! There are some great new titles out there: ‘Sex Over Fifty, and New Love and Sex Over Sixty’, ‘Boomer’s Guide to Sex that (Still) Sizzles’ and ‘Baby Boomer Bachelorette: How to Have Sex at Least Once More Before You Die’ Gail Sheehy has written a book called, ‘Sex and the Seasoned Woman: Pursuing the Passionate Life’, in which she writes, “Seasoned women know best how to resonate with their sexuality.â€? Women with maternal warmth and high-voltage sexuality, she adds, are “seasoned sirens.” A survey by the American Council on Aging claims that more than half of the over-60 population is having sex – yet at least 40 percent want more. Joan Price’s memoir “Better Than I Ever Expected; Straight Talk About Sex After Sixty,” also pushes this new buzzword. For Price, a seasoned woman has had decades of sexual experience, is aware of what she wants and likes and is ready to track it down. … Continue Reading

The “Myth of the Mix”

E-ZINE ARTICLE, FEBRUARY 2006
Sign up for free e-zine at: http://www.tomorrowtoday.biz/newsletter/index.htm

Dr Billy Coop

Classic marketing courses still use the traditional marketing mix, or 4 Ps, as the basis for teaching. The critical question, however, is this: how relevant is the traditional marketing mix in a world that is in a state of dynamic and constant change? Furthermore, and more importantly, where does the brand (both the internal and external brand) fit into the marketing mix, and how does the classic marketing mix apply to the changing customer?
In his book Basic Marketing, A global-Managerial Approach, Professor Jerome McCarthy states that there are many possible ways to satisfy the needs of target customers and that there are numerous variables that impact on the ability of an organisation to satisfy these target customers needs. McCarthy says that it is useful to reduce all the variables in the marketing mix to four basic ones namely, product, price, place (distribution) and promotion. His classic diagram depicts the customer shown as surrounded by the four Ps, but not being part of the marketing mix, but rather the target of all marketing efforts.
… Continue Reading

Desperately Needed – Leaders of Worth

E-ZINE ARTICLE, FEBRUARY 2006
Sign up for free e-zine at: http://www.tomorrowtoday.biz/newsletter/index.htm

by Pete Laburn

The recent death of renowned business leader Dr Anton Rupert has saddened South Africa and the business world. Here was a man of stature, real substance, who was undeniably successful by any measure. With estimated assets of USD 1.77b in 2004, Forbes business magazine ranked him in the top 500 wealthiest families in the world. But on being asked in an interview last year if he thought himself as a successful man, he answered that he would rather be remembered as a man of worth. “Successful people,� he said, “did well for themselves, whilst the people he admired did well for others�. One wonders how many other so-called business leaders live by similar values. No doubt a large number would claim this philosophy but how many would live it out each day. If you counted on your fingers the leaders you have been exposed to, or know, who actually live by this credo, would you get past one hand? I doubt it.

The root of the issue here is not that only a very few humans are genetically coded to exhibit these wonderful attributes but rather that people who really do value significance and worth higher than material success are not ‘corporate heroes’ – they don’t make it onto the corporate high fliers list – because its not what the corporate world really wants. Their obsession is with short term return to greedy shareholders, and that doesn’t permit the time, investment in people, the community and society at large, that encourages and fosters this kind of significant leadership, and men and women of worth that leave a sustainable legacy. Why are these individuals heading today’s businesses not putting significance before success? Sadly it seems that significance is about others, and success is about me. Significance is a ‘giving thing’’ whilst success is a ‘taking thing’. And any leadership guru will tell you that true leadership is 99.9% giving of yourself, your time and talents to the benefit of those who choose to follow you.
… Continue Reading

GenerationWatch – January 06

The March GenerationWatch is here – we incorrectly linked to this post from our March ezine.

E-ZINE ARTICLE, FEBRUARY 2006
Sign up for free e-zine at: http://www.tomorrowtoday.biz/newsletter/index.htm

Dr Steve Griffiths offers a light-hearted review on the latest Generational research and comment to be posted on the Internet.

Blame the Boomers

“The baby boomers are the greatest parasite generation that ever lived on this planet,” says A. Magnus from the United States. [1] He carries on his attack, “They took the wealth of a nation and stuffed it down their over-medicated gullets while systematically stripping its infrastructure and collectivizing its society under big government. Name a single contribution they made to the posterity and achievements of this country besides outsourcing, taking the dollar off gold, enabling a Trotskyite takeover of the GOP and signing musical acts like Britney Spears.”

This month, in GenerationWatch, there is something of a backlash against Boomers. Perhaps it is the political climate in the UK and beyond – what kind of world do we live in where the leader of the Conservative Party is a Gen Xer? – but those of a younger generation seem to be rueing the fact that they have not learnt as much from Boomer ‘mistakes’ as they should have done. Abby Lovett, a 27-year-old Chicago ad agency rep, putting in 50-plus hours a week to build her career: “No one is happy. Everyone is overworked, overstressed. No one’s spending the kind of time that they want with their kids or their spouses or partners. And I think part of that can be attributed to the Boomers.” Steve Rubens echoes a growing distaste for the Boomer legacy. “There’s a disconnect between the younger generation and anyone over 45 or so. Something happened; I don’t know when. But they don’t really listen as much as they think they do. They just go with their agenda.” [2] Anthony DeCurtis, a 54-year old rock music journalist sums it up well when he says, “There’s a fear that there’s going to be nothing left – that they’re going to be picking up the pieces for this six-decade party we had, cleaning up the mess,” said DeCurtis, 54. “There’s some truth to that, I guess.” [3]

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Lessons in Leadership from Steve “Tugga” Waugh: former Australian Cricket Captain

E-ZINE ARTICLE, FEBRUARY 2006
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by Keith Coats

When it comes to the Australian cricket team there are very few neutrals: You either love them or hate them. However, regardless of which side of the fence you happen to be, the one thing that you cannot deny is the fact that they are, without fear of contradiction, the number one side in the world in both forms of the game. The Australian brand of cricket is professional, ruthless and bold. They would rather lose trying to win than play for a draw. And win they do, with a consistency to be admired and one that is unmatched by their rivals. In developing their winning culture, they have transformed the way test cricket is played and have become the benchmark for the chasing pack.

But cricket, as with life, is seasonal. The Australians have not always enjoyed their current dominance, having wrestled the crown from the West Indies in the early 1990’s. Embedded in the rise and ascendancy of the Australians are some valuable lessons for leaders everywhere. These insights are succinctly encapsulated by the life and career of former captain Steve ‘Tugga’ Waugh, in his excellent autobiography, Out of my Comfort Zone (ISBN 0-670-04198-1).

By the time Waugh inherited the captaincy of the test side from Tubby Taylor in 1999, Australian cricket already enjoyed worldwide dominance. Getting to that point had entailed putting in place a very deliberate process. It was a process that required patience, commitment and consistent application, all of which were fuelled by the desire to be the best. Steve Waugh’s character and leadership epitomized these characteristics that marked the process and in so doing, provide lessons for leaders everywhere.

Waugh described the role of captain as one that required him to be an advisor, mentor, friend, psychologist, mediator, spokesperson, politician and selector. Today’s corporate leader can identify with the multi-facetted role and nature that is contemporary leadership. In the emerging Connection economy leaders are required to assume many roles and any reluctance or refusal to recognize this reality, results in a one dimensional leadership in which the leader’s impact and effectiveness are diluted. Dexterity, flexibility and an ability to recognise what role is required are skills that are integral to savvy leadership. The normal corporate environment is a cacophony of diversity that demands of leaders the ability to respond in a variety of ways. This requires leaders to exhibit a great degree of emotional intelligence, understanding and sensitivity. It could be an interesting exercise to make a list of the various roles you as a leader have been required to play over the past four months and then to examine your performance as you have done so. Valuable questions then include: Which roles require further development? Which are the roles that energize and which have been the ones that have drained energy? What roles are needed, but are missing?

Here then are lessons that savvy leaders can take from the Steve Waugh story:

… Continue Reading

Divide the Income, Not the Profits: A Financial Manifesto for the TomorrowGroup

E-ZINE ARTICLE, FEBRUARY 2006
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by Dr Graeme Codrington

At TomorrowToday, we are very interested in what companies need to do in order to attract and retain talented staff. We spend a lot of our time working with clients to help them devise plans and processes to ensure that they find and keep the best minds in their industries – thereby greatly enhancing the potential to be the best amongst their competitors.

When we talk about attracting and retaining talent, we often talk (to ourselves and our a clients) of corporate culture, of policies and procedures, of providing space for personal growth and for expressions of creativity, of leadership styles and team dynamics, and of the working environment. We assume, of course, that companies will offer the talented staff at least market-related remuneration packages. There are many clever things that can be done with remuneration, and where our clients need assistance, we refer them to the experts in the field (we have a number of strategic alliances with remuneration consultancies). However, we have not often touched on the issue of ownership, shareholding and high-level, long-term financial incentives.
… Continue Reading

The Game of Snakes and Ladders in the 21st-Century

Today, your office headquarters could be an impressive office block, your humble study or the local deli. Because the modern office environment has changed (and continues to transform even while you read this), new work opportunities have arisen. Together with these opportunities several prerequisite changes have come to the forefront; changes which are essential if we are to ensure a successful outcome for both the worker and employer in the new millennium. Trying to play by the ‚old rules‛ will not work or be much fun in the 21st-century office where men and women will face challenges that others before them never even contemplated.

But what has wrought this change of which I speak? Technology. The world changes as fast as technology advances. It is technology that enables us to understand the global picture in an instant. It is technology that keeps us informed on the minute, every minute. The hour does not dictate when we will hear about an important or catastrophic event. We do not rely on traditional media any longer to report an incident on the radio or evening news. We can search for breaking news on the Internet ourselves, or receive important information on our cell in the form of text, voice or picture.

… Continue Reading

The Other Side of Leadership

For the past four years TmTd have been invited to participate in the Asia Pacific Leadership Program (APLP) hosted by the East West Center and based in Honolulu. Recently Keith was asked to write something to the participants on how best to write ‘leadership reflections’ � something that is required of the participants throughout the programme. This article is an adaptation of the memo that Keith wrote to APLP.

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Chicken or Egg. Talent or Profit

The war

A CEO’s performance is generally measured on two things: share price and shareholder value. This is the plight of a business leader in a capitalist society, and most of his/her time is dedicated to these criteria. However there is a pain that is pulling business leaders away from their focus on these criteria: that of the Talent War. This is not surprising because running a business on capitalist notions does very little in keeping your brightest young talent – except make them jealous! Soon, share price and shareholder ROI will be meaningless unless a CEO is able to be a Talent Manager; a leader who fields, grows and retains the best young talent. And so a CEO, and his/her Board, should really reconsider the fervor with which they throw themselves to the capitalist dream. My hunch is that the business that will succeed in today and tomorrow’s world is developing a greater interest in an environment where our brightest talent acknowledge their readiness to leave us, and choose to stay, rather than an all-out offense on short term profit and the bottom line. My stance is this: if you build it (the environment for bright young talent), they (share price, shareholder value) will come.

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Guanxi: China’s Common Currency

First published in Convergence Journal, Vol 6 no 4 (South Africa), November 2005, www.axius.co.za

It has been nearly 10 years since Francis Fukuyama published his work ‚Trust‛ discussing the possibility that high levels of social trust, especially the kind of social trust that comes out of Confucian societies, will be requisite to prosper economically in the 21st century. After reading Fukuyama’s work, one can’t help but speculate that he was in large part trying to prepare his audience for the economic culture that is currently propelling many parts of East Asia to economic success. Social trust based on familial ties and kinship is nothing new, yet, the method with which Confucian societies are finding success by making use of those ties is certainly surprising, and at times inspiring. Confucian culture that is dominant in many parts of East Asia is teaching the world something about economic success and the way in which relationships can be utilized to bolster that success.

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Meet the Millennial Kids

This article was first published in ‘Your Child’ magazine, September 2005

Children are not merely young versions of their parents. This may seem an obvious statement, yet many parents make the mistake of under-estimating the generation gap that exists between them and their children.

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Speed Kills

‚If you ask the wrong questions, you’ll get the wrong answers every time.‛

Travelling to different conference venues means that I get to spend a lot of time in the car. One of the favourite venues of South African conference organisers is Sun City. Located in the Northwest Province in an extinct volcano crater, Sun City is one of South Africa’s premiere conference and holiday destinations. The 2 hour one way journey from Johannesburg to Sun City is reasonably scenic, and is a fairly descent road, although single-carriage most of the way � and if I’ve seen any really bad driving on my travels, most of it has been on this particular route.

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Two Socks to Success

Surgeons call it double gloving – one latex glove over another for extra protection in difficult or potentially dangerous procedures. Though not for the same reasons, scientists have now discovered that ‚double socking‛ – wearing two layers of socks could change your life… here’s why. Red blood corpuscles transport oxygen to every cell and organ in your body. More corpuscles mean more available oxygen, which is the most essential ingredient for optimal functioning, thus resulting in better performance on a mental and physical level. Fewer erythrocytes (corpuscles) mean less oxygenation in the blood, which leads to a condition known as hypoxaemia. Although the body adapts to this insufficient supply of oxygen over time, it can’t possibly operate to its full potential. The normal lifespan of an erythrocyte is about 120 days, after which it undergoes natural haemolysis or breakdown. That haemolysis happens prematurely for damaged corpuscles â€? and that’s where the socks come in handy (or is it footy?) Most damage related haemolysis occurs in the soles of our feet â€? due to the pressures exerted by walking, standing and exercising (no other part of the body takes the sort of beating our soles do). According to researchers, not only does the dual sock layer decrease the pressure effects on the feet, but also provides a layer of insulation that maintains a higher temperature in our extremities, resulting in an increased blood flow, with lower vascular resistance and ultimately less damage to erythrocytes. It’s a simple equation – more socks, mean less damage to blood corpuscles and more available oxygen, resulting in greater performance overall. No ‚sole searching‛ required â€? just do it.

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