It is often said that flexibility and adaptability are the hallmarks of a good employee, but what exactly does that mean and why are these skills so important? Risk and instability have always been present in any growing business, but today’s hyper-competitive and fast-paced environment has turned the workplace into a much more turbulent and…
Mary came to work on that cold winter’s morning in Johannesburg, South Africa, making use of the public transportation system as normal, but seemingly now with a spring in her step. Arriving with a broad grin and a warm greeting, she said: “Great day for work” (and really meant it). I smiled to myself as…
Sarah is an intelligent and talented thirty-four year old woman – a graphic designer and skilled one at that. Her business is reasonably successful, but she constantly lives with the anxiety that she will one day be revealed as the imposter that she feels herself to be. She feels that people who really know her…
In the 1980’s, a new ‘life approach’ theory was introduced by American social scientists, James Wilson and George Kelling, called “broken windows”. The theory proposes that the effects of urban disorder, vandalism and other crimes begin with the broken windows of vacant homes. Wilson and Kelling’s research suggested that a building with windows left unrepaired…
I was told by my parents never to point my finger, particularly not at people. Pointing out a passing ship or a whale frolicking offshore was fine, but finger-pointing for me was limited to natural wonders and animals. As I have grown older, I have understood the wisdom exhibited by my parents as I have…
The expression ‘in the same boat’ is typically construed as a negative idiom – “you say that you have run out of money – well, I am in the same boat”, meaning that I have run out of money too. It implies that you find yourself in a similar situation or in the same position…
I see it all the time – leaders abusing their power. Instead of enabling the business environment to enhance productivity and engender trust, they manipulate circumstances to suit their own needs. Because they have authority (and this is particularly true of the chief executive officer/managing director position), they have the ability to manoeuvre people like…
A distraught manager approached me one day, wanting to pull her hair out. She explained that every time she attempted working with a new idea or approach or implementing a new system, even though the same might be part of the organisation’s strategy, a group within her department would always dig in their heels and…
Gartner Inc., one of the world’s leading information technology research and advisory companies, suggests that “enterprise architecture (EA) is a discipline for proactively and holistically leading enterprise responses to disruptive forces by identifying and analysing the execution of change toward desired business vision and outcomes. EA delivers value by presenting business and IT leaders with…
The word “entropy”, from a physics perspective, is the corollary of the second law of thermodynamics, the way in which energy flows from a hotter object to a colder one – entropy goes up as the range of possibility and action goes down. An example of this can be found simply in cooking – once…
“Self-esteem is not a substitute for a roof over one’s head or food in one’s stomach, but it increases the likelihood that one will find a way to meet such needs” (Dr Nathaniel Brandon) I love either watching my grandchildren play or playing with them. When playing with them, I often have to act out…
I love photography and particularly as it relates to three important concepts – perspective, point of view and opinion. Imagine standing on a road lined by trees on either side. You will notice, as you look at the horizon, that the road and the trees appear to get smaller and smaller the further away they…
