I happened to be looking at the flight radar application on my mobile a couple of days ago, the same radar which indicates the positions of all airplanes with connected transponders all over the world. I noticed, with some degree of approval, the relative absence of flights over Africa, no flights landing or taking off…
I was fascinated watching my seven year old grandson paint a picture using watercolours that had been bought for the holidays. He had decided to paint a yacht – a majestic vessel that was cutting through the choppy sea. He chose colours for every part of the boat, maybe colours that I wouldn’t have chosen…
All managers want their respective teams to function well and meet or supersede team goals. Getting the team to achieve over and above expectations, however, requires more than encouragement or inspiration. The manager will need to keep the team focused on the goals consistently if energy is going to be applied appropriately by each team…
We need to be aware as a manager, having adopted and implemented a 21st Century approach of truly engaging our employees with authenticity and care, that there might be one or two employees who pull the ring out of things and attempt to get as much out of the manager as possible. These specific employees,…
The word “snoop” means “to investigate or look around furtively in an attempt to find out something, especially information about someone’s private affairs” and conveys the image of someone prowling around looking for fault inquisitively or in a meddlesome fashion (sticking one’s nose into someone else’s business). Interestingly, in Dutch (snoepen), the word has the…
“Composites” are materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties that, when combined, produce a material with characteristics different from the individual components. The new material may be preferred for many reasons – common examples include materials which are stronger, lighter or less expensive when compared to traditional…
From the earliest histories of populations and cultures, walls have been built not only to support roof structures and other forms of shelter, but also, and perhaps primarily, as a form of defence – to keep marauding tribes and other instruments of hostility out. Walled cities were the norm and eventually walls were used as…
When having to go to the medical doctor for an appointment and upon entering the surgery, the door is shut behind you and all focus of the doctor falls on you – questions are asked about your condition, you are examined and a suggested course of treatment is offered. There are no distractions, no pharmaceutical…
“We are hiring!” Many adverts are boring, but some job postings are fun – like this one I happened to read recently: “Thanks for taking a look at the job description for … We felt a little bit impersonal just throwing you right in there with words like “revolutionising” and “disrupting”. As such, we want…
In many managers, there is a natural tendency to desire that their staff think like they do, agree with what they say and support their ideas – there seems to be a level of personal comfort and security that goes along with employees nodding their heads and following the manager unconditionally, but this is not…
“It does not make sense to hire chess players and then treat them like chess pieces” (Anon) I was always taught to treat the cleaner like I treat the managing director/CEO – i.e., with dignity and respect. This should be true of how we treat people from every level in the organisation, particularly those that…
The 21st Century seems to be demanding a shift in leadership style, character and application – gone are the days of autocracy, manipulation, selfishness, greed and meanness (at least, we would like them to be gone). Our chaotic world (social, business, political, etc.) is calling for sensibility and sustainability, but very few are answering the…
