“Nothing great and durable has ever been produced with ease. Labour is the parent of all the lasting monuments of the world, whether in verse or in stone, in poetry or in pyramids” (Thomas Moore) Quality has an appealing feel, whether it comes in the form of a well-built car, a delicious meal, a tailored…
During a family Sunday lunch, we ended up reminiscing about when we were children – little children. My mother likes to tell the story of me being a toddler, sitting strapped into my seat on the back seat of the vehicle and my dad driving passed a KFC outlet. Apparently, as soon as I noticed…
So, you have worked hard at developing your career – all your needed studies are complete, you have gained experience in your field and your expertise has set you up as a trusted practitioner. You are respected and your job is stable. You produce quality work and you are appreciated. Your colleagues rely on your…
Brand reputation and corresponding trust are critical for the ongoing growth and sustainable development of a company. Ram Charan, author of What the CEO wants you to know, noted: “Without customer’s trust, the rest doesn’t matter”. In fact, Hank Paulson, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, emphasised the need for growing trust in his statement: “Our…
I have always been fascinated by the squirrels that live and forage in our neighbourhood, playfully scurrying backwards and forwards to collect sufficient food for the winter, having petty squabbles over titbits and seemingly having more serious disagreements over mates. I was walking in the garden one evening enjoying their company and discovered about 25…
As a frequent traveller, visiting different countries, staying in many different hotels and eating in many different restaurants, I occasionally get spoilt with fine service or product offerings that “blow me away” and leave me smiling: A warm wet towel upon arrival at a restaurant to mop brow and hands A pair of swans (made…
During one of many visits to the beautiful island-country of Madagascar, between workshops in Antananarivo for government employees, I managed to squeeze in a few sight-seeing hours and tour the city. My guide took me to see many varieties of lemurs, government buildings that harked back to North Korean architecture and to some of the…
