“Nothing kills ‘one team one goal’ thinking like silos” (John G Miller – author of QBQ) A Silo Mentality is defined as “A mind-set present in some companies when certain departments or sectors do not wish to share information with others in the same company. This type of mentality will reduce the efficiency of the…
“Confidence develops when you have a deep sense that you can handle the emotional outcome of whatever you face or pursue. Another way to put it is that confidence is the felt sense of a “can-do” attitude” (Joan Rosenberg) Despite many articles from a variety of authors that suggest that growing self-confidence is as easy…
In medicine, particularly optometry and ophthalmology, refraction is a clinical test in which a phoropter may be used by the eye care professional to determine the eye’s refractive error and the best corrective lenses to be prescribed. A series of test lenses in graded optical powers or focal lengths are presented to determine which provides…
Recently, I was deeply moved listening to Benjamin Zander interpret classical music to his students and during a TED Talk, demonstrate his ability to bring out the very best in his fellow musicians. He is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, founder of the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and probably one of the best…
The conversation was robust. We had been going through the issues for the past three hours – some had dug their heels in and simply said: “This is not going to work”; others complained: “You have not even given us a chance to prove that this could end up positively for all of us”. Emotions…
Many idioms referring to human behaviour are based on analogies to parts of the body, especially arms, hands and fingers (e.g.: to keep one’s fingers crossed, all hands on deck, elbow room, to be on hand, keep her at arm’s length, he is all thumbs, he would not lift a finger, give someone a free…
“A picture speaks a thousand words” (Anon) With the acceleration of smartphone technology and the subsequent use of the mobile phone as the key communication medium adopted by the world, so also the development of lens technology accelerated to keep pace with the needs of device owners. Most smartphones now have two or three lenses…
I have an interesting application on my phone which allows me to view the exact location of all domestic and international flights around the world at any time during the day or night. The application provides details of a plane’s registration certificate and flight number, departure airport and destination city, departure and estimated arrival times,…
“Smart leaders today engage with employees in a way that resembles an ordinary person-to-person conversation more than it does a series of commands from on high, instilling a conversational sensibility throughout their organisations” (Groysberg & Slind) Achieving organisational alignment during change interventions – across new processes, systems, procedures and the application of human and other…
Safety boots, essential footwear for certain production and manufacturing environments, are typically designed to protect employees’ toes and feet in the event of an unfortunate accident. I call this a defensive strategy – being protected if something bad should happen. At the same time, many manufacturers have what I call an offensive strategy – ensuring…
Business leaders are being stretched – having to make tough choices and subsequent changes for improvement, or even survival, in difficult financial times. These changes affect people, structure, processes, tasks and systems, so effective communication becomes essential during the whole change process (pre-implementation, during implementation and post-implementation). There is a big difference, however, between communication…
“You support what you help create” (Alinda Nortje: Executive Chairperson, Free To Grow) In a world of increasing turbulence, including unpredictable financial and socio-political contexts, leaders are under pressure to transform their organisations towards achieving sustainable growth. This “transformation” may include the adoption of new technologies, major strategic shifts, process reengineering, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring,…
