Reflections on the past year

It seems to me that ever since the first blog took off a decade ago this medium has been used to push every point of view, religion, political agenda, personal problems, rant, rave, conspiracy theory and the like.

Blogs have also been used to share ideas, market the writer's skills and abilities and in general sell something to someone, somewhere.

Some have been dull, some funny, some serious - some that shouldn't be taken seriously ;-0 and some that should be just laughed off your PC screen.

I have tried to get a point of view across based on some observation, with the express purpose of eliciting your own thoughts on the subject.

This year, like most if not all others, has been one of highs and lows. For myself, I will always remember the thrill of watching the historical inauguration of President Obama, live and in real time; the speech he made, the people who attended, the passing of power in such a peaceful, orderly fashion. It was the highlight of the just commenced new year.

During the year there were many tragedies - some global, some local, some personal - but they touch us all as civilised human beings and we should be ever mindful of those who are affected and what we can do to assist.

For myself, I've had a blinder of a year and want to thank all those wonderful people I have met during my travels with Australia and the USA - the other speakers with whom I shared a platform, the conference organisers who are so professional and helpful, the attendees who were so attentive, friendly and happy to give feedback (and still keep in touch!), the academics and staff at the university where I am a visiting Fellow for their generosity and assistance, the staff and management of organisations I am associated with and finally you, dear reader and all those who visit my website.

The head of the fraternal organisation to which I belong has as the theme of his three year term to "Be Happy and Communicate Happiness"

Sounds like good advice me! Happy New Year and may 2010 bring you peace, happiness and success.

Harry

The secret is to bang the rocks together guys

"We'll be saying a big hello to all intelligent lifeforms everywhere and to everyone else out there, the secret is to bang the rocks together guys . . ." (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)

I ran into a GenX friend of mine yesterday and she was lamenting the time wasted by her staff on social network sites like Facebook, Twitter etc. and how they had locked out access to these sites.

She's kidding right?

When I asked her if they were getting their work done (prior to this futile and draconian measure being implemented) she did admit that they seemed to be "getting the job done". Demonstrating on my iPhone, I pointed out to her that all smartphones allow access to the Net and many have applications specifically designed to facilitate social networking. As counterintuitive as it might feel, let them have access; in fact encourage it, but have set guidelines on usage - time, content etc. Most importantly and as always communicate the expectation of work outputs.

Many people, especially BYTs, believe that the lines between work life and social life have been blurred and the progressive manager should see that if such blurring results in a happier and more productive employee it's a good thing!

The advent of the Internet in the workplace from the mid-90s (web 1.0) was pretty mismanaged in terms of staff usage. Let's not mismanage Web 2.0 - user generated content such as social networking - in the same way. Hopefully by the time Web 3.0 has been established the issue of mismanagement will be a thing of the past... just like the "rock bangers"

Harry

The misuse of the 'Net as a communicator

Any tool, no matter how sophisticated, will produce rubbish in the hands of a less expert craftsman. In the case of the Internet, not only is this trusim proved on a daily basis, but the exponential growth in blogs and Web 2.0 interactivity has resulted in the inceasing speed of the proliferation of said rubbish.

Take the opinion poll as an example. Many websites, particlularly news outlets, love to have a "minipoll" on their home pages to engage their readership. Unfortunately, the polls are of little or no value due to the inherent falaciousness of either the question or the yes/no nature of the allowable response.

Here are a couple of examples:

Q: Does Australia have enough troops in Oruzgan Province? (Y/N)

Q: Should (name footballer) be allowed to play even if he is a drunk? (Y/N)

OK, the 2nd question has been slightly altered :), but you get the idea! In the case of the first question, how would anyone give a considered or useful answer? In the second, it would be more insightful if they included a "D" option (for "don't care") to get a real gauge of public opinion.

I wouldn't mind if the publishers stopped taking themselves so seriously, and recognised that such "polls" were actually meaningless in gauging opinion and were just entertainment (like horoscopes). But many publish their "results" as newsworthy stories, considering them vox populi.

Oh, please!

Harry

Saddle up for the recovery... NOW!

There's an old Irish toast that goes, 'May you have food and raiment, a soft pillow for your head; may you be 40 years in heaven, before the devil knows you're dead.' Even if there is another bump along the way with the Global Economic Crisis; another downturn, a drop in share prices etc, the trend indicates that the recovery is on the way if not already started.

Smart business will gear up now for a return to prosperity. Talented individuals who would not normally be available are currently on the market and will be snapped up by those employers who have the foresight to plan their response to the recovery. Economists have a term for where one action speeds up a result that may have occurred naturally: the accelerator effect (not surprisingly!)

A business or organisation prepared to take a short term hit in costs will build much faster than one who just 'let's it happen', in the same way as I suggested previously to hang on to your talented, energetic staff through the recession.

Now is the time to cherry pick those Bright Young Things previously "shed" by your competitors!

Harry

Reflections on a Global Community

Yesterday I had the opportunity to present to the Phoenix Chapter of the International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM) and was give a tour of the new US$700 million Convention Centre. The feedback received from Chapter members has been wonderful and I would like to take a moment to thank the group as a whole for being so attentive, and those members who contacted me afterward for their kind words.

What the experience has confirmed for me (once again) is that we are all more alike than not on this funny little blue-green planet, with similar issues facing us as business people - no matter what the business is! I was gratified to receive feedback that my presentation made it easier for the managers and supervisors of BYTs to understand, relate and ultimately get more out of these talented people.

While some industries have been harder hit than others in this global recession there is little doubt that all have been effected and that "business as usual" will be a thing of the past. The result of this type of "correction" is always permanent change - and hopefully for the better.

Harry

You won't have to work until you're 67!!!

I had had the opportunity today to be interviewed on a couple of occasions for radio. There appears to be a standard theme in being asked questions about last night's Federal budget. "How will Generation Y feel about having to work longer and work harder?"

This question is based on a nonsense premise. What was announced last night was that the age for pension eligibility will be raised over the next two decades from 65 to 67. The truth is that you can retire at whatever age you wish (and can afford). For some time demographers have been telling us that the old age pension would become unsustainable at some time in the future.

What the budget measure is designed to do is to ensure that the pension is viable for the future. Bear in mind that when the so-called "retirement age" was set at 65 in the 1910 the average male life expectancy was 55.2 years and female 55.8. Incidentally, the pension was set at 26 pounds per annum, which represented just under one quarter of the "basic" (subsistence) wage.

Superannuation will be the most common retirement savings plan in the medium to long term in Australia, with equivalent schemes in the rest of the Western world.

Harry

Creative Thinking? I love it!

I had occasion recently to hear of a Bright Young Thing who came up with a creative solution to a "problem". Pressed by his friends to see a movie that he didn't want to see - and turned out to be as bad as he had heard - he offered to attend the movie if they were each prepared to make a donation to a childrens' charity he was collecting for - and raised minimum of $100 in the transaction.

They raised over $200, got their wish (wished they hadn't :)) and had a great time pulling the movie apart!

Now, that's lateral thinking... and very creative. This guy and people like him need to be watched.

Harry

Now that the minds have met, it's time to get on with the job!

I took a great deal of comfort after seeing and reading the reports of the G20 Leaders' Summit in London this week. There is little doubt that a great deal of work and resolve is needed to attempt to minimise the misery that has already been created as a reult of seeing the world's major economies crash over the past 6 months.

The fact the leaders from nations with disparate cultures and differing political philosophies can come together and agree on a range of actions and initiatives gives one heart.

Of course talk is cheap (and it's the only commodity that is nowadays), but there appears to be a genuine willingness to undertake the sort of radical reforms that are required in the business and financial sectors around the world. The expansion of the G8 to the G20, encompassing the rest of the major economies in the world was an initiative of our Prime Minister - and it seems to have done the trick, turning it from a talkfest in to an action plan.

We can do our part. While they clean up the mess that greed wrought we will refuse to participate in a recession and will lead business out of the doldrums by confident and innovative ideas.

Harry

How about some commonsense on both sides?

I recently had the good fortune to present at a workshop for young professionals in the Aged Care Industry. During that workshop the issue of social networking sites was raised. Recently, a story had been reported where a 16-year-old girl, in her first job, made comments about how boring the job was.

Despite the that she had not identified her employer or the organisation in any way when her boss saw the entry he called her in and sacked on the spot.

When I was asked about this issue I raised two points which I would like to share with you: firstly, do not write anything in an e-mail or a blog that you would not like either your mother or your boss to see. THE WEB IS A PUBLIC SPACE!

Secondly, you really have to wonder about the sensitivity (or hypersensitivity) of the boss in question. Surely common sense would dictate that you would call the staff member in, explain to her that although she hadn't mentioned the organisation anyone who knew her would know who she was talking about.

It seems to me that there was a failure on both sides to manage expectations - what the job would be like, what the staff member had to do to improve her prospects, and finally what the best method of communication would be.

If you think that her behaviour was juvenile, you'd be right! She was, after all, only 16 and this was her first job.

Harry

Toughing it out during tough times

It never ceases to amaze me how people, particularly businesspeople can make such "textbook" mistakes in responding to difficult times such as the current economic downturn.

You often hear management telling their staff that they, the staff, other most important asset that the business has but many managers and directors reach for their "shedding knives" at the first sign of trouble. This is very short-term thinking and demonstrates a continuation of poor management practices and a lack of understanding of the cyclic nature of business.

Invariably it is a front-line staff (who are usually the most inexpensive anyway) who are "shed". What is really shed is corporate knowledge, experience and customer relationships. Companies which practice this style of human resource management will be the last to recover from the downturn (if indeed they recover at all) as they have to spend excessive amounts of time, effort and money rebuilding and/or retraining their workforce while their competitors get on with rebuilding their business and their bottomline.

Think carefully whether a temporary reduction in profit is a better long-term strategy than a temporary reduction in your talented, trained and loyal staff.

Harry