I heard an advert on the radio yesterday. It was put together by one of our government departments. The message was around ensuring that our children go to school, stay in school and do well in school. The ‘carrot’ was by doing that we’d ensure our children have a brighter future with great opportunities.
It’s a great message. It’s a critical message for a country like South Africa. But it was how they communicated it that made me pause and reflect on how easy it is to dis-invite through invitation.
In this case they did it by holding a promising future up against the hard reality of the parents of some of the children they were talking about. There were one or two fathers talking about how terrible their lives were, and how bad their jobs were. They went to work and were told what to do by their bosses. They were shouted at and treated badly. And it was all because of their education or lack of it. What a sad picture for many working people out there. I wondered how they processed this advert. Not a terribly clever one in my opinion.
I’ve picked the theme of invitation leading to dis-invitation, but there are multiple themes to explore here. I’ll leave that to you.
I remember doing some work with one of the larger South African retail companies. We were talking to the Organisational Development Director about the various development programmes they were running. he spoke of the difficulty in inviting 30 people to join one of the programmes. The problem was that they were part of a pool of 70 people. By inviting 30 you were dis-inviting 40. You were sending a strong message, like it or not, to the other 40.
It’s a little like the ‘Talent’ debate at the moment. The so called ‘War for Talent’ being waged out globally. By identifying talented people, you’re dis-identifying non-talented people. What is the impact of that in the short / medium / long term?
I’m not sure how you get around it? It’s certainly a reality. There are some cultures that would simply pass it off as ’survival of the fittest’ and ‘that’s just how it is, deal with it’.
I’m not sure. Is there another way?
I have been black for as long as I can remember, yet it would seem of late with the introduction of technology, education and westernised worldview, that reality is consistently being challenged. I grew up in Soweto with the values of the struggle being continually reinforced along with those of simply living in community with others. I guess you can call that Ubuntu but that term is undergoing huge fatigue and is progressively losing currency.
One of the key values that drove my upbringing was a message that everyone who is older than you is your father and mother. I guess by in large this spoke to the value of respect and pure manners. It was that if an older person was in the room you’d stand to greet them; if you were in a bus they came through, you’d offer up your seat; it was that you address them by their title or at the very least add a prefix to their name – Bra so and so, or Mr Sibanibani, Ubaba ka Sibanibani (Mr or the father of so and so).
We enter into a new corporate era where it is fast becoming company policy that we should address each other by first names. It is quickly breeding a culture where as young as we are, we are finding ourselves in positions of leadership that by default sometimes mean we have older people below us. How then should we address them?
Continue reading ‘Sawubona (Zulu greeting: “I see you are not my enemy”)’
I spend much of my time helping companies to create corporate cultures that will attract and retain talented young people. This involves looking at everything from terms and conditions of employment, remuneration policies and bonus schemes, to office layout, use of technology, management styles and team dynamics. One of my biggest frustrations is that very often those within an organisation who understand what needs to be done to get top talent to work there are overruled by those who are focused on saving money, efficiencies and creating “lean and mean” environments.
We live in an era where competitive advantage is found less and less in the products and services a company offers - mainly because the competitors are so closely aligned that the market can’t tell the difference between them. We live an era where technology is pervasive, markets open, and global competition the norm. In such an era, the only really sustainable competitive advantage is your people. This is why there is currently a “war for talent” in every industry across the globe.
Continue reading ‘Yes, it will cost more’
Leadership in today’s world is not easy. I suspect it has never ‘been easy’ but with the contemporary levels of complexity, connectedness and ubiquitous change these are indeed unique times in which to live and lead. The twin challenges that leaders face, that of leading diversity and understanding the inherent paradoxes, demands from leaders new mindsets that lead to new behaviours. All of this converges, like the Leader’s personal perfect storm, when it comes to leading Talent, or those we refer to as the, ‘Bright Young Things’. This article article explores six keys to understanding and leading Talent. It may even shed some light on those ‘Bright Young Things’ who inhabit your household! Continue reading ‘Leading the Whatever Generation – the ‘Bright Young Things’’
Boomers (in their 40s and 50s) and Xers (in their 20s and 30s) have very different communication styles and needs. In the workplace, they can drive each other crazy. Barrie Bramley provides some excellent insights into why this communication gap exists, and gives some great practical solutions for Boomers and Xers.
Continue reading ‘They drive me crazy!’
In sessions that we conduct on Talent management with both those who lead talent and those who are considered talent everything goes brilliantly until the end of the day when we ask: “So, what are you going to do now?” At this point there is generally a throwing up of hands into the air and a frustrated whining sessions begins. What it basically boils down is the passing of the talent ‘hot potato’ from one person or group to the next. Executives say HR has strategies in place, HR says it is the role of line management, line management says that they are disempowered by top-down processes or too busy with operational delivery to do anything differently…
As we facilitate these sessions we come in first hand contact with the frustrations that sit in this space. This article briefly deals with the conversations and frustrations most commonly raised. It will then propose options and actions that should be considered by the various stakeholders in this dynamic, from executives and other leaders right down to the talent themselves.
Continue reading ‘Whining, Moaning, and Achieving: Dealing with frustrated talent in the workplace’
Recognised experts in any field often rely on nothing more than a hunch. Time (and hard work by others) typically proves them to be right. Where does that innate gut instinct come from? Can you learn it? Can it be transferred? These are questions that get Aiden Choles interested in investigating wisdom continuity as a critical organisational capability.
Continue reading ‘Assessing Wisdom Continuity within your Organisation’
In the past two e-zines, John Maxwell has outlined the BEE question and the BEE problem. Now, in this final contribution, he focuses on one of the possible solutions to BEE. He is involved with an innovative Trust that is changing how BEE is done, and taking it to where it was intended to be: grass roots upliftment of South African society. TomorrowToday does not necessarily endorse John’s trust, but we fully support innovation and community development. Read and enjoy!
Continue reading ‘A is for Apple, BEE is for Business. Part 3: The Solution’
South Africa’s top cinema chain, Ster Kinekor, uses the tagline, “Always better on our big screen” in their advertising. Well, the last few times I’ve gone out to a cinema, I’ve had exactly the opposite experience.
I have previously complained on this blog about the way in which cinemas lie to us. They don’t let us take in food and drinks bought outside of their own concession stands, and they make up all sorts of stupid reasons for this. The real reason, of course, is that they charge a small fortune for their food and drink, and make a hefty chunk of their profit there.
But last night’s issue was that in a 16 rated movie (The Last King of Scotland), a woman came in with her husband/boyfriend, another female friend and a toddler who couldn’t have been more than 2 years old. The guy went to sit down near the middle of the theatre, and the women sat at the back. As the movie started, the woman walked down, and dumped the child on the guy’s lap and then went back to her seat. The child was niggling, crying and chirping all the way through the movie. The guy was disinterested, then just allowed the toddler to wander around the cinema. The child was friendly enough - climbing onto people and talking to everyone.
Meanwhile the mother was taking phone calls on her mobile!! What chaos and distraction! My wife actually went out to call cinema staff, but they did nothing.
If cinemas want people to flock to their venues, they are going to have to create an envrionment where it is better on their big screens. At the moment, it is not!
A few days ago, a senior Wikipedia editor was “outed”. Essjay, as he was known, had claimed to be a professor of religious studies. In fact, his name is Ryan Jordan, and he is a 24-year-old college drop-out. An interesting question arises about how Wikipedia works and about the information it makes available. Ryan, although not who he claimed to be, was actually a pretty good editor, by all accounts, and did a great job of fixing up entries and applying the stringent Wikipedia encyclopedia rules for content, style, format, referencing, etc.
Wikipedia allows for anonymity, and, in fact, almost every one of its editors uses a pseudonym - in fact, their identities are jealously guarded. This assists in making sure that any editing decisions are dealt with (more) objectively than they might be, if there was potential for personal appeals. The anonymity creates a phoney equality, putting everyone on equal level. I wonder if this incident will change how Wikipedia works, with some Big Brother top-level/behind-the-scenes vetting of (at least) the editors? I doubt it. In this connected world, people are judged more on their outputs (the value of the job they did) than their qualifications or inputs. But, the fact that Ryan lied and therefore displayed a lack of integrity should raise some concerns. Given how Wikipedia operates, one wonders why he felt the need to do that in the first place.
Some interesting ethical issues await…
As an aside, the fact that at least one editor is very much NOT who he claimed to be is worrying. And a little disturbing for people (like me) who have had entries removed from Wikipedia for spurious (IMO) reasons.
This is a really nice piece from the Christian Science Monitor, from the April 27, 2006 edition.
Gen Y’s opt-out vision
By Courtney E. Martin
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day (April 27) would be a great idea if the contemporary workplace was actually a place where we wanted our daughters and sons to end up. Unfortunately, for the second-wave feminists who created it, and fortunately, for the third-wave feminists who aren’t having it, this “special day” is about as relevant as a traditional Southern coming out party.
The “opt-out revolution,” first coined by Lisa Belkin in her New York Times Magazine story in October 2003, has since been discussed by feminists and antifeminists alike in countless news features and opinion pieces. The trend of young women rejecting the traditional workforce is, indeed, real. But this trend isn’t limited to young women. What social commentators are failing to point out is that both young men and women are not just opting out, we’re not even buying in.
Read the rest of the article.
In our presentation on the different generations, “Mind the Gap“, when we talk about the Millennial Generation (born 1990s and 2000s, or slightly earlier in some countries - USA defines them as born 1984 to 2000), we often say, “they’re confident; so confident, they’re almost arrogant”. When I was a youth worker in the 1980s and early 1990s, the big issue was helping young people develop self belief and self esteem. I think we overdid it. Now, a new study of US college students proves this point.
The Associated Press reports:
Today’s college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors, according to a comprehensive new study by five psychologists who worry that the trend could be harmful to personal relationships and American society.
“We need to stop endlessly repeating ‘You’re special’ and having children repeat that back,” said the study’s lead author, Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University. “Kids are self-centered enough already.”
[The research] examined the responses of 16,475 college students nationwide who completed an evaluation called the Narcissistic Personality Inventory between 1982 and 2006. The standardized inventory, known as the NPI, asks for responses to such statements as “If I ruled the world, it would be a better place,” “I think I am a special person” and “I can live my life any way I want to.”
The researchers describe their study as the largest ever of its type and say students’ NPI scores have risen steadily since the current test was introduced in 1982. By 2006, they said, two-thirds of the students had above-average scores, 30 percent more than in 1982.
Twenge is the author of “Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled — and More Miserable Than Ever Before” (buy it at Amazon.com).
Continue reading ‘Millennial Kids: Too Confident’
A great article in the latest Economist magazine looks at the issue of corporate locations, and where you place your key executives. The subtitle asks: “Does the location of a company’s headquarters matter any more?” Read the article, from the 8 March 2007 editiion, here (subscription may be required).
Basically, the answer is that, “Yes” it does matter. Certain executive positions are being offshored, and big companies, like IBM and Nokia are leading the way in this trend.
Continue reading ‘Manager, offshore thyself’
Every year at about this time, Warren Buffett, the world’s most legendary (and richest) investor, makes his annual letter to shareholders public. As always, the 2007 letter is a good read (its labelled “2006″ because its a report about last year). Now that he knows how many people read the letter (and without any competition it is the most read page of Annual Financial Statements anywhere in the world), his letters have taken on a slightly more self-aware tone (read the full archives from 1977 here).
As always, this year, his thoughts range quite widely. A few parts caught my attention:
Continue reading ‘Buffett on Bosses’
The China Post is reporting this morning that IBM has announced a $50 million staff development initiative specifically aimed at improving their staff member’s financial education.
Employees, as well as their spouses or domestic partners, will be offered a series of live and Web-based investment seminars starting this month. Employees will be able to get unlimited one-on-one personal financial planning and counseling by phone through [external financial services companies]. Financial planners from Fidelity and Ayco will be trained in all of IBM’s benefits programs and will receive no additional pay or commissions for selling their companies’ products.
“No other company that I’m aware of has ever done anything this comprehensive for its employees,” said Randy MacDonald, IBM Senior Vice President, Human Resources.
The move comes at a time when IBM and other companies are shifting retirement planning responsibility from the company to the employee. Traditional pensions, which promised an employee a guaranteed retirement income, are being replaced with “defined contribution” plans, in which employees put aside money for retirement, often with a partial match by employers. IBM, for instance, closed its traditional pension to new hires starting in 2005 and said last year that employees hired earlier will have their benefits frozen after 2007.
This type of investment makes sense on many different levels:
Continue reading ‘IBM to spend $50 million on staff financial education’
One of the major trends we have been tracking for some time is the rise in the influence of religious beliefs as a driver of people’s values and behaviour. A MarketingWeb article on the issue (extracted from Nilewide) puts it succinctly and clearly. This is an issue marketers need to take seriously.
Read this interesting insight below, or at MarketingWeb here.
Continue reading ‘Religion and marketing’
The title of the book grabbed my attention: “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder”. Its by Richard Louv (get it at Amazon.com or Kalahari.net). I haven’t read the book, but The Economist magazine quoted it extensively in an article about young people in the US not being interested in visiting the country’s national parks.
One of the thoughts is that technology, digital entertainment, malls and other amusements have pulled young people away from the National Parks. That is probably true (see article here or below).
However, I wonder if there is another way of thinking of this. Most game parks pride themselves in being technological stone age. “Its part of the appeal” they would say. To get away “from it all”. Well, maybe Millennials don’t want to “get away from it all”. After all, most of these parks have tarred (or least well graded) roads, electricity, running water and other amenities. So why not wifi access, good mobile phone coverage and Internet cafes? Why not? Sure, you might want to have rules about being aware of others and silence, etc. But why shouldn’t you be able to stand on top of a majestic mountainpeak, watching a spectular sunset, and MMS a picture of it to your mate?
Just a thought…
Continue reading ‘Nature-Deficit Disorder in our children’
|
This month at a glance…
more details below
:: Yes, it will cost more
(by
Graeme Codrington)
:: Whatever: Leading the Next Generation - Six essential
things leaders need to know about leading Talent
(by Keith Coats)
:: They drive me crazy! (by Barrie Bramley)
:: Whining, Moaning and Achieving: Dealing with frustrated
talent in the workplace (by Raymond de
Villiers)
:: Assessing Wisdom Continuity within your Organisation
(by Aiden Choles)
:: BEE: The Solution (by John Maxwell)
|
|
:: Featured Articles in
March
 GraemeCodrington - Yes, it will cost more
Recently, Dr Graeme Codrington was having an informal discussion with a number of accountants and auditors about creating an attractive corporate culture for attracting and retaining talented young people. He reflects on how (and why) many leaders believe that efficiencies and cost savings are primary motivators, and decisive factors in organisational developmental thinking. And he suggests that this is not only short-sighted, but also dangerous for corporate health.
Click here to read the rest of this article
 KeithCoats - Whatever: Leading the Next Generation - Six essential things leaders need to know about leading TalentLeadership in today’s world is not easy. I suspect it has never ‘been easy’ but with the contemporary levels of complexity, connectedness and ubiquitous change these are indeed unique times in which to live and lead. The twin challenges that leaders face, that of leading diversity and understanding the inherent paradoxes, demands from leaders new mindsets that lead to new behaviours. All of this converges, like the Leader's personal perfect storm, when it comes to leading Talent or those we refer to as the 'Bright Young Things'. This article explores six keys to understanding and leading Talent. It may even shed some light on those 'Bright Young Things' who inhabit your household!
Click here to read the rest
of this article
BarrieBramley
- They drive me crazy!
Boomers (in their 40s
and 50s) and Xers (in
their 20s and 30s) have
very different communication
styles and needs. In
the workplace, they
can drive each other
crazy. Barrie Bramley
provides some excellent
insights into why this
communication gap exists,
and gives some great
practical solutions
for Boomers and Xers.
Click here to read the
rest of this article
RaymonddeVilliers
- Whining, Moaning
and Achieving: Dealing
with frustrated
talent in the workplace
In sessions that
we conduct on Talent
management with
both those who lead
talent and those
who are considered
talent everything
goes brilliantly
until the end of
the day when we
ask: "So, what are
you going to do
now?" At this point
there is generally
a throwing up of
hands into the air
and a frustrated
whining sessions
begins. What it
basically boils
down is the passing
of the talent 'hot
potato' from one
person or group
to the next. Executives
say HR has strategies
in place, HR says
it is the role of
line management,
line management
says that they are
disempowered by
top-down processes
or too busy with
operational delivery
to do anything differently…
As we facilitate
these sessions we
come in first hand
contact with the
frustrations that
sit in this space.
This article briefly
deals with the conversations
and frustrations
most commonly raised.
It will then propose
options and actions
that should be considered
by the various stakeholders
in this dynamic,
from executives
and other leaders
right down to the
talent themselves.
Click here to read
the rest of this
article
 AidenCholes
- Assessing
Wisdom Continuity
within your
Organisation
Recognised experts
in any field
often rely on
nothing more
than a hunch.
Time (and hard
work by others)
typically proves
them to be right.
Where does that
innate gut instinct
come from? Can
you learn it?
Can it be transferred?
These are questions
that get Aiden
Choles interested
in investigating
wisdom continuity
as a critical
organisational
capability.
Click here to
read the rest
of this article
 JohnMaxwell
- BEE: The
Solution
- The final
edition
of John
Maxwell's
series
In the past
two e-zines,
John Maxwell
has
outlined
the BEE
question
and
the BEE
problem.
Now, in
this final
contribution,
he focuses
on one of
the possible
solutions
to BEE.
He is involved
with an
innovative
Trust that
is changing
how BEE
is done,
and taking
it to where
it was intended
to be: grass
roots upliftment
of South
African
society.
TomorrowToday
does not
necessarily
endorse
John's Trust,
but we fully
support
innovation
and community
development.
Read and
enjoy!
Click here
to read
the rest
of this
article
|
|
|
|
|
© TomorrowToday.Biz 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
You are
receiving this E-zine because you subscribed to the free service from
TomorrowToday.biz. These updates are
intended for business decision makers and people thinking about the future, and
are only sent to those who request them. To remove your name from our list or to
change your email address, see the instructions at the bottom of this email.
Please do not reply to this email - no human being looks at the replies.
To contact a real human being at TomorrowToday.biz please email Graeme Codrington:
graeme@tomorrowtoday.biz.
