Forget old school, we need some new school

We now live in a world where life-long learning has replaced the life-long career. It’s anticipated that people will change jobs four to seven times in their lifetime, and anywhere between 50% and 80% of the jobs that will exist in 10 years time do not exist today.

WOW! The world has changed. Is changing! Rapidly!!

Naturally, this has BIG implications for the future [future leaders included] meaning that we have to think about this sooner rather than later.

Here is an absolutely astounding TED talk - Ken Robinson challenges the level of creativity in schools. Listen to that and you will understand why we need to see significant changes in the way we teach young people… especially since the system we currently have produces results where “many highly talented, brilliant, creative people think they’re not.”

Is there no way we can look at things differently? Perhaps find a way to pull collaboration and creativity into an education system that is increasingly falling short of its primary objective? Look at a whole fresh new set of “outcomes”. Perhaps there is a way to revolutionise our entire approach to education and at the same time better equip young students and future leaders for the world that awaits them [as opposed to the world from several decades/centuries ago].

Forget old school. I think we need a bit of New Scool. What do you think?

*!Watch this space!*

[now that you’re done reading, go back two paragraphs, click on the TED talk link. and listen to it!]

Brilliant and creative initiative by Stormhoek. Well done!

Please read this: Own a vine. Save a job.

What a fantastic initiative by the team down at Stormhoek to address a very real problem. They have taken a suitably creative approach to solving an issue rather than just sitting back and complaining about it. I salute you, gentlemen.

Along with many others, I look forward to seeing the successful fruits of your efforts!

There is a lot that South African business can learn from Stormhoek. Perhaps once they've worked through this issue, they can start the Stormhoek consultancy and help move SA forward!

A time for breaking down?

“For everything there is a season… a time to break down, and a time to build up”

I have found myself being caught up in focusing on creativity and creating things – my mindset telling me that to do something good, you must create something amazing. Or at least build something up by adding to it creatively.

Now, I look at the extract above and believe that this is a reminder to myself, and possibly others, that although this is often the right approach to life’s opportunities in many circumstances, it is not the full story.

There are times where we need to break things down before we can go forward and build properly. Think of a house being built on poor foundations… that house will never stand the test of time regardless of how well it is has been built or which materials have been used, since it is only as strong as the foundation it is built on.

One person I greatly respect often quotes CS Lewis, who said something along similar lines: “We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.”

I have never advocated breaking down, simply because most people I come across believe in a destructive breaking down, regardless of what it is being broken down. Breaking down is also generally a painful and sometimes devastating experience with consequences that need to be dealt with and pushed through. However, in this context, breaking down becomes a positive and progressive act, something moving us toward our goal rather than away from it.

We all face circumstances at times where we sit with poor foundations in some part of our life. Now, before you go ahead and build your house, may I challenge you to carefully assess those foundations, if necessary, break them down [taking care not to be reckless] and rebuild them strongly before continuing. In the short-term, this won’t be easy, and many around you may label you insane for what you are doing – as you will be perceived to be going backwards. Your reward will be in the long-term, where your house will stand stronger and longer than they [or you] could ever imagine.

This is certainly one of the challenges I take forward into the coming year. Should you take it up as well, I trust that you and I will be able to build stronger than ever before.

Are directors just pawns in the game of business?

I like marcashton's analogy between a sales team and chess moves. I found the concept interesting, and I yhought I'd try something a little different - to metaphorically disect a company's building blocks in chess'ese:

Pawns
To me, the pawns represent management [not employees, as most would probably say]. The pawns stand in the front line, lead the way forward and have to make moves and sacrifices in the team's best interests.

Rook [aka Castle]
These more closely resemble employees. Their movement is far more limited as they play a role but not the lead role. They are there to get the job done [often in chess these get the job done in going for check-mate].

Knight
Their flexible movement is reminiscent of a company's products and services. They need to be constantly moving and changing to stay ahead of the competition. And with the unusual 'L' movement, its easy to be caught off guard, or to catch your competition off guard.

Bishop
Difficult one, but by a process of elimination, can be seen to be the suppliers. They are there to add to the business [by providing products and services]. The more predictable and consistent their movement, the easier they are to handle.

Queen
This is probably the brand [not a living member of the cast, but still an integral player]. This gives life to the company and plays an integral part in the strategy of many companies. When the queen is lost, strategy often changes direction significantly.

King
It is the most important piece to be protected, and probably best approximates the customer. Without customers, no business will survive.

The board
Not 'the Board'. This is the company itself and forms the playing field where all interactions take place. In the end, it is just an inanimate structure, but you can't play the game without it.

The player
I would take this to represent the directors - needing a good 'big picture' view of the board and everything going on. The player has the ability to direct the game in its entirety and to make decisions affecting all its participants.

The chess set's owners
Last and certainly not least - representing the shareholders. It doesn't matter how the player plays the game, in the end he better look after the chess set and return it to its rightful owners. In many cases, the players and the owners are one and the same... but isn't that the way it is in business too?


One specific note to the two above - the directors are the stewards of the business, and unlike returning a chess set to its owners slightly worse for wear, a business should eventually be 'returned' to its owners in better condition than when control was originally given to the directors - the hallmark of an excellent director/board.

Okay, so this isn't an exact science, but I hope you see what I'm getting at. Any differing viewpoints would be interesting to hear.

Creativity + business = explosive growth

This blog by Elaine Rumboll is fascinating [visually stunning too!] as it recounts the process of teaching business to creatives.

It's fascinating for me because I spend a fair amount of time in a creative environment, and every day I am strategically being challenged to balance the business side of business with the creative side of creativity [does that make any sense whatsoever].

I think that this is one of the [as yet only partially discovered] secrets to immense growth - allowing the creative spirit to run free [more or less] and then maximising its impact from a business angle. Something which many have tried and very few have succeeded at so far.

My experience is also that it is an incredibly difficult balancing act [from the business side]. If the posts in the blog are anything to go by, its just as difficult from that side too.

Very, very interesting...

What is the real impact of accounting on business?

Here is a quote from 'Tom Peters' True Confessions' [fascinating article for any fans of his] on FastCompany, which sums up very nicely the unquantifiable impact that accounting can have on an organisation -

"Who else? I was supremely pissed off at Robert McNamara. McNamara had been an assistant accounting professor at Harvard Business School. Somebody hooked him up with General Curtis E. LeMay, who was running the U.S. Air Force. The way I remember the story, LeMay didn't know how many airplanes he had or where they were parked. So McNamara the accountant figured out how many planes there were and where they were parked, and he put together a report for LeMay. All of a sudden, where there had been no systems, McNamara introduced systems. Terrific. That makes McNamara the Peter Drucker of the Pentagon -- because Drucker had done the same thing for big companies. But by the time the Vietnam War came and McNamara was secretary of defense, the systems had completely taken over. People were driven out of the equation. McNamara introduced the tyranny of the bean counters. So Robert McNamara was the enemy."

Accountants are notorious for only taking into account the Rand [Dollar] value of anything when making decisions. I disagree with this approach entirely - just because there are some things you can't measure, it doesn't mean they don't exist.

Spending much of my working time in a creative environment [and having been trained in an accounting one], I've been challenged with a similar question lately: how do you balance ENERGY and EXCITEMENT with structure and governance?

Well, I'm searching daily, and I'll be sure to post any breakthroughs [although at this point, there still seems like a long way to go to finding an answer]. But with organisations such as Virgin finding a way to make business fun, we can be sure the answer is out there!

Creating markets... oh what a beautiful thing

So many people and business leaders are always talking about market share... and how to go about growing this figure. It can be a painstaking exercise, for sure.

But you gotta love the cowboy approach - CREATE MARKETS. That way, no competition, no price leaders, no rigid rules as to how to do business... you just do it.

One of the runaway winners in this category has to be Second Life who's founders took the challenge head on. It may have taken 6 years to actually realise and understand exactly what market they were creating, but they did it.


This article on Inc.com's "How I did it" archives delves a little into the story behind Second Life with CEO and founder, Philip Rosedale. Its absolutely fascinating, and much like the Google story, shows how the business was started with a [vague] idea and passion. The passion led them to build the "product" they believed in... and the rest, as they say, is history.

What I love about this business:
- built on passion
- created a new market where none existed before
- proved that a sound business model can be developed [even if it takes six odd years] to match an awesome product, if you look hard enough - ie, don't do something because it can make you rich, do it because you love it and you're driven... the rest will sort itself out.

Again, much to learn from this. Sounds much like the adage that most people decide what they want to have, let that determine what they must do, and that in turns drives what they will be...

[ HAVE - DO - BE ---> highly unsuccessful approach ]

... rather decide who you want to be, let that drive what you do, and in the end you will have what you should.

[ BE - DO - HAVE ]

Time to stop living back-to-front and start doing it the right way.

And oh yes, way to go Philip!

The Great Business Growth Enigma

Many a business has sprung forth from the imaginative genius of an entrepreneurial architect. And looking around today, its easy to find small one-man [or several person] businesses... and big, BIG businesses which successfully made the transition over a period of time [generally several decades].

This is not an easy, or pleasant process, as many would note, and takes careful planning, smart execution and without doubt - an element of luck.

One of the companies I deal with is currently in the process of trying to make this jump. It seems to me that to make this happen requires a serious shift in mindset for all involved...

so the big questions is:


It's all about choice, but as an entrepreneur - to make the big jump - how do you choose something which defies every bone in your body and every action you've taken to build your business from scratch?

Performance: To come this far, you've had to believe in something nobody could see, take chances, make some educated guesses [and possibly some un-educated ones too?] and strive to be different, to succesfully differentiate from other competitors out there - to attract the best talent, make the best product or provide the best service, and be nothing short of scintillating.

Conformance: Now, being BIG doesn't require anything other than being efficient, economical and streamlining your business in every possible way. But what does that mean? Cost cutting? Saving? Being conservative and not saying what you want, when you want? Hardly the makings of a scintillating experience... but it does bring stability, fairness, steadiness. All those characteristics that make BIG companies big... and unfortunately cover them in red-tape too.

Certainly this is not an easy step to take for any entrepreneur or small business. I don't know how one would successfully balance the two - or is it simply a case of choosing one or the other? Sacrificing creativity, flair, attitude for size, stability and control?

I'll explore this one again soon...

A new job everyday

One aspect of our society which is now commonplace is to see people alongside the road [everywhere you go] advertising their services as painters, tilers, builders and a variety of other 'professions'. While this is considered by many to be a nuisance, I can't help but look at the flipside -

- everyday, each of these people effectively looks for a new job, with a different employer, a different location, and a different wage/salary.

When last did you change jobs? I recall seeing that changing jobs fell into four of the most stressful events of a person's life [along with getting married, death of a close relative and moving house]. The most difficult part of changing jobs is not necessarily once you know where you're going, but all the uncertainty when you're still looking.

Now imagine looking for a new job every single day.

Here's a thought - in a each neighbourhood, establish a central venue where all such skilled people can go daily, register as available, and possibly even receive a meal. Their details [name, ID number, skills, contact number, etc] would be recorded here. Any people looking for workers with these skills could go straight to this 'agency' and find a tradesman with the skills they are looking for.

It may take a while to become readily accepted, but could provide huge benefits to both sides, including:
For the tradesman: a central destination each day, possibly a meal, credibility through verification of their details, and keeping them away from potential danger at busy street corners and intersections.
For the public: a central source of skills when required, verified details of the individual you're employing and more safety in public areas that work-seekers currently frequent.

This kind of idea would probably require government initiative, but with a bit of creative flair, could also prove to be a profitable business. How? Sale of advertising to a captive market each day; visibility through sponsorship of food, tools, etc; commission on people placed; revenue from transport facilities going directly to/from the venue. These are just off the top of my head - I'm sure there are endless possibilities.

Perhaps it sounds a bit ridiculous. Perhaps it could work.

Think!

Well, its about that time of the year when winter starts setting in (for those of us here in the Southern hemisphere, anyway), and when curling up under the covers with a good book appeals more to the senses than any other time of year. And I must admit, there are some amazing books out there that I would love to really get stuck into.

I love reading, especially as it will often ignite a creative flint where you least thought one existed. And that's why I'm writing this - I would like to create a place for good ideas to be planted, get watered, grow a bit and eventually bear fruit.

In South Africa, I truly believe this is critical to the successful regeneration of our country - and our continent, for that matter. Don't get me wrong, there are a number of brilliant catalysts out there at the moment (which I will explore in later posts), but we, as a nation, have to catch this! In such a creative nation, where entrepreneurs, artists and inventors abound, lets make this the best environment it can be for these characteristics to flourish! And as I continue to write, I hope that you will join me in exploring and debating how we can make this work, and also share some fresh ideas for growth.

Give it some thought... lets see where it leads to.