I've moved to the Middle East

It's news to me too, but at least this proves the necessity of googling yourself every now and then.

Thanks to Google, I picked up this link to Twittervision which clearly shows me living... well, maybe you can tell me where, so I can find myself there.

Take a look for yourself:


According to Twittervision, I'm somewhere near a city called Ar Riyad, and from what I can tell, that's somewhere in Saudi Arabia.

Absolutely bizarre.

The other thing this definitely proves is that we can't believe everything we find on the internet. But then again, we all know that already, don't we?

Don't we???

South Africa – will the last one out please turn off the lights

This is definitely not the first thing I imagined I would be writing here in 2008, and really its just a slight glimpse of the negativity I’ve seen and heard over the past month. Sadly and ironically, with Eskom going at its current rate, you could ask whether there would even be lights to turn off.

I know that, for some, there is a right time and there are right reasons to leave SA, and I would be the first to support someone doing so on this basis. But running just to get away? Doesn't make sense to me.

My guest post on SA Rocks generated the anticipated backlash from disgruntled citizens. Thankfully there were some good points raised inbetween the droning and moaning, the most interesting to me being the fact that many of those who are currently staying here and have a large role to play in the future of building this country have a culture of taking rather than a culture of building. In addition to this, during this time I also happened to come across a large number of people who are less then enthralled by SA’s current leadership, policies, status and [insert your own relevant noun here].

Is all of this negativity warranted? It could be, and there is evidence of these things they describe around us. But again, its about choice – about choosing to ‘see’ something that others probably don’t see. That’s what visionaries are – people who change nations and the future because they can see something that other people don’t see. Let’s face it, when things are going well, its easy to be positive, and when they’re going badly, its very easy to be negative. That’s why there are so many negative people around in SA now – they’re taking the easy way out, choosing not to see or believe for something more.

So negative attitudes versus positive attitudes here have become a bit of a quantity versus quality debate – the sheer volume of negative people trying to outweigh the faith and belief of the positive people.

If we are to build this nation well, we all need to be a part of it, and it's easy to believe that as an individual, I can't make a difference - but I beg to differ! Practically, how can I make a difference? Here are some quick thoughts on a few of the more important elements:

• Believe. Believe you can make a difference. Believe you're here for a reason. Either you believe or you don't, there's no middle road here.
• Attitude. Choose the right attitude, not just for the new year, but for your whole stay here on planet Earth.
• Be who you are. You are unique, and you've been put exactly where you are to do something absolutely amazing. But you can't do what you're supposed to if you're trying to be someone else.
• Invest. I'm not talking about the JSE here. Invest your money in others. Invest your time in others. Invest your belief in others.
• Be generous. When's the last time you gave someone something expecting nothing in return? Perhaps gave something to someone anonymously. Often, giving requires sacrificing something... neither one is fun, but the value you create is always exponentially more than what you give [if it is given with the right heart].
• Encourage. This is how you invest your belief in others. It's so much easier to try your best when someone is cheering you from the sidelines. And how awesome is it to watch someone achieve more than they ever dreamed of... and to be a part of that?

I know that these are difficult to do... that's why I say that being negative is the easy way out. But to me they are the building blocks for, well... building well.

Thankfully I know quite a few of the positive visionaries, and their inspiration and input has been invaluable. They are great people who I am privileged to know, and I would be honoured to work with them in changing this nation. The other important factor that makes a difference – faith. Faith that things do happen for a reason [whether good or bad]. Faith that we are here for a reason. Faith that whatever happens, it is only temporary, for we are only here on Earth briefly – it’s what we take into eternity that really counts!

So to all those who want to stay and build, I say “I’ll stand with you and believe!” And to all those whose greatest aspiration in life is to leave SA, there's nothing more I can say to you, so please don't bring your negative snipes without putting something constructive with it, because I'm just not interested.

Just when I thought I was starting to understand...

...they went and changed the rules.















Saw this link to my site here today [in case you can't read it - OutThink features as #1 under 'Today's Recommended Blogs'] - this list is sorted by "Fastest Gain in SocialRank". Really?

Yeah, I love writing and always wanted to have my voice heard out there, but in reality I know the readership here is still, well, not huge. Those guys in MindValley must be on something :-) Still, its always a blast to see your blog featured high somewhere, so I'll enjoy the moment while I can. Thanks SocialRank and dailyvoices and the brains at MindValley. [Has anyone told them about all the other blogs listed on Amatomu and Afrigator yet?]

However, in the end quantity is totally irrelevant - its the quality that counts. So here's to what I hope will be quality content all the way.

And thanks for reading. Much appreciated!

Cutting our costs to spite our revenues [and our country]?

Have a look at the picture above - this is Checkers' current in-store promotion, and what I read to be their current new business strategy. Basically, they've put their promotions in "no frills" black and white [rather than the usual colour advertising] to bring "savings of R10 million every week!".

Cost-cutting. It's the first time I've seen this specific technique, but in the end all they're trying to do is cut costs.

What on earth are they thinking? This sounds like something a bunch of accountants dreamed up! [and I can say that because I've lived in that world]

Fantastic idea. For a handful of interested people - yes [investors, management and possibly a portion of their customer-base]. But not if we look at the big picture.

Lets just think about what's really happening when we cut costs in any business, say ABC Limited [I'm not picking specifically on Checkers here... this is applicable to tons of companies].

• Step one - ABC's profits start declining, investors scream at the board who tell management to sort it out.
  
• Step two - management sees that as sales have declined, prices have been dropped to bring customers back, leading to poor results. Well okay, if we can drop our costs, profits will go up. They look at the facts - hey, we're a big company... let's get all our suppliers to give us an extra 10% discount and boom we're done [or in Checkers' case, lets just cut our spending on "unnecessary" colour copies] - and they commence the creditor-crunching.
  
• Step three - costs drop, profits go up [say] 20% and "everyone" in ABC's world [with our internally-focussed blinkers on] is happy.

In reality, what else has happened here?

• First of all, management and the bean-counters take the easy way out rather than actually using their brains and finding out what the real problem is and solving this.


• Second, cutting costs affects tens, hundreds or thousands of suppliers leading to their profits declining and effectively reduces the spending power of the individuals working in and investing in those businesses [in one way or another]. These individuals, in turn, have less to spend on ABC's products... big picture - in the long-term ABC loses more than it gains. Hello?


• Thirdly, these suppliers all institute similar measures, resulting in widespread reductions in quality of life and spending power throughout the community [and country]... thereby effectively making the country poorer and worse-off [the really big picture].

How on earth can this be the best strategy?

What are the options? Well, there are many, but it starts at the beginning, getting to the real heart of the problem. Consider, for example:

• ABC performs in-store surveys and discovers the store setup and product selection is wrong leading to customer frustration and them leaving for other stores.


• Management hire experts to improve their store setup and alter their product selection to meet the needs of customers [hiring other companies - creating prosperity in the bigger picture; meeting customers needs - attracts customers, thereby increasing revenue rather than cutting costs]


• End result - costs up, revenue up even more and profits soaring - "everyone" [BIG PICTURE everyone - customers in ABC's world, previously unrelated suppliers and in the end - the country at large] is happy!

I've oversimplified it here and this is just one very general example, but I think it communicates what I'm getting at. As businesses, we have to look at the BIG PICTURE and not make decisions in isolation. There's no point in me making a lot more money if the only way to do it is to make sure that everyone around me makes less.

Yes, I have been harsh here. But after seeing it happen time after time, I'm just sick of seeing businesses with their blinkers on pushing to get ahead by pulling down all those around them rather than considering the great scheme of things and coming up with a creative way to make a win-win situation for everyone. Here's a fantastic RealBusiness [net]work article on how cost-cutting can be handled virtuously.

We need a significant change in our thinking if we are to make South Africa thrive [economically and socially] and for us to grow together. We can do it!

I believe it! Do you?

You can tell its October by...

... all the Christmas decorations out in the shops.

almost 3 months before Christmas! [for crying out loud!]


A tell-tale sign of a consumption-driven nation in desperate need of help.

The previous generation's biggest challenges involved world wars, sweeping pandemics and crippling recessions.

Our generation's biggest challenge? What colour shoes should I buy this month?

[Excuse me while I scream]


It's time for a righteous anger to rise up against how things are! If we keep going like this, you have to ask yourself... will we really be any better off in 10 years than we are now? We need leaders. We need PASSION! LET THE FIRE GROW WITHIN.....