Racism: The definitive rules
The Constitutional Court recently made it clear that racism is defined by the recipient, not the perpetrator (Sibanye Rustenburg Platinum Mines (Pty) v Saewa obo Bester). It’s not what we think we mean that matters; it’s what our words and actions mean to the other person given our hurtful and hate-filled past — a past…
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Cheerleaders: A business imperative
What matters in your business? We know what we DON’T want; we know what employees are NOT supposed to do. But, how much time do we spend discussing, reaffirming and encouraging the behaviours we DO want to see. In her grade one class, my wife spends less time criticising errors and transgressions, and more time…
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Hiring Right: A Simply Communicate workshop
Who you hire determines whether you fulfil tasks or drive a vision. Training Leadership Consulting MD, Tanya Hulsa, said recently that ‘the cost to a company of not getting the right employee is high’, and it can amount to 150% of the annual cost of a salaried employee’ (Witness, 20 April 2018). And according to…
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‘Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff’: Life is too important
My wife and I have been reading Richard Carlson’s Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. It sounds easy: identify the small stuff in your life and let go. But, no. The real challenge is the subtitle: … And It’s All Small Stuff. According to Carlson, everything is ‘small stuff’: our ‘in basket’; our to-do list; waiting…
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Violence: Three Steps to a Healthier World
The 16 days of activism against women-and-children abuse is an important call to stop the violence, but it is rather like trying to improve Matric results without starting in grade one. Violence against women and children doesn’t start there. Only the lunatic fringe goes out to beat-up a woman or a child. It starts with…
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Tragedy at work: Four steps to help your staff cope
Shuter and Shooter Publishers, a special client of mine, experienced a tragedy last month when one of their long-serving and much-loved employees passed away. It was a humbling experience to join the company in a morning of grief and celebration. There were tears and laughter, as you would expect from colleagues who had spent a…
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Bite-Sized Management: Getting the Essentials
It has been a real pleasure and lots of fun holding what I call Bite-Sized Management conversations around town. Bite-Sized Management presents the essence of an otherwise complex subject in half an hour. We focus on the key elements of a subject to provide a refresher for those familiar with the subject or an introduction…
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Two Things to Establish at a Disciplinary Enquiry
You have done your investigation (see ‘Seven Questions You Need to Ask Before a Disciplinary Enquiry’), collected the evidence, written out the allegations and issued the Notice of Enquiry. Now we just wait for the enquiry to happen, don’t we? Not quite. There are two things you will have to establish for the chairperson, or…
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