As I get towards the end of teaching commerce courses at the Eastern Institute of Technology I like to work through this presentation with students, to help guide/ shape their thinking when it comes to students selecting their first work role in the real world of business. May this file help many people find their way into the work environment.
I’m following a number of the LinkedIn conversations that focus on the growing uses of Artificial Intelligence, with much interest. And I’m smiling. Why ? Because I can see that AI could actually cause an elevation in the perceived value of real human beings. How so ? Read on… When synthetic diamonds and coloured gems became a commercialised product, the staunch “traditional jewellers” feared the worst, and predicted that these artificial diamonds would taint the reputation of jewellery products generally…
Recently I’ve been reading (particularly in the LinkedIn environment) a lot about the traits of kindness and empathy being “the” most important prerequisites for anyone to have who aspires to be a leader. Well, I beg to differ, and here’s why… While kindness and empathy are most certainly key character traits of effective leaders, these dimensions – in the absence of all the other elements/ strengths that make a leader effective – are going to result in yet another populist…
In conjunction with the topic of how to bring internal stakeholders of an organisation on a chosen brand journey, I am teaching Eastern Institute of Technology commerce students the difference between achieving cooperation by managing expectations (i.e. nurturing) versus forcing compliance by enforcing legal contracts. Here’s how a poorly-equipped business owner who lacks people management skills (and who prefers to “control” others rather than empower) will deal with an employee situation where the employer believes the employee is breaching their…
Following a ‘Branding’ lecture at the Eastern Institute of Technology today two students wanted to discuss a range of “life philosophies” that are proven to cause strong people relationships to develop. I felt at the time that the inspiration for this discussion was perhaps our guest presenter who did a sterling job today of presenting the “brand” dimensions of New Zealand Home Loans. At the end of this presentation I complimented the presenter’s open, honest and matter-of-fact communication style, which…
While many business people understand the importance of setting formal direction for a business by preparing a Strategic Plan, it seems that few people know that the starting point to prepare such a plan is actually the performance of a Gap Analysis. A Gap Analysis – if done comprehensively, with the right questions being asked of a business owner (and with honest answers being given by the business owners in return) – will uncover (most importantly) the current shortcomings/ weaknesses…
As many people now know, I teach commerce from a humanities perspective first and foremost. In short, this orientation is about satisfying needs and forming (and nurturing) constructive people relationships. The fundamental principle that I teach in this regard is that monetary reward is simply a natural consequence of meeting the needs of other people and getting relationships right. The second most important principle that I teach is how our ego can over-rule sensibility and our tendency to make well-informed,…
This article is inspired by my concern that many young people seem to be upset with themselves and disappointed with (or somewhat lost in) their lives. These sentiments are coming through loud and clear in media articles most particularly, where messages of “poor mental health” and “poor states of well-being” in young people is contributing to all sorts of behaviourial problems – and sometimes even self-harm or worse. As a lecturer returning to teach in the tertiary education sector this…
Having managed large companies (national entities) over the years I can confidently say that “the” single most difficult challenge where the setting and implementation of strategic direction is concerned is to get all internal stakeholders singing from the same song sheet. As many may know, the less inclined stakeholders are to not only sing from the same song sheet, but sing in the same tune/ key also, the less commercial effect/ penetration (brand presence/awareness and market share) the brand is…
The main reason why well-reasoned and written plans (e.g. Strategic Plan) fail – or the stated objectives within are not realised – is because their author (e.g. a CEO/ GM/ Board of Directors) fails to communicate the plan to those people who are expected to implement the plan. In the end, the full value of a plan is only realised when relevant stakeholders are given the opportunity to share in the sense of direction that the given plan articulates. Where a…