Organisations in Christchurch have now moved out of their initial crisis response mode into business recovery and a ‘new' normal. This typically includes temporary accommodation, disrupted workplaces, cramped working conditions and longer commutes; extra or different demands, loss of staff and/or clients or records.

For some managers and staff in the early days of their initial crisis response, they made unexpected yet immensely valuable discoveries. That is, many of their pre-earthquake everyday policies and procedures and practices were impractical,

 » Read more about: How to Develop a Ready Response Capability – without the need for a catastrophic event  »

In recent research conducted by Leadership Management Australasia, nearly 4000 respondents in Australia and New Zealand were asked how they felt about their jobs. The survey revealed more than 60% of the workforce either hated their jobs or didn’t care about their work, as long as they got paid. It showed nearly half were considering looking for a new job while 62% either hated or were ambivalent about their work. (Source: APN).

What this shows are large numbers of employees who aren’t committed to their organisation or the work they do.

 » Read more about: What do you really feel about your job?  »

Systematic management failure is a label I use to describe issues that are years old and have been unsuccessfully dealt with, by a long line of managers. Systematic management failure occurs when managers go into new roles and in no time at all, find they've inherited a number of longstanding issues. They discover that despite various attempts in the past to resolve the issues to a successful conclusion, it hasn't occurred. They discover remedial actions may have been started,

 » Read more about: Systematic management failure common, yet avoidable  »

 It seems strange that an 800km walk across the north of Spain in 2009 provides ‘lessons' for getting through challenging, changing times, but it has. And it seems equally odd to be writing about it in these terms, but then again, why not?

Context is everything, so picture two sisters walking the Camino – the French Way – from a small village in the south of France to Santiago de Compostela, in the west coast of Spain.

 » Read more about: The Camino – touchstones for challenging times  »

It is a fair bet that most people are time poor because they're dealing with multiple, conflicting demands in their personal and professional lives. Some people appear to juggle work and other commitments without any apparent difficulties or feelings of stress whatsoever; yet there are others who seem to struggle keeping all the balls in the air all the time and feel those effects. And unexpected events, like the Christchurch earthquakes or the loss of a loved one,

 » Read more about: How to series – How to Manage Stress  »

During 2011, waves of baby boomers around the world will turn sixty five. Some of them already in full time paid work may choose to ‘retire' completely from the workforce; some may choose to keep working full time; and some may elect to reduce to part time hours and keep on working. For those in the Western world, statistics show we're now living longer and people in their sixties may spend 25 -30+years in their next life stage.

 » Read more about: Baby boomers – 10 steps to prepare for the next life stage  »

 

  • Know the differences between strategic plans (a high order long term plan) and action/business plans (annual, tactical plans that convert the strategic intent/goals into reality).
  •  "If you don't know where you are going, any path will do" – have clear long term goals and directions in mind.
  • Conduct strategic planning as frequently as needed to set and reset the direction. Conduct planning annually, in order to develop action/business plans.

 » Read more about: Sue’s Tips for Planning Success  »

We spend most of our life at work so getting on well with those we work with and manage is essential, if we want to get the best out of our days. Managers need to create the conditions in the workplace to enable people to be their best but sometimes, difficult situations arise and some staff may appear to be ‘difficult' to work with. Try the following tips to help you deal with difficult people situations.

 » Read more about: Sue’s Top Ten List – How to Deal with Difficult People  »

You may be surprised to know that in almost every workplace in the country, all through the year, staff dealt with not only their day to day work but an infestation of quadrapeds, fish, birds and insects. It's shocking but true and all without an SPCA or pest controller in sight. How could this be possible? You may well ask and yet the answer is quite simple – read on, to reveal all.

Some say it's the quadrapeds that cause the most problems in the workplace.

 » Read more about: Workplaces are jungles – is yours?  »