‘May you live in interesting times.’ This purported Chinese curse rings true with every new media report raising fundamental questions around the integrity our country’s political leadership The frequency of enquiries into the conduct of many of our country’s leadership figures unfortunately overrides public perception of most other − albeit excellent − work done by…
The pressure is mounting when it comes to the preferential procurement element on the B-BBEE scorecard Large enterprises realise that Preferential Procurement is the one element on the scorecard over which they have limited control. After all, you can’t force your suppliers to become B-BBEE compliant. Yet, if a company were to score poorly on…
With technology hurtling headlong into all aspects of life, from our homes, cars and workplaces, to banks, schools and hospitals, it’s no surprise that business looks to the IT world for inspiration on how to adapt and thrive. An example of this is Agile, a method of developing software that is spilling over into all…
We have been guilty of using these in our conversations and speeches. It helps us to get through a stressful public engagement, but to our audience, we might be perceived as being unprepared, incompetent and lacking confidence COMMON CRUTCH WORDS Filler crutch words include ‘Um’ and ‘Ah’ which don’t really mean anything. Emphasis crutch words…
If you think of the heroes in movies or books, they often have a lot in common. They might be brave or willing to take risks. They may have special skills or different ideas to everyone else, but it is clear that one of the most important characteristics they share is resilience Resilience is the…
I was recently asked to share a few thoughts and my anecdotal observations on corporate governance at a cocktail function in Windhoek. Serving on boards has provided me with more than just active and passive observations, certainly also lifelong lessons and most definitely scars I am involved in a research project on the definitive links…
In truth, we know embarrassingly little about tomorrow’s jobs. Interdisciplinary and holistic education and research are indispensable as the workplace combines cognitive skills with teamwork and debate with focus on adaptability, replacing silo thinking with a flexible approach that applies knowledge from multiple sectors that at first appearances may not seem relevant. In many industries…
While entrepreneurs may be exceptional in building a small or large business, that expertise, tenacity and personality do not guarantee them a successful retirement Research shows that between 70% and 80% of small businesses in South Africa fail and fewer than 50% survive beyond five years. But entrepreneurship is not just about start-ups. Richemont, Nike,…
The amendments to the IRBA Code of Professional Conduct for Registered Auditors (IRBA Code) relating to Non-compliance with Laws and Regulations (NOCLAR) may still be relatively new, but have you already been a victim of a myth or two? It happens to all of us. A standard or legislative amendment is released and before you’ve…
A reality imposed by the fast pace of change, both within the organisation and that imposed by the external environment, is that organisations cannot rely purely on formal structures for the continuous development of its people. In the daily interactions between manager and direct reports, between colleagues, and in interactions that happen cross-functionally, there are…