7 easy ways to conserve energy Conserving energy helps the planet and saves money – so why don’t more people make the effort to do it? Simple conservation steps can have a great impact. Set washing machines to either the warm or cold water setting, not hot. Turn down the water heater thermostat. Clean or…
Every year, thousands of families are left in difficult financial situations as a result of their loved ones not having put in place adequate estate planning in the event of their death. It is estimated that as many as three-quarters of South Africans admit to having no form of estate planning in place. If you…
It seems wealthy investors aren’t all that different from their non-wealthy peers after all. They simply have more money with which to make similar irrational short-term decisions. There is no monopoly on behavioural biases, as we all succumb to human nature at times. A 2011 Barclays Wealth Insight article considered the differences in investment style…
‘Nothing motivates me more than being asked to assist with a serious problem and having the ability to come up with a solution,’ says Accountant-General Michael Sass. Monique Verduyn spoke to him about the challenges he faces and the legacy he wishes to leave behind The Office of the Accountant-General(OAG), perched on the 19rd floor…
We are living in an era of info-tainment where audiences are simultaneously seeking education and entertainment. Our role as speakers is to try to engage both sides of our audiences’ brain hemispheres: the left side (more rational and logical) as well as the right side (more fun and personable). Humour is one tool to being…
John Steinbeck, in his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, wrote: ‘Funny thing how it is. If a man owns a little property, that property is him, it’s part of him, and it’s like him. If he owns property only so he can walk on it and handle it and be sad when it…
One of the first and most important things you should be doing when you receive a pay increase is to review your insurance needs and add any insurance cover that is missing. People are quick to purchase lifestyle goods but soon forget that they can only afford these luxuries for as long as they are…
Audiences are used to listening to one speaker. Co-presenting – having two or more speakers in the same speaking slot – has unique benefits. Why it works: It provides more value to the audience as they get to listen to at least two experts at once. It’s a great way for ‘newbie’ speakers to transition…
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported how the billion-dollar online retailer Zappos joined Twitter in adopting a new and controversial approach to leadership called Holacracy. In essence, this management theory prescribes a flat hierarchy, doing away with all manager titles. Without management, employees have to determine themselves how to get work done.…
The world is commemorating the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this month, 70 years after the US nuclear bombings in Japan. With the US desperate to finish off the war and claim a dominant position in the post-war world, President Harry Truman dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki instantly killing more than 120 000…