Forks.

My Mother often sites her decision to emigrate as the reason for any success I may have achieved, believing that success, would not have been duplicated in the country she left. I cannot conclusively argue the point because that decision had been made for me as child and all I could do was manage my way to the future without reference to what might have been. Decisions and life directions are often made for you, caused by external circumstances, accidental occurrences and people deciding for you. Without a chance to influence those directions and standing at those forks in the road, you have to become more adept in your ability to manage change and have the capacity to see the opportunities, regardless of whether they were your decision.

Decisions are often seen as the accumulation of our intentions but nothing could be further from the truth when your life, your work or your family is affected by external happenstance. When a fork is presented, your choices are limited to taking the new road or not seeing it and finding out later, there was a better way. So where, as Seth Godin, describes the difficulty in the fork in the road being, seeing it and taking it, the greater difficulty for most is the management of change that comes along with the new direction they are travelling.

Stories abound of successful people raising themselves from poverty and adversity, achieving against the grain of a life chosen for them. Malcolm Gladwell, in his seminal book on success, Outliers, sites the month you were born as a precursor of success for many professional athletes, the cultures and times that influence what you become when he described the top lawyers in New York but countered those arguments with his thinking on the 10,000 hours of work, sweat, determination and not giving up, that can counter everything else and bring success.

My favourite examples sites the Beatles, hailed as overnight successes in 1962, when their records hit the airwaves. Not achieving any success outside of their local cavern and only offered some gigs in the bars of Hamburg, the mop tops took it upon themselves to hone their skills to unimaginable heights via 10,000 plus performances before they put the grooves on their first record, to become overnight successes. Hard to imagine an act nowadays even performing that many gigs let alone doing it before their first success.

If a government changes, if you are made redundant, if relationships breakdown, if your Mother takes you to another country, standing at those forks in the road and all you can see is desolation, take an extra moment to look down the other path, for opportunity is not always about a path chosen for you but how you walk the one you take. So where a fork in the road is presented to you, there is still a decision to be made and success to be had but where as you thought it had nothing to do with you, it has everything to do with you.

Goodness gracious.

Attending a recent awards night, I was struck by the MC reminding winners to thank the appropriate people, colleagues, friends, partners, along with husbands and wives, who contributed to their success. Some were gracious and sincere in their thanks, some made comedic remarks about lack of partners and some were cursory in their thanks to others, while some forgot the instructions completely. None of the above made it an unusual night in regards to graciousness. The winners were there for a reason, to pick up a trophy, after all it was all about them. Yet the question should be asked, was it only about them?

Grace is not about you, grace is about others, the others who help you everyday, the others who make your life better for knowing them and the others who give without wanting anything back and knowing how to show that appreciation. It's a mistake to point at manners, thank you's, opening doors, giving your seat to someone older and equating that with graciousness. Grace is what emanates from everything you have learnt, everything you have achieved with the help of others and what you give back.

Professor Adam Grant of the Wharton school opines on great leaders and how their grace, generosity and altruistic attitudes provide as much, if not more success than the individualistic, self aggrandising leader. For the last decade he has researched characteristics that make up the high achievers of the business world and society. Motivation, ability and opportunity were the common threads linking success but he was able to include a fourth when he studied interaction in the workplace. The choice we make when we interact with someone saw him ask the questions, how much value do we claim from that person or how much value do we give without concern for reciprocity. This led him to categorise people into takers, matchers and givers and ask which of these led to the most success.

The general answer for many was takers, those who achieve because of their high level of self interest, while givers were seen to continue to give with no reward, especially in business. Grant himself noticed the amount of paranoia in the business world, where people saw the need to be takers or be seen as exploited and taken advantage of. He subsequently found a dearth of givers and the landscape nothing but competition for the top. A famous example given, was Jonas Salk, who never acknowledged his partners, claiming the cure of polio for himself. A taker, he never won a Nobel Prize, was snubbed by his peers and was never accepted into the scientific societies he so wanted to become part of.

Yet interesting data from Grant's research, showed people who rate the concern of others above their own self interest ended up the biggest winners in business and society. Not taking away success from any of the three categories, Grant put forward the thinking that society is better off with the givers as leaders because the cascade effect makes everyone a winner, not just the head of the company or the leader of the society. He saw the grace of a giving attitude separating the great leaders from the great managers and research showed people who freely gave their time and knowledge to colleagues, employees and people in general, become the most admired and appreciated within their circles. Givers always see the best in people, givers build trust and givers elevate others to achieve. This can become contagious, for people see themselves in leaders who inspire and bring out the best in others and this duplication can only be good for all.

Not even the individual athlete, accepting an Olympic gold medal did it by themselves. Is it time to be gracious and thank the people who got you to where you are today?

Kaffeeklatsch.

As a small child I spent many a Saturday afternoon listening to my Mother and her friends exchanging ideas, discussing the economics of the block we lived in, strategising how their husbands could get to the next level and sharing the odd piece of gossip. This was all done over a coffee in a social network that knew how to pass information quickly, when it was needed and how to use information effectively to gain advantage in the game of life. Kaffeeklatsch or coffee gossip as most translations construe, was the social networking group of any coffee drinkers in lounge rooms and cafes across Germany. For many others, especially anyone engaged in business, this scene, this networking over a coffee was considered unproductive and not necessary.

Not much difference today and history tells us, not much difference to the late 1600s when England first discovered coffee houses, considered by the establishment as places where production went to die. "The Grand Concern of England,” a pamphlet published in 1673, goes onto say that coffee houses and the tempting elixir were responsible for “the ruin of many serious and hopeful young gentlemen and tradesmen,” providing further apprehension that coffee and the social aspect of sharing the drink, would be the downfall of productivity.

Yet nothing could be further from the truth, when the first coffee house opened in Oxford, it gave rise to a place where innovation, ideas, politics, science and literature were discussed openly and candidly. As coffee houses spread, some even became popular for specialised subjects on science or shipping and as customers moved from cafe to cafe, information was passed, assessed for its usefulness, refined via discussion and passed on to become productive information. The coffee houses were the egalitarian equivalent of the today's social networking sites, where everyone could offer an opinion without backlash but never without a coffee. With an entry fee of one penny, the cost of a cup of coffee, some coffee houses went onto be called "penny universities" because so many of England's Royal Society spent hours debating the scientific topics of the day.

So it's with interest I read dire warnings from industry experts, who point at today's social networking, online and offline, as areas of unproductive time wasting, time wasting usually spent in a cafe. I'm not ashamed to say I do my best work over a coffee and it's often in the social confines of a cafe, because not much has changed from the coffee houses of Oxford or even the Kaffeeklatsch of my Mother. Ideas are exchanged, relationships built, the odd piece of gossip conveyed and all articulated in an open and honest environment built around the aroma of coffee beans. IbisWorld research, tells us there are 6,500 plus cafes in Australia, growing year on year, indicating the social affinity of the cafe as "the third place" of relevance after home and work is not diminishing but increasing.

Increasing because coffee, cafes and social networks, are not the great impediment of productivity as many see it, but more the gateway to social advancement via an espresso skillfully produced. I'm up for a coffee, who's with me?

The people you meet.

It's sometimes easy to overlook what people are trying to achieve on a daily basis, especially when you meet them for the first time, but once you've connected with anyone extraordinary it's easy to share their vision. I'm not talking about global icons, news makers or those striving for celebrity in their field. I'm talking about real people making a difference, with limited resources and unlimited imagination and passion. It's always a privilege to meet such people because they bring a reality to a world occupied by acquisitional behavior, social preening and the "it's all about me" generations being courted by reality TV and online media.

I met a man today, who came back from his first vacation in over decade. A decade in which he rebuilt a zoo because his passion for conservation and his commitment to look after a thousand animals did not waver regardless of the challenges thrown at him. John Radnidge of Symbio Wildlife Park at Helensburgh, decided on a career change from the world of corporate finance to the world of saving animals he saw at risk of extinction, like the Sumatra tiger, estimated to be extinct sometime in the next decade. It took John 5 years of rebuilding before he wasn't embarrassed with a park he saw as essential for todays visitor and generations to come and the good life of weekly wages, company bonuses and public holidays have given way to 364 days with no weekends off, just a Christmas Day with the family, who still have to feed the animals.

The dedication of John, his family and the team of animal keepers cannot be questioned, especially when you consider their lack of remuneration in comparison with even the lowest paid retail shop assistant. The park is at a stage of expansion where John's resources are trying to keep up with his vision of new exhibitions, new enclosures, all to teach the next generation it's important to conserve and to preserve all we have been given when it comes to the animal world.

After talking with John for the shortest time, I felt like throwing in my job and shoveling tiger poo if it would help him out in the slightest. Yet people like John, aren't looking for charity or pity help, people like John need recognition for their sacrifices, people like John need support via attendance and people like John need to know their work matters. The passionate among us always stand out, even for the smallest cause because there are no agendas attached, just the good of all.

The next time you come across a John Radnidge, give him more than just the courtesy of your time, make sure you learn from his humility, make sure you pass on the message and if you are lucky enough to be able to make a difference, then you'll be the one that people will want to meet. John I'm ready to shovel that poo, whenever you need me.

All nighters.

Not enough hours in the day. Need less sleep and more hours. Are 60 hour weeks the norm? Are all nighters de rigueur? The eight hour day, so long a mainstay of the business world has long disappeared, courtesy of the Internet and technology that follows and interrupts us at every opportunity. Yet we believe if we had even more hours, we'd be even more productive. The correlation of more hours equals more work is as plain as the report you finished last night at 2am, with all the corrections you've had to make prior to presenting it a the next meeting. Seems more hours make you less productive and research in Europe and the US seems to agree.

The ILO (International Labour Organisation) and the EFILWC (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions), after extensive research, agree longer hours don't make you more productive and along with HBS (Harvard Business School) data, agree the 50+ hours you work should be more like 30 indicating you would still be productive. Taking a break, not just a Kitkat or a quick trip to the toilet but real breaks to relax and recharge, is their antidote to staying productive. A study in the journal of Cognition makes the parallel between frequent breaks and downtime to heightened productivity and worker focus. Seems the Europeans are working on flexible hours and less hours being the way for more productivity and happiness. The research indicates 30 hours is the bench mark for getting the most out of your people, while still giving them a high quality of life outside work.

No wonder Europe is in the state it's in, how do they get anything done? We didn't get to be the "lucky country" without putting in the hours and the more the better as far as business is concerned. How can you pull that million dollar bonus if you aren't working 80 hours a week, not seeing you kids, onto your third wife of husband, 20 kilos over weight, have no friends and are not acquainted with the words holiday and sunshine? That's real work, like our forefathers in the mines, like the pioneering spirit that built this country with no weekends, just a Sunday roast and then back to work. And all that discourse about being happy is just radical hippy talk designed to bring down the establishment.

Seems we have a way to go before the business establishment comes to its senses and acknowledges the correlation between hours and productivity and happiness is askew and better ways can be found for both to live under the same roof. Some are working towards that horizon with a good example, the current list of best places to work in Australia, showing successful companies that are fun places work at. After extensive research it comes as no surprise that 5 out of the top 10 companies are IT related, giving credence to evidence, technology can be used to enhance both productivity and happiness. After all, happiness is an up to date iPad, making everyone productive, without the 60 hour week. 30 hour weeks may not be on the agenda but there are no reasons we can't get better at what we do, without pulling those all nighters.

Innovate or die part 2.

Innovation, the application of new solutions meeting new requirements for new and existing market needs, accomplished through products, processes, services, technologies, and ideas readily available to markets, governments and society. All very well, as long as you are creative, courageous, bright, forward thinking, audacious, perceptive and have an innovative culture within your company. Not easy but achievable amongst the continuous need for change and improvement that has seen the above catch cry become voluminous, as companies rush to embrace anything new, no matter its effectiveness. Are all companies innovating or are some dying slowly or just ambling along, not accomplishing anything? The redundancy factor, not bringing out something new every quarter, has seen the competitive pressure rise to an unsustainable level where most companies are challenged by their knowledge or staff to keep up.

Today innovation is focussed on the technology we use and the value of that focus, can be observed in the dollars traded in companies such as Apple or Google. Today innovation is focused on inventions that make our communications easier, come up with ways to entertain us on the move and interrupt us at every opportunity to sell us something new. It feels like this wave of innovation is being ridden by a few select individuals with almost supernatural powers of invention like Jonathan Ive of Apple, Diane Green of VMware, Caleb Chung of Pleo, Dan Olschwang of Jump Tap and Martin Eberhard of Tesla Motors.

Yet innovation isn't all about the end product and accumulating accolades and shares to make you wealthy, it's about having the belief and confidence in yourself to bring about change. It's about being able to observe change and adapt solutions that make your life easier. It can be a process to make your mail room more efficient because everyone in the office spends too much time organising their own. It can be using better technology so your meetings and the subsequent action items are collated quicker, providing shorter and more effective meetings. It can be a raft of things that speed up, make things more convenient, help others to do their job better and generally make the world a better place.

Innovation is about eyes wide open and having the courage to speak up and use what you have to improve. If someone had pointed out the folly of Blockbuster, so focused on market share, growing to 5000 stores at their peak, that a simple idea of sending DVDs by mail would totally disrupt their model, that person would be hailed as an innovator. Instead it was Reed Hastings of Netflix who seized the moment and it was Reed Hastings who nearly suffered the same fate when streaming started to gain momentum. Luckily Netflix have reinvented themselves as a viable cable and streaming competition to companies such as HBO, by embracing an innovative culture based on employees not afraid to speak out.

So while companies may cry the catch phrase loud and try to keep up with the competition, there is much you can do individually to be seen as innovative and creative within your own sphere of influence. Be aware of the inefficiencies in your work life, be open eyed and perceptive to changes, have the courage to speak up and not be daunted by failure and finally, be willing to take the accolades as an innovator.

Eddie would go.

Eddie Aikau was the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay, he was a big wave surfer, a winner of the Duke Kahanamoku Surfing Championship and an all round waterman who saved countless lives. Eddie Aikau died in 1978. On a 4000 kilometre voyage, tracing the ancient Polynesian migration between Hawaii and the Tahitian Islands, the double hulled ocean going canoe, with Eddie on board, developed a leak after capsizing. Eddie volunteered to paddle the 20 kilometres to the nearest island for help, as the crew clung to the upturned craft. Eddie was never seen again, even after the largest air and sea search in Hawaiian history. He is remembered via the Eddie Aikau Classic, held each year, as long as the waves are large enough to hold a 10 to 12 metre face. It has only been held eight times since its inception in 1984.

How often have you heard the sporting analogy used in the corporate world, from playing hard, good team work, through to go hard or go home and how often have you winced as the boss strode out of the boardroom expecting the staff to win the game of business. The analogies have been around a long time and are slowly being replaced by corporate buzz speak, put together by marketing and media people who have never kicked a footy, run around the paddock or tackled anyone. Yet some analogies hang around long enough to find their true synergy in business and there is a certain type of business person who engenders all that Eddie and his attitude stood for, the entrepreneur.

The last decade has seen the emergence of a new kind of entrepreneur, one who isn't afraid of putting it all on the line, one who is more courages in making decisions and one who is prepared to have a go for all the right reasons. People who have the ultimate self belief, who don't want to die wondering and who's audaciousness and tenacious faith in their decision making process is infallible, as far as they are concerned. Jobs, Bezos, Zuckerburg, Brin, Page, Hsieh, Gates, and a long list of others have redefined the notion of corporate courage by laying everything they have, including their most precious assets, reputation and credibility, on the line, because they believe in their products and their decisions. Decisions made without a lot of knowledge gained from past experience, no bench marks because there were none, there was only the future and somebody had to invent it, make the decision and take off first and risk it all.

Gut instinct, sixth sense, conviction, intuition, adventurous, self belief, bold, enterprising, resolute, the thesaurus keeps on with descriptions of people who have that something extra we all look to for guidance, safety, the hard decisions and leadership. At the inaugural Eddie Aikau classic, the waves were enormous and the top wave riders in the world, stood on the sand waiting for a lull that didn't seem to be coming, when Mark Foo uttered the words they all knew were true, "Eddie would go". The contest had begun.

Think about your work, your life, are there moments when you should just take off on that 10 metre wave? Have the courage to make those decisions, Eddie would.

Motivation.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? Why do you keep going to work? Where do you get the energy to run around the block every day? How come you're always on time? Why do you never wait for others to clear the dishwasher? Is it fear of losing your job, not wanting to get fat, your Mother told you never to be late, or are you just motivated? It's a question asked everyday in interviews, on the sporting fields, in the kitchen and talked about in thousands of self help books. Why do we do the things we do? Where do we get the motivation?

Motivation is what sparks you to action, it's a purpose to achieve, a behaviour to optimise and a psychological bent to act in a certain manner to fulfil wishes and desires. Yet if you asked people why they did things they would likely answer in two ways, because they want to do it or someone else wants them to do it. Does my wife want me to unload the dishwasher or am I motivated by it being the right thing to do? Do I run around the block because I know it's good for my health or because the trainer is shouting "move your arse slow poke" at boot camp? The challenge is untangling where your motivation comes from, because over time they merge and what started out as a motivated day at work slides into time you want to spend somewhere else, maybe making more of a difference. Sure you may enjoy your work but would you do it for free? Too often motivation is left up to others and you relapse into a state of limbo where your decisions are not your own.

Some say motivation is intrinsically built in, like the motivation to survive in a flight situation or the need to eat, others point to learned lessons from parents and family. Today an awful lot is left to others as trainers, counsellors, motivators, coaches, teachers, bosses, managers, reality stars and self help gurus are looked to for answers on laziness, goal setting, mile-stoning, saving, fitness, career advancement, social mobility and life directions. Along with all of those helpers is a library of inspirational and motivational sayings to get you out of bed and propel you to your next achievement, for if you don't run your own life, someone else will.

If you really look around, you'll find the really motivated people, those willing to do for others without agenda, those achieving in fields other than just going to work and the footy on weekends, those with knowledgeable opinions, those willing to put themselves up for criticism in their field of expertise and those open enough to accept change and also to affect change are few and far between. So the field is open for you to be someone different, be someone to look up to, someone who can change things and someone whose self motivation affects others around them. The decisions and direction in your life, should not be left up to the Richard Simmons and the Anthony Robbins of this world, so what are you waiting for, motivation?

As the great Zig Ziglar once said, "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great".

Last will.

So the house goes to, the jewellery goes to, the superannuation fund goes to, your favourite tie goes to, all decisions made by people organising a will. Treasured goods going to people you know will appreciate them, goods the kids have had their eyes on for a while and goods hidden in the sock draw so the taxman can't get to them. This can be an exhausting list to manage and emotionally challenging, around who gets what and who misses out, and in the end, you still don't want to tick off cousin Louey. That exhausting list and that labyrinth of decisions is about to get more complex as a generational change in attitude to possessions and where they are kept brings about a shift in who gets what and how.

The photo albums, record collections, libraries, documentation, home movies, and all the memorabilia of the past is no longer in danger of being lost in a house fire, flood or mouldy cupboards but rather through negligence regarding updates, passwords and the death of the owner. Virtual goods and all the above are now included, are housed on PCs, tablets, phones, online and in the cloud, along with castles won in battle, land bought with online currency, credits held for the next "Texas hold’em tournament” and all manner of sundry booty claimed in online skirmishes. They are all assets of value and sentiment that need to be considered in digital estate planning. Your last login, needn't be the last time your family and friends have access to your treasure trove of online possessions.

The world's curators of all things online, Google, Facebook, Etsy, Twitter, YouTube have started program's aimed at making sure what you collect online, be it valuable, be it trash, it stays with the people you want it to stay with. Many online sites have cropped up with the intent to service this niche, from digitalestateplanning.net, no doubt looking for work,
"through some estimates, nearly a fifty percent of individuals with Facebook accounts died last year, leaving friends and family to navigate how to proceed with those webpages".

Google was one of the first to program for the inevitable with their "Inactive Account Manager", aimed at the ones left behind looking for that last email or YouTube clip. Not wanting to be insensitive the Googlers wait till no pulse has been felt via emails, chats, web history and then notify the people you have chosen to look after your online estate so they can download the appropriate information, photos and music they want as keepsakes. Along with online safes, finding trustees like Google will become part of the next generation's legal liabilities.

The only flaw is making sure your beneficiaries are tech savvy. No need to give this information to a generation back, ie your Mother, for the skills required to carry on the last game, where you mastered the top level in Castles and Dragons, will only reinforce her thinking this online stuff is just silly. And no matter how much financial data you may have locked in encryption, make sure you leave the key to the appropriate person.

Something to think about. I bequeath my blog to.......,n

Bad language.

Time was, a bar of soap and a potty mouth were a match made in heaven. Profanity was not tolerated in any form and children snickered if Dad let loose an occasional rant after a night at the pub. Changes in attitude to a Victorian predilection for non descriptive language and pay TV, made sure four letter words became the norm and schoolyards changed forever. What was once considered bad language from the likes of Lenny Bruce became part of the lexicon, today being replaced by what many consider bad language changed via technology, changed by structure for a need to say something in limited space and changed by a verbosity never seen before in the annuals of literature.

With so much choice for language to be displayed via the access granted by the Internet, it's understandable the rush to say something can sometimes over power the need to say it properly or correctly, according to your old English teacher. To that end we are seeing polar opposite views, around the structure and future of our language as influenced by the Internet.

Prescriptives are heralding the demise of language, agonising over the negative influence of electronic communication and the dumbing down of Shakespeare and literary traditions. Abbreviations, acronyms, net slang, flaming and assorted ambiguity found in the writings of bloggers, the smart phone children and anyone in a rush, cause consternation equivalent to the breaking up of the Beatles. War and Peace and its ilk, tend to be the benchmark, with anything under a hundred thousand words too short, with not enough content or the capacity to articulate the message and meaning.

Descriptivists counter the above argument alleging the Internet gives scope to a wider expression of language, constantly changing linguistic convention and finally reading the way we talk. They talk about Internet slang and its ability to join cultures, to globalise language and make it accessible to all. They talk about no language being bad, that it should never be shackled by the past and that online language will have greater influence offline than anything Shakespeare wrote.

The etiquette guides and linguistic appropriateness of the past is being shattered by time restrictions, why write a manifesto if I can relay the message via a Tweet, by smart phones, who really wants to long hand anything nowadays on a minute keyboard and finally subculture, where language is being redefined by a new generation. The same reason we don't talk like Shakespeare anymore is the same reason we don't talk like we did before all this technology came along. Adaptability of language shows the flexibility in intelligence and the capacity to change with the change.

So the next time your nephew sends you a 140 character greeting card via his smart phone or the next time you learn a new word made up of numbers and letters, don't get caught up in the punctuation but rather the thought behind the message. For the long hand and the short of it, finds enough room for all. The Internet will never run out of space for those wanting to say a lot in their own sweet time, in their own sweet language and it will provide the forums and platforms for those in a hurry to say it now with a mangled mash up that would have Shakespeare rolling in his grave.