Lost Skills

What skills did you have that you are aware are rusty, or worse still, now dormant?

As we gain years (nice way of saying age), our reflexes and flexibility inevitably deteriorate. Our ability to do perform some of the physical skills of years past is not what it was or is simply harder to do for as long as we used too. Chances are we will also feel the side effects of such an effort during the following day or days.

And what about our mental skills? Do skills acquired in our youth stand up when called upon after an extended period of not being used?

I come from an era where we learned the detail of long form mathematical calculations. With a pen and paper, we could easily calculate how many times 249 would go in to 14962*. I suspect all those who had these skills drilled in to them in primary school, could still perform such a calculation today. Go on, try it.

We probably also still know by heart or “times tables” at least up to the number 12.

However, I am thinking of the mental skills that were acquitted rather than drummed in to us.

My thoughts turned to this over the weekend when I received a text message from a friend thanking me for the birthday wishes I had conveyed via text a few days previously. I would describe us as being close without necessarily being in regular contact. I value her friendship and suspect she values mine.

In addition to thanking me, she shared having a new phone and not all the numbers transferred over so she doesn’t know who sent her the birthday wishes.

My initial reaction went something like “seriously, you don’t know my number?”. I was even mildly annoyed.

One of my skills is the ability to be told a phone number and to commit it to memory. It was also a skill that proved beneficial socially and in business.

Except, it “was”, rather than “is” a skill. I have lost the ability to instantly hear and then remember a phone number.

The phone numbers I remember are generally 18 or more years old. They come from a time before we had what seems like unlimited memory to record contact details in our mobile phones. My skill goes back to an era when you actually had to press the numbers on a phone keyboard in order to make a call, therefore ingraining the number in your consciousness.

It is embarrassing to admit that I don’t know by memory the phone number of my youngest son or the number of many others I regularly call.

In short, my lack of practice in remembering phone numbers and there being no need to do so, has resulted in me losing this once valuable skill.

As the saying goes, “use it or lose it”.

It is also a reminder to ensure my phone and computers are synced and everything is backed up in the Cloud otherwise my soon to be new phone may not carry over all my contacts details and that would be annoying to someone when I have to reply to a text message, asking who sent it.

To she who turned 47 on the 18^th, again, happy birthday and please accept my apologies for my initial reaction to your message. Talk soon.

 ·       Answer to 2 decimal points is 60.09 (or is it?)

From The Heart

I have no medical qualifications. I have no diet management or exercise related qualifications.

I do have experience in heart health, managing my own health and exercise and my own diet, and it is from these perspectives I write the following paragraphs.

Today marks the start of Heart Week 2018.

I urge you to take a lead from Heart Week to asses your own health and lifestyle.

From my experience, us men are experts at kidding ourselves about our current state of health. Most of us will be a few kilograms heavier than is ideal and we will inevitably have in mind a point of time in the future when we will do something about it.

While waiting for that mythical date, we will be very capable of excusing ourselves for a lack of action by way of the pressures of work and the demands of family.

There is also the issue of our glorious sporting past. The fact we were fit, healthy and active in our 20’s holds little credence in our “over 40’s”. We hold on to the belief we can easily recapture the fitness of our youth whenever we decide too.

I have news for you, if you decide to get fit again, it won’t be easy. It will require determination, patience, commitment and discipline, and a medical check-up before you start.

My observation is the situation for Women is the same but different. Women often talk about how active they are just going about normal life and that they get enough exercise anyway. Right or wrong, (actually, it is wrong), in the vast majority of cases, women bear a greater percentage of child care, home maintenance and food preparation while also holding down paid employment. Yes, Women may be more naturally active but is it enough to maintain a healthy weight, muscle mass, bone density and flexibility? Probably not.

Irrespective of your current situation, heart week presents a line in the sand where you can make a thorough, open and honest assessment of your health and lifestyle and plan the tweaks to make it better.

It need not be radical. I know of a 50-year-old who 12 weeks ago decided she needed to lose 5 kilograms. She committed to walking 30 minutes each day and has easily shed the 5 kilograms.

Sure, she made some minor dietary adjustments too, increasing her whole fruit and vegetable intake and reducing her dairy consumption. In addition to losing the weight and feeling better, she is sleeping more soundly, has more energy, reports improved concentration and a loss of fatigue. She continues to walk daily.

In another example, a 57 year old male started swimming once a week, walking with his partner 3 or 4 times a week and doing two weights sessions at the gym each week. He reports almost identical benefits of improved sleep, more energy etc etc.

Modern medicine has contributed greatly to our increased life span. It is what we do that will determine the ability to enjoy, rather than endure our years over 60.

Implementing a simple exercise routine and making some minor dietary adjustments can significantly and easily improve every aspect of your life now, and in to the future.

It matters little if you are 35 or 75 years old, it is never to early, or too late to start.

And what is my basis for saying this?

11 years ago I was 20 kilograms heavier than now and about to undergo quadruple bypass surgery.

Attention to diet and exercise has seen all my quantifiable numbers improve in each of the last 11 years except for one, and interestingly, that was in 2016 and 5 months after running my first marathon in New York.

It is not necessary to be as obsessive about diet as I am. It is not necessary to do the level of exercise I do.

Then again, I am fitter and healthier in my 60^th year than I was in my 35^th, and that not only feels great each and every day, it is also something everyone and anyone can achieve and I cannot imagine anyone regretting doing so.

Happy Heart Week. Make it the week you started……….the rest of your life.

What We Read Says Something About Us - Or Not

Following a morning of meetings, attending to a few other business-related matters, returning calls, replying to e-mails and responding to messages, I turned my attention to what I will write about today.

I attended the launch of a photographic exhibition last night. The photograph art was both excellent and unique and it is always great to meet new people and catch up with several I have not seen for many years.

As a former Leader in the world of financial advice, much of my conversation this morning included the exchange of opinions about the revelations coming from the Royal Commission. The reality was, we were all in furious agreement about the issues and the necessary actions that need to follow.

President Trump has ranted and raved during a phone interview with the hosts of his favourite TV program however there is nothing particularly unusual about that.

Bill Cosby has become the first “real” casualty of the #metoo movement having been found guilty of drugging and raping a female colleague. Let’s hope we never lose our rage about such behaviour. My fear is we will become desensitised as more cases are prosecuted in the Courts.

History has been made on the Korean Peninsula as the President of the North crossed over to the South for discussions with the Southern President about a peaceful future. While this is being viewed with cautious optimism, the potential for peace is on the horizon, even if that horizon is a still a little fuzzy.

While these are a few of things at the front of my mind right now, I wondered what was being read by the broader community and went to news.com to investigate the most popular stories from their stable of newspapers.

Across all papers, the most common listings in the 5 most read articles concerned the death of a Swedish Disk Jockey.

The sentencing of Bill Cosby also featured in the majority of papers however the headline emphasis was on his outburst in the court after the verdict was passed.

Our next most read articles addressed the possible new Cricket commentators, Royal Family triviality, some former reality TV “stars” and a poor outcome of breast surgery.

I am not sure what this says about our society. My initial reaction was one of disappointment.

Surely, we are more concerned about the behaviour of our Banks or peace on our doorstep on the Korean Peninsula than we are about the name of a new born Royal or which “hazbeen” will talk about cricket next summer on our televisions.

Alternatively, is our focus on the goings on of reality TV representative of an irreverent attitude and a more balanced and peaceful way of life?

I will ponder both over the weekend.

Not Attracting Quality Applicants - This May Be a Reason

One of the tasks of corporate leadership life I least enjoyed was recruitment.

I always felt a huge responsibility when seeking to attract someone to my organisation. I was always aware they were already in a role that they knew, were often comfortable with and were often paid as well as I might be able to offer.

Part of my process was to “over disclose” everything that may be unattractive about the role I was seeking to fill. I was being selfish, never wanting a new employee to feel deceived or misinformed about their new role.

The advertising of an available role is an obvious first step in the recruiting process. For 30 years I have been amused by job advertisement placed by major industry employers devoting 30% or more to talking about themselves. In my opinion, a suitable applicant would already know this information.

I regularly questioned “why we are doing our Corporate Brand Advertising in the positions vacant column” and inevitably the reason given was “corporate policy”.

What is outlined in an advertisement for a position is most important as I learned in Melbourne last week during a discussion with a “job seeker”.

The person in question is highly talented with a proven track record. They have one degree and 85% of a second, both in relevant disciplines. They have 7 years of practical experience in both back office and client facing roles.

While not unhappy with their current employer, both parties accept the next opportunity needs to come from another and a larger employer.

Moving interstate or even overseas is not a problem and money is not a motive.

We talked further about what they consider to be the right employer and an example of a recently advertised position was brought to my attention. On the surface, I felt it to be the perfect role and just what they were after. It was a surprise to hear they were not applying on the basis of what the advertisement said about the employer.

My conversation partner explained the wording of the advertisement indicated a lack of care, courtesy and consideration for people and supported this assumption by referencing wording in the add which said only applicants being interviewed will be responded too (or words to that effect)

I am aware that many roles receive hundreds of applicants and the process of advising those who are unsuccessful can be time consuming. I therefore understand where the employer is coming from.

I had never considered the impact such a statement may have on those who may be well qualified and suitable for a position.

However, I accept such a statement can imply an employer does not consider basic courtesy to be important.

In this case, I know the employer quite well and sort to convince the potential candidate to apply. I assured them of the employer’s credibility, care for staff and reputation.

They were unmoved by my assurances and an employer missed out of an application from an exceptionally well credentialed person.

All too often, the relentless strive for efficiency is a high cost strategy when effectiveness is sacrificed.

It occurred to me that making the statement that unsuccessful applicants will not be advised may well be another case of the high cost of striving for efficiency in the sacrifice of effectiveness.

ANZAC Day Evolution

Tomorrow is 25 April, ANZAC Day.

ANZAC Day has always been a special. I recall being captivated by the stories told at Primary School ANZAC ceremonies about the deeds of Simpson and his donkey and VC recipient Albert Jacka.

Australia lost 60,000 people on the battlefields of World War One. Our population at the time was 5.5 million. Australians were engaged in battle from 25 April 1915 until 11 November 1918. A mere 3 years and 7 months.

To put this in perspective, The USA suffered 60,000 casualties during the war in Vietnam. Their population was 250 million.

The impact  of the First World War on Australia was extraordinary.

And what about the soldiers who return, alive but mentally scarred from all wars.

As brave as they are, braver still but in a different way are their families to whom they return. No-one could possibly return from a battlefield experience and be the same as they were before.

An event a few months ago highlighted to me just what we ask our service people to do when we ask them to go and fight a war, and how out of character it must be for most, if not all those on the battlefield.

My Grandfather was a veteran of Gallipoli and the European theatres of the First World War. I should say our Grandfather because all 6 of his Grandchildren loved and admired a warm, generous, intelligent, inquisitive, interesting, kind and gentle man. He was an even tempered gentlemen who walked tall.

He turned 18 at Anzac Cove having arrived as a member of the 28^th Battalion in September 2015.

An e-mail I received about 6 months ago brought to my attention a tiny piece of information as to what our service people do on our behalf.

It was a photo taken at the ANZAC memorial in Albany Western Australia of a home made trench warfare weapon, a weapon used in face to face battle. The soldiers designed and manufactured such weapons as they were more effective than a bayonetted rifle. I contemplated including the photo in this post but cannot bring myself to do so. The weapon is horrific and you can see just how effective it would be and how easy it would be to use against the skull of another person.

Our Grandfather was named as the user of the weapon in seven successful trench raids on the European front.

I am not aware of any PTSD symptoms suffered by our Grandfather. I find it difficult, if not impossible to believe there would not have been some affect from his experiences.

I am lucky. I cannot perceive the horror of war. The photo I received was disturbing on two levels.

I was confronted by an image of our Grandfather that I would rather not have and simply cannot reconcile with the person we knew and adored.

More broadly, we can never understand just what it is we send our service people off to do on our behalf.

I would like to re-invent ANZAC Day.

Traditionally, the focus is on our deeds at Gallipoli. I would like to see equal emphasis given to Kokoda, Crete, Passchendaele, Long Tan, Herat, Timor, everywhere.

We tend to honour the deceased. I would like to see formal recognition given to the survivors of our wars and thank them for taking on the burden of their experience for the rest of their life.  

I would like ANZAC Day to formally and openly acknowledge and remember the families of returned servicemen. *

I would like the efforts and courage of the wives, daughters, sons, brothers and sisters of those who have fought and survived the battles to be hailed as heroes, be it a different kind of hero.

I would like to exclude all politicians from having any active role or being acknowledged at all commemorative events except where they are also returned service people.

In the words sung by Edwin Starr:

War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing

Lest we forget

Royal Commission - We Have Heard Some Facts - Now Let's Have The Truth

The revelations at the Banking Royal Commission last week of poor practices in Financial Planning is generating much shock and horror throughout the media.

We witnessed Senior Executives reluctantly responding to difficult and probing questions. We heard admissions of charging for services not provided and of retaining deceased clients on fee paying arrangements.

We heard about a need to recommend changes in product where perhaps the only reason was to generate fees.

Several Financial Advisers have been named and shamed for facilitating some of these doubtful practices, casting doubt and suspicion on all Financial Advisers. More on this later.

If the Commission want to really understand the culture that resulted in the issues being investigated and revealed, they need to stop interviewing the most senior of executives.

To get to the bottom of the culture that facilitated the matters that have shocked us, they need to talk to Senior Line Managers, those who were responsible for promoting and executing the strategies that were put to clients.

I suggest far more would be revealed if they called one or two State Managers, past and present of the Bank Financial Advice businesses to appear before them.

Further, call for testimony from Managers who actually had Financial Advisers reporting to them and hear what they have to say.

All Financial Planning businesses have a process of assessing the quality of advice being provided and to report accordingly. Let’s hear from some of the operatives performing this work.

Many enterprises be they charitable, sales focused, manufacturing, service related or financial provide performance incentives for employees, contractors and distributors.

By definition, these incentives reflect the behaviours and focus required and expected. It is reasonable to expect these incentives trickle down from the top of the organisation all the way to the operatives.

In a Bank, it is reasonable to assume the requirements the Board has of the Chief Executive Officer and their Executive Team are reflected in the behaviours and actions of the Financial Adviser operatives and the incentive schemes down the line will promote these behaviours.

The major banks are relative new comers to the Financial Advice business and invested a great deal of capital in the acquisition of established businesses. I assume there was an expectation that a return on capital would be a priority.

By definition, I assume the incentive schemes in place would reflect a clearly prioritised a need for revenue.

The trickle-down effect of this is line managers being pressured to produce income and therefore managing the activities of Financial Advisers in such a way as to produce revenue. If successful, the rewards received by the Adviser, their Manager and all those through to the CEO would be significant. The incentive program will have achieved the desired result.  

Let me look at a specific area of concern raised at the Royal Commission and how this may have come about.

An Adviser may sign a client up for ongoing services where their plan will be looked at and tweaked annually.

The Adviser may receive “credit” for the ongoing service fee in the first year only and be rewarded accordingly. Their Manager, and their Managers’ Manager would also receive credit towards their personal performance in the first year only because that is the way the incentive scheme is designed, from the CEO down.

When presented with the choice of spending time seeking a new client for which their will be a first-year incentive or servicing “last year's” client, is it any wonder the Adviser, their Manager and their Managers’ Manager wants to spend time and effort on the new client? Again, the incentive scheme is working even though the client is suffering as it has been designed to do.

Calling Line Managers to provide testimony will uncover the nuts and bolts of what has been happening and why and the pressures they have been under to execute the processes now being called in to question.

As for those performing advice quality reviews, I would like to hear from them as to what actually happened when they raised concerns. I would like to here if they had any say in resultant remediation action or if reports they provided were overlooked or “conveniently” explained away depending on how valuable someone was to the ever present need and incentive to deliver revenue.

My concern is that Financial Advisers will be largely blamed for the wrong doings being exposed at the Royal Commission.

I am not suggesting all Advisers are perfect or all are blameless.

However, I do know the vast, vast majority of Financial Advisers take a great deal of pride in their work and the professionalism with which they perform it.

Further, I also know the vast majority are motivated to deliver excellent advice and recommendations that will improve their client’s financial position in accordance with each clients individual goals and objectives.

Unfortunately, great outcomes for clients don’t make headlines.

There are many very good, ethical and motivated people in the Financial Advice business including Advisers, Leaders, Compliance and Quality Control Professionals, Para Planners and support personnel.

These people do not deserve to have their reputations tarnished by the practices of the few generated by the trickle-down incentive schemes designed to achieve the short-term objectives of Executive Management.

 

Last week, the Royal Commission uncovered many facts but little truth

 

Let’s hear from the Operatives and in doing so, let’s get to the truth.

30 Posts in 30 Days - What I Have Discovered a Year On

One year ago, I made a commitment, be it to myself, to write an article a day for 30 consecutive days.

As I wrote at the time, the reason for committing to this was because while I called myself a writer, it was rare that I posted or published anything.

Those early days were difficult. My first hurdle came at day 10 when I simply could not come up with something to write about, so I wrote about the first 10 days of daily writing.

I completed the 30 articles in 30 days however I continued the daily post and in fact, posted daily for some 127 consecutive days.

All up, during the past 12 months, I have managed 286 articles.

Many of these have been ordinary, some have been awful and there are a few I have actually been happy about.

I have discovered many things including:

1.     When I know I am committed to writing something that day, I am considerably more aware of what is happening around me.

2.     If I try and write something specifically to generate page traffic, it does not work. On several occasions I have become “addicted” to high readership numbers and have deliberately tried to write again about the same topic in the hope of replicating the numbers. This has always failed.

3.     Notwithstanding (2) above, I know you have very little interest in local politics and I do avoid this subject. Marriage equality was an exception.

4.     Time and time again, I start an article with the idea for the beginning middle and end clearly in mind only to have it go off in a completely different direction.

5.     The more I read, and the more diverse my reading, the easier it is to come up with an idea to write about.

6.     On the vast majority of days, I enjoy the writing. There have been several where it just feels like hard work.

7.     Sometimes an article will take 20 minutes to construct while on other occasions, it will take several hours.

8.     My Twitter followers increase by about 5 a week on the back of articles being posted.

Over the year, the volume of work I have produced has allowed me to pitch for writing projects with far more credibility. I have written and posted quite a few articles about leadership and workplace culture and have been allocated several assignments associated with these subjects. One is ongoing.

I have also applied for writing roles concerning cycling and have been able to reference this blog as evidence of being able to produce regular content over a period of time. The same applied to a website I have pitched a by weekly column too.

The reality is though, my income from writing has not broken the 5 figure barrier.

When meeting people for the first time or seeing people I have not seen for a while, I answer the obvious question by saying “I am a freelance writer”. This does make for a better follow-up conversation than when my answer was a Financial Services Executive.

Over the year, nearly 45000 visits have occurred to my site. The majority of these are from Australia however on occasions, readers in the United States have been in the majority and over the year, are easily the source of the second highest visitor numbers. Daily visits have grown progressively; a year ago, there were only 20 a day.

There are also regular readers in the United Kingdom, France, Singapore and New Zealand. There is also a single daily reader from Sweden. Thank you whoever you are. (I would love to know).  

I made a decision at the start to not publish comments on the Blog even if they were complimentary. I do appreciate all feedback and thank those who have provided it be it via the site, SMS, e-mail or verbal. I will add, while there has been criticism, the constructive nature of most of it has been amazing and very much appreciated. Of course, some has also been abusive.

What now?

My plan is to launch a new, more expansive and inclusive site by the end of July. The intention is to add book reviews and specific areas for specific topics. I also intend this to be a vehicle for other aspiring writers and photographers to have access to an audience. There are many enthusiastic and talented writers who do not have the time or perhaps even the confidence to write regularly and therefore to build up a readership. Perhaps I can assist in a small way to provide an audience.

In closing, to everyone who has read one or more articles, thank you. To everyone who has liked, shared, retweeted or copied and sent a link to another person, thank you. To everyone who have commented on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, thank you also.

Finally, I have the perfect way of celebrating the past year. By sheer coincidence, I am going to a dinner tonight arranged by someone who has performed regular proof reading and correction for me, and who has been forever encouraging. Thank you Toula.   

Love of Career v Career Money

The things you learn in the most unusual places from the most surprising people. Or perhaps it was a reminder of what it is we already know but a reluctant to accept.

But first some background.

The teacher is Lisa-ann Gershwin.

Lisa-ann hails from a small town in the mountains outside Los Angeles called the Valley of Enchantment – seriously, that is what the town is called.

On 21 January 1973 her grade 3 primary school class had a field trip (excursion) to the Cabrillo Marine Museum (Cabrillo Marine Aquarium ) after which Lisa-ann decided she would become a Marine Scientist.

She held this commitment through primary and high school before becoming a very successful, high income earning stockbroker.

To be fair, she did many other jobs as well including establishing her own business. However, she never lost her love of marine life however also never sort further study in this field or any other for that matter.

It was the owner of the cinema where she was working who demanded she use her intelligence in a way more meaningful than “popping corn” for movie goers that had her applying for Law School.

She decided on Law because she enjoyed arguing and it paid well enough that she could spend her entire vacation visiting the great marine areas of the world including the Great Barrier Reef.

To fil in time while waiting to hear if her Law School application was successful, Lisa-ann undertook a marine related community course of study.

The final class was to involve a boat trip however inclement weather made that impossible so instead, they were taken to the Cabrillo Marine Museum.

The date was 22 December 1993, a month short of 20 years since the primary school trip to the same place and her decision to become a Marine Scientist.

Lisa-ann never went to Law School.

She now resides in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia and is a world authority on Jelly Fish.

She is credited with the discovery of 38 new species and the discovery of a new species of dolphin.

What happened in the intervening 20 years between Cabrillo Marine Museum visits.

Lisa-ann’s family and close friends told her the road to becoming a Marine Scientist was hard. They explained there will be years of study and the material is really hard and then when you qualify, the jobs are few and the pay is ordinary.

While all this is true, it left Lisa-ann believing she lacked the intelligence to study Marine Science

Now for the lesson;

What she wishes they had told her is:

If you love it so much, it’s like air or like water and you need it for your mental health.

As for prioritising a high income, Lisa–ann wishes she had known the following:

You don’t need a job that pays you well because you only need all that money to entertain you because you don’t like your job

When you love your job, you don’t need all these other things to entertain you because you are way too interested in what you are doing.

We are always told, and are telling others to do what they love and to follow their passion.

Lisa-ann’s words quoted above articulate why we should do this and what the outcome will be if we do, and if we don’t.

An Active (unexpected) Demonstration Of A Great Workplace Culture

A bunch of sheep, cattle, hens dogs and 2 horses had me thinking about workplace safety and how team members can help, support and assist each other.

All stock on the property I am looking after can access the boundary fence of the residence  even though they may be in different paddocks. This is helped by the cattle and horses sharing the same paddock.    

At about 6.30am this morning, the was a distinct uproar as cattle, sheep and hens joined in a not particularly coordinated chorus of sound.

All the animals were essentially in the one area. The sheep were up against the hen enclosure and the cattle were a few metres away be it separated by a gate.

The next sound was that of galloping hooves and the two horses were effectively rounding up the final few cattle and driving them in to the same area.

Each time a cow sort to leave the area, one of the horses prevented them from doing so.

The was an obvious feeling of tension in the air. The usually relaxed dogs were on edge as they moved, stopped still, sniffed the breeze and repeated.

I have no idea what happened to concerned the animals. They felt threatened and uncomfortable and responded accordingly.

The two horses are experienced in working a muster and it appeared they had acted to herd the cattle to an area they considered safe and then held them there.

After about 45 minutes the horses stood down from their guard, the noise fell away and they all returned to grazing. The gradually dispersed too.

It occurred to be the animals on a farm are effectively like a work place with all having a job to do. The sheep grow wool, the hens lay eggs, it is their place of work.

An effective human workplace is one where each team member’s skills and abilities are respected and supported and where colleagues combine to ensure a safe environment.

Ideally, when someone feels threatened, unsafe or uncomfortable at work, the first line of support comes from colleagues. A great work environment is one where all team members feel empowered to provide necessary support and encouragement and can do so with the courage born from knowing their will be no victimisation or retaliation.

I have no idea if it was a pack dingoes, angry adult kangaroos or even someone hunting wild dogs (legally) that caused the animals to be concerned.

It did however appear very obvious that the horses took the initiative, used their mustering skills and took the cattle to safety.

I feel privileged to have worked in several safe, productive and cooperative environments, and hope I may have built one or two such workplaces myself.

More so however, the scene I witnessed this morning was quite moving and an interesting physical representation of a safe and supportive workplace.

From Trump to Tasmania - Via The Commonwealth Games and Hockey Australia

So, that was Tuesday.

We woke this morning to learn the United States President had assembled his security cabinet to discuss the unfolding situation in Syria and was to front a press conference surrounded by his security advisers.

The matter in question is the accusation of a Chemical Weapons attack in Syria resulting in many civilian deaths, and painful deaths at that.

They need someone to blame? Is it Russia, Iran or is it the Syrian rebels?

When a similar attack occurred 6 months ago, a US military strike was ordered. Russia has been clear they are not involved and any military response will be frowned upon.

While this is not yet a tinderbox, the kindling is drying.

The World is on edge…….

……..so the President prioritises what is essentially a domestic matter with potential personal consequences for him.

He even references a "break in" to describe the execution of a search warrant, legally obtained and properly signed by a judge. (as I understand it)

Is the President really focused on world conflict or is a payment to a Porn Star to keep quiet about an event the President is very, very clear never took place more important?

Moving on to other things that lack logic.

The Commonwealth Games are nearing their mid-point and Australia’s Men’s and Women’s hockey teams are tracking well towards the final podium.

Australia’s Men’s team is currently rated the best in the world and is the reining world champions. They have been number one for 10 of the last 15 years.

The Women’s team have also enjoyed the same lofty status however is currently re-building. None the less, they are still in the leading group of hockey nations.

With a long, long history of success on the international stage, it makes sense to re-vamp our National Competition, or not.

Hockey Australia is "going 20/20" and in doing so, has added significant cost to competition resulting in Tasmania withdrawing.

A reason given for the change of format is to increase competitor numbers. I question how excluding the successful Tasmanian teams by way of prohibitive costs is increasing competitor numbers.

 

For the record, Tasmania’s Men’s team were National Champions as recently as 2014.

Perhaps we can recruit President Trump to explain this logic.

 

Food for Thought - Or walking on egg shells

Like many of my generation who were born, raised, schooled and have worked a full working life in a large City, we have a naivety about Country Life.

We know it’s there, we know it is necessary and we consume the products of the daily farm labour 3 times a day with barely a thought, if ever a thought of where our food comes from.

We may make ourselves feel good by seeking out fresh food that is a product of our own country and feel even better when we select free range or barn laid eggs from the extraordinary choice before us.

I am half way through fulfilling a secondment to a relatively small property in Queensland’s Granite Belt region. I have horses, cattle, sheep, 2 dogs and countless hens to care for. I also have some fruit and vegetables to tender.

In reality, the sheep and cattle look after themselves. The horses are largely self sufficient as they enjoy their break from mustering duties and the dogs are incredibly well trained and behaved, except for when there is a rabbit to catch.

The hens are secured overnight however on morning release have free access to the entire property. Although they never seem to go more than about 500 metres from “home”.

I am never quite sure if all hens are home each evening but have been assured the 2 pure white chooks will always be last to enter the enclosure and if they are in, all are in.

Egg collecting is a daily ritual followed by sorting and storing ready for weekly deliveries to local customers.

Which brings me to my point.

Like most, I buy my eggs at the supermarket. A few years ago, I made a conscious decision to change to free range eggs and have even resorted to looking at the carton labels to see if there is reference to how much space each hen has. *

The eggs I buy come in identical shape and size and are almost identical in shell texture and colour.

The eggs I collect and sort each day are anything but. Colours range from a deep dark brown through to an almost “Paris Light” white. Some are almost round while others are long and thin. The majority are much larger than the extra large on sale in our shops and shell textures vary from perfectly smooth to quite abrasive. For example:

 

 

I know the eggs I am collecting are absolutely free range. I am now wondering just “how” free range the eggs I buy are.

It doesn’t make sense that commercial free-range eggs are all identical in shape, colour and texture.

Or is it “us” who demand everything is the same and it all looks perfect?

We go to the supermarket and select the shiniest apples while ignoring or being oblivious to the fact they are “waxed” to appear that way.

We leave behind the carrots that are not perfectly formed and turn our nose up if the watermelon skin has a blemish.

I wonder how much food is produced and subsequently wasted because it does not look perfect? How many eggs are rejected because they are less than the perfect shape or colour?

We hear about the challenge ahead of us to produce sufficient food from decreasing land. We hear about the rising cost of living and in particular the financial strain of the household food trolley.

We hear arguments that the solution comes in the form of genetic engineering.

We choose to ignore that much of what we consume is produced with the aid of chemicals and fertilizers and I suspect this all contributes to the “perfectness” of what we purchase in our supermarkets.

I am rushing to complete this post before by next daily task.

I have a drip watering system to run for two hours for the citrus trees and then will hand water the egg plants. I am not sure why they have to be watered by hand but they do, every day too. The citrus trees are watered every second day.

None of this produce is intended for the shelves of Woolworths, Coles, Aldi or IGA. It will be sold or traded locally.

Like the eggs, all produce is grown naturally and organically, is full of flavour and will not be waxed or shined.

However, none of it conforms to our requirement for it to look perfect on the outside.

In our era of social media and pressures to portray ourselves as living that perfect life, I wonder if what we eat and how we shop for food is a metaphor for this century (so far)?

 

 

*By my calculation, the hens in my care have about a quarter hectare each

 

 

 

Fear We May "Suck" Stalls Our Pursuits

I think I have stumbled on a solution.

No, I am not revisiting the (in)famous question posed in Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy where the answer is obviously 42.

I am talking about another answer to the world, the universe and everything.

Ok, I may be exaggerating. (I nearly wrote over exaggerating but I am never sure if that phrase actually makes sense).

It is with some embarrassment that I will reveal my source.  

I clicked on an article in the entertainment section of an on-line news website. I was drawn to the article because it referenced a program I used to watch in the early years of this century.

The article involved an interview with the principal actor* of the series about her latest book.

During the interview, she referenced the challenges of being an author and how much harder the art of writing is compared to being an actor.

In particular, a comment she made took my attention because it so simply summarised the one thing that holds so many of us back from doing the thing and things we want to do, want to excel at, or stop us making the change we want to make with our career or employer.

On a number of occasions, I have written about the things that hold us back from doing what we really want to do.

These include image, status, peer pressures and fear of failure.

It also can be a concern about our “other” skills holding up to market scrutiny. For example, what would happen of my antique restoration skills as a hobbyist do not hold up to market pressures.

How different would our life be if Henry Ford had been concerned about his skills to establish a production line to manufacture motor vehicles.

The world would be very different if Steve Jobs allowed his insecurities to get in the way of Imagineering better, more expansive and mobile computing concepts.   

The actor I read about today referenced their own challenge to be an author, including the following comments:

“Almost nothing I’ve ever done did I ever have the confidence to do,”

“I didn’t have confidence, I just had drive. If you wait for your self-esteem to catch up, you’ll never get anything done.”

And finally:

“Don’t Be Afraid to Suck”.

It is the fear that we may “suck” when pursuing a new endeavour that holds us back from ever trying that makes the final quote so powerful and profound.

 

Equally powerful is the reference to waiting for our self esteem to catch up.

 

The strength of both quotes lies in the simplicity of each.

*The actor referenced/quoted is Lauren Graham 

 

 

 

Where Challenges and Benefits Differ

There is a great divide in Australia between the country and the city.

Many in the City live with a romantic perception of the great outdoors and rolling plains stocked with grazing sheep, cattle or growing something valuable.

 

There are many stories of City dwellers buying a property to retire too, only to sell up 3 or so years later.

Conversely, those who make their living on the land or live in rural towns would not swap what they do for any other life, however it is hard work and there are no public holidays.

Rural residents are challenged by way of a basic lack of medical and associated services, poor roads, outdated communication infrastructure and struggling schools, among other things.

This is countered by the benefits of considerably cheaper housing and the ability to save money by producing a great deal of food on your own land.

Us in the big cities are faced with ever rising property prices, food costs, increasingly clogged roads and crowded often unreliable public transport.

I have been internet challenged today.

I consider a fast on demand internet to be normal. Most of us in major Cities do. I had no desire for an NBN connection however when there was no choice, this only made my internet access faster and more reliable. I can stream, upload, download, dropbox, record, edit, format or whatever else without really giving a thought to how much data has been consumed.

The property I am looking after does not have normal internet services. It could have, and connection costs and plan costs are the same as for Melbourne, Brisbane etc. The difference however, is the property owner has to fund the infrastructure for the nearly one kilometre from the road to the residence which amounts to an extraordinary number of thousands of dollars.

Being aware of the connectivity limitations ahead of me, I beefed up my mobile wireless service and all was fine until last night when it didn’t work.

Not to worry, I would talk to Telstra/BigPond in the morning and if need be, escalate to my very own Telstra Business Consultant.

I wont bore you except to say after many hours on hold to 3 separete Telstra/BigPond areas and multiple e-mails to “my business guy”, I was advised to visit my local Telstra store.

 
Easy, except it was a one hour drive away, followed by a 75 minute wait before I could see someone and then a one hour return trip.

I have to say, the face to face service I eventually received was excellent, beyond excellent even and my issue was resolved in about 15 minutes.

This minor event highlighted once again that the sum total of the challenges faced in City Centres and Rural communities are essentially the same, it is just the individual events that benefit and also challenge each sector are different.

 

Ultimately, I suspect over time, the pros and cons of each cancel each other out and it is purely a matter of individual preference.

As detailed daily rainfall records must be maintained, I am off to check the rain gauge

In Search of New Experiences Close to Home

I woke this morning over 200 kilometres from home and many thousands of kilometres from comfort.

2 months ago in a moment of bravado, I accepted the suggestion I look after a property for 2 weeks.

How hard can it be? A few cows, some horses, 2 dogs, sheep, a menagerie and more free range hens than can be counted.

Add to that, a serene and quiet surrounding allowing me plenty of time to train for a May cycling event and an August running race plus I will get to complete a soon to be due University assignment.

However, I am feeling a little less confident today.

Cities are where I am comfortable. I was born and raised in Melbourne and for all my working life have been a CBD person. I like the energy, chaos, noise and diversity that a City brings.

I am skilled at navigating crowded walking paths, timing traffic lights and weaving between traffic to safely cross a 4 or more lane road, sometimes including trams. I can stand in a bus, train or tram and effortlessly move with the rocking and swaying of its movement to maintain perfect balance, as can most who have spent time using public transport.

Certainly, I have spent time in rural areas usually in association with a family event or a sporting carnival. This is the first time I have had rural responsibilities while living in a rural area.

I admit to being a little blaze about the whole thing until an event of a month or so ago was brought to my attention.

The hens are housed in an enclosed area overnight for their protection and safety. Quite recently, a lack of attention to the gate latch allowed an opening for a Quoll to gain access to the hens and the rest was history, or at least was history for about 50 birds. The mistake was small but the cost was significant.

I would be devasted if a “Quoll Event” occurred under my watch.

There is another unexpected hazard too. I need to be on the lookout for wild dogs and snakes. I was asked if I wanted the key to the firearm cabinet and hastily declined. I have zero firearm skills and less ambition to acquire such skills.

We travel to the other side of the country or the world in pursuit of new and different experiences. More often than not, we do this in a quite controlled environment.

I suspect the experience I will enjoy these next two weeks will be as illuminating, educational and challenging as any I have experienced in my domestic and international travels.

We have a tendency to look for new adventures and in business, new markets in far away places.

The reality is, there are many new experiences, challenges, things to learn and for that matter, new markets on our very doorstep.

Wish me luck.

It is now time to move some sheep in to another paddock.

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