Well, it has been a while since I last blogged... I am being kind to myself though, since life happens and sometimes regrouping in a big way is required. no excuses, just fact.

I was recently asked by a current customer of mine - my contract is coming up for renewal, to bring a list to the meeting of "what value I can bring to their organization"... I must say I was a tad confused, since they more than any other customer really know the value I bring and the skills I have since we go back to 2010.

So I began thinking of what I consisered was valuable to them particularly, but during this thought process I decided who better than my other customers to give me that information.
I wrote each customer an email asking them the question... "What value do I bring to your organization"?

Well, I am truly humbled by what I have received so far, and what's more on the same day as sending the email.
I am so encouraged to continue with my Sustainable business thinking programme from these comments and information given me.
Isn't it just great to love what you are doing and see the change it brings unexpected in people who you thought were not embracing the programme.

Thank you to all my customers for your support and for believing in my programme of "holistic people development" in the workplace. 👍🏻😊

Enjoying solitude

At times I find it very valuable to just sit in solitude - my own space, my own time, my own thoughts, no pressure to conform, to take heed, to be compliant, to stress...... Just the peace of solitude.

I often wonder why I don't take time out more frequently since the experience is rewarding and refreshing... A bit silly really.😏 

Our Puppy Pappy below..... Sitting in solitude, focused on the return of Harmie, his best friend, companion and master.

I think solitude needs to be consistently part of our lives to reduce stress, encourage spiritual growth and quiet frankly keep us sane in this world of super fast communication😎

Crisis management...

I have had two customers recently who found themselves in a bit of a "crisis" where people had handed in their resignations and the way forward was not clear to them. That's where I was called in..... To help them plan the way forward with as little fuss as possible, and to manage risk as much as possible under the circumstances.

I have been excited about the fact that, because we had put structure in place in the past two months, implemented control tools and check lists where applicable, it has been relatively easy to maintain a consistent workflow even with the people walking out without working their notice.

Now, this got me to thinking... Why did these people leave and my findings are as follows:

1) the people in both companies that left did not embrace the change with regards structure being implemented in the work place right from the start

2) they were negative from the start of the project

3) their input into the project was minimal

4) they didn't see the need for an admin system at all

How interesting is that, and I take this as a very positive outcome of a CLIP System implementation...

It definitely sorts the "men from the boys" as they say.

www.shancade.co.za 

I'm back...

I'm back and I am going to be blogging away soon.

Watch this space.

New life...

 Two weeks ago we got a little puppy, called Pappy - what a difference it has made to our lives having this little real life thing running around under our feet and bringing us much joy and pleasure. This got me to thinking about change.....

After Chester died 2 years ago ( he was 21) we said never again, it is to hurtful to lose a pet, but after a while we began to feel like something was missing and started to feel the pinch. So, we took the brave step - supported the local SPCA and found Pappy.

The next step in our venture was realizing that we had to make our home "Pappy" proof. This is no different to making it grandchildren proof at all, as we found out. Now, daily as we go in and out the house, the last thing to do is make sure that the place is Pappy proof or else we come home to a HUGE surprise.

Then of course comes the "potty" training. Starting with the newspaper down in the kitchen during the night and taking Pappy outside during the day periodically to enable him to do what he aught to.... He plays us well... Outside sniffing, running, " Bundu bashing" but not doing a thing THEN just make the decision to come back inside what happens.... Voops.... there's the puddle right where it shouldn't be.  Don't you just like new life around......? So glad we made the mindset change.

Procrastination

I have been pondering much on procrastination this past week, thinking back to when my children were very small and how they deployed ALL the procrastination tack ticks they knew in trying to avoid having to eat their veggies.

My advice to them was to eat the yuk veggies first and end off with the taste they found really good. 

It is much the same in business - if your are a procrastinator then you should start doing the jobs you don't like first. Get them done. Get them out the way. Get them behind you and then you can proceed and have an awesome day, not only doing the things you like but also having a sense of freedom and achievement.

Eat that frog by Brian Tracy sums things up really well. So, if you are a procrastinator pop to www.actnow.ie and EAT THAT FROG.

It has been a while - life happens

Time marches on, much water flows under the bridge, people come and people go, babies get born and people pass on, life gets hectic and then calms down, plans are made and plans are changed, money comes in and money goes out, you lose weight and gain weight, rose buds come and blossoms die off, vehicles work and vehicles breakdown, children laugh and children cry, happiness rules then sadness comes, we make good choices and we make bad choices, first it is sunny and then it rains, things run smoothly for a time and then the wheels fall off, you live in a house for 30 years and then you move, your children grow up and then grandchildren arrive, you set the house alarm and then you disarm it, you have nice neighbours and you get bad neighbours, you love the songs sung at church and then you struggle with them,..... 

Life happens.... The important thing is to persevere... It all comes right in the end, and if it's not right now, then it's not the end. 

Oh the pressure

What to do or what not to do.... The saga of having two customers with a crisis at the same time and just you to try and sort it all out.....

It doesn't matter how efficient you are or how organized you are, sometimes the inevitable happens.... Two jobs with the same priority..... Oh what a nightmare.

Well, that is where I have found myself this past few days.... Madly " burning the candle at both ends" to do my best to resolve the things that need to be resolved and keep both customers happy. This is no mean feat at all and does take its toll on the body when you get older!!!

Now, the thing is this - I consider myself an efficient and well organized person and I still struggled to make it all happen without suffering from stress... Is there anyone out there that has some constructive ideas on how to drop the stress factor, when you find yourself in situations like the one mentioned above?

Making a difference

Isn't " making a difference" in people's lives a wonderful feeling?

It is such an encouragement to continue imparting the knowledge you have, when people you have been mentoring or coaching succeed. 

Recently I was really touched by some feedback received from a GM of a company I have been doing some training with.

 She wanted me to know that the training I do is more than just educating people -

 QUOTE - "May you experience an overwhelming request for training as your training does so much more than just educating us, it builds you up and creates a desire to do better, to improve not only work performance, but to better your personal outlook on life"

Now isn't that just awesome... 

 

 

 

 

Frustration

I have recently experienced 2 full days down on our email system..... What a nightmare indeed.

I am amazed at how much business is really done via email and feel horribly frustrated at not being able to communicate well with customers and I don't even want to think about potential customer loss!

We are a small business and rely on service providers to handle certain aspects of our requirements within the business realm, how frustrating it is not to be a "computer boff", and be able to answer back or ask pertinent questions of our IT provider .. And above all get satisfactory answers.

What's the answer here? 

Running out and getting a computing degree will take too long, can't afford to get another "expert" in to argue the point and cannot contain myself anymore....a fuse is about to pop.

Traveling

Somehow when people are traveling they forget about risk management and in doing that they put you at risk... Thank goodness we can commit our journey to God and he takes care of us.

Unlike India..... Which has rather "random" driving as I think of it, South Africa has supposed structure to make driving safer, efficient and less stressful - one wouldn't think so by the number of accidents we see just driving between JHB and Howick.

The sad part about these accidents is all the lives that are affected by them in one way or another and very often it's the innocent that take the beating.

How do we reduce the accident numbers? This is an ongoing project and why we can't get it right beats me.

It seems to me that there is no consequence, or very little consequence for bad driving managed by our government - the consequence that is in place is not strictly managed and thus people have the freedom to do as they please, resulting in the carnage we see on our roads.

So, what do us " goody goodies" need to do about the situation then?

Well, I will leave that up to you..... I'll continue to try and make a difference wherever and whenever I can, in some way or another, and if pressure needs to be brought on the authorities to manage our roads, driving, drivers license process, etc more effectively, then I will be willing to introduce them to the CLIP system methodology and way of thinking.

For me the CLIP system does wonders when it is embraced........

Safe travel readers .......

Christmas Day 2013

Today is going to be a special day for me and one that I have been really looking for the whole year..... Christmas with the whole family.... Brothers, sisters, children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, great nephews, great nieces, etc........who could ask for more!!!

A special day with special people ..... Life is too short to miss out on these occasions, so in 2014 we will have to bring about some change where we can fellowship more often than once a year ..... We are all getting on in age now!!!!

2013 Comes to a close

An eventful year 2013 was for me. Our business Harmie and Shanie com cc grew really well this year. We took on a full time interpreter ( welcome Phindile), because of the growth in sustainable business thinking training workshops and material writing in our local language ISizulu.

Brian- our resident artist had a good number of commissions this year, even sketching topics outside of his wildlife and portraits. A great sketch of a helicopter for 15 squadron was one of these a normals.

Gail embedded herself in Ethembeni work and has grown tremendously in coping with Govt. Officials.

I have been toiling all year with which direction the company should be going, and suddenly realized that they way we have been going is the direction but, we need to focus on our excellent training products - sustainable business thinking - covering ALL industries and at entry level, middle management and senior levels. Getting registered as a certified training facility with the Dept. Of Ed is a priority.

It is all about keeping it simple, user friendly and leaving participants with ideas they can immediately put into practice to improve the companies sustainability.

So, all that's left to say is...... ROLL ON 2014

Interesting indeed

It is always really interesting to meet people attending a training workshop... Different walks of life, different ideas, different thoughts - in fact just plain different in every way.
I recently ran a series of sustainable business thinking training sessions for DSV, a JHB based freight forwarding company and suddenly realized that these participants were a bit different to my normal, variety type audience..... They were thinking in unison, to a degree.
They were all involved in a one topic thought process, namely freight forwarding ..... This made it very simple for me to give examples relating to the industry and not having to, as I normal would have to, give a wide variety of examples to accommodate the different industries represented ..... It certainly was a breeze.
These workshops were most enjoyable and productive - people were implementing change the very same day they had the training and this carried through to the end of the 8th day. How encouraging is that!
Training is always a challenge, but with people embracing change so promptly, as in this series of workshops, it makes training really worthwhile.... I just love imparting knowledge to people who really want to develop and grow within the work environment.
Aah, the  satisfaction of a job well done is a good feeling.

YOU WIN OR LOSE BY........

YOU WIN OR LOSE BY THE WAY YOU CHOOSE, SO DECIDE TO DECIDE RIGHT.....

This has been my motto for 2013 .... quite a challenge if you put it into practice honestly.

Sometimes, the easy way to fix admin. problems seems to be a quick fix solution, BUT foundations still need to be laid.

Companies choosing quick fix solutions more often than not, find themselves in difficulties within about 6 months, and then they crisis manage the next quick fix and thus, the quick fix cycle begins.

Companies don't seem to monitor the monetary value of poor administration, and it therefore is not looked as a contributing factor to "losing money" or reduced profits within the company.

Questions should be asked like:

1. How many errors are people making during the administration process?
2. What time value can be placed relating to the above errors having to be corrected?
3. What cost or penalty is there due to the error being made?
4. How does poor administration affect our integrity as a business?
5. What value can be placed on this "affected" integrity?
6. What value can be placed on a frustrated customer not giving more business due to poor administration?

There are MANY more questions relating to monetary and integral value that can be asked, that aren't asked within the management team of the company.

Why is this I wonder?   Any thoughts out there?

COMPANY FINANCIAL YEAR END

Well, it is that time of the year again - financial year end.......

This time of the year for companies reveals many things:

• How people handle stress
• How much administration WASN'T handled well during the year
• Caos - what needs to be done
• Adding to the caos - who has to do what
• How to correct errors before closing off
• Communicating to everyone what the VERY VERY VERY last day is before cutoff, to get everything done
• Short and sharp communication between management and the team
• Hurt feelings
• Nausea
• Horrors, the date the auditors will be arriving
• Everyone putting in for leave

AND so many many more ABNORMAL things happen......

I recently change my auditing company and in doing so decided that I would produce 2 check lists to manage this change, to ensure everything gets done timeously. What a good person .... AND how fortunate I am to have the knowledge of the CLIP System, that enables me to produce the necessary control tools for this function.

So, in essence I produced a check list to manage the documentation requirements and flow between the new auditors and I, and a check list for the year of what needs to be done and when, to remain compliant and manage my risk.

Strong communication between both parties is highly important, and the mutually agreed upon check list of activities / documents required / times lines and responsible people makes this communication a breeze ....... well I hope so, since the check lists are both waiting a reply from the auditors at the time of writing. - BUT I will keep you posted.

So, instead of caos - the CLIP System can once again prevent all unnecessary stress and pressure by managing the risk throughout the process.

CLIPPING IN INDIA

Well, great excitement reigns this side as we plan our CLIP SYSTEM workshops in India..... 6 October to 22 October we will be workshopping around the CLIP SYSTEM in Ahmendabad and Mumbai - combining this with some holiday time.

It is SO EXCITING for me, for a number of reasons:

1) I am returning to India after being there for a month in December 1997 when I managed the South African Women's Cricket team to the world cup. This was truly a remarkable experience and I am hoping to get reacquainted with some friends I made there during that period.

2) My daughter Shari and I made a promise to each other after my visit to India in 1997, that we would take a trip to India together ... I have not stopped talking about India since 1997 and frequently look at the 36 rolls of film I took there.

3) The thought of sharing the CLIP SYSTEM with people outside of Africa gives me "goose bumps" .... it is beyond comprehension and partnering with Ashish Babaria CMD of Alpha Interbiz Pvt. Ltd. in getting this event in place is a privilege. Thank you Ashish.

So, flights are booked, innoculations not needed (yay), visa perparations in progress, booking accommodation in progress, what to wear, what to take, what to remember, etc...... the CLIP TRAVEL CHECK LIST is opperative and working well this side so far.

ANYONE in India interested in attending the CLIP SYSTEM workshop can either contact Ashish on ashishbabaria@gmail.com or myself on shan@shancade.co.za ... we'll be excited to meet you.

ADMIN MADE EASY

Every day I hear people complaining about their admin not being up to date, taking up too much time, restricting them to the office and generally just being a real pain within the work environment.

Well, the good news is that it doesn't have to be like that.

The CLIP SYSTEM methodology makes admin easy for you and is really user friendly. It's all about a mindset change and having simple tools in place that will work for you; which reminds me, that the CLIP system accommodates your personality.

SO, we are not trying to change who you are or asking you to work outside of who you are BUT, rather to introduce a tool or tools into your admin process that will suit you and enhance your strengths.

Now, doesn't that sound worthwhile investing in?

A CLIP SYSTEM WORKSHOP will be held in Durban, KZN, South Africa shortly:

DATE:     Thursday 21 June 2012
TIME:      08:30 to 12:30
VENUE:  The Benjamin, 141 Florida Road, Morningside, Durban, KZN
COST:      R480 per person  (Special offer to NGO's at 2 for the price of 1)
INCLUDED:   Refreshments and a copy of the CLIP SYSTEM book
BOOKINGS:   shan@shancade.co.za

 www.shancade.co.za

A GOOD FEELING

I always feel good after a hectic workshop, whether that be a CLIP System or Outlook Management workshop....... it is grand to know that people have left with more understanding, and have absorbed GOOD THINGS that will make a difference in their work environment.

What a privilege to be able to teach people who want to improve their skills and increase their knowledge.

Today's outlook Management ideas workshop was exactly what it says .... looking at ideas to use this marvellous tool to it's maximum, instead of just for sending and receiving emails.

Whether it be email management, scheduling tasks, setting-up meetings or appointments or just writing a casual note .... managing your "reminder system control tool" is HIGHLY important to your success in the work environment.

So then, if you are "dropping the ball", have too much on your plate, feel exhausted, working long hours, feeling swamped and without hope...........................YOU need to re-group and review the way you work.

Now is the time - don't procrastinate, set your mind to do something about it. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Feeling good in the work environment - can be achieved.

5 STEPS TO CHANGING BAD ADMIN HABITS

Everyone struggles with bad admin. habits from time to time, so don't think you are alone. The important thing to remember is that you need to make a change BEFORE it gets out of hand.

Below, I have listed 5 easy steps to encourage you to start the change:-

1)  Stop procrastinating - just make a start
2)  Regroup - analyse what has to be done, prioritise your list, action and get things done
3)  Monitor your workload - daily regroup
4)  Keep your workspace tidy and orderly - things don't look so bad if you do this
5)  Use a daily book rather than scraps of paper to jot the things down that you need to remember

Good luck ... START TODAY