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