A prophet is not known in his own land

The theme of yesterday's service was the "a prophet is not known in his own land." Without delving into theological discussions it is a simple but fascinating revelation that the true meaning of prophecy in a Biblical sense is not predicting the future or fortune telling and that prophets are not soothsayers but rather were/are interpreters and communicators of God's Word.

My eldest daughter groans these days when I use the phrase and it has become in the lexicon of the Shack Family, "one of Dad's sayings." I admit to using it often in the context of the client's that I represent; the innovations that they bring to the market and their relative inability to commercialize their products/services here in Western Australia whilst being more able to do so in the Eastern States or overseas.

It would seem that our highly entrepreneurial and innovative society is grafted onto one of the most conservative populations on the planet and that even the innovators themselves are often loath to take on the innovations of others being so highly focused on their own product and are, in effect, blinkered.

Yes, we've suffered the consequences from some charlatans in the past and that has naturally led to some jaundiced views and whereas a healthy degree of skepticism is warranted a pervasive cynicism needs to be countered with plenty of tenacity and belief.

My hope (see Crusaders for Western Australia on Linkedin) is to see innovators reaching out and embracing each others' products so that we can lessen their need to up-sticks and find sales elsewhere without a firm base in the home market. With mutual support they will be better able to convince the nay-sayers. Sure we want to see people flourish inter-state and offshore and the more the better but not perforce because they could not gain recognition on their home turf but rather as a natural outworking of their domestic success.

Best regards, Jonathan.

And now for something a little different

I have my younger sister-in-law from Connecticut arriving this afternoon and we're off to Camelot this evening so I thought I'd do something a little different. Most would know I have varied interests work-wise so here's a part list of firms with whom I am associated and whom I wholeheartedly recommend:

For oil and fuel filtration that actually works, reduces waste, cuts emissions, increases efficiency and asset life and reduces cost and indeed is self-funding see Winchester Global Pty Ltd and its product, ProtxL (www.engineoilfiltration.com)

For DMZ's that truly enhance and plug-up the wholes in your firewalls and take your IT security to a higher plane, indeed the highest plane possible see iwebgate (wwww.iwebgate.com)

Get with the new wave of emailing by producing video messages from your desktop and be able to run mass-mailouts, use auto-responders and double opt-ins that precludes issues with the Spam Act - see VM Direct (www.vmdirect.com)

Are you having fears or concerns about the Fair Work Act, are you compliant? Any uncertainty and you should be introduced to Complispace (www.complispace.com.au)

Are you in the building and construction industry and/or the plumbing industry? If so see Templug Pty Ltd (www.templug.com)to ensure reduced costs and a cleaner environment along with reduced OH&S concerns.

More to come. SAS Group, Image Power, Office Automation , West Sec etc

Have a great weekend.

Cheers, Jonathan

Freedom of Speech

Back in the 80's a wave of valued immigrants arrived in Australia from Africa and many of them joined a particular political party and were most welcome to do so. They saw in that party many of the things in which they believed and had lost from whence they came. What took a little time however was for some of them to understand was that they had come to a much freer society and where most political parties were much "broader churches" than what they were used to; this prompted some spirited and in some case heated debates and created an environment, on more than one occasion, where I first experienced an attack on freedom of speech. Our "new" Australians tried to shout down those with whom they disagreed and the "domestic" members wanted the new members ejected. Both were wrong and with the foolish bravery of a youth I told both camps so in no uncertain terms. I remonstrated with the longer-term members to be patient with people learning the ropes and with much to offer and I advised the newcomers to respect other people's rights to voice their own opinions especially in the delivery of their arguments and to show their opinions through the democratic process. Thankfully good sense most often prevailed and though I can't say because I went off to the UK soon after)I am sure the boundaries blurred quickly and both camps integrated nicely. Watching the television the other evening with Mr Rodd's nephew and mate dressed-up in KKK costume brought these memories to mind. Whilst the KKK costumes are abhorrent in what they represent in the USA ( quite different in some parts of Europe) and evoke in our common consciousness disgusting acts of violence and racism the irony was lost on most of the media and probably on a good deal of the population too. The said gentlemen were trying to make the point that there are racist elements in our own society. Though they lacked taste the only oxygen they were given was by the media and they seemed to be somewhat lonely an sad individuals rather than inciters of violence themselves. It is not necessary to take stand on the issue here but I would defend their right to say what they were saying. Whether I agree with them or not is not relevant and herein lies the challenge to defending the freedom of speech; people are like to say things that we don't like. However once we erode that right it is very hard to re-institute it and I fear that we have gone a good way down the negative path already. Political correctness born of a societal guilty conscience and appeasement to those more strident and less accommodating of our own heritage end-up crimping those that could and would speak up for freedom and the right to choose. My conclusion; defend other people's rights to say what they think in a universal and not-just-for-some sense and to personally exercise that right ourselves. Best regards, Jonathan.

Australia Day always prompts debate on the nature of the country, our flag and our form (if not so much our system) of government. Even though I'm a constitutional monarchist and one who believes that our system, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, may be the worst except for all the rest, I fully understand that there are justifiable emotional reasons both for change and for retention. Whilst no overwhelming case has been made to convince me of the argument for a republic I have for many years been a fan of "if it's not broken don't fix it. " Recently however I have come to the understanding that that cliche is just an argument for the status quo which may very likely be indiscriminate; not all change is good, neither is it all bad but advancement and progression require it. This is not an argument for a republic just an openness to continue to have the debate. It amuses me that the media beat-up the case for a change to the flag at the same time it is more and more prevalent and so obviously so. The fears of jingoism and the hijacking of patriotism are I think lessened by the prevalence of the flag in all its forms. Whilst we may not treat our flag with the reverence of the Americans it is seen more and more and this precludes the impact of its use by narrow interest groups. Whilst patriotism has been called the last refuge of a fool (an individual) when taken up by the many it clearly enhances national pride, a sense of identity and yes, patriotism. However being proud of Australia is not by definition a criticism of other nations. As we can only truly love others if we love ourselves so it is with nations and a quiet sense of self worth is much more powerful than over weening self promotion. Again I am not afraid of the debates on this topic and would hope to keep emotion out of the arguments if not the position one holds. I am prompted to continue-on with this blog on freedom-of-speech but will keep those thoughts for another time. Best regards, Jonathan.

"If you eat it you don't need it"

I write today with an overt vested interest but there are "new" revelations about the Fair Work Act daily, whether it be about the retailers claiming 3,000 job losses, the CCIWA declaring warnings and the need for more education, the rampant nature of the Ombudsman with $70m raised on behalf of 54,000 employees or $33,000 a breach levied on employers, rulings about arbitration and generally the infrastructure of government permeating all levels of employer/employee relationships. Undoubtedly most of industry has not reworked their employment contracts and need help to do so and there is also no doubt that unless all policies and procedures with commensurate record keeping are in place and in use any disputes with an employee will heavily weight the argument in their favour regardless of any natural justice and of course open the employer up for breach fines at the same time. Here come the advert; there is a group with the integrated knowledge and service together with innovative SaaS products to help and to do so in a highly cost-effect manner, yes there is very real VALUE here. By engaging Complispace employers in effect take insurance and acquire risk minimization capacity. Like other insurances you simply cannot afford not to have it and if you can't devote the resources yourself it's vital you engage outside assistance. whilst lawyers and HR consultants can certainly help they cannot provide the integrated package of Complispace. If you have any doubts please contact me to arrange a direct consultation and/or receive an invite to the next seminar. Yes, I have a vested interest but I happily disclose that and lay my credibility before you on behalf of Complispace. It reminds me of that old All Bran add, "if you eat it you don't need it." Just so with the right policies, procedures and record keeping, if you have them then your potential problems are minimized, if you don't then constipation will be the least of your problems. Best regards, Jonathan.

Local Hero

Do you recall the movie, Local Hero. It centered on a small west of Scotland coastal village and the desire of an American oil company to purchase its beach as a site for its processing facilities. A high powered acquisition lawyer was dispatched to woo the villagers and to make the purchase. At one crucial moment the lawyer was chatting with the actual owner of the beach, an old timer beachcomber and that chap offered the American the beach for a dollar for every grain sand in his hand. Of course the lawyer didn't know his beach sand stats and passed--up on his opportunity to buy the required land for some hundreds of thousands of dollars in contrast to the millions the oil company was prepared to pay. I recalled this story in a somewhat philosophical mood today whilst sitting on Port Beach watching the children play in the sand and viewing the dredging vessel deepening the shipping channel. The Local Hero story (reminiscent of a recent post) was a story of price versus value but where the value was in the community of the village not in the resources offshore or the development potential. Grains of sand come from somewhere and perhaps began life as mountains and may again, so too do companies start with a germ of an idea perhaps creating wealth and then being worn away possibly back to nothing and so the cycle goes on. Careers can be similar, waxing and waning through the vagaries of circumstance, good and bad. The real joy of all of this is that nothing remains the same except for the certainty of change. Whilst 2009 was a killer for many people, it was also a foundation year for others and whenever endeavour is invested, great things can and will happen. Where Local Hero was particularly instructive was in the realization, particularly for the viewer, that the value was not necessarily the price they could get. Similarly and to my own amusement a client recently asked the the "value" of his outstanding invoices to me, I replied paraphrasing that beautiful MasterCard advert, the outstandings are $x but the value has been priceless. Stoney silence was the not-unexpected-response but I hope, he says with a wry smile, that the point was made. All the best, Jonathan.

Catharsis

I had the pleasure of tidying-up our garage today and it did take me most of the day. We had a much bigger house in the UK and have struggled to fit into this one here and hence the garage is the main repository of our books and furniture plus all the gear you need with children and for the beach. One of the growing issues has been the retention of schoolwork over the years and my eldest did a great job this morning of culling and consolidation and now that she has no science to do anymore (joy of joys) all of that work could go out. My own clear-out and consolidation was electronics-related in that over decades one can accumulate cables, pieces of kit never used, telephone paraphernalia and videoing stuff plus the detritus of all sort of technologies, some of them now totally redundant. It was incredibly cathartic and though I know the concept of de-cluttering is well known and I can add no wisdom to it, it is nonetheless tremendously satisfying when one actually does it. Knowing the theory is one thing, doing it is another. It is a concept that I am determined to bring to my business this year, in terms of supposed clients, supposed contacts and a tendency to say "yes" to all requests for assistance;I am told this is nothing strange in the world of consultancy. Roger Hamilton of Wealth Dynamic talks of either multiplying or magnifying one's business and having spent 2009 multiplying mine I am going to spend 2010 magnifying it. Doing a better and fuller job for less clients and helping grow their business more; forgetting about growing mine and never forgetting to grow theirs. Again this is going to be a challenge and I'd invite "followers" to keep me up to the mark. Time for dinner, more soon. Cheers, Jonathan.

Price versus Value

It occurs to me that many people (though none reading this of course)are far more concerned with price than value and sadly some don't even know the difference. Often there is a perception that if something is relatively cheap it must be good value and surprise is expressed when the quality of the product or service don't live up to expectations. Consistent with that view is a defined reticence to pay for service. This jaundiced view is often a function of poor experience, making it harder for those that follow on after. Whilst there is much gnashing of teeth in terms of the lack of service in restaurants for example though by no means exclusively there is a widespread belief it shouldn’t be necessary to pay any differential to receive a better service. The corollary is that service providers can be reluctant to go the extra distance as they cannot receive a commensurate lift in margin because their competitors receive much the same sort of price for less effort. What quality suppliers know of course is that quality service with an appropriate price equals good value. Good value equals happy customers and repeat business. It can be a challenge to achieve this balance and to be frank it is a never ending battle considering competitive pressures and changing cost structures, most of which are outwith our control. What is within our control is doing what we say we're going to do, doing it right in the right time frame and above all with good grace. Whatever is our business, job or role it is our choice to be doing it. That too can be a challenge and we all need help in that regard.

Networking- a Perspective, Netweaving - a Different Perspective Networking - a Perspective

Much is made of networking and networking groups and rightly so but let me share with you some of my own views on the subject.
Many people think that exchanging business cards is networking. I think not. Certainly it maybe the beginning of a relationship but quality referrals, real connections and workable associations are not created by the exchange of cards but by the relationship created after that first meeting. Trust and understanding are not resident in a small piece of card but in shared time, experience and an exchange of views. These need to be worked at but at a minimum should be follow-up meetings over a coffee or drink and possibly a lunch. The time-honoured virtues of sharing food and drink cannot be overestimated and often determines whether the first blush of friendship/shared interests can be sustained and translated into an ongoing relationship. Obviously we’ve all limited time and one needs to be highly selective about the follow-up meetings or you would never have time for anything else. (Tell me about it!)
Many a networker tries to add people to their network; it’s an acquisitive mindset that is ultimately quite limiting. An alternative “MO” is to try to become part of another’s network. This can be partly achieved by giving value first; this is more of a giving perspective and the result is that you may become part of someone else’s network. The net effect might at first glance seem the same but the substantive difference is that now one has access to your new friend’s entire network rather than that one person just tacking on to yours .
Netweaving - a Different Perspective
As suggested above there is a real case for giving value first. It establishes the fact that one is not just “on the take, on the make” and demonstrates that one has a real interest in the other person. It has the potential, if one was purely cynical, to “bank credit” and to unbalance the ledger. This however is again limiting and lacks goodwill. Whilst there can be positive returns from doing people favours they cannot be guaranteed, they may be well in the future or not at all. Looking for a return sets one up for disappointment and resentment; even with the best intent and will in the world there may not be an opportunity or at least not for some time.
What is joyous though is putting people together for their mutual benefit and not directly yours, beyond a warm fuzzy feeling. Playing broker, exploring connections and bringing disparate people together to potentially achieve the previously unthought-of concept is brilliant. The facilitator can bask in the reflected glory knowing that they have been instrumental in creating something that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. If one is remembered, thanked or rewarded all the better but if not it is good enough to have simply done good.
I suggest reading Geoffrey Gitomer and his "Little Black Book of Connections" on this subject.

The immediacy of communications is reducing our abilities to communicate!

I have recently signed-up to a service provided by VM Direct of the USA. They provide a video emailing product, suitable for mass mail-outs, the use of auto-responders, live broadcasts and double opt-ins to ensure we all adhere to the various Spam Acts. I am convinced that video emailing is the future of emailing. I am also convinced that the rise and rise of Twitter Speak and SMS Language is destroying our language and reducing the number of words in common usage, particularly, but not exclusively, amongst the young. This raises real concerns and I am reminded of Big Brother's desire to remove words from the language in George Orwell's 1984 because it reduced people's ability to think and hence increased his ability to control them. Whilst we know that that about 80% of communication "face to face" is non-verbal more and more "communication" is via various media on the Internet (using text) and of course pnoens of one description or another and thus we are missing out on many of the nuances of human interaction. Skype is playing its part and video emailing can help start to reduce that trend. We all have experienced times when our emails, texts and even blogs are written in one tone but are received in another tone and are thus have been misinterpreted. With video emailing we can add the emotion and tones that "fit"the message and can be redone if they don't sound just right. If you want to know more, either of my views or of the product before you take it please fell free to drop me a line or two. Sadly the file type of my video messaging is non compatible with the blog site and hence this typing of my thoughts. Contact me directly and I will happily video message by return. Cheers, Jonathan.