Don’t bother sending it on to any grasshoppers because they wouldn’t understand it, anyway.

This came to me via the email today, I can't ascribe it to an author, i don't know who the genius is but I'd sure like to.

ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER

This one is a little different.... Two Different Versions.... Two Different Morals

OLD VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away..

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.

Channels 7, 9 and 10,the ABC and SBS show up to provide pictures of the shivering
grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

Australia is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of
such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.' Acorn stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Cardinal George Pell then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Prime Minister Rudd condemns the ant and blames John Howard, Robert Menzies, Capt
James Cook, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight. Bob Brown exclaims in an interview on Today Tonight that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, Labor in conjunction with the Greens draft the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retrospective to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and having nothing left to pay his retrospective taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government
and given to the grasshopper.


The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant’s food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and once peaceful, neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Be careful how you vote in 2011.


I’ve published this to you because I believe that you are an ant – not a grasshopper! Make sure that you pass this on to other ants. Don’t bother sending it on to ny grasshoppers because they wouldn’t understand it, anyway.

Corporate Inertia , Fiefdoms and Status Quo

Corporate inertia, fiefdoms and the status quo - words to strike fear into the very heart of any innovator.

When bureaucracies become so large, despite being peopled by highly intelligent and committed employees, the structures themselves work against the best interests of the organization. Despite corporate commitment at the top end to constant improvements and the refining of processes the actuality can be very different when "choke points" are controlled by those for whom it is in their best interests to sustain current practice. Lip-service is paid to the corporate philosophy but real adherence is declined, deferred and ultimately denied.

Companies frequently seek to "treat the symptoms" of a problem without even acknowledging the fact of the "disease" and thus fail to make the leap of thought as to why they actually do the things they do. They can become highly efficient in ameliorating a problem without fixing the underlying cause.

Sound familiar? I am sure it is, especially when we just stop and think about it. I am personally involved in a number of situations where the innovations clearly changes the game, reduces costs, improves productivity, is easier to use than not and produce highly impressive triple bottom-lines. Can we get these products into the Western Australian market? I wish! What's not to like?

Change of course, upsetting the status quo, reducing areas of influence, altering thought processes and actually, Heaven Forbid, taking a valid decision; often not even requiring anything like a courageous decision. I had thought of 2009 as the year of the "great non-decision" where executives through all the difficulties of the GFC thought it better not to take any decisions at all. I must admit I thought this would unwind considerably in 2010 but now I'm not so sure...though I hope I am very wrong in that reassessment.

This is not just another rant born of frustration as many of you will know I am trying to do something positive about it with "Crusaders for Western Australia." Taking it back to basics, encouraging innovators to do business with other innovators and you would be mighty welcome to join me on this crusade!

Cheers, Jonathan.

Ps She came second in the U10's

I mentioned a singing eisteddfod yesterday, well it was the Fremantle Eisteddfod and my nine year old gained a Second in the U10's and was just a couple of marks off the winners (and still with 2 x 80%)in two U13 contests. Even better without cajoling, using Skype last night, she shared one of her songs with her Nanna and Aunty in Belfast.

Those profits wouldn't even exist is there wasn't the possibility of an adequate return

Watching Q&A tonight I was struck by the fervour for the argument being somewhat disingenuously put out by the Rudd Govt that the Mining Super profits tax will ensure all Australians get a fair return for non-replaceable assets.

There is little recognition in the debate about mining companies and so-called super profits that those profits wouldn't even exist is there wasn't the possibility of an adequate return to compensate for the huge risks involved in exploration and production let alone participating in world markets. Sure the profits are large at present in raw terms but has anyone suggested looking at profits in terms of returns on the investment involved? I'd love to see some of our politicians argue over appropriates levels of ROI instead of rates of taxation or returns over the long term bond rate.

And another thing, perhaps a touch esoteric for some, but whilst there are those prepared to talk about rebating for royalties there seems to be little understanding of the factual realities of our federation. The six sovereign states that joined together to voluntarily form the Commonwealth of Australia never ceded their ownership of natural resources to the Federal Government. Our resources do not "belong" to the people of Australia as represented by the Federal Government, they belong to the people of our respective States and that's why State Government can, do and will continue to exact royalties.

Someone might kindly inform me if I'm wrong but I'd also suggest the PRRT argument is also a furphy as it pertains to profits on oil and gas from Federal waters not on State land.

Whatever the arguments for and against Mr Rudd's "great big new tax" (and there you have a clear statement of my position; some would call it bias but being biased does not necessarily mean one is wrong) on economic and even social grounds it must, in my view, be seen off as it is a direct attack on the sovereignty of our States. Many would say "who cares" but like with all freedoms hard won, they can easily lost but so very hard to regain. Let's not lose our freedoms in part from an ignorance of our history and country's foundation.

Best wishes, Jonathan.

Proud Dad and comfort zones.

My youngest daughter is performing in the Fremantle Eisteddfod today, singing in three categories and my eldest daughter is competing in the State final of Rotary's Four Way Test Speakers Challenge on Wednesday evening. Win or lose I am very proud of them and most particularly because of their involvement and participation.

The risks these young people take and the effort they put into their activities is both instructive and inspiring. They remind me of Tom Haupt's words which run along these lines: "to always retreat back to or simply stay within one's comfort zone will ultimately see it shrink in size. To take risks and leap beyond and keep doing so is to ever expand our comfort zone." We will achieve more and believe we can achieve more the more we take the risks and push out from it.

Those of us with children know this wisdom well as we live it daily encouraging them to strive and achieve more and more of their potential but most of us adults participate in "do what I say, not do what I do." That is to say we should listen to our own advice, we should learn from own wisdom and we should ever seek to move beyond what is comfortable. What am I doing that right now? Certainly I am comfortable in writing my thoughts, certainly I am even comfortable enough to take the risk of derision and censure but am I prepared to expand the circle? We shall see.

Cheers, Jonathan.

Getting stroppy in my old age!

I wrote this following note on the Linkedin Gorgon Group discussion page and the it is especially relevant and pertinet to those members of that group. As such the challenge below is to members of that Group and NOT to followers of this blog.

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Keeping Barrow Island really really clean, enhancing Gorgon production and maximizing the triple bottom line for the benefit of the JV partners, the environment and the country. .

Wouldn't you think a product that takes 100% of moisture in emulsion out of lubricant oil and diesel fuel, breaks the acid cycle, has engines running on clean and dry oil ALL the time with all the commensurate and positive impacts on cleaner outcomes, longer asset life, reduced service and breakdowns, lower emissions and the reduction of waste oil by a factor of 20 would be of interest to participants in the Gorgon Project? Me too! See www.engineoilfiltration.com

Wouldn't you think that a product that can remove hydrocarbons and heavy metals out of water would be of interest? Me too! And wouldn't you think that a range of products that prevents hard waste from entering water courses and water tables in the first place would work well in conjunction with the absorption product. You'd be right and some! Please see www.templug.com and www.mycelx.com.au

Now here's the rub, we live in exciting times here in WA with some of the biggest projects in the world going on, all a function of entrepreneurial activity and risk taking. Billions are committed. But try and be innovative and little happens.

Now here's the challenge to those relevant members of this group. Who has the courage and the authority together with the open mind to look at some relatively new products (though tried and test) and who is prepared to contact me and find out more about one or more of these products?

Good luck! Jonathan.

Is there a magic figure?

Numbers are certainly intriguing but often not as relevant as we think. At networking functions I attend or facilitate I sometimes feel disappointed by the numbers that actually turn up despite making the public pronouncement that numbers really don't do it for me. Funny enough it is often the smaller events that turn out to be the most effective, constructive and enjoyable. No doubt there is a middle ground in there somewhere but targeting an unknown figure is not much fun. I have certainly not set out to acquire vast numbers of friends on Linkedin per se as some people do, particularly using Twitter or Facebook. As I have written before I feel these online social networking systems only truly come into their own when facilitating meeting in person, not what is recorded on screen. However, in the last year from a standing start I have acquired over 500 Linkedin contacts. Have I met them all? No, not yet but the intent is there and the mindset on these issue is not only very meaningful and ultimately self-fulfilling but also introspectively instructive. But here's the horrible rub, I feel quite proud of my 500 plus friends. Does self-awareness obviate hypocrisy? I think not and I'll have to muse on that some more. Even so from a practical point of view it is fantastic. Given, amongst others, I make two bold claims in reference to my business, those being "there's not a door in this town I can't open" and "if I can't help you myself I'll know someone who can" then the greater number of people, not that I know but who know and trust me, the better. As these numbers grow my business becomes easier and importantly more creative. Now "creativity" - there's topic for this town! Cheers, Jonathan.