A challenge for you

We all walk around as if we 'think' we are doing the right thing of ourselves and others around us, but when have you truly stopped and asked someone if what you are doing is right!

I recently asked for some professional feedback from some of my peers.
Trusted to ask as they would provide me with honest, professional feedback with the knowledge that they wouldn't hurt my feelings by my request that i will keep the emotion out of the conversation. In terms of HR and performance management, this is sometimes called a 360 degree reflection tool.



So here is my challenge to you...ask someone you trust to provide 'honest' feedback about your leadership skills, the way you treat people and the manner in which you role model yourself to others

Responsible and accountable

Yesterday I was babysitting my two grandsons Hamish and William and was wondering of their future possibilities and the hidden potential in both of them.
This led me to thinking about the responsibilities of being a good parent in bringing up children, being accountable for my actions and being a responsible person in today's society.
Its not easy.

However, one of many things my parents taught me was to be responsible for my own actions, abide by societies rules and regulations and help others.
How did my parents know if they were doing a good job or not, they didn't. They just had the experiences of their own personal lives to call upon to know what to do. If they were hit as children, then this would have been 'their normal'.
Luckily for me this wasn't the case.

Last night on the news I watched a small community in the Eastern States implode as the parents of a bunch of kids were allowed to walk around with knives...to 'protect themselves'. The kids were aged between 10 to 14.
When they become parents I wondered what they will teach their children. I am assuming it would be based on their own personal experiences, and so the cycle continues.

The question then is how this cycle can be broken? I don't have the answer.

I think this can be changed partially through what I know as the African saying that 'our kids are brought up by the village'. This relates to when the menfolk left home for hunting expeditions, the women and mothers were left to work in the village and care for everything that happened there.
Foraging for food, collecting water and many other chores required the kids being left to others to bring up the children, but with the trust and knowledge that everyone worked to a common cause.

With this in mind, I'd like to think that teachers, school carers, child-minders, creche's and the such like are part of that village and play a major part of bringing up those children.
They become the so-called surrogate parents who have a highly-underestimated role in showing a better way of bringing up children, much the same way as all our current and future leaders do in today's society. That's a lot of responsibility.

However, what a great opportunity of beginning the change in a young persons life and potentially 'breaking' an ongoing cycle that can only see peoples lives shattered through violence with love and care.
People need to stand up and challenge the normal. Be leaders. Take on responsibility and in doing so, you might never see the benefits of the seed you plant, but in doing so, if every person does their bit, who knows the changes in society each one of us could accomplish as a whole.
I am role modelling every day in what I believe about changing someones life somewhere, somehow...are you!

Along my journey

Last night I volunteered my time and service to be the MC (Master of Ceremonies) for the PRIA (Public Relations Institute of Australia) Excellence Awards.

The evening saw a number of people, mostly young  come away with a Commended, Highly Commended or Winners trophy for some amazing PR campaigns.

During the evening I met many of my own - past students who were now working in industry and looking on in awe. One young lady 'told' me that she will win next year and that nothing else will be acceptable.

She is the Communications Coordinator for the Department of Education and her name is Janine Hammersley...watch this space.

The Government Program she is currently working on is to celebrate education in providing substantial awareness about educating indigenous people who have little to no current opportunity of getting an education in remote areas. The campaign is centred on providing opportunities for new and existing teachers to participate in the program, but they 'must' be damn good communicators with a passion, flair and understanding and the consequences of the challenge that lay ahead.

New teachers must sign up for a two-year period to participate in the program for which in return they might have their degree or masters degree paid for in full.

The outcome of this is far reaching and you can only begin to imagine the possibilities of the future of educated young people.

I am proud to know her and what a pleasure if I am the MC next year to present the winners trophy to own of my own students which I have helped on her journey.

A rare privilege

I had the rare privilege to be a part of something very special with a group of very special people with the Aboriginal Leadership Program from the Department of Corrective Services in Western Australia.

I met some amazing leaders.

I am personally in awe of where people have come from and where they are going.

I want to be a part of their journey. Who knows where it may take them, but the change is now inevitable, there is no turning back. Others will recognise the change in them. This group will stand tall and proud of who they are walking quietly and showing others the way.

This group will lead people to great things. As yet I don't know what great things they will pass on. It could be something so small as to sow the seed of possibility with just a caring smile; a hand of love on a child's shoulder or showing someone that there is a better life for those that they come into contact with.

They may never even see the positive trail they leave in their wake, but I do know one thing.

They are prepared to share and show a better way for all.

The 'e' of e-learning

I had recently read that the 'e' of e-learning is to be dropped shortly as when the phrase was first coined, it differentiated learning in a classroom to online learning.

I have now been delivering online courses for quite a few years now and find that the appeal to me is the challenge of engaging my students in their learning, building a collaborative online community and having successful outcomes.

The latter important for the continuity of the course, a successful outcome for the student in completing their course with Competence and building the ability of students to encompass 21st Century literacy into their profile.

What do I mean by 21st Century literacy, the ability to use technology and the Internet.

Tony Gurr believes the following is true of 21st Century learners: http://tinyurl.com/7k4q7fn

Time and time again, we hear exactly the same answers. It doesn’t matter what country we’re in. It doesn’t matter who the stakeholders are. Consistently, these are the answers we hear most:

• Problem solving: Students need the ability to solve complex problems in real time.

• Creativity: Students need to be able to think and creatively in both digital and non-digital environments to develop unique and useful solutions.

• Analytic thinking: Students need the ability to think analytically, which includes facility with comparing, contrasting, evaluating, synthesizing, and applying without instruction or supervision and being able to use the higher end of Bloom’s taxonomy.

• Collaboration: Students must possess the ability to collaborate seamlessly in both physical and virtual spaces, with real and virtual partners globally.

• Communication: Students must be able to communicate, not just with text or speech, but in multiple multimedia formats. They must be able to communicate visually, through video and imagery, in the absence of text, as actively as they do with text and speech.

• Ethics, Action, Accountability: This cluster includes responses such as adaptability, fiscal responsibility, personal accountability, environmental awareness, empathy, tolerance, and many more. Though the language may vary a little, every group of stakeholders (parents through national-level officials) give us more or less the same answers.

Having seen the same topics of discussion on several websites this reinforces my thinking that lecturers and teachers alike need to ensure that they use technology only as a tool for 21st Century use and that it takes nothing away from the pedagogy of learning.

Proud of my sons

On Sunday 22 March 1990, my son Kelton was born. In a few days time it will be his 22nd birthday.

I was there at his birth. I welcomed him into a new world from a warm and comfortable place, that was his world for the past nine months.

I still remember when he was born he was a disconcerting blue colour, then he shivered, cried, screamed and was then calm.

I even cut his umbilical cord, a small squirt of blood came out which the nurse as quickly clamped with what looked like a plastic paperclip.

The nurse took him a few meters away and placed him on a towel that was sat on a small set of scales. It read 3.24kgs.I smiled with pride. But it was more than pride, it was instant love. 

The love only a man could know and appreciate what it is like to be a father. 

Protective, concerned, anxious for my son's welfare, this fragile bundle of absolute joy was now to be taken care of by two people who had never met him before and yet trusted, without question, everything they would do for him.

They would teach him how to be responsible, be fit and healthy, be honest, grow with integrity, become the leader we wanted of him, be respectful, to be able to fit into society and finally be the man every father wishes of their sons, just a good all round guy that we could be proud of.

He has and is.

As happens in every mans life, it gets to a point when its time to 'fly the roost'. Last week my son left home and moved into his own place with some friends. He was both excited and somewhat sad. When I asked why he said that he really had no reason to move other than he was growing up and wanted to be more independent. He also said "quite a few of my friends asked why I am moving out and did you have a spat with your parents or something? no I said nothing like that at all."

Again, when I asked why he stated that most, if not all had some issue of point of crisis with their parents and 'had' to move out. Again, I felt proud we did something right and will continue to do so.

For most of my or rather his life, I have always checked into both my sons rooms just to make sure they are OK. The eldest son Kyle, left home a few years ago, is now married with two amazing sons of his own (Hamish and William). On Monday morning I still checked to see if Kelton was OK, or rather to get him up for work, but his room was empty, he had naturally taken everything he owned and moved into his new world now and so... I felt a small sense of loss, but a bigger sense of pride.

I am proud.

Social media in training

I am having to prepare for a future professional development day workshop on aspects and use of social media and making sure I keep the topic in context with training students at Central. Where to start...

This hot topic and ongoing argument has raised major concerns amongst lecturers of what we should be teaching our students about embedding social media and general communication and wondering if it actually has a place in industry.

I have noted on numerous occasions that those who embrace and challenge their students are generally educated in the art of using social media for both personal and professional use. Those who argue its integrity and negativity, rely solely on the general populace stance that 'all' social media does not have a place in training students to be work-ready when embarking on their future career pathways.

Key to my workshop will be a number of facets that include social learning, and advocated in http://www.fastcompany.com/1546824/where-social-learning-thrives by Marcia Conner states "Social learning is not just the technology of social media, although it makes use of it."

Another area of concern is the confidentiality of students work, personal details etc in that I state categorically that every person should have two online identities - personal and professional and neither one should be aligned with the other.

The use of social media in the class is paramount for the potential it holds in communicating with one's students in the environment they visit most. Consider the following from http://wearesocial.com.au/blog/2012/04/03/social-tuesday-tuneup-33/:

1. Australian Social Media stats – March 2012
Facebook grew by nearly 200,000 Australian users in March, though the surprising figure is the Myspace traffic, with nearly half a million visitors.

1. Facebook – 10,889,960 Australian users/accounts (up 186,800) – 13 million UAVs according to Google Adplanner. The difference between the user numbers and unique visitors is people probably logging in from multiple locations – home, school, work etc.
2. YouTube – 10,000,000 UAVs (down 1,000,000)
3. Blogspot – 4,000,000 (up 500,000)
4. LinkedIn – 2,100,000 (down 100,000)
5. Twitter – 1,600,000 (down 200,000)
6. WordPress.com – 1,600,000 (steady)
7. Google Plus – 1,289,940 (up approx 90,000 – Estimated calculation below)
8. Tumblr – 1,100,000 (steady)
9. Flickr – 840,000 (down 80,000)
10. MySpace – 470,000 (down 50,000)

and...4. L’Oreal has a team of 400 staff working in social media

I believe embracing social media and its use in the class and training students is a required skill-set.

I will ensure that my presentation will be engaging, varied, statistically eye-opening, fun and above all practical.

Stupid, stupid, stupid

The article read:

Three Adelaide schoolgirls are unlikely to face charges after uploading a risque video to YouTube, police say.

SA police confirmed on Wednesday that the incident had been referred to them by the education department and related to the inappropriate video posted by the students from the Mitcham Girls High School.

The Adelaide Now website said it featured the three girls in school uniform talking about offering sexual encounters for money. "It appears the girls involved in this incident were participating in a stunt and unaware of the dangers and repercussions their action would have."

 http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/national/13346573/girls-upload-risque-video-to-youtube/  

Stupid, stupid, stupid... they have more than likely been using the internet and social media sites for some time, have been told on numerous occasions about inappropriate online behaviour, seen it, heard it and more than likely, viewed it. Yet the consequences of uploading the most inappropriate and suggestive video as they did was plain stupid.
They were not intoxicated, edged on by other school students but just thinking this was a prank, a joke that has subsequently backfired, and not the schoolgirls have been suspended, what were they thinking. Naive, perhaps with risk attached.


The article also stated:

Police said the incident was a reminder to both children and parents about the importance of online safety and that social networks were public forums where inappropriate actions could leave a digital legacy that could be very difficult to erase.

Why is the message not clear enough for young people to realise the consequences of their actions. The manner in which they and or anyone interacts with social media is not new, yet!

The message is obviously still not clear and not getting through. Is it about time that the education council take note and teach appropriate online behaviour or is this the parents role.

Schools are there to teach a set curriculum that will enable students to move into other higher educational areas of study and/or enough to get an apprenticeship or job.

Parents role is teaching their children about societal issues and how they should be embedding enough social responsibility, care, respect and courteousness  that their dear cherubs can belong and contribute to a well-balanced society.

My question then is why is this still aloud to happen, or is it even YouTube's fault for not filtering out such inappropriate trash by young people...I am concerned for the behaviour of the young in today's society.

Shopping online, cheaper, quicker and more choice

"Shares in retailer David Jones have slumped by 11 per cent after the company warned of a full year profit drop of up to 40 per cent. David Jones shares were down 30 cents, or 11 per cent, at $2.43 on Wednesday.

DJ's  - The retailer will expand its chain and also improve its online store. And  Kathmandu shares were down 16.1 per cent, or 24 cents, at $1.25."

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/-/national/13224053/retailers-shares-plunge-on-lower-profits/

Retailers everywhere are seriously starting to feel the pinch of online shopping for those inclined to wait just a bit longer to receive their goods in the post from an online store that can shave, in some instances, up to 65% off the same goods purchased in a local Australian retail outlet.

And why not.

Why would anyone in their right mind spent up to 65% more for goods in the name of supporting who, the retailer, local jobs or goods manufacturers.

 

Even magazines are feeling the pinch with sales of the likes of FHM dropping from just over 26,000  to 20,000 in a matter of months. It was quoted as saying "FHM is a picture magazine and the type of pictures here can be accessed for free on the internet, so why pay for something that is free. And instead of pictures in a magazine of 80 pages, try 80 million images for nothing. " Very hard to convince advertisers to stick around when the readers are not buying.

So, will there be a time in the future when retail outlets cease to exist; is it a distinct possibility that the legacy of ladies going out shopping together will be a thing of the past, what will they do...have online shopping parties at a friends house!

And it's not just in Australia this is effecting.

The headline reads "Small shops disappearing in Poland: Around 50,000 small retail units have closed down in the last two years, according to a new report."

http://www.thenews.pl/1/12/Artykul/93046,Small-shops-disappearing-in-Poland

Mary Portas: high streets destined to 'disappear forever'

Britain's high streets have reached a "crisis point" and will "disappear forever" as shopping destinations unless they are urgently regenerated, Mary Portas has warned.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8951411/Mary-Portas-high-streets-destined-to-disappear-forever.html

And as for books, in June 2011, The Minister for Small Business (Australia) Mr Nick Sherry enraged book retailers by forecasting the imminent demise of bookstores stating they will all be closed in five years.

What do you think will happen to the likes of bookstores and general retailers? 

The dumb things people say...

I sometimes wonder and marvel at the ability if technology to move  message so quickly into cyberspace that before you know it, the quick quip or lose statement made has gone into the big wide world of viral!

Take for instance, someone I know made a dumb-arse statement, on Facebook about his mate having more girlfriends that Kony has children.

Friends know he's a twit, but does he realise that this type of statement can bring down the reputation of many a young person, especially has he starts to grow in his career and who knows when this is still around to haunt him in his future life. A drunken update from phone to Facebook at 2:00am is still no excuse.

What are some of the rules then governing the use of updating your world in cyberspace:

1. Don't put anything online that your mother, grandmother or recruitment agency would not approve of (maybe there should be an app that sits on said parental phones for approval and confirmation first)

2. Another app perhaps that 'de-links' any person between the ages of 18-28 and after midnight uploading any messages, harmful statements of the such like into their Facebook and Twitter accounts. This is switched on with a password by your friend and expires at 6:00am the next morning. 

Then if you wish to update post-party pictures then do so with a reasonable clear head.

3. Make sure auto-correct is switched off as soon as you step out the front door on route to the club/party. This has spawned a whole generation of new dumb-arse sites that you don't want to be seen on either.

4. If you think your privacy policy is good, safe and private, think again, ITS NOT. Always have the mindset that somewhere someone can see, hear and find you, especially future recruitment agencies.

and last but not least;

5. Common sense is a trait that perhaps builds with mother time and I am talking here about becoming a mature and respectable citizen of the community. Find a good mentor, and if you trust them, then listen to them and understand why they say the things that you should do and shouldn't be doing, they call this using common sense.

Take care out there...I'm watching you!

I am writing...

I have decided that I will become famous for my ability to write. I don't know why or when or even how, but I believe that unless I try I will never know.

I have the ability to be creative, I daydream often, I have a dynamic imagination and I enjoy writing but, is this enough for being famous or is it coupled with luck, opportunity, right place at the right time with the right story!

Did JK Rowling's planets align at the right moment and she was 'discovered' or was she really a good writer with a turn of phrase that resonated wiht her audience and the fantasy story no other could deliver!

On Jen's blog she pasted several motivational images that show the most amazing quotes, that if followed to the letter and endured would provide the follower of a life that would be worth writing about.

My challenge is to both myself and the people in my circle of those I know, be the best you can be and enjoy the ride.

 Sourced from:http://imbored-really.blogspot.com.au/2010_04_01_archive.html

Politics and PR

This weekend sees one of the biggest and most publicised PR campaigns that will grace the media for some years to come.

The inevitable confrontation between Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard will take over every news station from TV, radio, newspapers and even transcend over to everything social media.

The campaign Kevin is running is based on asking 'the people' to speak with their local MP - members of parliament - in order to get them to push for voting for him in Monday's leadership ballot. Seriously, very clever idea. This as he has not yet fully received all the votes he needs to gain control of the his party.

And...he has openly promised that in the event he wins the leadership role aka Prime Minister, no one who voted for Julia will be moved to another post, or even worse, fired. 

He has also attacked the likes of Tony Abbott, opposition leader and the failings of his party in that the people have a choice of whether to follow Labour or the Liberals, and again in doing so deflecting any open or verbal attack against Julia, which would alienate party members to support her cause.

Wow! quite open and transparent.

Julia's campaign is about...not sure! Well, she stated "I am the current Prime Minister" Hmmm, watch this space.

I am privileged...

I have the privilege so few have the opportunity to experience, that of the growing passion of new people entering the world of public relations and seeing the eyes light up to the possibility of the future.

Word to self "I must not lose my passion and enthusiasm, because if I do...cause and effect"

Today we spoke of many things PR, shared our knowledge and experiences and I believe we came closer together as a group that has the potential for many great things to come. There really are no limits.

Each person has a unique reason and passion for being in the PR class. Some have expressed their inner most thoughts whilst others remain guarded, that is their choosing.

This journey of learning the students embark is complemented by the significant amount of soft skills the students will learn indirectly from self-esteem, presentable, approachable and visibility.

I expect...no, I demand and even challenge my students to be the absolute best they can be.

Resilience ...what is it?

Resilience training is about how quickly you can bounce back from daily pressures of life. That's it. Nothing great, but some need it. Why. Simply because some people have no capability to manage their day, life or circumstances around them. Do I need this, no. I and the group of people I am doing this with are a mature group of people. Some set in their ways, some cynical and others, open to new ideas. There is also a group who couldn't give a toss and are here because their manager/job has expressed this is part of the professional development. The facilitator has now just taken out a Sesame doll, Ernie, and placing it on her shoulder....and it's meant to be a reminder of being aware of what's happening around you, both positive and negative. This ia an interesting workshop for the young and gregarious. We teach this on a daily basis to our students and embed this as part of their learning experiences throughout the semester. This is a key part of everyone learning, age irrelevant. The exhausting aspect of this is it can be quite draining of all emotion, more mental than physical. She's really now preaching to the converted, or should I say the educated... Three hour workshop...2 hours 45 minutes to go.

Writing is an art

I have often been told that unless you write the most creative opening few lines in a book and grab the reader by the throat that they will not read further as you will have failed to capture the readers attention and as importantly, imagination.

There is a great new website I have discovered called http://www.webook.com/911writersblock it follows that if you are stuck for a writing topic, this will give you some ideas and inspiration, here's some examples of opening lines:

• A quiet suburban cul-de-sac. A child's bicycle lies on its side, one wheel slowly turning.
• A wedding chapel in Las Vegas at 8 a.m. on a Sunday. An old man is asleep in the rear pew, a blood-soaked bandage on his left hand.
• A woman stands on the side of the highway, slowly walking, her used-to-be white wedding gown in tatters.

I just love the fact that imagination, creativity and storytelling  are alive and well and that these and many other ideas can capture that imagination from which could stem a compelling new storyline/novel.

However, on asking several avid and prolific readers far great than me on whether they potentially thought they could write a novel, most came back with 'no, I'll leave that to the writers, I just like reading them."

I suppose not everyone is born to write and even to become a successful writer, but then again, unless we try, we'll never know. 

Consider J K Rowlings first Harry Potter novel was taken on by the prestigious Christopher Little agency but still rejected by a dozen publishers, including Penguin, Transworld and HarperCollins. The small London publishers Bloomsbury eventually took it on, apparently on the advice of the CEO’s eight-year-old daughter. She read the book and lent it to her friend who also thought it was fantastic.

And another in Stephen King’s first novel was rejected by Doubleday, prompting him to take a teaching job. He began a short story called Carrie but threw the manuscript in the bin. His wife retrieved it. Doubleday bought the hardback rights for $2,400 (1,200), and New American Library paid $400,000 for the paperback rights.

So I suppose like them and many others before them I am starting my writing career and seeing where it takes me. I have a few ideas and creative stories I want to tell, but my imagination seems to run wild at the most craziest of times when walking the dog, driving or just day-dreaming.

The latter being a school past-time when advised by my teacher on whether I wanted to become a window-cleaner as I spent many hours staring out of the window.

Mentoring young people

The New Year 2012 brings with it so many new possiblities and opportunities. When asked just before midnight what my New Years resolution was I have a few goals whilst leaving others to formulate as the year moves on.
My original and first thoughts are always 'to ensure that I don't waste the year'. Fairly broad in the concept of resolutions, but most of my life I want to feel some sort of personal and professional goal(s) have been acheived, otherwise, what's the point!
This also includes my time in giving back to society in whatever form I can beit volunteering, mentoring or my role as a lecurer in instilling and giving back confidence and self-awareness to young people.
The latter role is one I am very passionate about as I see a number of young people come through my door that have been told they are worthless, disrespectful, have no voice and are not listened to. Having stumbled on this career a few years ago, I now believe my journey has reached its pinnacle in this is what I am meant to do, teach and mentor young people.

The fact is, I enjoy it.