Of all the fads that have graced the business bookshelves over the years, my least favourites are those books advising me not to give a f**k. This is because, in my opinion, we live in communities, and indeed, on a planet, which requires us all to give more of a f**K. True volunteers are getting …
Do you know what cordwainers did for a living? Or coopers, or maltsters, or ostlers? I didn’t. They were, respectively, shoemakers, barrel-makers, grain selectors and horse handlers. Do you know what it meant to be a journeyman? It did not mean travelling, as I first thought. It was the stage of a trade or craft …
A colleague needs to recruit some wise and responsible managers. The right people are not easy to find. The kind of experience that is needed should automatically favour candidates with grey hair, but he has been hearing the same old refrain, ‘preferably not too old. Preferably not past it.’ The client really means; don’t send …
A Jetstar supervisor has recently lost his claim for unfair dismissal, according to a report in the Financial Review, 3rd March. This might not ordinarily be newsworthy, but one of the reasons for his dismissal, was that he failed to report a subordinate who was farting loudly (and often) at work. The subordinate did some …
If I ever had a dollar, for every song I’ve sung. Every time I’ve had to play, while people sat there drunk. John Fogerty wrote that line in a song called Lodi, and I often replay this in my head when I’m watching my son. Since he was very young, he has played the guitar …
Google noted that in 2022, there was a new record for the search, ‘Can I change?’ If the father of modern psychology, William James, was alive, he’d probably say, ‘of course you can. Change your habits’. Most behavioural psychologists would say that habits are the key to understanding behaviour, and that habits are simply learned. …
The term Cognitive Dissonance first appeared in 1956 and was coined by Leon Festinger to describe the mental stress caused by holding two incompatible beliefs at the same time. Festinger and his fellow researchers had infiltrated a doomsday cult that believed the world was ending, and that they were going to be rescued. Some group …
Paul Symon, the outgoing Director General of ASIS (the Australian Secret Intelligence Service) recently commented on the recruitment challenge in finding the next generation of spies. He said that ASIS looked for a high IQ and high EQ – but also for people who were balanced. They need to be comfortable in their own skin, …
I’ve just received a column from a UK newspaper that describes one of the most unusual jobs I have ever come across: Coffin Confessor. It is also known as, Funeral Crasher. In fact, Bill Edgar, former private investigator, bodyguard, and ex-convict, does not really crash the funerals he attends. He has been invited … by …
An Aussie café employee was sacked for failing to use a happy face emoji in a text reply to her boss. The Fair Work Commission, rightly in this case, ruled that this was an unfair dismissal. I suspect that decision took about two seconds to make. Somewhere and somehow, a manager believed that an emoji …