Values is a term that is much used, both by businesses and by people when they refer to their life choices, but what are they really? Values are a guiding set of beliefs that influence how you lead your life or conduct your business. On the home front, they evolve progressively, influenced by family and cultural teachings. The values that we consider to be important will influence how we behave,
With a new year comes new hope and new ideas. You have had a few days break, even if just the public holidays and have had time to take stock and consider the possibilities. Those options can bring the excitement of dreams and the anticipation of good things to come. The transition from dreams to reality needs action, and that is where often it all grinds to a halt. For action to be
Social media is great. It keeps us connected and keeps us informed. For those who work in relative isolation, such as myself, it is a means of maintaining contact with friends, the market, the business community and the world at large. The interaction that I used to get from email has changed. Once, this was a major source of communication between my friends and myself. Now it seems to
It’s a great idea. You’ve been awake half the night going over the possibilities and you are so sure that this is just the business or career solution you’ve been searching for. You’ve subsequently done some research and looked at the financial aspects. You’ve put together a draft business plan. It seems like this might just work. It’s at this point, you tentatively mention
This is one of life's ironic gotchas. Just as you get to a stage at which you have a combination of life and work experience in your favour, you are considered too old to be a practical contributor to the workforce. Suddenly, training and development opportunities bypass you and are made available to your younger colleagues. It is considered that there will be better value for the training
Coaching in its simplest form is a conversation between the coach and the client, with the objective being a resultant benefit to the client. It is a process of facilitation and problem solving, sometimes unearthing the solutions to problems which have not even been clearly defined. Coaching is a collaborative and non-judgemental relationship, in which the coach uses skills of listening,
It is not unusual to think of leaving the rat race and starting your own business or developing a home-based enterprise. We think about it a lot, and then think about it some more. Particularly on Sunday nights as we contemplate the week ahead. Only a small proportion of people actually form a plan, do their research and take the first step which will lead to work place independence and
The loss of a job can precipitate grief similar to that caused by the death of someone close. Sometimes there is advance notice (sort of like death-by-degree), and sometimes there is little warning of the pink slip with the Don’t-Come-Monday message. Either way, it can shatter your heart and sense of self into a thousand little pieces. The classic phases of grieving may be experienced - denial,
A recent program on the ABC featured the slow movement. Titled Frantic Family Rescue it detailed the efforts of three families to slow down the frantic pace of their lives, guided by journalist Carl Honoré. Honoré is the author of “In Praise of Slow” and an advocate of the slow movement. It really made me stop and think about the pace of life that I lead. I don’t know about you,
Resilience gives you the skills and strength with which to handle the curved balls that life throws at you. Parents worry about building resilience skills in their children, and that is admirable, but it’s just as important for adults to master this trait as well. What do we mean by resilience anyway? I think of it as bouncability, or the ability to recover from an adverse event and move on to