World Change and a Dea(r)th of Communication
I started my flight from Australia back to Europe with the news that the UK vote on Brexit was pretty clearly going to be for "remaining" only to find at Dubai that the "world had changed" and the UK had narrowly voted for Brexit. Old news now, but the UK (and the world) are still getting a better understanding of the ramifications. The Brexit team seemed to do a better job of communicating their message although both sides of the debate seemed to play fast and loose with their interpretations. It was not so much Mark Twain's comment about "damn lies and statistics" but more about confusing facts/information with ideas/ intent.
There were/are pros and cons with both choices, but which is better in the long term? It is a very difficult question but it was not reassuring that Michael Gove, one of the leaders pushing for Brexit, but earlier the Secretary of State for Education, famously demanded that all school children should achieve above average test scores. When asked by the Education committee how this was mathematically possible, Gove replied, "by getting better all the time..."
It was not a good sign for Brexity that the only two world leaders who came out and said well-done to the UK for 'Brexiting' were Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Not that Trump really seemed to know much about the topic - not that rare perhaps. Trump arrived in Scotland to open his Trump Turnberry golf resort shortly after the vote and congratulated the Scottish on having "taken back their country". He did not seem to realise a large majority of Scottish voted to stay. The Scottish are not a nation to hold back with their feelings and Trump got a lot of tweets from Scots saying things like "Scotland voted overwhelmingly to stay in Europe you touped f#@k trumpet..." and many more like this.
But the big disaster was still to hit England! They were knocked out of the Euro 2016 soccer tournament by Iceland - a team with a part-time coach, a part-time football culture, and one that had never played a knock-out game at a tournament before. Iceland have 0.5% the population of England and soccer is not even their main sport. Sir Bobby Charlton, the captain of the English soccer team which won the 1966 Soccer World Cup, was approached by a journalist and asked whether his team would have beaten Iceland. He replied, "yes, one nil".
The journalist seemed a bit surprised and asked, "why only one nil?" To which Sir Charlton replied, "well we are in our seventies!
MarkTwo Health Tip
 |
Clean your keyboards periodically. Apparently most office keyboards (in Australia) have 70% more bacteria than toilet seats |
MarkTwo Wealth Tip
Improvements by cyber criminals is making it much harder to spot fake links. In Australia alone, over $20 million dollars was lost in the first half of 2016, mostly via email or over the phone. You can keep on top of digital scams by visiting: www.scamwatch.com.au
1) Join the free webinar on Tues 25 Oct 2016, on:
Busting 3 myths that stop you leading your way to success
Find out how to avoid the common traps which are blocking your way to success and see how you can quickly and practically reach your targets. Get your complimentary sign up by clicking here
2) Measure your employees', or future employees' capability accurately
Advanced Competency Assessment
A holistic and valid competency framework is a necessary condition to make Human Reosurce systems most effective. This two day mastery program equips you with everything you need to create or improve your organisation's competency framework. This is critical if human resource systems, such as recruitment, assessment, induction, performance management, learning and development, retrenchment, etc are to be effective.
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When: Sun 9-Mon 10 Oct 2016
Where: Dubai, UAE
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Enjoyed the course. Mark's presentation style was interactive, fun, engaging and he obviously had a wealth of experience in this area - Margaret Omovbude, Head Business Support Services, Nexus Alliance, Nigeria
Understanding Human Personality
This course increased my self-awareness ten-fold. Not only the materials and activities within the course but also the conversation between members in breaks was insightful. We all shared experiences and feelings about ourselves so we could help each other with self-discovery. I don't think I would normally be willing to share so much or feel so connected to strangers if we weren't on a similar journey - Joanne Capp, National Key Account Manager, Bunzl Outsourcing Services
Click on the video below to see more people sharing their experiences.
Quotes of Donald Trump
I predicted the 9/11 attack on America in my book "The America We Deserve".
The global warming we should be worried about is the global warming caused by nuclear weapons in the hands of crazy or incompetent leaders.
TED Talk - Ten ways to have a better conversation
When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have conversations — and that most of us don't converse very well. Celeste Headlee has worked as a radio host for decades, and she knows the ingredients of a great conversation: Honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening. In this insightful talk, she shares 10 useful rules for having better conversations. "Go out, talk to people, listen to people," she says. "And, most importantly, be prepared to be amazed."
MarkTwo's 2016/17
Work & Travel
September: Facilitating several programs including high performance team work and an in-depth General Manager Leadership program in the Southern Highlands for a senior team.
October: Next is running master classes in Advanced Competency Assessment in Malaysia and then Dubai; followed by a 2-3 day High Performing Teams program in Vietnam, as well as working around Australia and a MarkTwo team running the public Understanding Human Personality program back in Melbourne.
November: Focussing on coaching, MarkTwo public programs and organisational development work in Australia.
December: Working around Australia and running MarkTwo public programs, as well as out in Bangalore, India to help with Project Management Leadership.
January: Working around Australia and running a short program on Technology Leadership in UK, followed by a team from MarkTwo running a Leadership session in Europe with the top team (60 staff) of one of the World's top 10 universities.
February: Working around Australia and also facilitating Organisational Structure Development and the HR Scorecard for senior managers and HR professionals in Malaysia.
March: Focussing on coaching, MarkTwo public programs and organisational development work in Australia.
Visits in first half of 2016
I have been busy travelling around Europe and the USA and it has been interesting to experience the post Brexit feeling in UK and see the pre-election action for the United States elections.
There was a distinct feeling amongst the younger generation that they had been "screwed over" by the older generations as almost 80% of 18-24 year olds voted to stay, and even most of the 25-49 year olds voted for remaining. This is understandable given that they will live with the consequences much longer. On the other hand they were the generation who had the lowest turnout to vote (it was not compulsory).
Trumpism
I suggest a new word for the lexicon, "trumpism": the art of not apologizing or admitting being wrong. I recently experienced this talking to a supplier in the United States. I was up at 3am talking to a small technology provider about an IT issue. They accepted that it was there problem and partly solved it. The next evening I called again to get final resolution only to get the supervisor who denied that there was a company account, or that there was an issue. This was despite her team member finding the account and problem the night before, and two major US agencies confirming that it was their company's issue. She just maintained that she was right and everyone else was wrong. After I sent documentary evidence to her the next day, she simply replied, "I have forward this email to our IT cloud services team for review". A lovely example of trumpism...
A short trip to wonderful Spain
Upcoming Events
1) Click here so you don't miss the chance to save US$300 on Advanced Competency Assessment
2) Understanding Human Personality - Public Workshop
This dynamic, enjoyable and insightful 2 day personality modelling workshop defines for you the 8 personality styles validated by neuroscience. It provides you with clarity about your personal style way beyond just completing a questionnaire. It empowers you to be more effective in dealing with others at home, work or in different cultures. It is one of the most powerful relationship building programs that can be applied to parent/child, manager/subordinate, and romantic relationships.
People are the biggest driving force on Earth for good or evil - hadn't we better know what makes us tick?
This program aims to give all participants an extremely rich and practical understanding of personality, difference and what it means both in personal and professional life. You are likely to find answers to important questions (you did not even know you had!) in areas of your professional and personal life
When: Fri 28-Sat 29 October 2016
Where: Best Western Plus The Tudor Box Hill, 1101 Whitehorse Rd, Box Hill, Victoria 3126, Australia
Extended Earlybird: Only 1390 Australian dollars (exc GST) if you pay by Wednesday 28 September 2016 - SAVE $550
