Archive for December, 2006
December 18, 2006 at 6:25 pm · Filed under Workplace
We set an attainable goal - provide each employee an end of year performance review that captures the highs and lows of 2006. Of course feedback needs to be 24-7 and if a mistake is made the feedback needs to be instantaneous. (Can you recall your biggest mistake of three months back, let alone February this year?) And likewise we need to hear about how well we’re doing when we’re doing it well. Got it?
But here we go. Each member of the leadership team is hosting formal discussions with their direct reports. I’ve suggested they approach the meetings with the intent of having a solid, open discussion. There needs to be a cycle of focusing on strengths, reviewing areas for improvement, then ending on strengths. Reviews are not a time to drill down into poor performance only - there should be a discussion of what works, what needs to be refined and what’s holding the person back.
Ever have a sweaty palm heading into a review? Look at it from the employer’s perspective - they want to get the best possible work out of you. This should be a win-win for all involved. And if it’s not - and many times employees and employers fail to redress the really critical issues - then head back into the review room and re-start the conversation.
December 15, 2006 at 8:46 am · Filed under Australia
Christmas in Australia coincides with summer and the longest school holiday of the year. (School runs from February through to mid-December.) By now the roads are starting to clear for the drive to work but at lunch and dinner taxis are impossible to find. Revelers choke the streets and flow out of the pubs. It must be the silly season.
Don’t try to get a meeting in China during Chinese New Year. Don’t try to get important work done in France in August. Never schedule a meeting in America for the day after Thanksgiving. And don’t try to get important work done in Australia between 15 December and 15 January.
When I first moved to Australia in 1990 you could fire a cannon in an office after Christmas and not hit a soul. Today it’s a little more reasonable - our links to the global economy make it mandatory to have some staff around. Yet anyone with kids and a little bit of holiday time owing is off like a shot.
Today is our staff Christmas party - so we’ll be off filling the pubs later. Enjoy your holiday season - and be silly!
December 7, 2006 at 11:24 am · Filed under Australia
This morning I was at the International Arrivals Lounge at Sydney’s airport - my Mum’s come to visit for the holidays. If you’re ever blue or lonely go spend time at international arrivals - there are scenes of unadulterated joy. And there’s always a dazed and confused person or two.
In Australia, it drives home the distance people travel to get here. From the East Coast of the USA it takes 28 hours of travel to get to Sydney. Mum asked about a parcel she’d mailed with all the Christmas gifts. Air mail takes 5-6 days from the States. Sea mail averages 3-4 months.
Australians love travel and have a gene that allows for 20 hour plane trips. The flight home from Singapore is only 8 hours - how’s a person supposed to get sleep in such a short period? We also love to go to the airport to collect you when you arrive. For us it’s a celebration - thank god you’re here. You made it - let’s celebrate!
December 6, 2006 at 9:17 am · Filed under Australia
Australia has a few home grown legends - Phar Lap (the fastest horse in history), Ned Kelly (bush vigilante) and the Little Aussie Battler.
The Battler is the average man or woman, who does the job every day for the wage. They’ll work to stay off the dole (welfare) but may take a sickie (sick day) especially on a summer day if the Test Cricket is on (sorry, England - we thrashed you yesterday [again]). The Battler was portrayed by Muriel Hesslop’s father in the 1990s film, “Muriel’s Wedding” - his parody of a put-upon Battler under investigation for accepting bribes was a tongue-in-cheek classic.
But the times, they are a changing…
Last month Michael Chaney, president of the Business Council of Australia, delivered a speech to the National Press Club. In that talk Chaney recommended politicians stop speaking of the Battler - settling for a common man lowered the nation’s potential. Instead, we needed to reflect the drive and momentum of today’s Australia.
Enter the Aspirational.
Chaney recommends we swap out the Battler for a figure with higher goals. Out goes the Holden and in comes the BMW. Kill the fully-owned family home and negative gear for an investment unit overlooking the Harbour. Don’t book a modest summer week at a rental home in The Entrance (popular beach resort a drive away from Sydney). Get on an international flight to a South Pacific Island (providing they’re not mid-coup).
“Nous sommes arrivees.” We have arrived. Gone are our middle class dreams. Now we’re focused on locking away the wealth the economic boom has brought.
Poor Little Aussie Battler - seems he has another fight on his hands.
December 5, 2006 at 6:38 pm · Filed under Australia
Debate has raged for more than a decade - is Australia part of Asia? Geographically it’s on the lowest reaches of the region - it isn’t part of the Continent, as it’s the only country to have its own continent to itself. It isn’t sociologically part of Asia - there are a lot of people from Asia or of Asian who call Australia home, but most immediate preconceptions of Australians bring up the bronzed surfer or proud Aboriginal.
But is Australia part of Asia economically? Sure - every trade figure shows our largest trading partners are in the region. And most firms in China, Korea or Japan report they like working with the Australians. We’re more flexible than the Europeans and not as dogmatic as the Americans.
But in truth Australia is Australia and that’s that. It’s not Asian. It’s not European. It’s not even American. There are so many unique attributes that Australia really does stand apart.
This was driven home last week when I was in Singapore, Hong Kong and then Macao on business. The pace is faster there and the population is much more concentrated (and frenetic). We’re a laid back country that still has a lot to prove. Come on down, find out for yourself. And while you’re here, I know a number of really fine Asian restaurants!
