Archive for Australia
July 16, 2008 at 1:31 pm · Filed under Australia
We’re Catholic Central in Sydney today - World Youth Day kicked off last night with an opening mass for 100,000 pilgrims. The even was filled to capacity before the first homily was spoken. Thousands mor were turned away.
This world record mass for Sydney will stand for a few days - on Sunday 500,000 are expected for the Pope’s mass at Randwick in Sydney.
On the streets there’s a wonderful buzz. People are smiling and clapping and shouting hello. There are flag bearers from every nation. While traffic is chaos and normal city life has come to a halt it’s all for a good cause.
Enjoy Sydney, pilgrims! Just make sure you leave it as clean and beautiful as you found it!
July 16, 2008 at 12:03 pm · Filed under Australia
We’re leaving Commonwealth Bank after five years, and have refinanced our home with Westpac. I realise there’s little difference in service levels today. Instead we shopped for the best product fit.
What was interesting was the call I received yesterday from the “Customer Retention Unit” at Commonwealth Bank. Their operator called unsolicited and starting asking questions to verify my identity. Having received hundreds of phishing emails over the years I wouldn’t speak to him until I could verify he was actually from CBA. That took another call - and a telephone answer tree - and five minutes. But later we were re-connected.
I like the idea of a “retention team” but by the time a bank has received discharge instructions it’s probably too late. And for me the tipping point was when I was referred to (again ad again) as a “Valid Customer.”
I’m sure I am.
But more than likely the customer retention specialist meant “Valued Customer.” It’s time for more training CBA. Good acts poorly executed lead to bad results.
Fare thee well!
July 16, 2008 at 10:49 am · Filed under America, Australia
Today the Australian dollar is approaching parity with the USA greenback. The Federal Government in America is taking a larger role in managing the economy with the bail-out of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Global stock markets are shedding value quicker than the “Biggest Loser” drops kilos. And in California depositors line up around the block to withdraw funds from failed bank IndyMac.
When did our grandparents know they’d entered the Great Depression?
The October 1929 stock market crash was one event. It did not define the Great Depression - it was the first major indicator. Then a series of collapses and inter-linked events sent the world into depression. These included bank failures (not unlike Indy Mac or Bear Stearns), company collapses, property price drops and loss of confidence in the central bankers.
When did they know? When will we know?
July 15, 2008 at 1:19 pm · Filed under Australia
On Saturday night we were all discussing the transformation of Sydney to a holy pilgrimage site. The last time this many frocked congregants arrived was for Mardi Gras and that was a different party altogether.
I was pinned as a communications person because of my annoyance at the World Youth Day logo.
Look - it is nice and visual and snappy. But the annoyance stems from the mix of an acronym (WYD stands for World Youth Day) and an abbreviation (SYD is short of Sydney). Wid Sid 08 rests uneasy on the eyes and the tongue.
That said - I wish all pilgrims in Sydney a wondrous week. I had the pleasure of sharing a bus ride this morning with international revellers. It’s great to see the city abuzz with cheering visitors - go Wid Sid!
July 8, 2008 at 4:34 pm · Filed under America, Australia
I serve on the Board of Directors of The American Club, a private dining and business club on the pretty end of Macquarie Street here in Sydney. The name hearkens back to post-WWII when ex-servicemen started an entertainment venue for Yanks. Today the club caters to all nationalities and commands the top three floors overlooking Sydney Harbour.
In recognition of its American ancestry, the Club has two portraits framed at the entrance. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and US President George Bush greet all newcomers.
Last week the club hosted an event and amongst the crowd were a mob of unruly Texans. (Editor’s note: I understand unruly and Texan is overkill, much like patrician New Englander.) The next morning both framed portraits were missing! Someone stole George Bush and Kevin Rudd.
Kevin didn’t go far. Must be his conservative nature. He was found in the lobby of the building no worse for wear.
George is still missing. Seems he was more attractive to our Texans than Kev ‘07. So if you see a framed portrait of George wandering the streets of Sydney, tell him a wall on Macquarie Street misses him.
June 17, 2008 at 8:07 pm · Filed under Issues Management, Australia
Australia is fixated on a political scandal - “Iguanagate”
It’s always bad for the parties involved when their issue gets a “-gate” added to the end. For those not “in the know” this suffix originated from US President Nixon’s ordered break-in to the Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate office complex in the early 1970s.
For trackers of crises and issues, the time to turn public opinion in your favour is well before your issue is “gate-d”. All now assume guilt.
“Iguanagate” started at a Central Coast restaurant two weeks ago. NSW Minister John Della Bosca and Federal Minister Belinda Neal were dining at Iguana Restaurant on 6 June and were asked to move tables. Apparently a row erupted with Della Bosca and Neal shouting abuse at staff.
Staff filed Statutory Declarations outlining their recollection of events. Some were withdrawn - others were hidden. Two versions of events are circulating. Bar staff and waiters - putting their jobs on the line - state the political pair were rude, abusive and threatening. Della Bosca and Neal claim there was no such rancour.
What makes this murkier is the allegation that some staff were coerced into changing their statements. Others were never released. And Della Bosca penned an apology letter that he faxed to the restaurant - which was meant to come from the restaurant to him!
Today Federal Minister Blinda Neal “promises the truth” (see today’s Sydney Morning Herald). It’s all too late.
People in public office are held to a high standard. This would have been better managed from the start to admit to the blow-up and offer a full and frank apology. Then this storm in a tea cup would never have spilled over into a second week of national reporting and intense questions in Parliament.
It’s bad enough to lose your temper - but hey, we’re only human. What’s inexcusable is to attempt a cover up. We can forgive a bully. We can’t forgive a bully and a liar.
June 16, 2008 at 9:41 pm · Filed under Leadership, Australia
Today the news is book-ended by character failures.
Belinda Neal is on the front page for her tirade ten days back at a Central Coast restaurant (”Do you know who the f**k I am?”). She is accused of using her Ministerial position to threaten bar staff, and even yelled she’d have the liquor license of the pub repealed. Apparently staff wanted her to move to another table so they could finish the daily swap from restaurant to dance club.
The back page eulogises the shortest Olympic career in history. Swimmer Nick Darcy had his appeal yesterday, and his bid to be restored to the Olympic team was quashed. He’d brought the sport into disrepute when he assaulted Nick Cowley, another swimmer, six hours after being appointed to the Olympic team. Among other injuries Cowley’s “orbital socket collapsed.” Alcohol was a factor.
In our rush to appoint an illness to every daily grievance, a recent health reporter talked about a new epidemic – Irritable Male Syndrome (IMS). Seems us modern men – when not busying ourselves with metro-sexual face creams and visits to the tailor – are too harried to properly express ourselves. We take on all the troubles of the world (mortgage, career, child raising, relationships) and don’t have the communications skills or the support networks to vent our frustrations. So we continue like boiling submarines until one issue tips us over into IMS (rhymes with PMS). Then we act out in a volcano of pent-up emotion.
Phew! That felt good.
But then you wake up on the back bench of Parliament facing a day of questioning over your outburst. Or you are stalked through airports flying from swim practise to Court of Appeal. And all that “feel good” is gone and you have another tonne of frustration and angst to bottle up.
When learning to be an Executive Coach, I gained one stunningly simple insight. Between stimulus and response, man (and woman) can add thought. If we remove thought between stimulus and response then we’re primal – no better than animals. We scream at bar staff and we elbow fellow swimmers in the “orbital socket.” But if we think – and consider our options – we’re more likely to swap “reactions” for “considered actions.”
I know yesterday Belinda and Nick were re-living their separate and damning evenings. And after the fact they were no doubt inserting many, many thoughts into that moment between stimulus and response.
June 16, 2008 at 3:14 am · Filed under Media Industry, Australia
In Australia to chuck a fit is to spit the dummy. Babies do it when they throw tantrums - so do adults.
In July I need to media train executives at a client company. I took today to refresh the media training materials I use for executives. There is so much to teach and adults are hopeless learners. So material needs to be compelling and provided in mind-sized chunks.
The best way is to show by example. I cruised YouTube to add new media interviews that showcase good and bad media behaviours. In my search I found a personal favourite. It’s less contrived than Tom Cruise jumping around on Oprah’s sofa. And it’s not as painful as Miss Teen South Carolina. If you haven’t seen those, then get to my Playlist at YouTube.
My favourite bad media interview is a simple sportscaster trying to file a simple story from South Australia (aren’t you glad I didn’t say simple a third time?). He’s just having a real bad day…
April 1, 2008 at 10:53 pm · Filed under Media Industry, Australia
Poor Mr. D’Arcy. The father of swimmer Nick D’Arcy is in Perth with his son to see his daughter compete in a surfing competition. Problem is his son broke the jaw and skull of a fellow swimmer six hours after qualifying for the Australian Olympic team. His six hours may prove to be the shortest Olympic career in history. There is a 99.9% chance he will be barred from the team. (see today’s “The Australian.”
So there’s Dad. Off to Perth with his son. And there’s the media scrum. Poor Mr D’Arcy.
Sports stars falling from grace is a fairly common event in Australia. Andrew Denton didn’t let Wayne Carey walk in the park on ”Enough Rope” on Monday night. Our super-paid-aggressive-competitive-superstars are adored when they channel their testosterone on the field. But when they punch up a girlfriend (Wayne) or a team mate (Nick) and we abhor them. But back to Mr. D’Arcy.
We’ve all had our embarrassing or painful family moments. And you can easily recall the anger or shame or hurt of that time. Now imagine that same upset but with a media scrum outside your door at all time. Checking into the Sydney airport. Arriving at the Perth airport. Going to the hotel. Eating dinner. Watching your daughter surf. And all that time cameras are focused on you and your son hoping you’ll bear some emotion. Melting down in the limelight has to be one of the modern world’s most bizarre phenomenon (The Britney Effect is modern parlance). We eat up the photos of starlets with bad bikini bodies - but dive underwater if friends try to photograph us at the beach. We read the details of an Olympic hopeful’s shattered future - but can’t imagine having a camera in our face in similar circumstances. It’s not easy being in the spotlight - especially in times of strife. But we fuel the cameramen and journalists with our insatiable interest in the subjects.
Poor Mr D’Arcy - now, can we get an update on his son?
Nick - six hours earlier
March 16, 2008 at 10:08 pm · Filed under Issues Management, Australia
Not many Australians like chain coffee. Starbucks has yet to make a dent in an already established cafe culture. Local chain Gloria Jeans has met with better success. This home-grown chain serves the same syrupy overpriced concoctions that led to Starbucks’ fame in the USA. Yet today this local coffee chain is in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Today’s The Sydney Morning Herald features a harrowing tale of faith-based approaches to treating mental illness. Patients report of abuses that are clear violations of civil liberties. Tragically the centres where these abuses occurred are meant to solve serious mental issues. Instead, they appear to cause more harm.
The centres are all underwritten by donation boxes in local coffee shoppes run by Gloria Jeans. Here is a corporation underwriting a religious organisation that is accused of mishandling women in crisis. Can I get a muffin to go with that?
For corporations the issue becomes a clearer understanding of which charities you choose to underwrite. Faith-based charities do attract strong support from elements of the community. Sadly they also alienate other parties.Corporate social responsibility (CSR) provides an opportunity for companies to give back to their local communities. Ideally it should provide a win-win for all involved.
But by underwriting a faith-based organisation that has sparse resources to handle women in mental crisis Gloria Jeans has done damage to its reputation. Few corporate communications people want to start their day with this in a leading newspaper:
Taking in girls and women aged 16 to 28, Mercy Ministries claims to offer residents support from “psychologists, general practitioners, dietitians, social workers, [and] career counsellers”. These claims are made on its website, and the programs are promoted through Gloria Jean’s cafes throughout Australia.
But these former residents say no medical or psychological services were provided - just an occasional, monitored trip to a GP, where the consultation takes place in the presence of a Mercy Ministries staff member or volunteer.
Instead, the program is focused on prayer, Christian counselling and expelling demons from in and around the young women, who say they begged Mercy Ministries to let them get medical help for the conditions they were suffering, which included bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders and anorexia.
My advice is simple - do get involved in CSR, but make sure you thoroughly vet any organisation before bringing your brands together. You may indelibly tarnish your reputation if you don’t.
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