It's amazing how quickly this year has gone by. It is at time like this that I look back and wonder why or how it always felt like a year was a really long time and now that most days are filled with work commitments or outstanding tasks, the days and weeks all merge and are broken only by a few fleeting hours of sleep.
Unfortunately this past week lacked the good (and necessary) sleep component. By Wednesday I was already so tired that I got arrived home at 7, was in bed by 9 and subsequently woke up at 3:30am! That'll teach me for going to bed before even CSI is finished!
August is a month I am simply hoping to survive. Two weddings, a potential trip overseas (work), two blocks of MBA lectures, a weekend away with the in-laws and work in-between and looking at all of that, it seems almost impossible that it can all be squashed in.
We are also starting the countdown to the defence of the Rugby world cup and if current Bok performances are anything to go by, we'll be watching the trophy presentation from afar. Of course, the "secret training camp" in Rustenburg is where our hopes really lie and hopefully our first string will be fighting fit for the proverbial and literal kick off.
August also brings the start of the English Premier League season and (hopefully) a consistent and committed campaign for my beloved Liverpool. Some exciting new signings this season and hopefully the new Adam, Downing, Suarez and Carroll combination will give us the edge we need to get back into the running and challenge the others at the top.
No doubt I will look back at this post in the month's to come and reflect on what I just said, so with that in mind, I will make one or two predictions just to keep things interesting!
Liverpool to finish in the top 3 this season, behind Manchester United and Chelsea. Arsenal and Manchester City will struggle to find consistent form and will slip back, with Spurs and Aston Villa keeping the top clubs honest.
Western Province and the Sharks to yet again contest the Currie Cup final and Province to take it this year.
The Boks will make it to the semi-finals of the World Cup and will run out of steam before the last hurdle.
Lets see how I do :)
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
So many ideas, now let's get them done!
I spent the day at a conference in Rosebank today, courtesy of a global management consulting firm (not sure about plugging companies on here...yet)
While all the speakers (local and international) were all very compelling and kept my mind ticking over with their topics, the same thing kept coming to the surface: execute on ideas fast and capture the market.
Now this is easier said than done, or is it?
Working for a bank, and being involved in cross-industry forums and engagements, not to mention MBA discussions, you often end up taking a knock from your peers about expensive charges, non-delivery or that unfriendly call centre agent (that may or may not have been outsourced to India, but still did a bad enough job to warrant doing damage control)
The advent of social media makes the connectedness of society all the more prevalent and, with valid reason, allows customers and non-customers alike, to share their views for the world to see, and hopefully, comment on.
Now this is great, as all the bank-bashing does do one thing; it allows us "bankers" to reflect on what could be done if we really put our minds (or backs) into it. So here's the truth... we do! Unfortunately it sometimes isn't fast enough, or worse, is too late.
The other challenge is meeting everyone's needs the minute they arise. But anyway, I digress, the point of this blog post was to query why it sometimes takes so long to take a really awesome idea and turn it into a reality. Fear of failure, juggling too many balls or is it just that we have lost the ability to decide what is really important and where our focus should lie?
I see this as an opportunity. If, as South Africans, we could apply the same approach to all the opportunities and challenges we face, we could probably focus our energy on many aspects of society and make great inroads into the improvement we all seek.
Nevertheless, exciting times and loads of great opportunities on the horizon... especially for us banks ;)
While all the speakers (local and international) were all very compelling and kept my mind ticking over with their topics, the same thing kept coming to the surface: execute on ideas fast and capture the market.
Now this is easier said than done, or is it?
Working for a bank, and being involved in cross-industry forums and engagements, not to mention MBA discussions, you often end up taking a knock from your peers about expensive charges, non-delivery or that unfriendly call centre agent (that may or may not have been outsourced to India, but still did a bad enough job to warrant doing damage control)
The advent of social media makes the connectedness of society all the more prevalent and, with valid reason, allows customers and non-customers alike, to share their views for the world to see, and hopefully, comment on.
Now this is great, as all the bank-bashing does do one thing; it allows us "bankers" to reflect on what could be done if we really put our minds (or backs) into it. So here's the truth... we do! Unfortunately it sometimes isn't fast enough, or worse, is too late.
The other challenge is meeting everyone's needs the minute they arise. But anyway, I digress, the point of this blog post was to query why it sometimes takes so long to take a really awesome idea and turn it into a reality. Fear of failure, juggling too many balls or is it just that we have lost the ability to decide what is really important and where our focus should lie?
I see this as an opportunity. If, as South Africans, we could apply the same approach to all the opportunities and challenges we face, we could probably focus our energy on many aspects of society and make great inroads into the improvement we all seek.
Nevertheless, exciting times and loads of great opportunities on the horizon... especially for us banks ;)
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Why study when you can buy?
For anyone not able to watch Carte Blanche this evening, two things stand out...
1). Shrien Dewani is seemingly as guilty today as he was the night he had his wife murdered, and had the inclination to try and paint South Africa as a place where these types of accidents just "happen"
2). You can buy your masters or even doctorate qualification online.
Now, for my classmates and I, slaving away in class each weekend, handing in multiple assignments, long hours and reams of information to absorb, had we known this ahead of time, then $775 and a few phone calls and we could not only have a masters, but a fancy DR title in front of our names.
Then, even better, we could apply for board level positions and probably get them, based on our illustrious CV's and experience. Sounds good, right?
Well, for those who get away with it, perhaps a doctorate in deception and malpractice is exactly what they deserved. All strength to them.
For those who attempt to use these false qualifications for personal gain and then feign ignorance when challenged, seriously...really...what?! The worst part of it is knowing you haven't done a stitch of work, KNOWING you have no knowledge of anything, and still expecting doors to open for you and to put cash payments down on your new Range Rover. Sigh.
Anyway, sometimes things in life baffle me, but I will place these somewhere in the back of my mind, move on and hope to never have to work for one of these cornerstones of society.
On another note, we went to the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens today to watch one of my favourite bands, Prime Circle. As always, they were fantastic live and really gave the 4000+ crowd a good afternoon.
Okay, I'm off to go and peruse the web for my doctorate in advanced metaphysics and pancake flipping...
1). Shrien Dewani is seemingly as guilty today as he was the night he had his wife murdered, and had the inclination to try and paint South Africa as a place where these types of accidents just "happen"
2). You can buy your masters or even doctorate qualification online.
Now, for my classmates and I, slaving away in class each weekend, handing in multiple assignments, long hours and reams of information to absorb, had we known this ahead of time, then $775 and a few phone calls and we could not only have a masters, but a fancy DR title in front of our names.
Then, even better, we could apply for board level positions and probably get them, based on our illustrious CV's and experience. Sounds good, right?
Well, for those who get away with it, perhaps a doctorate in deception and malpractice is exactly what they deserved. All strength to them.
For those who attempt to use these false qualifications for personal gain and then feign ignorance when challenged, seriously...really...what?! The worst part of it is knowing you haven't done a stitch of work, KNOWING you have no knowledge of anything, and still expecting doors to open for you and to put cash payments down on your new Range Rover. Sigh.
Anyway, sometimes things in life baffle me, but I will place these somewhere in the back of my mind, move on and hope to never have to work for one of these cornerstones of society.
On another note, we went to the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens today to watch one of my favourite bands, Prime Circle. As always, they were fantastic live and really gave the 4000+ crowd a good afternoon.
Okay, I'm off to go and peruse the web for my doctorate in advanced metaphysics and pancake flipping...
A long "lay off"!
It's been a terribly long time since I've been on and been able to write an entry. This isn't completely due to laziness and procrastination, but mostly due to the hectically busy past month and a half! If I was to backtrack properly on everything, this would be too long to read, so I'll capture the "highlights reel"
So in no particular order, and with a lot being left out:
I've written all my subjects on my MBA that led up to the so caled mid-year break. This means that 8 subjects (out of 14 in the first year) are now completed. It's supposedly downhill from here, but with a few slippery subjects still to be done this year, the workload is only going to increase, particularly with the last few months of the year being so busy at work as well.
Helen had to flit over to Italy for a few days on a work trip, so she has been very busy lately and working long hours, the light at the end of the tunnel is hopefully around the next corner...
I went on golf tour to the garden route back in June (16 guys playing Ryder Cup format over 4 days, Cape Town versus Joburg) and playing Pezula, Pinnacle Point, Kingswood and Simola was definitely a highlight. Played solid golf all week and had some great singles games on the tour, awesome courses, good weather and a good time.
I changed jobs within Nedbank (not a minor update!) and have moved into a group function, part of a small team running innovation and step change strategy across the group. We work for the executive committee and drive large cross-business deliverables partnering with local and global companies to deliver innovative change into Nedbank. It's and exciting area to be a part of, but loads of work to be done and a lot of it sitting with me at the moment, as we aren't yet a full team.
We ran the Knysna Half Marathon. After having two bouts of flu and a week long stomach bug, I'd done absolutely no training leading up to the race and had low expectations (bordering on doubts my legs would even stand up to the distance). I ended up surprising myself and came in under 2 hours, noy my best time by a long shot, but great considering that I'd had such a long, forced layoff. Helen completed her first half, also after being very unwell the night before and came in under 2.5 hours, amazing, considering that she'd slept about 2 hours the night before the race.
We finalised our building plans with the architect at Pecanwood and are very happy with the final result, once it is built, we will have an amazing spot to relax at and spend time in the countryside in.
There was some brief drama with a lost title deed on the property, but it surfaced after a week or so and has now been lodged at the deeds office, so hopefully in the next few weeks it will be registered in our name and we can start building. We have had our plans approved at the Pecanwood HOA and have finalised all the attorney payments (which definitely add up!) so we are almost good to go. At this rate, we should have a house by Easter, which is excellent!
The two kittens are doing very well and have both grown much bigger (especially Jelly!) They hate it when we leave the house, which is every morning to go to work! We get these shocked looks on their faces, as if to say "where are you going?!"
Squeaks had to go in for his neutering, which was very traumatic for me, as he cried all the way to the vet. When I picked him up, he was visibly scared and shivered and cried all the way home, a tough day for kitten and maybe tougher for me!
Helen got her new car eventually (after her last car being the victim of an accident and being written off) and we decided to get her something that would be a safe, solid, comfortable choice. This was a Landrover Freelander, which drives like a dream and has all the modern features you'd want and expect. We took it down to Knysna for the half marathon and it is a pleasure to drive. Now to start planning my next car ;)
This is my first post on my iPad 2, which I eventually got (they are still in high demand worldwide, with very low supply!) and should be able to make entries a lot more regularly from now on, as it is with me most of the time!
So there it is, those are some of the major happenings over the past little while, but certainly not everything!
Until the next time...
So in no particular order, and with a lot being left out:
I've written all my subjects on my MBA that led up to the so caled mid-year break. This means that 8 subjects (out of 14 in the first year) are now completed. It's supposedly downhill from here, but with a few slippery subjects still to be done this year, the workload is only going to increase, particularly with the last few months of the year being so busy at work as well.
Helen had to flit over to Italy for a few days on a work trip, so she has been very busy lately and working long hours, the light at the end of the tunnel is hopefully around the next corner...
I went on golf tour to the garden route back in June (16 guys playing Ryder Cup format over 4 days, Cape Town versus Joburg) and playing Pezula, Pinnacle Point, Kingswood and Simola was definitely a highlight. Played solid golf all week and had some great singles games on the tour, awesome courses, good weather and a good time.
I changed jobs within Nedbank (not a minor update!) and have moved into a group function, part of a small team running innovation and step change strategy across the group. We work for the executive committee and drive large cross-business deliverables partnering with local and global companies to deliver innovative change into Nedbank. It's and exciting area to be a part of, but loads of work to be done and a lot of it sitting with me at the moment, as we aren't yet a full team.
We ran the Knysna Half Marathon. After having two bouts of flu and a week long stomach bug, I'd done absolutely no training leading up to the race and had low expectations (bordering on doubts my legs would even stand up to the distance). I ended up surprising myself and came in under 2 hours, noy my best time by a long shot, but great considering that I'd had such a long, forced layoff. Helen completed her first half, also after being very unwell the night before and came in under 2.5 hours, amazing, considering that she'd slept about 2 hours the night before the race.
We finalised our building plans with the architect at Pecanwood and are very happy with the final result, once it is built, we will have an amazing spot to relax at and spend time in the countryside in.
There was some brief drama with a lost title deed on the property, but it surfaced after a week or so and has now been lodged at the deeds office, so hopefully in the next few weeks it will be registered in our name and we can start building. We have had our plans approved at the Pecanwood HOA and have finalised all the attorney payments (which definitely add up!) so we are almost good to go. At this rate, we should have a house by Easter, which is excellent!
The two kittens are doing very well and have both grown much bigger (especially Jelly!) They hate it when we leave the house, which is every morning to go to work! We get these shocked looks on their faces, as if to say "where are you going?!"
Squeaks had to go in for his neutering, which was very traumatic for me, as he cried all the way to the vet. When I picked him up, he was visibly scared and shivered and cried all the way home, a tough day for kitten and maybe tougher for me!
Helen got her new car eventually (after her last car being the victim of an accident and being written off) and we decided to get her something that would be a safe, solid, comfortable choice. This was a Landrover Freelander, which drives like a dream and has all the modern features you'd want and expect. We took it down to Knysna for the half marathon and it is a pleasure to drive. Now to start planning my next car ;)
This is my first post on my iPad 2, which I eventually got (they are still in high demand worldwide, with very low supply!) and should be able to make entries a lot more regularly from now on, as it is with me most of the time!
So there it is, those are some of the major happenings over the past little while, but certainly not everything!
Until the next time...
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