AELC Professionals Blog

Ethics and more....

Fri, 22 May 2009 00:00:00 +0100

For many years I have pondered the lack of ethics training as a core subject at business schools throughout the country. Since almost all business graduates end up in medium to large companies it is important to talk seriously about ethics related to finance and other areas even when there is no specific finance element to the role.

Grief

Tue, 19 May 2009 12:14:13 +0100

Over the last four months I have learnt about true grief. The devastating, finality that comes with the death of a loved one. At first I was on autopilot. Funeral had to be booked, logistics of telling people and the search for the will all consumed the moment. It was also our busiest time of year at work so there was no time for thinking - just doing.

Buying A Job

Thu, 07 May 2009 16:16:51 +0100

I was watching Sunrise on Channel 7 this morning when Koshy began talking about how to start a business instead of being unemployed, with an emphasis on using the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme to get started. In theory, what a great idea! People who are unemployed get an opportunity to do it for themselves and become their own boss. The scheme gives you a year of base wage – same as unemployment benefits, and access to...

Build Or Bust

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:29:12 +0100

Yesterday I was sitting with my staff at lunch talking about the economic crisis and its effects on business. It is a topic that I am sure is in lunch rooms everywhere. One of my staff commented that if companies had built innovation systems, much the way we had, that they would now be in a much better position to not just survive but grow in this difficult climate.

Internships: Benefits and Challenges

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:09:29 +0100

I want to talk about a topic that is dear to my heart – internships.� Internships have traditionally been attached to the medical and legal occupations which require practical experience as part of a university degree. This practice has now been extended into most professions and is popping up in areas from accounting to industrial design. I believe internships are the best way to recruit new hires, extend a wide network that promotes your business and...

Lesson In True Service

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 03:02:26 +0100

Every 8 weeks, like most women, I take a look at the grey roots that have peaked through the glorious colour on my head and bemoan the split ends attached to a cut that was once stylish. I sigh and book myself into my trusty hairdresser for the lift I most definitely need.

Fit and Fabulous

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 02:04:01 +0100

The penny has dropped. I am not 25 anymore and everything I eat and do affects the way I feel and that includes in business. Makes me sound slightly retarded doesn’t it? Well I have to tell you that over the past 10 years I have increased my girth by 30 kilos and have managed to gain an increase in headaches translated from poor back posture and about 29 other ailments all through neglecting myself so thoroughly....

Coaching - A Needed Expense Or Not?

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:55:16 +0100

As people seek better lives for themselves, either personally or professionally, or both, they're more likely to find some outside help to get them there ie: a professional coach. So the question is whether or not you need a coach to grow your business? Before I talk anymore about this though, let’s explain the different forms of coaching.

Networking For Non-Networkers

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 05:07:44 +0100

I used to classify myself as shy to the point I would avoid answering the phone so I didn’t have to stutter my way through a conversation. When shopping I would go out of my way not to catch anyone’s eyes so I didn’t have to speak, because that would be ‘embarrassing’. People handled me rather than me handling them and yet… I had a fantastic vision that one day I would have enough confidence...

Experiment Versus Experience

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:56:59 +0100

Almost every week somebody rings us up and asks us to quote on topics as diverse as workplace etiquette, women in business to Gen Y’s, career development and innovation. We then send through the details of our company name and 1 in 3 call us the Australian “Experimental” learning centre. Why do people hear experiential and write down experimental? Why that paradigm? Do people not understand the word “experiential” so they substitute what they think...

Babies In The Workplace

Thu, 22 May 2008 00:37:04 +0100

I have two babies come to work with their mothers every day and have set up a mothers' workroom so that they can have their babies in with them and still work. As the babies get older, the mums have decided they will have a nanny come in. That way mums get to have their cake and eat it too - including choosing the nanny and supervising it all in the same area.

Awards: Pain or Gain Part 2: Making the submission

Fri, 16 May 2008 03:38:51 +0100

Last blog entry I spoke about recognition through the multiple awards programs that are out in business land. We have established that the awards process can be a meaningful and profitable experience for you to do. So the question now is where do you start?

Awards - Pain or Gain?

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:52:57 +0100

A couple of weeks ago I was honoured at the Veuve Clicquot Awards in Sydney as one of Australia’s most Entrepreneurial women.� This got me to thinking about awards programs in general. Are they worth the pain? I was first nominated for the Telstra Business Woman of the Year Award in 2000 but did not enter until 2005 because I was just too busy and didn’t think it was worth the effort.� I was wrong.

Wow, What A Fortnight!

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:09:21 +0100

I want to talk about time management. Right now it is a really pertinent issue for me. Wow what a fortnight I have just experienced! Starting on Thursday two weeks ago I began the match of the century. Tracey in her office preparing to be inteviewed by a film crew ahead of the Veuve Cliquot awards ceremony Time in business versus time out and time 'in' won. There was so much to do, with so few of...

Are Larger Women Taken More Seriously?

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 04:54:59 +0100

I was conversing this morning at a breakfast with several women and men all of whom were experienced HR professionals. We were having a funny little chat about influence and weight gain as we ate.

Stress! Thriller or Killer?

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:30:30 +0100

I know people who live on the edge of their seats. Hands always tapping, legs a bobbing, exuding a cloud that is distinctly grey. Is this excitement radiating from their pores or is it pure terror? Well from my experience it goes hand in hand. When you do exciting or challenging things there is an element of risk and the knife edge of that can be very sharp. And with today’s busy lifestyle and workplaces the...

Flexible Workplaces

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:07:17 +0100

We have become a segregated society. Children go to child care, adults go to work and elders retire but many unhappily. This is not how it was ever meant to be. Why not encourage a stay at work longer culture and keep that experience going? Imagine a workplace where an 88 year old man shares his office space with a 23 year old. Where a 4 year old worker's daughter and her 35 year old...

Human Growth Pains

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:45:36 +0100

Almost every business I see is having growth pains and one of those pains is finding and retaining properly trained and appropriate staff. One of the most bemoaned issues we hear through our HR colleagues is the blockages that come from management every time they try to solve this problem. Why is it that some managers ignore the very people who look after their most important assets?

Up Close and Professional

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 23:24:13 +0100

Whether you work for a small non-profit organisation, a large multi-national corporation, or something in-between, chances are you spend many hours a day in close proximity to other people. Too often, simple misunderstandings among co-workers or just bad personal habits lead to workplace tension. Practice these simple tips and some of the stress can be avoided.

What do we really want?

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 19:00:40 +0100

Recently I was facilitating a course on time management and work-life balance (/training/time-management-work-life-balance.html). As we were sifting through the core issues associated with gaining a realistic equilibrium it struck me that most of us are not sure what it is that we really want. How many of us have actually taken the time to really examine our inner most desires and what that means to us?

Attitude

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 07:36:13 +0100

Success often rides on the shoulders of the brave. Those courageous individuals who dare to take the attitude that something is achievable and then just do it. Most of us aren’t like this. We do our utmost to avoid the pain of change rather than put ourselves through the realms of the unknown in the pursuit of our dreams. Why? Well I believe those people with a great attitude see opportunities and situations differently...

Binge Working

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:28:22 +0100

I confess! I am a “binge worker” – someone who works long and hard for two or three months and then goes on a complete slack for 2 – 3 weeks. At first I didn’t recognise what I was doing. The long hours were just part and parcel of my job and I didn’t even think about the crash at the end which was usually in the form of a sickness related incident....

Workplace Etiquette - Loud Phone Calls

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 23:28:22 +0100

In the past 2 weeks I have been interviewed on radio in all states of Australia. What was the topic you ask? Not innovation or entrepreneurship, Generation Y or even leadership, my usual cups of tea. No, the hot issue of the hour has been etiquette or rather the lack of it in the workplace. So what is workplace etiquette and why are we are we so perturbed? Well to me it is the natural courtesy...