Karl Rohde

The young baby screamed

Karl Rohde — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:16:23 +0000

The young baby screamed; his small face screwed up into a crinkled little ball. The high-pitched protest bounced off the walls, echoing. Between screeches, he took laboured breaths, his little body shuddering with the effort. Vibrations rattled throughout the room. The house sounded like it was in the middle of a building site; heavy machinery and [...]

What maketh the man?

Karl Rohde — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:51:59 +0000

I was a scrawny, nervous young lad when I got to high school. For those from overseas, high school is around your 8th year of school through to when you leave school at around 17/18 in NZ. Anyway, I had a hard time. The nickname for my school was Penrose State Prison. In reality it was called [...]

Creativity

Karl Rohde — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:21:27 +0000

I honestly can’t pin point the time when I knew I wanted to be a creative person. Looking back, I see trigger points. A unique solution to a problem, playing Dungeons & Dragons as a kid and spending more time working on the story line that playing the game, finding a unique way to layer paint, [...]

New Zealand – Economic Capital of The World (1/12)

Karl Rohde — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:28:20 +0000

New Zealand’s days as a manufacturer of goods and dairy are well and truly numbered. The high cost and low margins are simply not sustainable. This is a twelve part series exploring what New Zealand might be able to do with strong leadership and vision. How it can truly become the Economic Capital of The World. [...]

Employment Fine Print

Karl Rohde — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:37:18 +0000

“Please do not waste both our time threatening me or proffering legal advice. Your threats are risible, and you are patently not qualified to give legal advice.” All I did was ask my ex-client to stop trying to poach my staff. Quite reasonable in my opinion. They do note that the agreement between my company and theirs [...]

Dealing With Mr. Big

Karl Rohde — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:07:02 +0000

Masters. They are everywhere. We work our lives through a series of encounters with them. Regardless of whether you are a person in power, sometimes your life will collide with a master, and how you deal with that encounter determines the rest of your life. I call them Mr Big. Usually somewhat of an artful dodger, [...]

Marketing -101 (what not to do)

Karl Rohde — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:10:45 +0000

Using a blog for marketing can be fraught with risk if poorly managed. What can be an excellent form of engagement with potential leads can also turn into a big negative for marketing initiatives. The adage all publicity is good publicity is not really something to aspire to with your web site, and if you run [...]

Crisis: Project Turnaround Part 1

Karl Rohde — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:35:17 +0000

Your project is overdue, there have been cost overruns, and the final destination is still out of reach. In this series of posts I will be covering the process of turning a crisis project around. This probably sounds all too familiar to many project managers, development managers, business owners, and even company board members. It’s [...]

Ethics, Professionalism and Business – 5 Rules

Karl Rohde — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:11:11 +0000

Businesses are an interesting beast. When they are new, it is usually their founder that guides them, just like a parent and a child. As they reach a certain point, sometimes the founder/owner hands over the reigns, and the business can grow into something else. Sometimes the person now in charge is called a CEO (Chief [...]

RE: Why You Can’t Find Better Employees

Karl Rohde — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:23:24 +0000

The following is from Seth Simonds’ Blog. The article “Why You Can’t Find Better Employees” spoke volumes and demanded a comment. Here is the opening: Here’s a phrase you have probably used before: “It’s impossible to find good people to hire these days.” A more honest version is likely: “I lack the necessary drive and vision needed to take regular [...]