Mandy de Waal's Blog

I've got two words for ineffective government...

2010-07-02T12:12:33+02:00

Zuma's performance agreements with government ministers are a toothless tiger. What's needed to drive performance and service delivery is bite.

Economist Mike Schüssler certainly didn't mince his words when he spoke at the 9th UASA South African Employment Report held in Johannesburg recently. His message was twofold.

1. The government has failed the country in the employment stakes.

2. Government is the biggest employer in South Africa and is being paid too much, to the detriment of growing employment.

The tragedy, as pointed out in Schüssler's talk, is the anomaly that South Africa is at once Africa's biggest economy and yet has the highest rate of unemployment with some 60% of the population jobless.

"If South Africa was just able to up its employment numbers to the average ratio in Africa of 64%, adult employment in the country would have grown with seven-million jobs," Schüssler said.

Governments has failed on job creation
But wait for the punch line. iAfrica reports that Schüssler said government employees are being paid a premium of 40 percent more than the private sector. This as government continues to fail the country on job creation – an issue vital to the creation of social and economic stability.

Schüssler goes on to say that the government pay roll is costing the country too much and that: “SA can't create jobs but it can give big wage increases to government employees and this leads to the problem that a lot more people become economically inactive."

I've got two words to say to government in response to this and they're not “Schüssler's right”, which of course he is. Those two words are: variable pay.

The concept is very simple. Variable pay is essentially a “pay for performance” system that has become increasingly popular in the corporate world where a recessionary environment has limited salary increases yet demanded that business increases performance without increasing resources.

Recent research by Hewitt Associates showed that as many as 80% of companies surveyed will use variable pay this year. The survey covered 6000 organisations in 46 different countries.

Variable play increasingly popular globally
The reason why variable pay is becoming increasingly popular is that it works to boost productivity and accountability. Blanket salaries hardly incentivise people to go that extra mile. Variable salaries linked to the achievement of clear goals encourage under-performers and non-performers to work harder and get things done.

Then there's the matter of self-determination. On a variable pay structure people feel they have some control over what they could get paid. As long as there is transparency in the measurement of goals and people see that performers are rewarded and non-performers are not rewarded, the variable pay system is both effective and credible.

To extend the accountability established by a variable pay system, politicians who err should be made to pay for their misdemeanours. For example Jacob Modise, CEO of the Road Accident Fund, would be forced to pay back the R693 000 he received for serving on the Blue IQ board because National Treasury forbids employees who work at one government job being paid for work done with another state entity.

Zuma's performance agreements a toothless tiger
Interestingly enough Jacob Zuma has signed performance agreements with all of his ministers that have stated outputs, but there are absolutely no penalties for defaulting. In fact, the person responsible for overseeing the 'efficacy' of this toothless tiger – Collins Chabane – said that the performance agreements would not be used “as a stick”.

If there's no incentive for performance or penalty for non-performance, what's the point?

It's about time government got to work for the people who voted them into power and the tax payers who pay their salaries. Variable pay may just make them do that.

Originally written for ITWeb.

Patriot games

2010-06-11T14:06:05+02:00

The World Cup dream has arrived, but don't forget to return to the hard work of fighting corruption and nation building when the world packs up and goes home.

"I gotta feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night

That tonight's gonna be a good night

That tonight's gonna be a good good night"

Orlando Stadium in Soweto is rocking as The Black Eyed Peas infuse the crowd with Fifa fever for the opening ceremony of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. A beaming Fifa President Sepp Blatter and South African President Jacob Zuma were on the stage earlier, and soon the show will give way to Freshly Ground and Shakira singing “Waka Waka (this Time for Africa)”.

The flags, painted faces, open smiles and euphoria is reminiscent of 1995, South Africa's halcyon 'rainbow nation' days when SA's rugby captain Francois Pienaar and then President Nelson Mandela held the Rugby World Cup high in the air and our nation rejoiced. A pivotal moment that later became a book, and then a movie directed by Clint Eastwood; that memory of unity was deeply etched into South Africa's collective consciousness.

Small wonder then that current President Jacob Zuma dedicated the World Cup to Mandela. The 91-year-old elder statesman was pivotal in bringing Fifa's shindig to South Africa, but more so, he embodies a more carefree, hopeful, and less troubled time.

Bruised rainbow nation
It's been a difficult few years. From Polokwane to Zuma's election as president; to our first recession in 17 years; to the violent service delivery protests; to Malema; to Chancellor House; to the rolling electricity blackouts; to the murder of Eugene Terre'Blanche; back to Malema and the realisation that we are a nation divided with deep racial wounds; to strikes, more strikes and the threats of strikes; to corruption scandal after corruption scandal after corruption scandal.

Like a battered wife reeling from all those beatings and desperately hoping for a better life, the World Cup has come right on cue, offering a dream that is all too easy to believe in. It is the romance of the game, the seduction of being in the global view, of the world's celebrities landing at OR Tambo and kissing the African earth they call home. It is the advertisement that the 2010 Soccer World Cup unites us all under the banner of 1 Goal – the promise of delivering education for all in Africa. It is the dream that the 2010 Soccer World Cup will make South Africa a better nation. After all, it is our time, or as the song goes, “this time for Africa”.

The extent of the euphoria experienced by South Africa as the games begin is significant, but it speaks eloquently to our desperation to divert our gaze from government's lack of service delivery, mismanagement, greed and corruption. We have had such a hard time of it lately that we desperately need to let go, to party, to forget our collective troubles.

Sweet dreams
As Desmond Tutu said elatedly when he stepped towards the microphone at Orlando Stadium to speak at the opening concert before the kick off: “Can you feel it – can you touch it? It is unbelievable man. Wake me up, wake me up. What a lovely dream.” The World Cup has come right on cue, offering a dream that is all too easy to believe in.

Tutu has hit the nail on the head. The 2010 Soccer World Cup is a dream. It is a moment of fantasy that we can all retreat into for a brief period of time to escape the Selebi trial; the fact that the ANC Youth League is trying to make the Western Cape ungovernable; that the Blue IQ directors were milking the system blind; that we have a government that refuses to hold the criminal and unethical accountable for their actions.

It is a dream, and like all dreams it is not based on reality. Like all dreams, it will exist for a short period of time during which we will be able to get lost in it, until we have to wake up. And the end point of this dream will be the final whistle, and the world will pack up and go home.

That's when we'll be nursing a collective headache and will have to return to reality. That's when we'll realise that the benefit of the 2010 Soccer World Cup wasn't as widespread as we'd hope it would be.

It will also be about the time the Mail & Guardian will receive 1 700 arch lever files of tender documents that have until now been kept under lock and key by the Soccer World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC). The Mail & Guardian recently won a legal battle to get access to the LOC's tender documents, and as the final games are being played, the investigative paper will likely be poring over the documents to uncover who tenders were awarded to, who the ultimate beneficiaries of those tenders were, and whether there was an impropriety with the tender process.

Given South Africa's corruption climate and Fifa's tarnished track record, it's likely that 2010 corruption stories will flow thick and fast after the end whistle, and many of these obviously will be broken by the Mail & Guardian.

So while it's fine to feel the Fifa fever, know that it's delusion and that a time will come to wake up and get back to the reality that is South Africa – the hard work of trying to make government accountable, and of fighting greed and corruption.

While we watch and get lost in the beautiful game, let's not completely take our eye off the ball.

Opinion editorial originally written for ITWeb.

Can we mend the divide?

2010-04-18T14:58:06+02:00

As fear and loathing play out in this country, the real question is what can be done to mend SA's racial divide?

In the aftermath of Eugene Terre'Blanche's death and Julius Malema’s divisive tantrums, the social Web proved a powerful mirror to South Africa's fractured soul. Hate speech and violent talk bled out onto Facebook pages at the same time that Dozi was mouthing drunken racial slurs and Steve Hofmeyr was making a fool of himself, yet again.

The racial tension so evident after Terre'Blanche's violent death has been simmering for a long time. Well before the event, a virtual race war played out on Malema fan and protest pages on Facebook, over the issue of Julius Malema singing that song. The divide then was caused in part by a phantom going by the name of Thato Mbateti Mbateti, who used anonymity to spew hatred and dispense foreboding.

It’s not that simple

More recently a host of Facebook pages and social networking initiatives have sprung up in the naïve hope of being virtual band aids to what is a deep and complex social problem. If only it was that simple.

A society divided by massive disparity and inequality, yet until recently cloaked by the veneer of a 'rainbow nation', South Africa is easily disposed to racial tension. Our collective history is bloody, violent and pockmarked with racial and tribal wars.

This country is a living contradiction. We have a noble constitution with a world-leading Bill of Rights that legislates equality, social justice and democratic values. Yet we are a country of massive economic and social divides, in some economic categories amongst the most unequal in the world.

The ticking time bomb

South Africa's jobless youth are what FM calls the country's ticking time bomb. In March, the financial weekly reported that “2.5 million young people aged 18 to 24 are neither working nor in any kind of education or training”. South Africa has one of the highest rates of poverty globally, and the second highest Gini coefficient in the world, which indicates the gulf between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'.

Clearly the systemic problems that dispose South Africa to racial tension can't be fixed overnight. How then can we try to stem racial hatred both online and in the real world?

Professor Jonathan Jansen, vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS) is a compassionate voice of reason in the emotional madness of South Africa's race debate. Jansen gave eloquent expression to South Africa's race crisis during his inaugural speech at the UFS when he said:

“Who would have thought that barely a decade after the miracle of our transition we would be talking about 'minorities' in a democracy founded on the principles of non-racialism? Who could have imagined that in Mandela's country human appointments to jobs would be instructed by that calculating phrase, 'the demographics of the country'? And who could have predicted the bare-knuckled violence that kills white farmers on their lands and foreign nationals on our streets, or that the poorest of black citizens would be felled by the racial anger of an 18-year-old white boy barely out of high school?”

What every South African should read

A fearless maverick, Jansen is the author of “Knowledge in the Blood: How white students remember and enact the past” and “Diversity High: Class, Colour, Character and Culture in a South African High School” (with Saloshna Vandeyar). I first read about Jansen's book last year in an inspired column by Marianne Thamm in which she declared “Knowledge in the Blood” required reading for each and every South African.

She's one hundred percent right. “Knowledge in the Blood” is the story of the transformation of the University of Pretoria. The brave and frank account of how Jansen brought understanding of the majority black culture to a predominantly white institution to help create a racially integrated place of learning.

Our collective history is bloody, violent and pockmarked with racial and tribal wars.

But don't make the mistake of thinking it's a narrow cast educational narrative. The book is a blueprint for transformation, of how change can be achieved on both a social and personal level.

We need an agreed, common narrative

The book answers the mystery about how young Afrikaners both remember and enact an Apartheid past they never lived. Importantly, the book offers hopeful insights for forging a new South African narrative. Not one based on some 'Rainbow Nation' delusion, but based on understanding and restoration. Jansen argues that the oppressors and the oppressed need to find historical common ground by forging a collective and inclusive narrative of apartheid that is “mutually conceived and resolved”.

And what do we do about the hate in the meantime? In his recent column on TimesLIVE, Jansen reminds us that words matter:

“What we sing, or say in poetry, or teach in classrooms, can heal or hurt. As parents, teachers, public servants or politicians we dare not leave our children without a sense of hope. We need to nurture through words positive views of other people, especially those whom society insists are different from us.”

The question we need to ask ourselves as we vehemently take up our right to freedom of speech and dive into another round of Facebook activism is whether we are hurting or whether we are healing. Whether the energy we're using on social networks couldn't be better directed toward social restoration instead of unthinkingly deepening the divide.

Find ways to cross over

Speaking to my friend, the writer Andrew Miller, he reminds me that there is an “outstanding issue that is not currently in currency”. He says the words matter, but asks to what extent our words (and, by extension, our actions on social platforms), posturing, and ideologies are a refuge from our physical isolation from each other? “How will we interact when we never interact save for the strict confines of corporate life?” He advocates an end to talking and calls for actions, saying we should find physical ways to cross over the physical divides we have created. And if we do, then we might find the words follow suit.

Miller's saying that as long as we remain as structurally isolated as we are and nothing is done to bridge the chasm, we're well and truly buggered.

Words matter. But actions matter more.

The new world according to Dave Duarte

2010-03-08T19:25:33+02:00

Never mind Raymond, the real truth is that everyone loves Dave Duarte. Rated as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Media and Advertising people in South Africa by Jeremy Maggs in “The Annual”, Duarte has just been appointed by advertising giant Ogilvy to integrate digital into the heart of the agency. This directive will realise the Ogilvy Digital Marketing Academy to ensure that Ogilvy “throbs with the pulse of social media”, as Duarte puts it.

What's unique about Duarte is his ability to straddle two worlds. At UCT's Graduate School of Business, he's the director of two executive education programmes driven by the need to decode social media, called Nomadic Marketing and Mobile Marketing. He's also the brains behind the consulting intelligence collective Huddlemind, public lead for Creative Commons South Africa and the co-founder of 27 Dinners and Muti.

Duarte's approach at the school of business is to use the space as pause for reflection and a place for engaging people who've excelled in business. “It's about sharing epic successes and failures, not for delving into academia. As academics, what we should do is facilitate expert business perspective rather than lecturing or telling. Like good coaching, the answers come from the practitioners and from the critical necessity for business to innovate, not from dry academic tomes.”

Sharing knowledge & experience

What's exciting is that this knowledge isn't being harboured by the business elite, but shared with emerging communities of learning. Through Duarte's role as Dean of the Digital Media Faculty at The Maharishi Institute of Management, best practice can be fed into the development of young minds previously denied access to social media smarts through bandwidth deprivation or economic circumstance. A Taddy Blecher inspired free university, the institute enables eager minds from impoverished communities to learn how to use social media to buoy start-ups, or how to create a viable business using social networks.

This is in line with Duarte's belief that social media is a radically transformative technology that is forcing a whole new way of working or being an entrepreneur. His belief is that the real work is for businesses to come to terms with it. “This is the first time in history that we have a medium that enables many-to-many connections, and it makes no sense to ignore this enhancement in communication. This isn't academes; it is fact. Think of it like this. If all our communication was face-to-face in the past, and then the telephone was invented and enabled remote speaking, wouldn't it make sense to use the telephone? Social media is the same level of revolution or evolution.”

Historic moment

This is the first time in history that we have a medium that enables many-to-many connections, and it makes no sense to ignore this enhancement in communication.
According to Duarte, globalisation is the bastard that's causing all the problems by demanding that locals innovate, muck in and get to grips with the revolution. “Globalisation brings more players in the market, increases competition, and drives the need for innovation. Instead of operating in a limited pool, 2010 has hurtled South Africa into a global marketplace. 2010 has presented a rare moment for the world to see our value, to drive investment to this country and to create opportunities for growth. This will be an event that will radically disrupt the South African marketplace.”

And the world, of course, communicates through social media. Ford is already spending 25% of its marketing budget on social media, and is one of the few US car companies that didn't need to be bailed out by the US government. When Ford launched the Fiesta in April 2009, it didn't hand a bunch of new models to journalists, but took a hell of a gamble by getting 100 ordinary online 'Joes' to tweet, blog and Facebook the experience.

“What brands and companies are coming to terms with is that people are no longer consumers to manipulate. They are people who demand authentic conversations. That the best way to reach these people is to communicate through social media in experiments of mass collaboration.” Duarte says the current consumer mood is about trust, transparency, long-term relationships, choice and alternatives. “Choice makes manipulation difficult if not impossible. Then the declarative nature of social media means people are publishers, so brands and companies can get away with a lot less than they used to.”

Let's collaborate

The biggest mistake companies are making is to view social networks as crisis response vehicles. “If you have a disaster and choose to be absent, consumers will work on assumptions, and populate social networks with these untruths. Then there's the release of built-up rage and the perpetuation of the thought that companies don't care. Being there quells the frustration. But social media shouldn't be seen as a crisis response channel. It should rather be seen as a means for collaboration to break down the barriers between consumers and the company.” Duarte says the net affect of these conversations is the creation of a whole new way of working, where new levels of respect for people are put into place.

Then don't be misled by thinking you can wait on the sidelines, because South Africa typically lags in terms of technology trends. Duarte says what business needs to consider is the 1/9/90 rule. “Only 1% of our community are active creators. Nine percent comment. And 90% are spectators. This means there is a small percentage of people who influence large online sectors. The power of social media lies with that top tranche of influencers, who have a lot of power concentrated in their hands. They are the advocates and influencers.”

The idea of advocates and influencers is nothing new in marketing, and the challenge in marketing now is for advertising managers and brand owners to understand how to influence the influencers. “It's about understanding the influence. The top 10 trafficked sites in South Africa are all user-generated content and include Facebook, Google and Gumtree. Then what's astounding is the power of Mxit, which is becoming a clear leader and is taking over from Google and Facebook in terms of local traffic.”

Internally, what's crucial for business to understand is how social media is creating new pockets of influence in worlds of work. “People who wield the power within an organisation are not necessarily those who wield the most influence,” says Duarte, who cites Dr Karen Stephenson. A corporate anthropologist, Stephenson is recognised as a "leader in the growing field of social network business consultants". In 2007, she was one of only three females recognised from a distinguished shortlist of 55 in Random House's Guide to the Management Gurus.

“Stephenson's work shows us that organised social media enables companies to identify and then influence key points of informal power. Within large organisations, these include social media role players who are 'gatekeepers' in that they control access to information or key points; 'hubs' who are the super connectors in businesses; and 'pulse takers' through whom one can get a strong sense of the general vibe or mood of an organisation.”

Back in power

Duarte maintains that if organisations are able to identify and influence these groups, then business will wield more authority, enjoy more credibility and retain some 'say so' in informal structures of influence. “These are informal, unpaid roles. Giving these key groups access to information could help business in amplifying messages or identifying emerging power players or groups that could aid their cause.

“A lot of the social interaction that happens around work isn't paid for; it isn't about monetary rewards, rather it is all about status and social currency.” Duarte advocates giving these communities or individuals special insights and nurturing them to stimulate innovation and drive change, rather than just ignoring them.

“This is where technology maps onto the real. With social media you can map relationships, social growth, and social networks. This is a key trend emerging in the use of social media internally, and understanding the more human and social aspects of business,” says Duarte.

Who are the local business leaders when it comes to social media? Duarte says Old Mutual represents one establishment that 'gets it'. “Old Mutual is engaging at a sincere level by getting some of the smartest minds to map out a systems approach that will drive organisational change through social media,” says Duarte. Think of it this way. Communication becomes increasingly difficult in a highly fragmented organisation, but social media offers new clues and paradigms for engagement.

“Old Mutual launched its new credit card with a major social media push. There was significant innovation in the way it communicated around the budget address in Parliament, which merged the use of Twitter with crowd sourcing. The result was a very engaging, collaborative and participative effort that repositioned financial planning as a lifestyle, not just insurance.”

Duarte says what's different about social media in 2010 is that business is taking it seriously for the first time. “We've been talking social media for a while, and it's been through the Gartner hype cycle, which speaks to hype, disillusionment, plateau and productivity. Yes, people are wary of technology fresh off a hype cycle, but they've watched pioneers riding the wave and getting benefit, and are now prepared to engage.” Social networks have arrived in the world of business by delivering real benefit.

Make the irresponsible accountable

2010-02-23T10:33:13+02:00

SA is experiencing an epidemic of reckless behaviour where the thoughtless, careless and irresponsible are getting away with too much.

The South African news climate was always heavy with stories of irresponsible leadership, but lately it feels like we're in flood.

Between the Presidential Administration apparently lying about Schabir Shaik's pardon; allegations of nepotism levelled against Alan Knott-Craig (hardly a surprise to anyone in the ICT industry); the endless soap opera at the SABC; the madness of Maroga's greed following his failure to effectively run our most important state enterprise; the ongoing Caster Semenye cock-up; and Malema's 'quick step – open mouth – change feet' dance, South Africa's suffering a profound accountability crisis.

As our political and business role models flounder in the responsibility stakes, the question begs to be asked – how can South Africans be expected to behave accountably and maturely if our leaders behave like toddlers? With their hands caught in the cookie jar, as boards disintegrate around them, or as they cause disruption and dysfunction to state-owned enterprises, these leaders throw their hands up in the air, confess “my bad”, and without pause, carry on.

Forgive and forget?
It is as if the mere confession that they are useless is enough. That by stating they have completely and utterly cocked up gets them off the hook. And the disclosure is uttered with the expectation that South Africans should applaud, pat the miscreants on the back and say: “Oh hallelujah! You completely diminished the value of that key state enterprise, but you've been so brutally honest about your failure. Kudos for that. Of course we forgive you.” In a country where blood was sacrificed for liberation, the fruits of freedom are being squandered by the 'corruption' of collectivism.

Speaking to my friend, the retired London psychiatrist-cum-writer, Alasdair Cameron, I'm reminded that the root of the problem is one of collectivism. The ANC is prone to collectivist thinking, an anathema to taking responsibility on an individual level. Collectivism is just another word for the individual refusal to take blame or responsibility. In short, collectivism is nothing more than group non-responsibility and a shelter where fat, lazy bureaucrats go to nod off while collecting huge salaries, benefits and bribes.

This cavalier behaviour is reinforced by the current confessional trend where it's cool to screw up, as long as you face the media and admit your shortcomings before bumbling on. If that isn't bad enough, this behaviour is reinforced by notions of party loyalty and allegiance. In this delusion, whistleblowers and those who hold the irresponsible to account are demonised as ANC party traitors. Self-interest is subjugated to group interest, and the group again becomes a place to hide away from responsibility.

What our country seriously needs is a crash course in accountability, and globally there's no one better placed to impart profound lessons on responsibility than Ayn Rand's former lover and intellectual heir, Nathaniel Branden.

A strong champion for the philosophy of objectivism, Branden is a world authority in the field of self-esteem, and has written over 20 books, including best-sellers like The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem; The Virtue of Selfishness (with Ayn Rand); Taking Responsibility; Self-Esteem at Work; and My Years with Ayn Rand.

The bad news is that as South Africans, we can't just foist responsibility onto our leaders. Like any other maturation of the psyche, an attitude of self-responsibility comes from within. It is a self-elective. It happens only when a human being is ready to become self-aware and to change their thinking, consciousness and behaviour. Almost impossible in a political system that encourages emotional and intellectual blindness, and where irresponsibility is continually rewarded.

Suffer the consequences
The only solution is to be found in individualism and a movement that will begin to hold people accountable for their actions, ensuring a consequence to irresponsibility. Branden speaks to this in terms of cause and effect: “In nature, if we behave irresponsibly we suffer the consequences not because nature is 'punishing' us, but because of simple cause and effect. If we do not plant food, we do not reap a harvest. If we are careless about fire, we destroy our property. If we build a raft without securing the logs properly, the raft comes apart in the water and we may lose our belongings or drown. None of this happens because reality is angry with us. If reality could speak, it might say, 'It's nothing personal.'” He adds that people who wish to encourage self-responsibility must teach consequences.

It is the lack of consequence that fuels irresponsible behaviour. A case in point is the news that 4 000 new pistols have been ordered by the SA Police Service (SAPS), which the DA reports are being purchased to "mostly to replace lost and stolen firearms". The DA is rightly petitioning this irresponsible act, saying the SAPS is fuelling an arms trade. Buying more firearms to replace those recklessly lost by police doesn't encourage taking accountability, it just creates a new supply of weapons that once again can be lost or stolen. More importantly, what the SAPS is not telling us is how policemen who lose, or enable their firearms to be stolen, are being held to account for this reckless action.

Says Branden: “Individualism and self-responsibility are the necessary foundation for true community. If we live in a culture that upholds the principle that we are responsible for our actions and the fulfilment of our desires, and if coercion is not an option in the furtherance of our aims, then we have the best possible context for the triumph of community, benevolence, and mutual esteem.”

In a country where blood was sacrificed for liberation, the fruits of freedom are being squandered by the 'corruption' of collectivism. It is only when we stop voting for race, loyalty, tribe or collectives (and against responsibility and individualism) that things will change. Until we create processes and technologies to drive accountability, things will stay the same or even deteriorate. Until we become responsible enough to demand better, we will get what we deserve – lazy, irresponsible apologists who diminish the value of this beautiful country.

Who are you, really?

2009-12-27T13:57:38+02:00

There’s a scene from Little Miss Sunshine that has stayed with me for the longest time. If you’ve seen the movie you’ll remember it instantly. Miss Sunshine is of course the film about a family on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and the scene in question is between Dwayne and Frank who are musing on the meaning of life.

Dwayne: I wish I could just sleep until I was eighteen and skip all this crap-high school and everything-just skip it.

Frank: Do you know who Marcel Proust is?

Dwayne: He's the guy you teach.

Frank: Yeah. French writer. Total loser. Never had a real job. Unrequited love affairs. Gay. Spent 20 years writing a book almost no one reads. But he's also probably the greatest writer since Shakespeare. Anyway, he uh... he gets down to the end of his life, and he looks back and decides that all those years he suffered, Those were the best years of his life, 'cause they made him who he was. All those years he was happy? You know, total waste. Didn't learn a thing. So, if you sleep until you're 18... Ah, think of the suffering you're gonna miss. I mean high school? High school-those are your prime suffering years. You don't get better suffering than that.

Before I knew better, like Dwayne I thought that life was curative. That the smarter and older you got the less pain or problems you would experience. I thought that self awareness would bring progression and healing to the point of Nirvana. Of course life has an amazing sense of humour, and evolution isn’t curative. That’s a childish fantasy we are sold or begin to believe in thanks (in part) to the Disneyfication of fair tales. The more self actualized you become the better the quality of the struggle you experience. Of course you still experience a whack of mediocre type challenges to ensure you’ve been paying attention in class, but for the most part self evolution is about finding your truth - a journey that never ends.

Apart from writing that one incredible book 'that almost no one reads' Marcel Proust created an interesting questionnaire in his teens that serves as a personality confessional. Proust returned to the questionnaire frequently during various periods in his life and with good purpose.

The original manuscript of Proust’s answers entitled “by Marcel Proust himself” was auctioned in 2003 for €102,000. Then those questions, marginally modified, are used in every issue of Vanity Fair to get into the minds of modern day ‘luminaries’ like Alec Baldwin, Emma Thompson, John Cusack and David Mamet. My favourite Proustesque interviews of all time are with Norman Mailer and Umberto Eco.

I’ve done the Proust Questionnaire at various stages during my life and found that the degree of thought and self revelation in the exercise intriguing. It’s a bit like having an intelligent confessional diary, that’s stripped of early angst and self pity. Small wonder that Proust returned to his questions again and again and again.

Although self awareness isn’t a safeguard against misery or a guarantee of happiness, Socrates’ guiding value has significant merit. As the non traditional Latin inscribed on a plaque above the Oracle’s door in the Matrix film trinity advocates: “temet nosce” ("know yourself"). Growing self knowledge, fostering self insight, and developing self esteem is a worthwhile journey that can lead you to truth.

My adaptation of the Proust questionnaire for you to answer if you dare:

What is your favorite virtue?

What is the principal aspect of you personality?

What are your favorite qualities in a man?

What are your favorite qualities in a woman?

What is your chief characteristic?

What you admire most in your friends?

What do you appreciate most about your friends?

What is your main fault?

What is your favourite occupation?

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

What would be your idea of absolute misery?

If not yourself, who would you be?

Where would you like to live?

What is your favourite colour and flower?

Who is your favourite author?

Who is your favourite poet?

Who is your favourite fictional heroine?

Who is your favourite fictional hero?

Who is your hero in real life?

Which historical character do you most dislike?

Which historical hero do you most like?

What do you hate most in the world?

What talent would you like to be gifted with?

How would you wish to die?

What would your tomb stone read?

What is your present state of mind?

What fault do you have that you tolerate the most?

When do you lie?

Who or what do you hate?

What is your greatest achievement?

What’s your most treasured possession?

Your motto?

How happy are you?

2009-11-30T12:49:54+02:00

Isn't it high time the South African government understood how to enhance our gross national happiness?

South Africa is one of the unhappiest nations on this earth. We're not as miserable as Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia or Angola, but we come in at a lowly 118 out of 143 nations measured in the Happy Planet Index. A survey conducted by the New Economics Foundation, the Happy Planet Index reveals "the ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered".

The Happy Planet Index is similar to Bhutan's concept of Gross National Happiness, which puts the well-being of people and the planet first when making economic policy. It is a pioneering way of measuring national 'success', which was introduced in 1972 by the then King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck.

The drive behind this unique way of looking at economic development was Buddhist spiritual values, and it remains Bhutan's central focus for matters related to economic growth and development. This approach is a radical departure from most other countries that make productivity and economic growth the driving force of their vision and strategic planning.

Replacing productivity with happiness
There are four pillars when it comes to the Gross National Happiness model, and Bhutan has learned that 'happiness' is driven by sustainable development, the preservation and promotion of cultural values, good governance, and the conservation of nature. If those four aspects are in check then the rulers of Bhutan know they are on the right track to enhancing national happiness.

Little wonder then that Bhutan does well in the 'happiness' survey, and currently ranks as the 17th happiest country in the world. The 10 top happiest places in the world, according to the index and listed in descending order, are Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Guatemala, Vietnam, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Brazil and Honduras. Other happy hotspots include Nicaragua, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Argentina and Indonesia.

Sad state: South Africa comes in at a lowly 118 out of 143 nations measured in the Happy Planet Index.

What's interesting about Costa Rica is that apart from having the highest 'happiness' score, it has the second-highest average life expectancy in the world, second only to Canada. Then notice how many of the happiest countries are situated in Latin America, or are islands?

Money can't buy contentment
By contrast, how happy are developed nations? It appears that wealth can't buy happiness. Rich developed nations fall in the middle ground, according to the index. The highest placed is the Netherlands at 43, with the United Kingdom coming in at a midline medium, scoring 74 out of 143. Like South Africa, the United States isn't fairing too well and is in the bottom percentile, taking up position 114.

Unfortunately, misery seems to be a sub-Saharan epidemic. The report says the “bottom 10 Happy Planet Index scores were all suffered by sub-Saharan African countries, with Zimbabwe bottom of the table, with a Happy Planet Index score of 16.6 out of 100.”

In summary, the report says: “The countries that are meant to represent successful development are some of the worst-performing in terms of sustainable well-being.”

Happiness doesn't cost the earth
Launched in July 2006 as a radical departure from the world's obsession with GDP, the index identifies “health and a positive experience of life as universal human goals, and the natural resources that our human systems depend upon as fundamental inputs. A successful society is one that can support good lives that don't cost the Earth,” the report reads.

This thinking behind the Happy Planet Index and Bhutan's Gross National Happiness concept is starting to resonate with the rest of the world. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is looking at new ways of measuring progress that will focus on human well-being. In March this year, the UK's All Party Parliamentary Group on Wellbeing Economics met for the first time to look at well-being as a national meter, national goal and complementary measure to GDP. Well-being and happiness projects have been launched in Belgium, Italy, Canada and Australia.

Back home, a tsunami of stories on greed, corruption and self-interest flood the South African media, while our leadership is enraged in debates about nationalisation and other mechanisms to enable crony capitalism, entitlement and quick access to high paying government work. This debate, often reframed with racial metaphors, attendant name-calling and mudslinging that further obfuscate the real issues at hand.

Before the next round of service delivery riots begin, perhaps our leaders can leave the cursing and corruption aside for long enough to ponder on the concept of happiness. Perhaps they could learn from what other nations are doing to build national well-being, and start becoming obsessed with improving South Africa's gross national happiness, instead of wealth, privilege and power.

The Eskom Power Crisis

2009-11-13T14:05:51+02:00

Eskom's management mess comes as no surprise, given the state of the operation, regulatory rot and the leadership crisis at other parastatals.

The leadership crisis that's shaken Eskom is symptomatic of the deep rot that lives within that organisation, and most parastatals that have enjoyed the privilege of government regulation.

That Eskom's management has reached an impasse is just a metaphor for the organisation's catch-22, and the struggle the utility is experiencing as it tries to climb out of the deep, dark pit it has dug for itself.

To get an idea of just how much trouble Eskom is in, let's rewind to Bobby Godsell's appointment as chairman in mid-2008. It didn't take too long for Godsell to go on record at an industry function and declare that this country's power utility was run no better than a 'spaza shop'.

Public utilities all over the world struggle to develop or maintain a business model that funds current operations, the replacement of plant and future growth, Godsell said at the industry function hosted by EE Publishers earlier this year.

“The problem with cashbook accounting is that it provides neither for yesterday, nor for tomorrow,” said Godsell, explaining that Eskom couldn't effect meaningful long-term funding or planning, and even had to battle for short-term revenue.“We screwed up!” Godsell said at the same event. “We at Eskom need to follow the example of the new US president and simply say we screwed up.”

Dire consequences

The screw up is that the public utility that supplies 90% of SA's power hasn't invested in infrastructure and has sold electricity at sub-economic prices. South Africans have benefitted from cheap electricity, as has industry. And then there are legacy deals that the mining industry has with Eskom that offer energy at ridiculous low or subsidised prices. By doing this, Eskom has effectively run a financially unfeasible operation and disallowed the accumulation of any wealth for capital investment.

At the same time, Eskom has mismanaged coal supplies, plunged the country into wide-scale blackouts, disrupted the mining industry for the first time since the Anglo-Boer War and shut out meaningful competition.

This regulation and control of the power industry has been done hand in hand with government, and is akin to the ineffective and damning manner that the telecommunications industry was regulated. Just as government interference in the telecommunications sector hurt and hampered SA's economic well-being, so too the over-regulation of the power industry is damaging our country's economy, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

The leadership debacle is yet another symptom of an organisation that has gifted SA a power mess, bungled load-shedding, mismanaged coal stockpiling, seriously affected the mining industry, costing our country billions.

From a regional perspective, Eskom has been no better than a bully boy that has enjoyed the fruits of a cartel-like structure. The result of this regulation is the energy catch-22 SA finds itself in. This while management is afforded bonuses and housing loans, and allowed to squabble and deconstruct in full public and global view ahead of 2010.

Oncoming train?

Fortunately there is light at the end of the tunnel. Eskom's price applications to the National Energy Regulator and the South Africa Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff mean consumers will start paying more cost-reflective prices for electricity.

Entities that buy power from renewable energy generators will have to do so at a higher cost. This could lead to a more realistic power economy and stimulate the creation of independent power plants.

However, Eskom and government will have its hands full managing the impact of competition, and the effect rising prices will have on the poor. Strongly differentiated tariffs will need to be used to ensure the poor aren't further marginalised.

More positive is the news that independent power producers are organising to take the utility on in an effort to level the playing fields. The newly formed South African Independent Power Producers Association now offers independents a coherent singular voice to lobby government, the regulator and Eskom.

Eskom says it is resolving the capital expansion problem and will spend R385 billion in nominal terms on capacity expansion during the next five years. It says the financing of Eskom's capital expansion plan will come from three main sources: a shareholder loan, external debt and revenue.

Government has made a significant contribution through a R60 billion loan, which means the plan will largely be financed by the South African taxpayer who will also be burdened by increasing energy prices.

As a national utility that supplies the bulk of SA's power, Eskom's brand and reputation is intimately tied to that of SA's. If Eskom ‘screws up’, South Africa is significantly affected.

It's time for the board to maturely realise a greater good and understand the ineffable harm its egotistical power struggles are causing this country.

The future is fraught but what is sure is that like the telecoms industry, competition is desperately needed in the energy industry. Eskom's grip on our regional power economy must end, independent power plants must be enabled and the management crisis must be effectively resolved.

*Have you seen our client's new blog?

2009-10-26T21:27:04+02:00

*AKA: The Buzz Saw Slices into (rhymes with anecdotal but has only two syllables) Media... "Mmmmeeeeeeeooooooooowww!"

Ah. Just imagine THE SCENE: A chi chi office some where in the shadow of Table Mountain.

THE PLAYERS: Account executives scratching their heads about how to rationalise the big budget the client is paying for their services.

PR1: "Um. Laaaaik. Sheesh. Um."

PR2: "Cough. Cough."

PR3: "Why don't we just make them a blag site?"

PR1: "Nooit. Like a dinkum, full on interactive blag? Man, that's like revolutionary!"

PR2: "Holy shit PR3... a blag launch release could mean at least 20 billable hours."

PR3: "And we could charge them for creating and maintaining the blag at Wordpress.com."

PR1: "Nooit. You're a friggin' genius. We can now call ourselves us social networking media blagging experts and afford that holiday in Plett."

THE PUNCHLINE: The release. Below. Hold the presses folks...

PRESS RELEASE - BLOG SUSTAINS OUT OF HOME ADVERTISING CONVERSATION

Cape Town, 26 October 2009: Advertising professionals need to be on top of their game by being kept strategically informed on the likes of trends, tips and global campaigns in out of home advertising. xxxxxxxxxxx South Africa have done this with their interactive blog, www.oohsa.co.za , that not only inspires creative professionals by showcasing their latest work but gives insights to consumer responses to many of the 500 types of out of home advertising methods used in South Africa.

Consumers spend over half of their days away from their homes according to OCS, the recent out of home consumer survey, thus entrenching the importance of out of home advertising, especially when it comes to getting it right first time.

“Much has been written about out of home advertising but the industry is dynamic and is constantly evolving,” said Ms Isigntheretainercheques Client, Managing Director, xxxxxxxxxxx South Africa, “Social media is a platform that everyone is using as a communication stream and this is by far the best source of current information that everyone can rely on. Our out of home advertising blog is an area where knowledge and learnings (sic) can be shared between marketing professionals.”

xxxxxxxxxxx South Africa is the leader in OOH in the country and has uniquely developed tools that add insight and value to the OOH industry. OOH includes billboards, digital networks, commuter media, brand activation, point of sale and sampling amongst others. It excludes TV, radio, print, online and cinema.

- ends -

For more information contact: PR1, PR2 or or PR 3 at rhymes with anecdotal but has only two syllables)Media.

Notes to Editors [MdW comment. Wow guys. You gotta love that optimisim. You really think a newspaper editor will read this far?]. xxxxxxxxxxx is the world’s largest out-of-home communications agency, with offices in 21 countries. As a division of Xxxx Group PLC, the world’s leading marketing communications group, xxxxxxxxxxx is at the vanguard of cutting edge developments in out-of-home (OOH) such as digital, interactivity and experiential. In South Africa, xxxxxxxxxxx’s mission is to grow OOH to 10% market share of total advertising spend in the next 5 years (currently sitting at 4.6%). At present, the company has approximately 20% of South Africa’s OOH spend under its management, positioning xxxxxxxxxxx as an influential leader in this fast growing category. By helping clients understand what consumers are thinking and how they are spending their time, and by enabling them to communicate with consumers at the right moments and in the best way, xxxxxxxxxxx leads the way in enhancing the effectiveness of campaigns and increasing the media value that advertisers achieve. Furthermore, xxxxxxxxxxx has developed PRISM Benchmark, Forecast and Creative, a proprietary set of tools that ensures that xxxxxxxxxxx delivers the best price against tracked market movements gaining further advantage for their clients, whilst allowing them the opportunity of seeing their “Creative Design” in situ, pre-campaign. No one in this sector offers greater accountability than xxxxxxxxxxx.

Ms Isigntheretainercheques Client – Managing Director: Ms I. Client has unsurpassed experience and expertise in the marketing, advertising and media industries in South Africa. In 2003 she founded xxxxxxxxxxx – South Africa’s Out of Home communications agency – which she later sold to Xxxx, who own xxxxxxxxxxxe. Following xxxxxxxxxxx’s conversion to xxxxxxxxxxx South Africa, Isigntheretainercheques maintained her helm as the Managing Director. Prior to this, she was a founding partner in Big Name Agency (South Africa’s most successful strategy agency). Isigntheretainercheques’ other achievements include running the XYZ Media School in Cape Town, the role of Media Director of Another Big Name Agency South Africa, and the Head of Strategy for Biggest Name Agency Cape Town. Ms Client has continuously shown exceptional abilities as a leader in the OOH sector of the media industry and as one of South Africa’s top businesswomen, receiving numerous awards, which have further entrenched her prominence in the media/advertising trade.

A year of writing

2009-10-04T11:37:21+02:00

As expected Jarred Cinman pulled no punches during his talk at the 24.com's bloggers workshop. Speaking about "the fetishising of reality" Cinman's talk in part explored the epidemic of narcissism that's been fueled by social media. Also great to meet Saul Kropman and Vincent Maher for the first time. Kropman's talk on podcasting was very useful and basically gave bloggers all the information they needed to set up for podcasts on the fly. Kropman swears by Audacity and The Levelator. I've saved my presentation on SlideShare and it is free for download for anyone who's interested:

"My Year Of Writing" Media24 Blog Workshop

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