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The pandemic’s distancing regulations have a strange effect: turning companions into strangers. We are not powerless and do not have to let this happen! Let us check the Latin dictionary: the word ‘socius’ actually means ‘companion’ and ‘social’ refers to the connectedness between people, sharing community spirit. A remarkable characteristic of the Covid-19 pandemic ideology is the naming of the human contact-safety behaviour as ‘social distancing’. For sure keeping apart, avoiding gatherings, hugs, handshakes and touch, sanitizing, wearing masks, speaking through a shield – are all foremost physical acts. They are not social as such. We can feel close to someone…

We are still in the throes of a time marked by fear of illness or poverty for many. Some of us are fighting for their health or coming to terms with the death of someone close. While going through these testing times together as humans, we need strategies of hope. Lament and despondency do not lead us forward. Neither will faith in the future be inspired by governance that increasingly appears like an over-medicalized coup d’état. Fear, panic and anxiety – like a veldfire – tend to spread rapidly, fanned daily by updates and pandemic talk of an invisible global…

Tuesday was the start of the Unity for Africa Foundation’s special programme: 3 day Work-Readiness Induction. It’s part of an employment initiative iGems (Incubating Great Engineering Minds) aimed at students who have an interest in engineering – specifically those from low-income households. The entire programme relies on collaboration between our local industry and society. I had the opening session: Introducing Strategies for Career Management. Hats off to founder Berenice Rose and programme co-ordinator Ryan Karshagen! Thank you for making me a part of this wonderful experience and for the opportunity of spending time with this truly talented group of young people. Unity for Africa…

If you wonder if perhaps by now South Africa’s yearly Women’s Day functions and celebrations have gone a little stale, you should have witnessed this vibrant occasion-with-a-difference! Port Elizabeth’s ABSA Women’s Day Brunch Convention captivated and energised everyone. Even the few men in attendance! Meet the women who made the ABSA Women’s Day Function an empowering experience: Niqui Cloete-Barrass Amanda Faku Punki Modise Estelle Cunningham Niqui Cloete-Barrass embraced us in her cabaret ambiance and, with her inimitable MC style, took us through a morning filled with informative speeches, wit, some Swarowsky treats, food and lots of laughter. Niqui is PE’s Boost…

Positioning our business in the bigger landscape and defining our marketing strategies is obviously important at the start, but it’s by no means a once-off activity. We have to do follow ups, because our business takes shape over time and may morph in unexpected ways, and also the bigger picture around our business undergoes change. To belong to a business network like our BNI Chapter, one that represents a diversity of business, is a real help in staying in touch with what is going on around us. We share various market experiences and snippets of information and we give each other…

‘Why me?’ is one of the most frequently asked questions in career and life coaching conversations. Why does the boss always have to pick on me? Why do I get all the rude clients? Why do I have to do the overtime job when everyone else has left? Why can’t anyone else handle the petty cash for a change? Why do I have to be the only one who stutters when we must speak up in meetings? And why does everyone have a reserved parking slot except me? Why do I get the blame for the deal we lost? Why…

2017 launches South Africans into a year in which the presidential race is on. We will be inundated by political speak. Already spokesmen and women for the contending factions have begun pointing out all the shortcomings of their expected opponents. Political speak is a language all of its own. Experience has taught most of us to not simply believe and accept all we are told! When promises of epic proportions are proclaimed behind the mikes, no sound amplification can lend them credentials! Those of us who have the stamina to endure political speeches till the final words often conclude: ‘Don’t…

Interesting words start with an X, like ‘xenophobia’. In SA, regrettably, we are very familiar with what ‘xenophobia’ means and how it manifests in extreme ways, when what belongs to strangers who are seen as a threat is destroyed. And worse. BNI as a business community embraces the opposite mindset: inclusiveness.This makes it possible to for us to build business constructively. We have practical guidelines that start with converting the visitors to our chapter into members of our chapter. Our Regional Director, Butch Coetzee, is big on this – pushing us to apply the basics! ‘The first step is for…

A not so well-known singer made a single (1) which sold 8 million copies in a flash. The lyrics of this song open up with: ‘Words don’t come easy to me!’ I’m very partial to this song! Especially every time I present speech-training workshops. Or sit with a client who needs to prepare for a ‘difficult conversation’. How often do I hear the candidates sigh: ‘I just can’t find the words!’ Finding the right words for a particularly challenging occasion can indeed be very difficult. This goes way beyond mastering a reasonably good vocabulary – though inevitably mastering the language…

Everybody loves a winner! The sports-mad South Africans often associate victory with winning sport games and with physically challenging pursuits like our Comrades Marathon. We’re glued to the screen, following the match, cheering for our favourite team or competitor, and glory be when they get the laurels and step onto the podium! The JC Le Roux pops in the neighbourhood! There is a collective celebration of such mega victories! We chat to neighbours and strangers, we would normally not speak to. It becomes a victory we own – as a nation. Our world of business also demands heavy-going competition, and…