Link: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25074739-14741,00.html

This is a great little piece from Bernard Salt, for The Australian.
Well worth the read...

I AM reliably informed that in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings the first step is taking ownership of the problem.

In other words there is no chance of sobriety until there is an admission that "I am an alcoholic".

The Catholic Church operates on a similar principle with regard to sinners. First you must confess and then repent your sins in order to have even half a chance of salvation. And what's more, the penance paid is directly proportional to the scale of the sin. Small sins require less penance than big sins. (I sometimes wonder whether this scale needs to be reviewed, because some small transgressions today might be deemed "worth it".)

I think the alcoholics and the Catholics have something to teach the Australian consumer during these trying times.

After a decade of access to easy credit and full employment, we have come to believe that we have a god-given right to spend regardless of the cost and regardless of the debt ultimately incurred. And in a rising employment market, who cares? Next year's income will be greater than last year's, so we can all handle just that little bit more debt.

But now with an economic firestorm bearing down upon us, we are suddenly in a very different mood. "Please save us from our credit card debt and lead us not into temptation but deliver us along the path of righteousness and unto eternal solvency."

Just as alcoholics anonymous have a 12-step plan and Christians have the Ten Commandments to keep them on the straight and narrow, I think wayward consumers could do with is a step-plan leading to fiscal salvation. But I must warn you that such a path is difficult and is lined with temptation and with the empty promises of false profits.

Mark my words, Australian consumers, the likes of Harvey Norman will forever tempt thee with crazy never-to-be-repeated prices on the latest McMansion appliances. Are you prepared to stand fast amid such wanton reductions? If so, then you just might be ready to take on my eight-point plan towards a life of lesser consumption. Or at least it was eight points, but I managed to get the same value out of six points. See how easy this thinking is.

No1: Make the shift to generic brands.
No2: Replace the overseas holiday with a cheaper domestic version.
No3: Ask yourself every day what choice you made to conserve cash that you might not have made last year.
No4: Postpone discretionary consumer spending.
No5: Why stop at postponing discretionary consumer spending? Postpone capital investment.
No6: Cancel your reservation at that glamorous restaurant down on the waterfront.
Read on for detail around each step...

You will appreciate that my six-point plan to fiscal salvation might be regarded as seditious by the Australian Government because it fails to promote spending. But here's my defence. I think this is likely to happen anyway. It might be crudely summarised as the "flight to value" and it will surely surface in every aspect of consumer behaviour by the middle of this year. Oh, and apparently shoes can be worn until they wear out. Extraordinary.

Link: http://acetalentnet.com.au/enews/advantedgefeb09.html

What we know is that if you want to get more work, all you have to do is ask your clients what they want… and they'll tell you accurately because THEY ARE the EXPERTS. Another way we put this, is "you are NOT your client". So frankly, what YOU think, doesn't count.

Bowing to our own learning, and as you will have seen at the end of 2008, we recently surveyed the NETwork.
Here's a little of what you told us you wanted from aCE talentNET (full report due soon)...

82.1% said you want to develop a clearer Marketing
and Growth strategy
60.8% said you want to flatten peaks and troughs of workflow
61.9% said you want find client projects
51.6% said you want to build a business
48.4% said you want get more work
55.8% said you want to increase referrals by spending
more time with clients
73.7% said you want live the consultant life you envisaged & have more control

Given that our commitment to you is to deliver on your wants, needs, desires and frustrations, we've got some pretty special things planned... commencing March, with our first Talent Tuesday of the year - "Selling YOUR Consulting" Masterclass with Elliot Epstein, commonly known for ‘getting people to the next level'… fast. Read on for more details...

Talent Tuesday
Is 2009 going to be kind to you?

Invest in your most important assets - Your people!

Our FR*EE Gift Offer
Two Tickets Worth $1,790!

MUCH MORE TO COME IN THE MONTHS TO FOLLOW...

Link: http://archives.subscribermail.com/msg/3191ef2c489d409d885fe5ce4695fe78.htm

After the layoffs and budget cuts, now what? Are you living up to your brand promises or are you falling short on customer experiences? This edition of the TP Times focuses on sustaining your organizational brand and the power of values and brand. The lead article below is written from the belief that when the focus is only on the bottom line and people are ignored, the organizational brand suffers, as customers lose sight of what you stand for, and they no longer trust what you can deliver.

What About the Brand?

The news is full of stories about downsizing, job evaporations, and budgets being slashed into shreds. After all is said and done, what happens to the brand? Did it survive? Or is it bruised and battered? Leaders in the organization are responsible for the integrity of the brand, and they have to pull their heads out of the financial data long enough to assess the current state of the brand and of their talent.

We know that, when there is a shift in the organization as strong as this economic shift has been for many, the brand can become diluted if no one is asking, "What about the brand?"

Let us not forget that in the center hub of organizations is the talent, and, by the way, the talent is the brand. It is the talent in an organization that brings its brand to life. If the talent are no longer happy, if they are concerned about their own welfare, or they've hunkered down to stay out of sight, the brand may be on its last breath as well. And when the brand is struggling to survive, the impact is on the customer experience. The talent may become non-caring and cynical and these attitudes can permeate into how the customers experience the brand.

When there have been strong shifts in the organization, then the organization must recalibrate itself and set the organization back on course. We believe that organizations can best do this by taking these steps:

1. Revisit the ambition or goal of the organization and connect people to it.
2. Managers spend time on the front lines talking to people and getting a handle on the issues.
3. Re-state the brand promise and ensure that everyone knows how his or her job affects the promise.
4. Take a look at the changes in the organization and assess the impact on the brand and the impact on the customer experience.
5. Design a course of action to put the brand back on track.

A brand bruised and battered can have customers headed towards the competition, which is exactly the opposite of an organization's aims. In tough economic times, it would serve an organization best to focus on keeping their current loyal customers/clients. Now would be the time to re-think how to make the brand truly distinctive in the marketplace.

Excellence can be achieved when the brand, the talent, and the customer experience are in alignment.

If you want to know how your organization is doing, and if it needs some recalibration, take a look at our Excellence Audit.

Valarie Willis
US Keynote Speaker,
Facilitator, Consultant

Tom's core message: "To put the marketplace customer first, I must put the person serving the customer 'more first.'"

Tom says: "There is no great 'external focus' unless the bedrock great 'internal focus' is in place. ... I contend that the bedrock of finding and keeping and co-creating with great folks is not about clever tools to induce prospective 'thems' to 'shop [live] with us,' but a 99% internal effort to create such an exciting, spirited, entrepreneurial, diverse, humane 'professional home' that people will be lining up by the gazillions (physically or electronically) to try and get a chance to come and live in our house and become what they'd never imagined they could become!"

Subscribe at http://www.tompeters.com/your_world/join_the_fray/

Greetings ChangeThisistas,

We here at 800-CEO-READ, the caretakers of ChangeThis, are pleased to announce the release of our new book, THE 100 BEST BUSINESS BOOKS OF ALL TIME: WHAT THEY SAY, WHY THEY MATTER AND HOW THEY CAN HELP YOU, hitting the street tomorrow.

More than ever, business people are looking for books with solutions to problems. The trouble? Thousands of business books are published every year. Far too many for any reader to sift through single-handedly.

Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten of 800-CEO-READ are the most respected experts on business books, and now they have chosen and reviewed THE 100 BEST BUSINESS BOOKS OF ALL TIME — the ones that deliver the biggest payoff for today's busy readers. At the end of each review, Jack and Todd also direct readers to more books, both inside and outside THE 100 BEST. And sprinkled throughout are sidebars taking the reader beyond business books, suggesting movies, novels, and even children's books that offer equally relevant insights.

This book is for anyone, from entry-level to CEO, who wants to cut through the clutter and discover the brilliant books that are truly worth their investment of time and money. This is your guide to the books that can help you weather this uneasy economic climate.

To buy THE 100 BEST, visit us at: http://800ceoread.com/100best. When you buy our book from us, you’ll get a free copy of our annual magazine, IN THE BOOKS, and a CD of us talking about the book and its beginnings.

To learn more about the book, visit 100bestbiz.com to find a free download of the introduction and two reviews, inspirational posters, and a variety of other resources for your use.

Many Thanks & Best of Days,
The ChangeThis Troupe at 800-CEO-READ http://www.changethis.com/

Link: http://www.aimvic.com.au/apps/news/StoryView.php?viewNewsStory=1106

Australian Institute of Management – News Release
Melbourne, December 1, 2008

As Australia contemplates spending about $500 million a year on the introduction of a compulsory paid maternity leave scheme, a new survey reveals that only a minority of executives believe the scheme will boost the numbers of women in the workforce.

The survey, conducted by the Australian Institute of Management VT attracted 3,180 respondents from the executive ranks of private and government sector organisations. Just 33 per cent of the survey participants agreed that compulsory paid maternity leave would ‘benefit the recruitment and retention of women in the workforce.’ The survey is titled ‘Retaining women in the Workforce’.

The Australian Government’s Productivity Commission, which has made an initial recommendation that taxpayers fund 18 weeks paid maternity leave, is now working on its final report to Government following the completion of public forums on the issue last week (final report due in Feb 09). One of the goals of the Commission’s proposals on maternity leave is to achieve ‘greater workforce participation by women’.

Respondents to the survey were 55 per cent male and 45 per cent female. The minority support for compulsory paid maternity leave as a means of boosting the numbers of women in the workforce was indicated by men (only 26% support) and women (40% support).
Eighty seven per cent of survey respondents said that ‘more needs to be done to retain women in the Australian workforce’.
“Australia’s ageing population means that maximising the retention and contribution of women in the workforce is becoming a key business imperative,” the CEO of the Australian Institute of Management, (Vic/Tas) Ms Susan Heron said.

The survey identified the most important single factor to retain women in the workforce was ‘flexible working arrangements’. The second most important factor was improved childcare support (10.0%), followed by improved career path (9.5%), paid maternity leave (7.0%), pay equity (6.9 %), training and professional development (5.1%) and other (3.4%).

“Whilst the Government’s move to consider the introduction of paid maternity leave is a welcome development, it is clear that by itself, this initiative will not significantly boost the retention of women in the workforce. Australian organisations need to embrace a broad range of measures to improve the situation.

“Our survey makes clear that greater flexibility in workplace arrangements is a key priority. The greater demand by women - and their partners – for options such as flexible working hours, the ability to work from home when required and job sharing point to the changes underway and indicate what lies ahead for Australian employers.”

Significantly, 63 per cent of participants believed that Australian organisations were not supportive of women ‘who seek to achieve seniority equivalent to their male counterparts.’

“This survey finding about lack of support for women helps us to understand why less than 15 per cent of women occupy the senior executive ranks of our major companies despite the fact that more than 50 per cent of tertiary graduates are women,” Ms Heron said.
“It is clear that Australia can no longer sustain such a poor return on its investment in tertiary education for women.”Eighty per cent of survey participants supported the view that having a child impacted ‘on a woman’s ability to achieve her career goals.’

The survey revealed that 64 per cent of respondents had never worked in an organisation run by a woman CEO (or equivalent position).

However, respondents who worked in the public sector or in the not for profit sector were much more likely to have worked for a woman CEO (or equivalent). Fifty five per cent of respondents in the public sector and 62 per cent of those working for a not for profit entity reported they had worked for an organisation run by a woman.

SURVEY RESULTS – SOME KEY FACTS
• Only 33% of respondents believed that compulsory paid maternity leave would boost the recruitment and retention of women in the workforce
• 58% of respondents said the most important factor in retaining women in the workforce was flexible working arrangements
• 63% felt that Australian organisations were not supportive of women who seek to achieve seniority equivalent to their male counterparts
• 87% believed that more needs to be done to retain women in the workforce
• 80% said that having a child impacts on a woman’s ability to achieve her career goals
• 54% indicated that if compulsory paid maternity leave was introduced, it should be paid by a combination of ‘Govt. and Employer’
• More than 55% of respondents said that if compulsory paid maternity leave was introduced, it should be for a longer period than the 18 weeks nominated by the Productivity Commission
• 55% said that if compulsory paid maternity leave was introduced, that it should not replace the $5,000 Baby Bonus.

For further information
W www.aimvic.com.au
E lfunston@aimvic.com.au