As the Soccer World Cup 2010 draws closer and final preparations are in full swing, many companies in South Africa are utilising their resources to full capacity. This is especially evident in the hospitality, transport and related industries that are required to host an event of this magnitude.
Soccer fever has certainly hit us in full force. School children of all ages are talking soccer, families are frantically planning how to manage the unscheduled time off with schools closing, and there is no doubt that executive teams are coming together to plan how their organisation is going to deal with the World Cup period.
There is a school of thought that argues that the World Cup will be marked by a downturn in the South African economy, that business will slow down and almost resemble that of the Christmas season. This is not surprising, since schools will be closed, forcing a part of the South African workforce and consumers to take time off to spend with family. Of course, a large contingent of South Africans will attend games as spectators, or act as make shift guest house hosts having opened their homes to international guests. So yes, although the economy may possibly slow down in some respects, great opportunities await the entrepreneur, depending on the industry that you are in.
June and July may turn out to be an excellent opportunity for organisations to take a spectator seat and reflect on direction and action plans. This period provides great opportunity to get to assessments and do some development ... perhaps go on that training course that you never seem to have the time for. It may provide a time for refreshing, renewal and reflection ... and perhaps a time for some winter spring cleaning!
In this May/June 2010 issue of the Bioss SA newsletter, Kashmir Birk's article on Appreciative Conversations reminds us all that they may be simple, but they are not easy to hold, and Gillian Stamp's article on Trust and Judgement in Decision Making provides thoughts on how organisations facing turbulence and uncertainty cannot survive without 'practical wisdom'. We have drawn very interesting CPA Growth Curve data from our Genie database and provide thought provoking information about taking MWR past its most 'basic' application. I trust that you will find this newsletter interesting and welcome your comments and thoughts.
I wish you well over the World Cup period. Whatever you are doing during that time, one thing is sure – we will all be flying the South African flag high!
An article by Kashmir Birk, Bioss International CEO
The reason why Bioss spends so much time and attention trying to understand the nature of conversations is that we have come to the conclusion that in order for them to be truly effective, they need to be appreciative.
Appreciative conversations are not inevitable, and whilst they are simple, they are not easy to hold ...
Click HERE for the full article
Click HERE for information about applying Appreciative Conversations at work
Contact Lisa for more information on lisa@bioss.com
People often ask "What does the overall distribution of growth curve look like on Genie?" Bearing in mind that this data is dynamic, this info sheet shows current statistics based on a total of 44,736 unique CPA records.
Putting this into perspective, one must bear in mind that the target CPA population is middle management and higher.
Would 'incompetent looking' yet talented political candidates fare better with blind voters? And how often do you make superficial competency-related decisions in the work-place? The attached article by Michel Pireu and Alexander Todorov suggests that you may do it more often than you think!
Organisations facing turbulence and uncertainty cannot survive without 'practical wisdom.' Gillian Stamp's article entitled Trust and Judgement in Decision Making outlines how, given the proper trellis for support and trustworthy judgement, it is not just leaders who will flourish and thrive, but even people who work with them will, and in turn, become leaders themselves.
During the course of many years of working with the MWR (Matrix of Working Relationships) model of work complexity, we are often asked: “How do we implement it? How do we turn the thinking into practice?”. Not surprisingly, there are no simple answers to this question.
At the most basic "level‟, MWR is a theory and philosophy that guides effective and sustainable positioning of the organisation within the business environment. This means that it can be used to determine the appropriate discretion of organisational roles, given the current and predicted business environment, ensuring that the organisation is “in flow” with the challenges of its‟ business environment.
The use of MWR, however, extends beyond its basic application ...
Click HERE for the full article
Contact Jacques on jacques@bioss.com for more information
Lisa Ashton's trip to Perth
I spent a week in Perth Austrlalia towards the end of April / early May, meeting with the Perth-based Australian Bioss consultants. The purpose of my visit was, essentially, to facilitate a smooth handover of the BHP Billiton Catalyst role from Elzane Verster to Bryan Phillips. Bryan and Annemarie Rademeyer are taking over the bookings for Australian Capability Assessments and will coordinate the management of the BHPB relationship in future. Elzane recently returned from her long-service leave and has decided to expand her horizons; she will still be available as a resource, practitioner and trainer for Bioss and BHPB projects.
Thank you Elzane for your incredible dedication and support to both Bioss and BHPB.
“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard
After spending 5 weeks in various areas in Australia, I arrived home with more than just a bag full of curios and some new phrases like “no worries mate” … I also brought home renewed respect for the resolve, passion and professionalism of our clients in the Australian mining industry.
From deep in the Pilbara to the lovely Hunter Valley, and from Perth to Sydney, people dedicate themselves to the upliftment and growth of the mining industry. They spoke passionately about social responsibility, the communities within which they operate, technological change, and about doing what has never been imagined possible before. Gone forever is the notion that working for a mining organisation can be compared to an old, slow moving elephant!
Thank you to those clients for their authentic hospitality, and to Elzane who kindly made her lovely home available for me to stay in. Also to David and Elliott, whose kindness made Australia feel more like home. The kindness of strangers who showed me how to operate a petrol pump and who gave good directions when I ventured off the beaten track while trying to find my way through their incredibly vast country is etched in my memory.
Upcoming training dates at BSA, Foundation House, Johannesburg SA
June 10: Flow Workshop
July 19 - 23: CPA Practitioner Accreditation Training (Week 1)
Aug 2 – 6: CPA Practitioner Accreditation Training (Week 2)
Aug 17 – 20: IRIS Practitioner Accreditation Training
Aug 24 – 25: MWR Job Profiling Accreditation Training
Email Elsa on training@bioss.com to make a booking
Click HERE for information about our flexible, discounted training packages
A warm welcome to Harsha Chiba who joins the Foundation House team as an Intern Psychometrist. Harsha can be contacted on harsha.chiba@bioss.com
Congratulations to Neesa Ahmed who recently graduated with a BA Indus Psychology & Sociology.
Neesa sent us an update on her progress, and we would like to share it with all those who have asked after her and who have contributed (and who continue to contribute) to her treatment fund:
“I have started my new treatment on Thursday last week, and I will be going for treatment every Thursday until the end of June. This is a combined treatment of chemo therapy and the targeted treatment drug in the form of a drip. There are no harmful side effects felt as with the other chemo that I was receiving I am fine and ready to start living my life again.After the first round treatment at the end of June I will be given a 6 week break and then around mid August I will be starting the second part of the treatment which will be just in tablet form and which I take until April next year, which will conclude the treatment plan for the year. Thanks again to everyone for all your support.”
Want to learn more about using Levels of Work in your organisation?
LEVELS OF WORK DVD
The Levels of Work DVD is available from our E-Shop for just R500. Watch a full explanation of the Matrix of Working Relationships, Levels of Work and Leadership transitions!
THE BIOSS BOOK: WISDOM @ WORK
Packed with fascinating information and stories about real people who have been through unforgettable CPA experiences, Wisdom @ Work is a must have on your bookshelf! A chapter entitled “Tools for my head” provides some insight into the work of Prof Gillian Stamp:
“… The 1980s and 1990s were very productive periods for Gillian in terms of extensive travel and exposure to organisations and people in different and diverse settings. Apart from Africa, her travels took her the Australia, India, other parts of Europe, Brazil, the USA and Russia.
Gillian had the foundation of the “Listening to my story has been really interesting” type work firmly in place. In South Africa she saw tangible proof of the effort required to ensure that the context is appropriate for the development and unfolding of capability and potential. In addition she found that increased involvement with different settings and cultures assisted in development and refinement of the Bioss ideas.
Her work was not only with corporations. She worked with aborigine workers on a bauxite mine in Australia and was asked by the local community to help them. This resulted in her spending ten days assisting the aboriginal community with organising their business activities ...”
Excerpt from Wisdom@Work
Click HERE to purchase a copy of WISDOM @ WORK from the Bioss SA E-Shop
Due South!
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An article by Kashmir Birk, Bioss International CEO
An article by Gillian Stamp, Bioss The Foundation
“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard 
Congratulations to 
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