The week that was 20180526

MY PROUDEST | MOST GRATEFUL MOMENT

This week's grateful moment is a combination of the two; being grateful and proud.  I was very grateful to attend the Insitute of Directors in Southern Africa (IoDSA)'s Being a Director Part 1 session. It is something that I have had on my vision board and 'to do' list for quite a while. I realised that I really do enjoy learning, and enjoyed the group discussion and sharing of ideas. I was also grateful for being able to set a day aside to attend the session, knowing that I have an amazing team that does not need me to micromanage them or breathe down their necks to check what they are doing. 

The proud moment was seeing the overlap between the session and our Repudometer® that we've developed to measure reputations.

BIGGEST LESSON THIS WEEK

My biggest lesson this week is also linked to the IoDSA course. One of the people that attended was asked by her company to complete the program as part of her development and with the view of her to become a director in the company. I was quite surprised at her reluctance to embrace this opportunity. 

It then became apparent that she doesn't really trust the actions of the current directors of the company; which tells me that they don't have the first building block of reputation management in place, i.e. strategic intent. Their core values are not part of their DNA and reflected in how they do business. If she can't sleep easily at night because of uncertainty about the other directors' actions, my advice is to have a serious rehaul of the business strategic intent (vision, mission, values) and making sure that it is something that resonates with everyone within the business and associated stakeholders. If this is not possible, get off that bus as soon as possible and find a company that you can authentically represent. 

WHAT MADE ME GIGGLE?

I completed my first race of the year, the FNB Cape Town 12 Run. I've been enjoying cycling a lot more than running, although I have really not been keeping up with any kind of fitness routine lately and running around the block with Bella is hardly enough training for a 12km race. It was absolutely joyous to be running, and I realised what an incredible mood enhancer it is. 

Towards the end of the race, I found myself on a 'bus' (this is a group of runners led by a pacesetter to make sure that the group finishes within a certain time goal). They are a jovial bunch and you can hear them coming a mile away. As much as I tried to stay ahead of them, they crept nearer and nearer and they made no secret of it that they were catching up with "Hout Bay". They did catch up, and it was fun to run with the group and listen to their banter. As we were running through the Company Gardens, the group was scheduled for a walk, the pacesetter said, "if you want to finish the race sooner, you can go ahead," and one of the guys piped up, "go ahead where??" in the hope of finding magical shortcut to finish sooner. 

MY FAVOURITE QUOTE

I have two, both from the FNB Cape Town 12 Run. 

"Forward is forward," ~ Pacesetter.

Mark's wisdom echoed in my mind for most of the race ~ "Train hard, win easy."  

BIG GOAL FOR THE NEXT WEEK

My AfriCAN dream is still my big hairy audacious goal (BHAG), I did hear from one of the people that I am reliant on to help me make this happen this week, so we are one tiny step closer. 

SOMETHING I FOUND PARTICULARLY CLEVER

Art from art.  My Aunt makes the most amazingly creative array of items from repurposed tapestries; restoring dignity to the neglected pieces of art that someone lovingly devoted so much time to complete.  Each item is an original, one-of-a-kind design that cannot be repeated. I just love the latest addition to the mix, a few photos below. Check out the website for all the different products, a feast for your eyes, enjoy all the beautiful colours!