“Much of what we’ve been told about the qualities that lead to achievement is logical, earnest – and downright wrong.” So claims Eric Barker in his recently released book (2017) ‘Barking Up The Wrong Tree’, published by HarperOne.
Essentially Barker is dealing with the premise that ‘What we have been led to believe about being successful is mostly wrong.’ He has been researching the various issues associated with success for a number of years, writing about it on his blog. This book is a culmination of that research.
HE goes to enormous lengths to find research, and even to sources themselves to delve into the issues of success. For me, this means it is very convincing, and what I particularly like is that he explores multiple sides of the issues, allowing the evidence to speak for itself.
An example of the issues considered:
Really well organised book, and very well written, with equal doses of research, humour and surprise.
This book will appeal to pretty much anyone, and especially those who are thinking about whether they are being successful or not, and what success really looks like (hint – it’s not about money!). Taken from page 3, “This book explores what rings success in the real world. And I mean life success, not merely money making. What attitudes and behaviours will help you achieve your goals in whatever arena you choose, career or personal?”
Very worthwhile, and one of the best books I have read for awhile –highly recommended.
Warrick Long, Lecturer, Avondale Business School.
Last week saw two guest speakers at the Avondale Women’s Network meeting held at ABS.
Professor Toni Downs, recently retired from the position of Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic) from Charles Sturt University. Toni spoke about how to participate adequately in committee meetings, how to encourage participation of others and how to strategically position yourself to get heard in meetings. She gave some great examples of how to get the most use out of meeting time and how to turn problems into solutions.
A few days later, Professor Kerri-Lee Krause, a former Avondale College Alumni, who is currently Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at La Trobe University spoke to the AWN about her participation in the Universities Australia Executive Women’s (UAEW) Group. As a co-founder and Co-Chair of the UAEW group, she is very proud of the work they have done, in particular with writing the “Guidelines for addressing unconscious bias”. Their research includes work done by the UN on Women’s empowerment principles, and Male Champions of Change.
The Universities Australia website is located at www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au with the link to the Guidelines for addressing unconscious bias, at https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/uni-participation-quality/Equity-and-Participation/Women-in-universities/Universities-Australia-Executive-Women-Group#.W574CaYzaUk
The AWN recently secured a grant from the Avondale College Research Committee to continue their research into “Women in Higher Education Institutions: Constraints and Enablements”. Both speakers were well received by the AWN members, generating much conversation regarding communication in meetings, and addressing unconscious bias.
If you know nothing else about the Millennial generation (born between 1983 – 1994), know that they are aware they have alternatives to traditional full-time employment (parallel careers, gig jobs, etc.) and if they don’t like where they are working, they will quickly and easily leave for another option. With that in mind, employers would do well to heed the findings of the 2018 Deloitte Millennial Survey (click here to read) which highlight what it is m
illennials are looking for in their employers.
The report is a very interesting (and easy) read, with some very well researched observations. A summary of the main findings from the report include:
In summary, “Young workers are eager for business leaders to be proactive about making a positive impact in society – and to be responsive to employee’s needs”.
Leaders who are able to take this key message, and embed it into their business will be the beneficiaries of the immense talent from the millennials. Ignore it, and you may find your workforce drying up.
The Avondale Business School (ABS) can help you with this, and other important issues that impact your business. To find out more, email or phone Warrick Long on [email protected] or 02 4980 2168.
Participants enjoyed a lively time together on a recent Friday morning at the second program in the Avondale College LEAD program, aimed at developing new and existing leaders at the College. Program coordinator, Warrick long, from the Avondale Business School, emphasized the need for leaders to learn firstly how to lead self, noting that the hardest person we will ever lead is yourself. The program covered the topics of values, personality and emotions (including emotional intelligence). These all led to the final section on their implications for leadership, including their impact on how we make decisions. Participants enjoyed the interactive and reflective nature of the programs, and the recommended readings, suggested book lists and additional videos. For those that undertake a voluntary quiz based on the program and additional resources formal acknowledgement of their participation in the program will be provided.
If you would like the Avondale business School to help develop your leaders, simply email or call Warrick Long at [email protected], or 02 4980 2168.
Corporate culture is very topical at the moment, as we see unprecedented numbers of organisations under scrutiny for inappropriate corporate behaviours. It was hoped that the introduction of corporate reforms (Sarbanes-Oxley, CLERP 9, Etc.) would see a significant reduction in such issues, but has that really been the case?
More importantly, who is responsible for these events. Craig Smith, in a recent article entitled The Critical Consequences of Culture (read it here) provides three case studies of recent failures of corporate culture, being Wells Fargo, Volkswagen, and Uber. In the case of the first two entities, the failures resulted from pressures in either sales targets (Wells Fargo) or product to market deadlines (Volkswagen). In both cases the organisations were fined very heavily, and the people who “did the wrong things” were punished, usually by being fired. The difference with Uber, is that it was the senior corporate executives who paid the price, unlike the first two. Yet when things go well, it is the senior executive team who take the credit (and often the multi-million dollar bonuses).
And that is the nub of Smiths article – too frequently it is the workers struggling to meet unrealistic targets set by the senior leadership that pay the ultimate price. Yet who sets the culture of the organisation? Senior leadership. Smith makes the point that “while individuals must bear responsibility for their actions, the body corporate can also have some measure of responsibility, not least as a result of the goals set by senior management and the culture in which employees operate’.
The challenge for leaders is to think bigger picture to see what the real culture of the organisation is as a consequence of their actions, and whether they are prepared to personally take responsibility for the resultant culture of their decisions. As you consider your organisation and culture, Avondale Business School (ABS) may be able to help to be the ethical company to want to be. Call or email Warrick Long on 02 4980 2168 or [email protected] to find out how we can help.
It was a great day for Central Coast Business “Lasercraft”, when they celebrated 30 years in the manufacturing sector on August 28, assisted by ABS student Jessie. Lasercraft Australia Limited is an 'Australian Disability Enterprise' providing long term supported employment for people with moderate intellectual and physical disabilities.
Our Marketing major student Jessie, has been undertaking her internship at Lasercraft since June, working one day per week in the marketing department. Jess has had the opportunity to review the company’s website and make changes to the way the company communicates to its clients particularly in the area of social media.
Jess was instrumental in organising the 30 year celebration, which involved over 80 participants. The community celebration included speeches from the Board of Directors, the CEO, and Tim a staff member who has been working at Lasercraft for over 20 years, and is the employee representative on the Board. Whilst there, Associate Professor Lisa Barnes met Liesl Tesch, member for Gosford. Liesl was very interested to know about the internship program, and Avondale College’s continuing community engagement with their work integrated learning initiatives. Happy birthday Lasercraft from everyone at ABS.
Making decisions has been an occupational hazard in most of my career choices, and frequently the choices were between outcomes that were going to upset different groups of people, irrespective of the choice. Not making a decision was not an option, so it was just a case of getting on and trying to minimize the negativity surrounding the decisions being made, and in the process I learned much about how to get people to accept tough decisions – usually through the mistakes I made in the process.
So when I recently came across an interesting article in HBR Online (read it here) about how to get people to accept tough decisions, I was quick to read it, and to lament not having had the benefit of it many years ago. David Maxwell, the author, refers to the observations of Alexander George, who studies US presidential decision-making, and noted two particular features of their processes:
The consequences of these two factors are that people “…dither, delay, and defer, when we need to act”.
To combat these paralyzing conditions, Maxwell explores both the issues and then suggests some things that can be done to minimize their impacts. I’ll leave you to read more about the issues, but below I summarize the mitigating strategies you can employ:
Overcoming Uncertainty:
Overcoming Value Complexity:
Again, the article expands on these points, and it is well worth reading in its entirety (it is about a 2 minute read).
Tough decisions need to be made, whether in the employment or personal context, and having some understanding of what is going on and how to mitigate the impact is very valuable. And the Avondale Business School (ABS) is eager to assist you in whatever way we can to help build your leadership and business. Simply email [email protected] or call on 02 4980 2168.
I've only been an employee for about 33 years, but in that short time I have seen the benefits employees receive change significantly – usually for the better. They all cost more money for the employers, but was it worth it? New research provides some pretty solid evidence that is does.
The research study entitled ‘Does it pay to treat employees well? International evidence on the value of employee-friendly culture’ (click here), looked at 3,500 organisations in 43 countries from 2001 to 2104, so it is pretty comprehensive. A very good summary of the article by Matt Palmquist can be found here, and it notes that firms with a higher Employee-Friendly (EF) score had better results in terms of return on assets, return on equity, sales to asset ratios, as well as lower expenditures overall. It seems that treating employees well leads them to work harder, be efficient, and do more for the company.
These findings may come as no surprise, however they do confirm that the actions being taken by companies like Google and Yahoo etc. in providing significant benefits for employees does provide a financial pay-off. So if you want to earn more, invest more in your employees! To find out more ways that the Avondale Business School (ABS) can help your organisation, simply email [email protected], or phone 02 49802168.
Avondale College recently hosted a meeting of school career advisors, providing them with a range of challenging speakers and topics. Commencing the program was Avondale Business School (ABS) lecturer, Warrick Long, who shared on the area of leadership. In particular Mr Long spoke about how important it is to role model for students what it is to experience joy, and fulfilment in the workplace. To do this, Mr Long gave three simple tips, and that is lead self, connect with students, and to be a positive role model. To find out more, contact Mr Warrick Long at [email protected] or on 02 4980 2168.
Stepping in at the last moment, Avondale Business School (ABS) Lecturer Warrick Long recently spoke at a conference organized by Risk 
Management Services (RMS). His talk was entitled ‘To Infinity and Beyond!’ giving a glimpse to attendees of the organisation of the future, including the disruptive technological developments confronting organisations. Of particular interest to the group were the potential risks and challenges associated with these new technologies, which have typically outpaced both the associated legal and ethical considerations.
If you would like get a head start on what is coming to your organisation, simply contact Warrick Long at ABS at [email protected] or phone 02 4980 2168
