Writing (and speaking) made easy - Part 1 - The Pervasive Nature of Selling

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It's funny how coincidences happen. In the last few days, I've been in conversation with three different clusters of people all of whom were trying to do similar things - they either had to prepare a document for publication, deliver a speech, or start blogging.

Are they the same thing? Well, although there are obvious differences, to my way of thinking they are almost identical - they are each trying to sell something. They have an idea and they want others to be interested in it.

If you think about it, almost all the interactions we have at work are somehow or other involved in selling - we're selling an expectation of a level of performance, a way of doing something, the desire to do it in the first place, and so on. In every case, we want someone else to do something and they don't have to do so, and therein lies the sale. Some will be easy, some will be hard, but all involve selling of some kind.

A WARNING ABOUT MODELS OF ANY SORT

Businesses are steeped in processes. They have procedures for this, procedures for that, rules, dictats, systems, and so on. Some people kid themselves that they invented this, that, or the other, methodology and then go on to make it out to be their intellectual property (IP). Of course, some such claims are legitimate - somewhere I used to have a copy of the patent application for putting bubbles in chocolate bars - now that IS a neat bit of IP. Sadly, though I reckon that many of these approaches are actually nothing more than one person's attempt to appear clever.

A long time ago, I worked for a guy who figured he had invented the definitive approach to organisational change. Don't get me wrong - he knew his stuff - he could quote all the original authors and so on - but he produced a simple six step diagram and by repeating it to himself so many times, he began to believe that he had invented the new sliced bread. One of his favourite quotes was from Alvin Toffler - that "change is the only constant". He could rattle it off with a wonderful dramatic emphasis. One day, he was working through his standard pitch when a business leader stopped him and said, "Mr R, thank you, but your model simply takes us from one state of stasis to another, that's not what anyone needs - as you said; 'change is the only constant' - I suggest that you rethink your model and come back when you've tried out the new version somewhere else."

Over lunch a few months ago, I demonstrated to one prospective consultant that I too could create a super-model to describe group dynamics - their field. Let's try it as I type...

We'll think of a topic... With COP15 on the horizon, let's try something to do with climate adaptation - I know.. a model for the collection and validation of research data will do.

HEALTH WARNING - PLEASE DON'T TAKE THIS TOO SERIOUSLY - IT IS AN ILLUSTRATION

We begin with a sexy acronym - a short word that anyone can relate to, albeit in different ways. Let's try STOOL. Nice word, conveys images of Val Doonican to some, milking parlours to others.

Problem solving methodologies have been around since pre-civilisation, and although they differ a little, most have two phases - a divergent one and a convergent one. This is just a simple case of problem solving and decision making, so let's try diverging and converging steps in our STOOL model...

We begin with something nice and big - a SURVEY, which generates lots of information, though it's not easy to relate the different strands, because they are in different languages, from different sources, and different disciplines. So we have to TRANSLATE the data. It is critical to get new opinions whenever we do anything otherwise we are in danger of missing something, so we need to take our newly translated findings and make them OPEN so others can comment. Collecting their feedback we ORGANISE both the old and the new data and then we produce a report about it - we LITERATE. There you go, we have a STOOL model for the collection and validation of climate adaptation data.

Of course, we then have to sell that model to the world's scientists, academics, and politicians. But first, we'll say it over and over to ourselves until we are convinced that it is 'robust' and then we'll slap a little TM or (C) on it so others will think it is more profound than it really was.

Now, I'm sure that you and I would never be so stupid as to think that this model had any potential what-so-ever, however there are a lot of folks out there who do exactly the same thing as I have just done, and then they sell that model. Having the idea is only a tiny part of the journey to success - the toughest bit is in the selling!

END OF SILLY MODEL BUILDING ILLUSTRATION AND EXPLANATION OF WHY I APPEARED TO DIGRESS

Now, I am very fortunate, because donkey's years ago, I was offered the chance to attend a course. It was one of a series, delivered by one of the most successful management and leadership training institutions around - with a track record that stretched back to the 1920s. They taught lots of topics within their portfolio, but the consistent theme in them all was that getting anything done involved people relating to one another and specifically, getting someone else to do something that you wanted them to do.

They too had a model. It was exactly the same kind of thing as I have illustrated just now, with exactly the same health warnings. But they knew that. They weren't so silly as to think that the secret lay in the model; they knew that the difference lay in the relationship between people. It was in the application of the model rather than the words themselves.

Their model was just a way of helping us structure our approach to influencing the other person.

I'm about to share that model with you, because I happen to find it incredibly useful, but I don't want you to forget that it is still only a model.

Time to go on to part two...

I am happy to comment, or deliver keynote sessions, on any of the topics that I post about.
For media and speaking enquiries, please call me, Graham Wilson, on 07785 222380.

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, supporting leaders as they achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org - corporate-alumni.info

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Governance, fraud and the leader's confidante

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Last week's 10th Annual Conference of Corporate Governance (#wccg09), explored alternative, hopefully more effective, means of corporate governance. What emerged clearly from the presentations and the discussion was that our current approaches to governance miss the mark. They are targeted at corporates rather than individuals, at the workforce rather than the directors, at catching rather than preventing, and are a shotgun approach when a rifle is needed.

My own paper was used to start the conference. This is a slightly modified version. I have split it into two parts for posting here.

Click here for Part 1: Governance and Fraud

Part 2 - The role of the management confidante

In recent years, we have seen a growth in the field of corporate responsibility (CR). When it began, it was called 'corporate social responsibility' (CSR), and it was about helping those who lead large organisations to see that they have a responsibility towards the societies in which they operate.

While CSR has continued to evolve and there are many excellent initiatives and third-party interventions that do genuine good for the world around us, internally it has struggled. My experience is that, in some wave of euphoria, positions were created within these businesses that have come under threat when the 'luck' I mentioned earlier has become less common.

Under pressure, the well-intentioned, individuals who filled them have had to dumb down their plans and redirect them on what should really be basic operational issues - the ways and means of reducing energy costs, limiting the risk of prosecution for environmental damage, and so on. While they were once, champions of a higher set of values in the leadership of enterprises, today they are too busy dealing with simple abuses. A few had the ear of the leaders, but most were chosen from within, for their breadth of knowledge of the business and its technical dimensions, rather than their independence, the robustness to challenge those in positions of power, and their understanding of emotions, and the emotional component of individual decision making.

Back in medieval times, a landowner, would employ a confidante - someone they knew was educated, understood the human dimension to work, worked to a set of reasonably defined 'higher values' and was not afraid to challenge the wisdom of decisions - such was the calibre of the confidante - at a time when, for others to do so, would often mean summary execution.

Of course, the role was open to abuse, and the risks were known, but were outweighed by the potential benefits - better decisions, more highly motivated staff, a greater appreciation of the softer arts of leadership, and access to an independent analytical mind. In those days, such advisers often came from monastic communities as these were the bases of education and the cultivation of personal values. The popularity of the Arthurian legends with their Merlin, of Gandalf in Tolkien's stories, of the Norse God, Odin in his wandering habit, and others indicate the degree of trust people place in this wise advisor role.

The role of the 'chaplain to a household' continued until the late Industrial Revolution. There were clearly some whose impartiality could be questioned, and whose personal circumstances made their objectivity doubtful, but such relationships were under constant review.

When armies were drawn together by personal allegiance, the chaplain to the household, would often accompany the troops, and in the Boer War and especially the First World War, chaplains became an essential integrated part of the Army. Their job was not simply to counsel the young soldiers facing death, or to minister to those who had died, but to act as confidante and advisor to those in power - bringing an emotional and spiritual dimension to decision making.

While the British military stick to fairly conventional definitions of faith and religion in defining the role of chaplain, the US has opened up considerably, recognising the importance of a far wider grasp of ethical, emotional, and spiritual issues in service decision making, and while they still have a shortage, their chaplaincy today recognises and tries to represent nearly 250 different paths to the role.

While the respect once held for Faith has diminished, and many people are no longer happy with established religions and their creeds, surveys suggest that most people now see the benefit of a wider emotional and spiritual contribution to the ways in which we govern our society. Even in the fictional world of Star Trek, the Captain of the Enterprise had his own spiritual counsellor, Deanna Troy, who provided precisely this understanding.

I am certainly not proposing that chaplains, per se, should become the guardians of morals within corporates, but I do believe that by making it the norm to have identifiable individuals with clearly credible skills, acting as emotional and spiritual advisors to the leaders of larger businesses should become an important aspect of their public governance.

Many public bodies, such as NHS Trusts, already appoint such individuals as non-executive directors. There are a growing number of businesses appointing Quaker advisors to their management boards.

Is it unreasonable for us to expect the annual Company Report, to document the specific actions that each director has undertaken for their continuous professional development? Is it unreasonable to include in this a record of the number of hours of 'supervision', as the psychological profession call it, and perhaps even the credentials of the supervisor in the fields of emotional, spiritual and ethical development?

Whatever the title of these confidantes, I believe it is time for us to try different approaches and I hope that above all, these crucial aspects of management will be incorporated by future generations. The new generation, Generation WE, is demanding a new approach, and they explicitly mention spirit in their manifesto. It is up to us, baby boomers, to respond.

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org - corporate-alumni.info

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Governance, fraud and management of emotion in decision making

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Last week's 10th Annual Conference of Corporate Governance (#wccg09), explored alternative, hopefully more effective, means of corporate governance. What emerged clearly from the presentations and the discussion was that our current approaches to governance miss the mark. They are targeted at corporates rather than individuals, at the workforce rather than the directors, at catching rather than preventing, and are a shotgun approach when a rifle is needed.

My own paper was used to start the conference. This is a slightly modified version.

Part 1: Governance and Fraud

Our approaches to corporate governance in recent years have tended to revolve around regulatory frameworks, reporting structures, and operating standards. As if to justify the time we devote to them and, more importantly, the time we expect other people to spend on them, we delude ourselves that we are defining ways of achieving good outcomes for the day-to-day management of an enterprise. It seems extraordinary but some people seriously believe that filling in this form, following that procedure, making this statement on the bottom of our emails, or secreting a link in tiny print at the bottom of our website to a load of legalise, both absolves us of almost any personal responsibility and magically impacts on the bottom line of the business. It is a joke - a delusion. If we look back over the last 18 months we see that just about every one of those institutions that contributed to the economic 'meltdown' had all these components in place.

In practice, however, what we are really trying to address is the propensity for fraud to happen in business environments.

These frameworks, structures and standards are translated and imposed on organisations that have little or no need for them; where fraud relatively rarely happens and, when it does, it is of far less substantial scale. The end result is an ineffective approach and a bureaucratic burden, applied too widely, that achieves little.

These measures try to strike a balance between the preventative, the deterrent, and the retrospective. In practice, many so-called preventative measures merely define the technical system through which the fraudster must navigate. Deterrents have existed ever since formal legal systems emerged millennia ago and yet the courts still have a steady stream of increasingly sophisticated corporate frauds to deal with. For the kind of people determined to defraud, deterrents simply don't work. Retrospective measures may make us feel vindicated in the long-run, but do nothing to stop the hurt that is caused by the frauds. Our focus therefore has to be on prevention.

In the last two years, a number of businesses, indeed whole industries, have been exposed for their irresponsible behaviour - where they failed to assess adequately the risks they were taking with the assets of others. These have been so extreme, that the global economic system has been shaken. There are signs of recovery, and sadly, I believe that the opportunity is rapidly being lost to reinvent many of these pointless Governance measures and to replace them with more effective and targeted approaches.

While organisational theorists can identify dynamic processes (group think, collusiveness, scape-goating, and so on) that are happening well beyond the ken of mere mortals, I prefer a slightly more down-to-earth perspective.

Despite what corporate lawyers will tell you, companies do not do actually do anything. They are inanimate. It is people that do things and when they do so within the structure of a corporation it may appear as if the company is doing something, but - at the end of the day - it is the people inside it that are doing so. Even when it is of the magnitude of the recent debacles, corporate fraud always emanates from one individual, or at most a small handful, usually with one persuasive leader.

Our approach therefore has to focus on individuals.

Most corporate fraud appears to happen in democratized countries within large businesses. There are obviously exceptions, but this appears to be the commonest environment. Large businesses are actually quite a small part of the world of work. The largest employers in the world are the Chinese Red Army, Indian State Railways, and the National Health Service (NHS). While I am sure that they have their problems, there are relatively few instances of large-scale individually-generated, corporate fraud associated with them. There appears to be a difference in the set of values espoused by those who work 'not-for-profit' to the values that drive people who work in the world of 'profit'. Corruption is about values and our approaches to governance need to reflect this.

Similarly, the Gross National Product (GNP) of democratised nations is generally dominated by the micro-business community. Far more people work for themselves or for very small companies than do so for the large corporates and, while the ethics of some of their trading practices will always be open to criticism (as the victims of dodgy builders and itinerant car dealers will vouch), it is not the small fry that our approaches need to address. We need to concentrate on the behaviour of people within larger businesses.

Psychologists of crime, tell us that such people often begin with small misdemeanours and when they get away with these, so they slowly escalate. It is by no means a coincidence that a disproportionate number of speeding and parking offences are apparently committed by those in senior positions in business. When those in other positions of influence commit relatively minor offences, (such as a senior police officer caught speeding, a senior civil servant caught fiddling their lunch expenses, or a hospital administrator seeking personal favours) they are so exceptional that they hit the headlines. Such small scale offences are so common among business-people that it rarely even warrants a mention in the local newspaper.

Fraud, broadly speaking, falls into four categories;
That committed against an organisation by a (usually senior) member of it. This includes offences against shareholders and creditors by high-flying entrepreneurs.
That committed against an organisation by a client, such as insurance fraud, tax evasion, and abuse of benefits.
Acts committed by one individual against another, including the classic 'con' tricks and trade 'scams'.
And those where a number of victims are solicited indirectly, such as the Nigerian advanced fee frauds perpetrated via email.

When we talk of governance, we are largely addressing corporate fraud by one of a small number of senior members of an organisation against the other stakeholders in it.

To be successful in business calls for self-confidence, hard work, a preparedness to adapt to failure, the ability to cope with being alone, and large measures of good luck. Sadly, it seems that when things are going well, when luck is available in copious quantities, we often dismiss it, and perceive our success as being entirely down to our own skills and attitudes. In some people, (and, of course, no-one reading this paper or attending the conference could possibly be in this category), this perception breeds an arrogance, a sense of invincibility, that can lead even individuals who are otherwise quite law-abiding, to think that they are above the law, that they are a 'special case', indeed that they are not answerable to anyone.

We have known that an individual's perception that they are 'above' the rules that society creates, is embedded in their childhood - typically around 7 to 9 years of age. It is directly related to the relative absence of their father in their upbringing. Many social problems, especially those affecting young men, originate from the values developed through this absence, whether it was caused by the breakdown of marriages, military service, schooling away from home, or the 'long hours' working culture. If we are to look at ways of preventing corporate fraud, and many other ills, we need to better handle the phenomenon of single parent families, and parenting skills generally.

It seems that most of those who go on to commit commercial fraud have recently experienced financial strain or vulnerability. While they may appear affluent to the rest of us, they see themselves as being at a disadvantage, but it is often the consequential fear of loss of power, influence or status that they later report as the triggers to their criminal behaviour. This is an emotional response. It is rooted deeply within the individual and is not something that can be erased by simplistic awareness raising, 'compliance' training. Our approaches to governance need to recognise the emotional response behind fraud.

We need to provide those individuals most likely to be tempted to defraud with appropriately skilled, long-term counter-balances to help them 'normalise' their thinking. I stress again, that this doesn't mean company-wide immersion style interventions, but instead highly targeted approaches when someone begins to assume the degree of authority that might open the box of temptation to them. Corporate fraud is not always done for the direct personal gain of the individual - as I've said, it is often more complex than that.

Many frauds begin as a one-off response to the person's sense of vulnerability, albeit by an individual who has already learned that they can 'get away' with minor misdemeanours. Once their fraud is apparently successful though, we know that many begin to gain some secondary pleasure in the knowledge that they are fooling the world, and especially that they are demonstrating their superiority to others. The likelihood of committing fraud is therefore a long-term phenomenon - it is not a one-off event, but something that has a life-cycle. The emotional counter-balances that we provide to such corruption-prone individuals therefore need to be embedded within the norm of their day-to-day work, not one-off responses, or short-term fixes.

Part 2 will follow in a few days time.

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org - corporate-alumni.info

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The interesting case of an OVER performing team

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Some days, it is magic! You can imagine my surprise when I was sent the following conundrum by email this afternoon, by someone who is supposedly a Leadership mentor and yet needed to ask for advice in dealing with it! It seems one of his contacts (a specialist in organisational culture no less) had asked him for help with a relatively rare leadership issue - I quote in full to make sure that no-one is in any doubt about the nature of the problem....

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Dear (name removed to protect the 'guru')

We (I) lead a group of field based service culture consultants. Over the past 5 years, we've been through a tremendous amount of change in supported programs and phases of implementation vs support roles. Through it all, we've been a bit of an experiment for the company, so we've been in "hyper-drive" to develop our people to deliver at aspirational levels to "prove our worth". As you can imagine, this type of continual Q1 focus takes its toll on all, and burn out sets in. I own the responsibility for creating this environment.

Moreover, we are at a point now in which there is no longer a need for "hyper-drive" leadership - things are running well and I believe that we can slow down to maintain successes and engage a realistic continual improvement plan. But here's the rub - I can't get my down-line leadership team to slow down! I have been deliberately watching my words and actions to set a more even-keel environment, but they are all very committed and can't seem to break the 5 year habit. Throw a reorg on top of it all and well... you get the picture.

So, can you provide any insight/stories about how I, as the leader, can model and support a change in our situational leadership mode, as well as anything that might be insightful to share with them to help realize that there can be a work-life balance when you understand priorities and see where we are in the big picture?

Thanks for your guidance!

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So that's the problem. Perhaps you'd like to spend a nanosecond thinking through YOUR response?

OK, that will do! Here's mine...

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Nice to have an easy one for once...

Simple, but attention to detail is important.

Firstly, though, I need some basic information... Key to this is what your CURRENT profit is? I'm happy to accept answers in US Dollars, Pounds Sterling, or Euros.

Next, I'd like to know what level of profit you would be happy to achieve if the team could be encouraged to slow down. Ideally, in the same currency, but if you really need to quote in a different one, I can cope.

Now, I'd like you to do the arithmetic and calculate the difference. I realise that there are two different ways to get the same answer, either will do.

Got an answer? Great. Now, I'm glad that you have top/core team agreement to this need, as it is vital to the success of the next step...

I'd like you to speak to the CFO, and ask him (it is generally better to ask, rather than write, and if there are subsequent conversations, choose a different place for each one)...

To transfer the figure that you came up with - the difference between the two profits - (Hey! I heard that one too... but the answer is a bit too spiritual for this forum.) - to the private bank account in Switzerland that I'm going to send you by private message.

OK? Great. Now the joy of this solution, is that YOU don't have to do ANYTHING with your team - they are just fine - they can carry on as if NOTHING changed. No fancy consultancy programmes, no clever acronyms, no boxer shorts printed with "go slower" slogans. Just plain and simple.

Told you it was easy!

PS For anyone with the opposite problem - a team that need to produce more, yesterday - give me a call or email - my website is www.grahamwilson.org!

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org - corporate-alumni.info

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Bank holidays, portfolio careers and winter cold cures

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I was interviewed by someone from the Economist the other day about 'portfolio careers'. It was a weird conversation as she clearly hadn't got a clue what I was talking about. She had a reason why almost every strand of my work wasn't a 'real' career, the only bit she could relate to was writing and, obviously, I am "only an amateur at that". In the end, she (clearly disappointed) drew the interview to a close and asked what I would be doing over the Bank Holiday... She still didn't get it when I said that like many 'portfolio careerists', I'd be working!

I hope you get some time off - me, I'm about to make the winter's supply of Elderberry 'cordial' which has nothing to do with work other than (hopefully) keeping me at it when the germs start circulating later in the year!

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org - corporate-alumni.info

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How PowerPoint contributed to the Columbia re-entry disaster

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There are only a handful of authors whose books have been pivotal to my career. Perhaps one day I'll write a definitive list. Some that I can think of right now are;

John Rhodes' "Badgers Bend - Animal Hotel"

D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson's "On Growth and Form"

Tom Peters "A Passion for Excellence"

Richard Feynman's "Lectures on Physics" and...

Edward Tufte's "The visual display of quantitative information"

Strange mix, but there we are! It's been a long time since I've read any of them, and, to be honest, hadn't expected to come across any new work by any of the authors (at least two of them are dead, after all!). So it was a delight to come across Edward Tufte's blog, and to see that he is still very much involved in his field - in a very substantial and dramatic way.

Edward Tufte is younger than I had assumed him to be, from my early encounter with his work. He is an American statistician and Professor Emeritus of statistics, information design, interface design and political economy at Yale University. He has been described by The New York Times as "the da Vinci of Data", and by Business Week as "the Galileo of graphics". He is an expert in the presentation of informational graphics such as charts and diagrams, and is a fellow of the American Statistical Association.

When I was completing my PhD, I was lent a copy of his seminal book, The visual display of quantitative information, I can very honestly say (and I doubt if anyone would take issue with this) that I have never been enthralled by a statistics book - and I can't really say I was by Tufte's book, but no-one could dispute that this one made you realise how important it was going to be to you from the very first few pages.

If you would like to understand a little of the importance of Tufte's work and, if you EVER use PowerPoint to do presentations, then I strongly recommend visiting his blog and looking at this excerpt from one of his books: PowerPoint does Rocket Science. Be prepared to feel a little angry as the story unfolds!

If Prof Tufte should ever read this little tribute, I should like to say thank you. Your work influenced me profoundly and, especially in the earlier part of my own career, it was frequently in my mind and undoubtedly led to some of my own minor successes.

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org - corporate-alumni.info

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Speed networking - not all it is cracked up to be

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This evening, I received an invitation to attend a speed networking event in Berkshire. Now, I'm not particular keen on these kind of events, because I do feel that relationships are important in business, but the chance to have an afternoon building my business seemed appealing - especially as it involves an expenditure of only £25.

I may still go, as much out of curiosity, as having high expectations of the event. But, why should I have such limited expectations? Well, the organisers PROUDLY tell me:

"Our first event in Chelmsford attracted some 24 businesses and we had very positive feedback from all attendees, including two companies who received three orders, and a quality consultant who won a new contract."

Now their English is a little unclear: do they mean that there were SEVEN new bits of work that came from this event or only FOUR? Well, either way, my old schoolboy statistics A-level comes out and I do the obvious calculation. On the basis that any pair of companies present could have done business either way, with that number of businesses there were actually 552 potential combinations (ie initial bits of work). This means, at best a conversion rate of 1.3% and at worst a conversion rate of 0.7%.

Now, I don't know what kind of result you would expect, but those don't really seem that impressive to me. What do you think?

If you're interested nontheless, you'll find the organisers website here: www.speednetworkingberkshire.co.uk

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org - corporate-alumni.info

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How to turn down a job offer

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Even though we are in a recession and so job opportunities are harder to come by, it is important not to leap at the first offer if taking it would force you to compromise yourself further than you are prepared to go.

It ALWAYS pays to talk through the compromises that a job offer represents with someone else, preferably someone who can be more objective than you.

Having decided not to accept, you need to decide how to say NO. In these days of networking, it is vital that you do so in a professional manner that leaves room for a relationship to continue even if you are not going to join their firm, or are being recruited through a third party. You need these people in your network of contacts - you need to be in their mind should a MORE SUITABLE opportunity come up in the future.

So how do you say NO? There are really five key messages to get over:

1 Say how grateful you are for the offer (and mean it!)

2 Let them know how much effort you have put into your decision. It is worthwhile spelling out some of the key factors that attracted you initially. "Your approach to XX was particularly impressive, and I could see how much I would have enjoyed working with the members of your team who were involved in the selection process."

3 Explain the detailed reasons for your decision. These CAN be directly related to the job as it emerged to you through interviews etc, or it may be something professional, longer-term, or personal.

4 Reiterate that you treat the choice of place to work very seriously and feel that you need to be sure that the role will be one in which you can really excel, and that this particular opportunity therefore didn't feel right.

5 End your 'turn down' in a way that demonstrates openness and a desire to maintain contact. Say that you hope that they will still consider you for other positions, and/or that you hope to meet them in a networking capacity in the future.

If they try to press you to join them, then it's worth exploring what would need to change to make it a better prospect.

If not, then move them to your list of networking contacts and begin to build the relationship. It amazes me how many people, having turned down a job offer (or simply not making it through to that stage) sever all contact with the recruiter or the company. It is precisely this group of people that you need to embrace in your network.

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org - corporate-alumni.info

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Business preparedness for swine flu - oh, come on!

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Yes, I know that it's easy to be cynical, but when you receive an official email from a Government quasi-Quango, with particular responsibility for business continuity in the small to medium enterprise sector, containing important guidance on how to deal with swine flu, you just know that it's going to be a laugh!

Well, Business Link, in a remarkably quick response, have jumped on the bandwagon, and issued advice on just that topic. You can read:

Recommendations for workplace hygiene.

Putting contingency plans in place.

Managing employee absence.

How to cCommunicate with your employees.

Now, apart from the fact that this is addressed to SMEs, where it is as likely to be the owner/sole trader who is ill as it an 'employee', and who can presumably communicate with him- or her-self while recumbent in bed just as easily as when slaving over a hot desk, I doubt if reminding this individual to wash their hands after they have been to the loo is really going to do a lot for the prevention of flu of any kind, let alone swine flu!

However, the idea that to counter this dreadful contagion you should "create a list of the transferable skills of each employee and consider who could be retrained or redeployed in the event of staff absence." is obviously a good one. No doubt your husband or wife will find it helpful being reminded how to answer the phone and reassure customers that it's not really fatal - unless there are underlying health problems (and you don't know of any), but if your partner should not get back to them in a couple of weeks assume the worse and find another supplier. Actually to save spreading the disease through unsterilised telephone systems, perhaps it would be better to record an answerphone message instead.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember though is that before you succumb, you are advised to "ensure IT systems can cope with high numbers of employees working from home." In other words, when the cantancerous old so-and-so is on the mend, make sure that they have their laptop plugged in and connected to the broadband, because as a swine flu survivor they are sure to want to tell everyone about their miraculous recovery and the fact that their business survived too!

Have a laugh, read more here: http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=5001344587&type=ONEOFFPAGE&site=210

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org - corporate-alumni.info

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Climate mitigation - McDonalds takes a lead

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Be honest, you didn't expect to read that did you?!

Well, in 2007, the US fast food industry consisted of around 250000 outlets, of which McDonald's alone had 14000 in the US and a further 32000 worldwide. Fast food outlets are extraordinarily inefficient environmentally, so it's good to see that, by the end of this year, the Big Mac will have TEN gold-standard buildings WORLDWIDE. (My emphasis.)

Their first such building opened in Sweden in 2000 (ie NINE YEARS AGO) and they currently have SEVEN. Apparently though, their commitment to such measures is increasing!

These buildings' features include lamps that use light-emitting diodes, energy efficient appliances and heating and cooling systems, daylight-harvesting technologies, sustainable and recycled materials, low-flow toilets and recycling bins. No, that was not a mistake... they are actually going to have RECYCLING bins.

I'm glad that they are taking such a lead. Sadly though, I think this reeks of being an insult to the intelligence of their customers. PR department - shoot thyself in the foot!

Read more here: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200907171300DOWJONESDJONLINE000671_FORTUNE5.htm

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org - corporate-alumni.info

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The role of a psychotherapist's supervisor

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Wow, I just received a sharp rebuttal for an article I wrote about writing to build your counselling/psychotherapy practice. The individual wanted me to know that she was 'outraged' that I had implied that marketing advice was a part of the role of a psychotherapist's supervisor.

So what is their role?

The textbook definition is that they are there to protect the therapist's clients.

OK that's fine and there are many ways to achieve this. In my experience though this is only a small part of the role. Especially in the early stages of a counselling career, there may be a need to review every client in a selective but 'verbatim' manner. (He said; I said etc) However, this need should soon evaporate and the dialogue can become more expansive.

The four areas that I find most therapists relish are aspects of personal therapy, work around their impact and presence in the world generally, developing their personal brand of therapy, and how to take themselves to market.

Personal Therapy

We are all aware that (from time-to-time, at least, all the time, perhaps) clients bring material that has some relevance to the therapist themselves. If the therapist is in personal therapy on a regular basis, then they can, of course, take this material to those sessions, but the reality is that many practising therapists stopped this some time ago. It is in both the interests of the client and the therapist to work on this in supervision. Of course, it can go deep and that might either mean that the supervision contract needs reviewing, or that the individual decides to go back into personal therapy, but either way the starting point is in supervision.

Expanding their worldly influence

Therapists chose to study and qualify because they had issues with their own history. This is one of the reasons why therapy trainings last so long! We can't be effective until we find some resolution for this material. Relatively few people seek help because they are highly socially outgoing and feel confident in public! (That isn't to say that all people who sustain a strong public profile ARE confident - we all know that most comedians and many entertainers have a long history of personal trauma and mental health crises.) Once an inner resolution is achieved to this, and the therapist finds that they have the resources to offer something to their clients, then I tend to find that they become restless and want to have a greater impact still. I don't think it is any coincidence that many leading psychotherapists, past and present, take a strong interest, and become involved, in social change and politics. As someone with whom they have a personal relationship, who understands their professional pedigree, and who has the skills to help them find voice to this drive, the supervisor is an obvious choice of support. As this often embraces their perspective on clients and their issues too, it again seems to me to be perfectly right for it to form a part of the role of a supervisor. Putting it another way, if a therapist DOESN'T feel a desire to expand their sphere of influence, at least to some degree, then I would be worried that they had not actually found an inner resolution to their own issues and might need to work on them more.

Developing a personal brand of therapy

Straight from training, a lot of therapists fret that they might break some rules, don't fully understand the subject, can't perform perfectly and so on. That's understandable. Some idolise their particular strand of trainings 'guru' - past or present. It slightly frightens me how many graduates go back to their original school, still in love with their trainers, and manage to have affairs with them - which is an indictment of the trainers rather than the graduates, but also reflects pretty poorly on the training itself. But I digress... putting idolatry to one side... Freud, Jung, Adler, etc, all started out as a student, graduated, continued to learn, developed the confidence to assert their own ideas, and did so. They developed a personal brand of therapy. Every practising therapist needs a personal brand. In my experience, far too many therapists complain that they don't get many clients and yet, when you look at their literature and their approach to marketing themselves the image is so cloudy and so confused that no-one seeking clarity (which most clients are) would consider going to them. To do this in isolation is likely to yield to either intellectually interesting but practically useless outpourings, or to dangerous distortions. To do so in dialogue is likely to mature and enrich these personal ideas and themes. Freud and Jung might have fallen out - for which they are famous - but the important thing was that they were engaged in dialogue beforehand which helped them each develop their perspectives. Of course, you needn't use your supervisor for this nurturing of ideas, and some supervisors themselves find it hard to do, but personally, I see it as an important aspect of the work. The supervisor is a part of the mechanism of the ongoing professional development of the therapist and if they aren't up to enhancing the intellectual grasp of their supervisee's practice then I wonder why they are a supervisor.

Helping the therapist go to market

And so to the original reason for this article... Should the supervisor help their supervisee develop their marketing plan and take themselves to market? Clients are protected best by having an experienced therapist with well-founded confidence and clarity of mind. They achieve this through practise. You practise by having clients - therefore you need clients. If a supervisor is to help you achieve your best, they need to help you find sufficient clients. Some will be able to do this by virtue of their position - supervisors at 'centres' usually have responsibility for referrals - some will do so with clients they can't accommodate in their own private practise - others will help the supervisee develop their own marketing plan and help them put it into place. Whatever the means, a therapist without clients is not going to keep coming to the supervisor for long, so it is in both parties interests for the supervisor to embrace this as a part of their role.

I hope that explains how I see my role as a supervisor, and how I experience my own supervisor. If it offends anyone, I am sorry, but there really are no black and white areas in the fields of human relations and perhaps it would be worth your while exploring where your own models have come from - I'm not saying you are wrong, simply that there are alternatives.

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org - corporate-alumni.info

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Writing to build your counselling/psychotherapy practice

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52 Themes for Counsellors and Psychotherapists to write about in their local paper

This list began with a conversation between two therapists. They wanted to build their local practices, and had decided that they wanted to find a way of getting people to come to see them. They'd tried all kinds of leaflet drops - doctors' surgeries, hairdressers, florists, funeral directors, coffee-shops and so on.

They decided to try to get a regular column in a local newspaper. Having created a list of topics, similar to this one, they scoured the local papers (including the freebies) until they found a couple that looked good possibilities. They wrote up a half dozen themes into short 250-word articles which appeared to be the size of a typical 'column' in the papers concerned, and sent them to one of the editors asking for feedback. Within a month the first appeared. It took another couple of months for the trickle of clients to build up. On occasions after publication, they had follow up calls from the local radio stations and appeared on those briefly too.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for their creativity to dry up and instead of a regular column they ended up sending ad hoc articles instead. Fortunately, by then they had a steady enough stream of ongoing referrals.

1 New Year Resolutions
2 Why birth can be so painful
3 On death and dying
4 Why grief is necessary
5 When the children go to school
6 Giving up
7 Being yourself
8 Why marriages fail and how to stop them
9 How to find a good therapist
10 Churchill's black dog
11 Whose anger is it anyway?
12 When all your choices seem to go wrong
13 Learning from our own life
14 How talking cures work
15 Feeling deserted
16 When the children leave home
17 Mid-life crises
18 Too much anxiety
19 Why suicide?
20 Getting your bloke to love you
21 There is always a choice
22 Growing old is never easy
23 Do you cry a lot?
24 Helping your child tackle bullies
25 What's this thing called love?
26 The outsider looking in
27 Surviving childhood abuse
28 Building confidence
29 Feeling proud of yourself
30 When Christmas loses its cheer
31 Tackling money worries
32 Falling out of love
33 It was never meant to be like this
34 The human need for meaning
35 Hate is a powerful word
36 No place to hide
37 Why some people are just plain spiteful
38 How fear can grip you
39 How to cope when things go wrong
40 How to cope when you lose control
41 Breaking up is never easy
42 Dealing with addiction
43 Listening skills for parents
44 Putting something behind you
45 Finding meaning in life
46 Building a social circle
47 An unnatural fear of intimacy
48 Sexual healing
49 Patterns from the past
50 What has pain got to do with it?
51 Now you've tried pulling yourself together
52 When you don't look the way you want to

If you want to discuss this approach, explore other ways of building your professional practice, or get the kind of support that you really want from a supervisor, then do get in touch.

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org - corporate-alumni.info

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Making heroes out of leaders

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Reading Neil Oliver's "Amazing tales for making men out of boys", published in 2008, has set me off on a reflective trail of current leadership wisdom. Corporate and political leadership, especially, have come under the cosh a great deal lately, largely around the ethical dimension, and I think Oliver's book offers some good material to explore what has gone wrong and and what needs to go right.

Unfolding the sotry of Scott's death in the Antarctic with a remarkable collection of heroic tales ranging from the Ancient Spartans to Apollo 13, Oliver explores what it takes to be a leader and a hero. Depending on your definition, not all heroes and leaders, but (often unknowingly) all leaders are someone's hero.

These days, whether out of political correctness, fear of the outcome, simple illiteracy, or ignorance, we don't tell tales of heroes. Whenever someone does something out of the ordinary, it seems the 'gutter press' are out to discover the dirt in the story or the skeleton(s) in their closet and soon the hero is undermined.

In the past, it was by knowing the stuff of legends, whether lived in their lifetime or not, that new heroes were groomed, so that they too could take a place in history. Oliver's heroes are adventurers, conquerors, the conquered, the wealthy and the poor, the privileged and the underdog, the politically astute and the poor souls who found themselves in the wrong place, at what was arguably the wrong time. Yet, they all showed heroism by doing the right thing when the situation called for it.

Do we need heroes these days and, if we do, under what circumstances?

Oliver draws some tentative conclusions about what makes a hero which certainly make a useful starting point. Heroes, it seems, have fathers who they would like to prove themselves to. Their mothers who have played other than normal roles in their lives; perhaps being responsible for the care of their mother earlier than you would expect, perhaps being too close for comfort, perhaps dying in their childhood. Heroes have often grown 'apart' from their family and other children - not always being comfortable in their company and, as adults, often socially ill-at-ease, especially with the other sex.

Heroes have a strong sense of duty to a body greater than themselves and their family. Whether to their regiment, society, the nation, clan, or humanity as a whole. This is not simply a question of putting others needs above their own; it is about being prepared - indeed even expecting - to sacrifice their own life for the sake of others. Heroes place little emphasis on the act of dying itself. While, no doubt, there are some humanist heroes most, it appears, see death as a transition rather than a final act, and therefore, they usually have some Faith that embraces such a continuum.

There are some fascinating examples of individuals who were driven by their own needs and aspirations and for whom 'success' proved elusive until they put these aside and acted self-lessly for a higher good. For those who were also leaders a consistent quality is a deep and detailed concern for the day-to-day welfare of their 'followers'. Frequently, this is not simply a question of showing an interest, but of a passionate concern - giving more than might be expected of a leader in a position of power. In return, they are not simply respected but loved, and the degree of commitment shown to them is not merely that of an employee but a devotion that could be beyond that shown to their family - and could too include the ultimate sacrifice.

While a few of Oliver's examples are individuals for whom their behaviour, in an instant, defined them as heroic, most were serial heroes. One event perhaps stands out. Often, though not always, this was their final act, but for many it was an early step in a long life of heroism.

So, a few questions for the leaders among us to ponder...

What precisely is our personal 'higher aspiration'? We might struggle to define it, and our life may not currently reflect it, but to achieve our fullest potential as a leader we should have some inkling and be working towards it on a day-to-day basis.

What is our attitude to death? Especially our own. Or another way of looking at this would be to ask what is our attitude to our own life? To what extent do we deny its possibility? Without hastening it, what do we do to simply delay the inevitable? And, what do we put off doing today on the assumption that there will be time later?

Few of us work in isolation. These days fewer still have direct 'reports', as corporate hierarchies would have them, but most of us have a number of people who are dependent on us or for whom we have some responsibility. How many would say we cared about them? How many would say our care went beyond what they might reasonably expect? What could we do, on a day-to-day basis, and from tomorrow (no later), to achieve this degree of concern?

We often get drawn into a career path that is about perpetuating the status quo. It may involve material growth but nonetheless it is about perpetuation of a system of hierarchy and seniority. I often hear leaders say, once they have retired, "this is how I wish others would do things - it isn't how I did them, but with the benefit of hindsight, it is how I wish I had." So, how about changing the time-scale? Don't wait until you retire and apologetically advise the new generation. Instead, why not take a stand? Be a hero. Regardless of the personal consequences, make a change for the better in your work. What could/should you, your business, your industry, do differently and what could you do to make this happen?

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org - corporate-alumni.info

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Why climate security affects us all

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This is the second part of a keynote paper prepared for the 11th Global Conference on Environment Management, held in Palampur last week.

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A short-term geopolitical scenario

This though, is not a conference about the science and technology necessary to save us. It is about climate security - the geopolitical factors that arise from climate change that pose as great a threat in a shorter timescale.

If we know that the glaciers will be gone by 2035, and we can be pretty confident that the governments will NOT act soon enough to transform the lower-atmospheric CO2 concentrations, then this ceases to be a feat of engineering that must be achieved. Instead, it becomes a matter of politics, migration, cross-border conflict, and international intervention.

The precursor of most cross-border conflict is human migration. No region is more directly threatened by human migration than South Asia. The IPCC warns that “coastal areas, especially heavily populated mega-delta regions in South, East, and Southeast Asia, will be at greatest risk due to increased flooding from the sea and, in some mega-deltas, flooding from the rivers.”

Bangladesh in particular will be threatened by devastating floods, monsoons, melting glaciers, and tropical cyclones (originating in the Bay of Bengal), water contamination and ecosystem destruction caused by rising sea levels. The population of Bangladesh stands at 142 million today, and is projected to increase by approximately 100 million people 30 years, despite climate change and other environmental factors making the low-lying regions of the country uninhabitable.
Most of the displaced people will move inland, a migration that is expected to cause instability and friction with established communities as they compete for already scarce resources. Other migrants will seek to go abroad, creating heightened political tension not only in South Asia but in Europe, the US, and South-East Asia, as well.

India will struggle to cope with a surge of displaced people from Bangladesh, but they are not the only ones who will seek refuge there. Approximately four million people inhabit the small islands in the Bay of Bengal that are already being slowly swallowed by the rising sea. Most of these communities will have to be accommodated on the mainland sooner or later.

Many of the borders and territories, in the region are already contested, and this large-scale migration is going to fuel these differences. Add to this the deteriorating socioeconomic conditions, radical Islamic political groups, and dire environmental insecurity, and there are clearly severe regional and potentially global consequences.

As climate change has its greatest impact on areas that are already challenged for resources, it is limiting the effectiveness of many of the current development projects financed by the international community even though they are increasingly important. The World Bank estimates that 40 percent of all overseas development assistance and concessional finance is devoted to activities that will be affected by climate change, but few of the projects adequately account for the impact that climate change will have. Consequently, dams are built on rivers that will dry up, and crops are planted in coastal areas that will be frequently flooded.

In Nepal, for example, the melting glaciers are leading to glacial lake outburst, where high energy flood waves reaching as much as 15 metres in height, destroy downstream settlements, dams, bridges, and other infrastructure. Millions of dollars in recent investment have been lost because the hydro-power and infrastructure design in Nepal largely fails to take these floods into account. Ultimately, this further stresses the country as it tries to preserve a fragile peace. Given its proximity to the conflict zone of Kashmir and the contested borders of China and India, an eruption of severe social or political turmoil in Nepal could have ramifications for the entire South Asian region.

I hope that I have managed to illustrate in sufficient detail, exactly why climate security is such a crucial subject for us all to grasp. In almost every part of the world, there are unique circumstances, that individually appear local, and of limited impact. However, the underlying trend of climate change exacerbates these to the point of significant social unrest which in turn accelerates the impact of climate change by making efforts to reduce it impossible and undermining those efforts that are made.

What does climate security mean to 'real' people?

This is the first part of a keynote paper prepared for the 11th Global Conference on Environment Management, being held at Palampur later this week.

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At the UN Security Council debate on climate security in 2007, the Ghanaian representative, LK Christian, spoke of growing evidence that nomadic Fulani cattle herdsmen were arming themselves with sophisticated assault rifles. They were doing so in order to confront local farming communities, who in turn were threatening their cattle herds. The cause that he gave for this increasing tension was climate change which is expanding the Sahara desert.

Only the day before, the Security Council had been discussing the crisis in Darfur. This is a conflict in which 200 000 people have already died. It is a conflict in which there has been that same struggle between nomadic and pastoral communities for resources made more scarce through a changing climate.

We know from studying earlier civilizations that declined and collapsed that it was often shrinking harvests that were responsible. For the Sumerians, rising salt concentrations in the soil lowered wheat and barley yields and brought down this extraordinary early civilization. For the Mayans, it was soil erosion following deforestation that undermined their agriculture and set the stage for their demise. For our twenty-first century civilization, it is rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and the associated rise in temperature that threatens future harvests.

To illustrate the problems of climate security, I am going to focus on the Indian Ganges, and Chinese Yellow and Yangtze river basins. I could have chosen almost any part of the world, but as this conference is in Himachal Pradesh, these seemed a good or bad choice depending on your perspective.

The world is currently facing a climate-driven shrinkage of river-based irrigation water supplies. Mountain glaciers in the Himalayas and on the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau are melting and could soon deprive the major rivers of India and China of the ice melt which is necessary to sustain them throughout the dry season. In the Ganges, the Yellow, and the Yangtze river basins, where irrigated agriculture depends substantially on rivers, this loss of dry-season flow will shrink harvests.

The world has never faced such a predictably massive threat to food production as that posed by the melting mountain glaciers of Asia. China and India are the world’s leading producers of both wheat and rice - the staple component of the diet of most of humanity. China’s wheat harvest is nearly double that of the United States, which ranks third after India. With rice, these two countries are far and away the leading producers; together they account for over half of the world harvest.

In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (www.ipcc.ch) reported that Himalayan glaciers are receding rapidly and that many could melt entirely by 2035. In particular, if the giant Gangotri Glacier which supplies 70 percent of the Ganges flow during the dry season should disappear, then the Ganges will become a seasonal river - flowing during the rainy season, but not during the summer dry season when irrigation water is so essential.

A leading Chinese glaciologist, Yao Tandong, has reported that the glaciers on the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau in western China are now melting at an accelerating rate. He believes that two thirds of these glaciers could be gone by 2060, which will substantially reduce the dry-season flow of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers.

Like the Ganges, the Yellow River, which flows through the arid northern part of China, could also become seasonal.

At the same time, overpumping in both India and China, is depleting the underground water resources that both countries use for irrigation. Water tables are falling everywhere under the North China Plain, the country’s principal grain-producing region. When an aquifer is depleted, the rate of pumping is reduced to the rate of recharge. In India, water tables are falling and wells are going dry in almost every state.

Losing the river water used for irrigation could lead to politically unmanageable food shortages. The Ganges River, for example, is the largest source of surface water irrigation in India, and is the principle source of water for the 407 million people living in the Gangetic Basin.

In China, the Yellow River basin is home to 147 million people whose fate is closely tied to the ice-melt feeding the river because of low rainfall in the basin. The Yangtze, meanwhile, is China’s leading source of surface irrigation water, and helps produce more than half of China’s 130-million-ton rice harvest. It also meets many of the other water needs of an estimated 368 million people that live within its watershed.

The populations in either the Yangtze or Gangetic river basin are larger than those of any country other than China or India. The ongoing shrinkage of underground water supplies, the prospective shrinkage of river water supplies, and the consequent crop and subsequent food crises are occurring against the demographic backdrop of a growth in population by 2050, in India of an anticipated 490 million people, and in China of 80 million.

Grain prices around the world continue to climb and any disruption of the wheat or rice harvests in these two leading grain producers will greatly affect not only people living there but consumers everywhere. In both of these countries, food prices will rise and grain consumption per person will inevitably fall. In India, just over 40 percent of all children under five years of age are already underweight and undernourished, and we can safely predict that hunger will intensify and child mortality will likely climb.

For China, where there is already a struggle to manage food price inflation, there may well be spreading social unrest as food supplies tighten. Food security in China is a highly sensitive issue. Anyone in China who is over 50 years of age is a survivor of the Great Famine of 1959–61, when, even according to official figures, 30 million Chinese starved to death. This is also why Beijing has worked so hard in recent decades to try and maintain grain self-sufficiency.

A decade ago, China, was essentially self-sufficient in soy-beans; today, it is importing 70 percent of its supply, which has helped drive world soy-bean prices to an all-time high. As food shortages further unfold, China will try to hold down its domestic food prices by using its massive dollar holdings to import grain, mostly from the United States, which is the world’s largest grain exporter. But, as irrigation water supplies shrink, Chinese consumers will be competing with American domestic consumers for the US grain harvest. India may also try to import large quantities of grain, though it probably lacks the money to do so, especially if grain prices keep climbing.

This is not a problem that we are leaving to future generations. 2035 is only 25 years away. Assuming that starvation, pestilence, and war do not kill you, most people who are under 50 today, will still be alive then. If you are under 50, you have a responsibility to do something about it.

Glaciologists have given us a clear sense of how fast the glaciers are shrinking. The challenge now is to translate their findings into national energy policies designed to save the glaciers.

The critical factor is to reduce low-altitude atmospheric concentrations of CO2. At issue is not just the future of mountain glaciers, but the future of world grain harvests. The challenge is to abandon current policies and cut carbon emissions by, at least, 80 percent - not by 2050 which is the target many political leaders have tried to suggest, but by 2020.

The first step is to stop building coal-fired power plants, which contribute significantly to these low altitude CO2 levels. Ironically, of course, the two countries that are planning to build most of the new coal-fired power plants, are China and India - the two countries most massively threatened by the carbon emitted from burning coal. It is now totally in their interest to try and save their mountain glaciers by shifting investment from coal-fired power plants into energy efficiency and wind farms, solar thermal power, and geothermal power. It has been estimated, that China, for example, could double its current electrical generating capacity from wind alone.

When leaders fear to lead

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The other weekend, I was lucky to attend the Annual Branch Conference of the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS). The RLSS is a charity, established in 1891 to combat a high drowning toll. The techniques advocated by the Society were soon adopted by many countries and today the RLSS represents the largest single organisation dedicated to the teaching of lifesaving and the prevention of drowning.

The Society is responsible for the standards, and most of the training, of every lifeguard in Britain - both those who ensure our safety in swimming pools and those who patrol Britain's beaches. In every county, most cities, and many towns, clubs and classes are held each week, teaching young and old, the essential skills of water safety, water rescue, and resuscitation.

Lifesaving is growing in popularity at the moment as more and more young people, especially teenagers and university students, are taking part in the competitive aspect of the sport. Lifesaving competitions are dramatic, exciting, very tough, and incredibly moving events. Some are held indoors and some on beaches and other open-water venues, including lakes and rivers.

Have you ever been on a beach, and seen the crowd that turns to watch as the inshore RIB (rigid hulled inflatable boat) powers off to recover a young child on an inflatable that has drifted off to sea? Or perhaps it was the red and yellow clad beach lifeguard running through the waves to catch the little child that got immersed as they played ball in what they (and their parents) thought was waist high water and suddenly became adult shoulder height?

If so, you'll know how dramatic and yet how fast these rescues have to be. Well, imagine half a dozen such lifeguards racing one another to recover a casualty from the bottom of the pool, negotiating hazards as they go. You'll soon realise what an appeal the competitive translation of these 'skills for life' can have!

The RLSS is not all about drama and excitement. Its volunteers also teach almost every cricket coach in basic resuscitation and first aid, accredit every swimming teacher as competent to rescue a pupil during lessons, offer every new parent free training in the skills to 'save a baby's life' and, recently, hosted many evening sessions for the parents of Babies and Toddlers, again teaching them life-saving skills through a scheme sponsored by Tesco.

The RLSS, like many charities in Britain, depends on volunteers. Without volunteers, most clubs would close, many classes would stop, few lifeguards would be qualified, no swimming teacher could teach, deaths during cricket matches would increase, and the 2600 babies who choked in Britain last year would have died. Volunteers are the life blood of the RLSS.

Volunteers, of course, have 'rights'. While they may not be paid, they deserve to be motivated in other ways, and although they often claim less than they might, they shouldn't be unduly out-of-pocket for their efforts. They deserve respect, they deserve to be protected from risks, they deserve appropriate and relevant training. Unless they have waived the right, then they deserve privacy, and a variety of freedoms. No-one would deny this. According to the law, these people are employees and, as such, their rights are protected by a raft of legislation.

Of course, over the years a small handful of cases reach the courts, where a volunteer from somewhere across the charity sector, feels that their rights have been compromised. Although it falls behind the number of cases that are heard for paid employees, these volunteers do, from time to time, feel that they have been sufficiently badly treated that they deserve compensation through the legal system.

We are not talking of a flood (thank goodness) but there is a steady flow of cases such that, at this year's Conference, a seminar was offered for those of us with responsibility for developing volunteers, to help us become aware of the range of legislation that we have to manage our way around. Forty or so of us, sat for a couple of hours, exploring the dark recesses of the legislation, standards, protocols, 'best practices', guidelines, policies, and Acts, and learned a number of multi-lettered acronyms along the way. I gave up counting, but I think it's safe to say that there are a good couple of dozen bits of legislation that MIGHT be used to seek retribution for the victims of these abuses.

Now, I don't want you to think that I feel workers, real workers (both voluntary and paid), don't deserve such protection. I most firmly do feel that they deserve protection. My grandfather imbued me with a very clear sense of the rights and wrongs of labour relations and I wouldn't dream of denying them this hard earned support.

However, I know I am not the only person to suggest that some of these quasi-protections are ineffective, inefficient, retrospective, nannying by the State. I don't blame 'the State' for anything though. I think that there are two collective groups responsible for the ludicrous state of affairs by which a school needs a qualified Mountain Leader to take a bunch of kids onto the playing field for a nature walk. The first, are the self-appointed, unqualified, often untrained and unmanaged, obsessive-compulsive personalities who disorder everyone else's life by insisting on ritualised procedures because "health and safety requires it." The second group are the equally dysfunctional band of lawyers who will gladly lead someone up the garden path of legal redress, on the trail of some distant lucre, when realistically, what is needed is for the leaders of an organisation to see that they have failed and to put something in place as an appropriate prevention of a future case.

We have reached the point where, whether in the voluntary or paid employment sectors, leaders are afraid to lead, trustees are afraid to trust, and directors are afraid to direct, simply because of some exaggerated sense of fear that they will be prosecuted and held liable for some petty infraction of an over-sensitive individual's rights. [Wow! I'll start reading the Daily Express soon!]

We now face a situation where employees are bombarded with the potential for compensation, where they can engage a solicitor on a 'no-win, no-fees' basis, and get 'anonymous' support for their legal case to reach ludicrous levels of appeal. Meanwhile, companies and charities need to retain the services of lawyers and insurers to protect them from exaggerated, nefarious claims from morally-outraged, fortune hunters.

So, where is this diatribe going? Well, I was delighted to hear today that the Employment Appeal Tribunal, in a landmark decision, awarded £25k costs against a claimant in a racial discrimination case. They found that she had fabricated a ‘deliberate and cynical lie’ in claiming that she had been named a ‘black bitch’ by her managers. They also found that her claim that she was unfairly underpaid by 50p per hour was not reasonable as she had accepted her level of remuneration for months with no qualms.

I hope that it was not simply a case of personal avarice or greed that led her to this point. I hope that she has the means to pay the £25k. I hope that those stirring lawyers and benefactors seeking to prove a legal point at the expense of the individuals and organisations involved will, at least, 'bail her out'.

Above all though, I think/I hope, that we see in this case, a small sign that society has turned a corner. That these ridiculous nerds who hide behind the facade of loosely interpreted legislation, obstructing progress, cramping exploration, denying experience, and generally forging a path towards dullness and despondency, will see that their days are numbered and a new era of vitality and excitement lie ahead!

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org - corporate-alumni.info

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A few more thoughts on networking...

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Quite a few people have given me feedback on my Better Networking leaflet lately and, in particular, they have asked for some thoughts on face-to-face networking at events, so I have pulled together a few more pointers. So much of the success of such events depends on your attitude to yourself.

We all know the scenario - in a fit of enthusiasm for expanding our range of contacts, we committed to go to a 'networking evening' a few weeks ahead. The day arrives sooner than we expected and we have a bundle of better things to do, but our conscience gets the better of us and we set off in a bit of a hurry and expecting to be a little late. On the way, we consider turning around a couple of times, and when we arrive in the car park we also give it some serious thought. However, we're there so we'd better go ahead. Entering the room, we see the usual characters - a little cluster of committee-types in the distance engaged in earnest conversation, a few pairs giving their attention to one another desperate to look interested and actually panicking that they are going to have to say something intelligent in a moment, and a couple of individuals standing on the edge of the group. At this point we spot the wine waiter and gladly grab a glass. Now what do we do?
Let's begin before you leave for the event and certainly in the car on the way...

Be realistic about yourself and what you would like out of the meetings you are about to have.

If you don't have some clear outcomes that you are looking for then the conversation will be aimless, lacking purpose, though potentially perfectly acceptable socially. There's nothing wrong with going to a networking event simply to have a drink and enjoy meeting a few folks. However, it isn't usually the purpose of the event, and you are unlikely to achieve certain kinds of outcome (such as new leads, collaborators, suppliers, innovations for your business) from the time.

Be prepared to ask other people what they are looking for from the 'networking' too. It can be a good way of developing a conversation.

Also be prepared for the fact that some participants HAVE come to make a number of initial acquaintances and to build a deeper rapport later. They won't be too happy to linger as you go into a deep explanation of the inner workings of your latest paradigm!

It really doesn't matter what you are wearing but it is important that you feel confident.

Some people, such as Richard Branson, appear confident in very relaxed clothes, others can't relax unless they are in a designer suit. Spend time becoming sure of yourself and what you feel confident in. Tweak it to perfection, and then wear it. Yes, there ARE norms of dress in certain industries and certain environments, but confidence is MUCH more important than matching the norms. By confident, I do NOT mean being relaxed. Sadly, I often come across people who seem to think they must dress in a suit and then look stiff and anxious at the same event as others are dressed in cords and a pullover looking calm and confident. You can't give someone your full attention when you are feeling awkward and all they go away with is an impression of an uncomfortable person and an uncomfortable conversation.

A handshake can cement long-term positive feelings and help you remember names!

When you approach someone, get eye-to-eye contact, stand tall, relax your shoulders. Smile, pause, and then offer your hand in a vertical fashion (thumb and fingers arranged above one another), firmly but not too firmly. While holding their hand, take a breath, and say; "Hello, my name is ..., and what is yours?" When they say it, shake their hand, and say; "It's good to meet you, ...". Release their hand naturally at this point. (Written like that makes this sound a bit false - it isn't as bad as it sounds and, with practice, will feel perfectly natural.

When you are parting company, again get eye-to-eye contact, smile, then a second handshake, this time using your other hand to gently enfold their elbow or upper arm, accompanied with: "It's been good talking, ..., I hope we'll meet again soon."
You will be staggered how many other people's names you will remember and how many people will remember yours. They will also feel far more affinity to you than to other people.

Lots of people feel relieved to find anyone to talk to and then don't move on soon enough.

Remember that the reason YOU are there is to network - that means meeting as many people as possible and with both of you warmly remembering a little about the other. You can't say that you have achieved this if you only speak to a small handful of potentials. Longer, deeper, more meaningful exchanges can be had later by meeting one-to-one - the job at this event is to prepare the ground for future contact.

If you are one of those folks who find yourself sticking close to a few people, challenge yourself to do better. Set yourself goals, such as: "I'm going to introduce myself to double numbers!" or "I'm going to make sure I collect a dozen business cards." or "I'm going to talk to four people I have never met before." Repeat this goal setting on a half dozen occasions and achieve the goals and you'll find you've got it cracked!

Connect with people as equals.

NEVER consider yourself above another person, nor as an inferior or subordinate. Always look for some connection between you during the conversation, having identified it and without necessarily speaking about it, use your 'insider knowledge' to ask them questions about their experience. This makes them feel listened to, and they will leave the conversation with you feeling better.
Judging people is a dangerous sport, best left to professionals!

Be careful not to talk about yourself too much.

Monitor how much you use "I", "You" and "We in your conversation. Take responsibility for the conversation (as a DIALOGUE) guiding it if it becomes one sided or negative. People don't have positive feelings towards braggers, but they do towards listeners.

I hope you'll find these useful. If you have anything to add, or would care to share your experiences, do call.

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org

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Corporate Alumni Networks - managing your reputation and protecting your future in recessionary times

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Why reputation among former employees is so vital...

Imagine yourself, in three years' time. A former colleague calls - perhaps it's one of those you've had to 'let go' this year, or someone who saw an opportunity elsewhere and left. Their call is no surprise, because you've kept in touch with them ever since. They want your advice...

Perhaps they've seen you advertising a job and wonder if they should apply...

They've heard you are struggling with something that they were an expert in and think that they could help you...

The business they are running is looking for investment or to be acquired...

They have discovered a solution to a technical problem that has thwarted you for years...

They know someone they think would make an excellent member of your team...

They have heard you might want to dispose of a part of your firm and they are eager to buy...

They have an idea for a new product stream and would like to know who's best to discuss it with...

Maybe they have spotted a new market and would like to help you develop it...

There are ways of managing your reputation and getting a return on the investment...

Despite the rhetoric, for most companies struggling to keep afloat in a tough recessionary market the likelihood of maintaining such bonds with former employees is small.

Whatever our reason for moving on, whether we are made redundant, fired, or even go of our own choice, there is usually a bitter after-taste. Few people sing the praises of a former employer - certainly not in the next few years. It is a natural part of the psychology of adapting to change - to project the blame onto the former employer and so make the future look better.

Employers too, used to take what some might describe as an arrogant approach: that someone who has left has been disloyal somehow and should never be entertained again. There are still many who act this way.

If you want to nurture your relationships, and build an body of ambassadors...

Now, suppose I said there is a way to manage your company's reputation despite these tough times, to maintain the morale of staff who leave your organisation (and encourage those that stay), to build a pool of potential future employees and of grass-roots ambassadors for the business, to provide a source of relevant innovative ideas and an extended network of referrers of business opportunities, and all this for very little outlay... would you be interested?

There is an inexpensive way of achieving all this...

Known as a 'corporate alumni network' - it calls for long-term commitment and a belief in the potential of former staff, but it costs very little to run, and can add enormous value in many ways.

As one Group HR Director said; "It's a no-brainer really - just one senior player recruited through the network can pay for all its costs."

If you recognise the benefit of keeping in touch, of nurturing the relationship with former staff, of providing a communication channel through which they can keep in contact with you, build their network, learn about opportunities, involve you in their future ventures, and through which you can make a positive contribution to their immediate needs, then I think you'll find I have something important to offer.

A few enlightened employers have proactively managed these relationships in the past: The Mars Group, Motorola, McKinsey, KPMG, and Ford are all examples. This used to involve a lot of hands-on effort, was achieved by post or phone and was expensive. It often meant formal events to which members were invited and which required corporate sponsorship. Along the way, the firms had to learn that they couldn't control the networks, but they could influence them.

The power of the internet means that, left to their own devices, employees can organise their own networks. They are fragile, lack authority, don't have corporate support and input (both essentials), and have no 'agenda' to sustain a positive relationship with the company.

A modern solution, facilitating two way flows of information and a climate of care...

Today, more firms are waking up to the possibility of offering their former staff access to an online environment, where they can maintain contact, nurture individuals and relationships and build a positive reputation. The technology is simple (though some IT departments seem reluctant to admit it!) and is completely outside your own infrastructure so it poses no threat, brings no long-term responsibilities, and is accessible to FORMER staff who (obviously) have no access to your intranet.

What makes the network work though, is its day-to-day management. Facilitating a corporate alumni network (which is the term that these groups are known by) calls for skills in distant relationship building, an understanding of the psychology of communication and the emotional needs of former staff and an ability to offer online 'counsel' where appropriate, an ability to mentor those who are embarking on more senior roles, and to support those who might be launching their own businesses.

A lot of support costs very little...

I hope that you'll be persuaded that this is a simple approach that could reap considerable rewards for your business. It costs very little, though it needs a long-term commitment to make it worthwhile, but the return on the investment can be enormous.

Visit my website: www.corporate-alumni.info to read more, to download an independent report on the nature of alumni networks, to read comments from others like you, and to learn what leads to the success of good networks. Give me a call to arrange a meeting.

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org

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Politicians urged to use the economic crisis to fight climate change and eliminate poverty

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Oxfordshire-based businessman, Dr Graham Wilson, is leading a call for politicians to seize the opportunity presented by the current economic crisis simultaneously to address long-term environmental threats and global poverty.

This was the conclusion of delegates at the 4th World Congress on Corporate Responsibility who met this week in Vilamoura, Portugal (26-28 February 2009). Under the chairmanship of Ola Ullsten, former Prime Minister of Sweden, they developed a global model for sustainable corporate growth. They demonstrated ways in which organisations can benefit from addressing the long-term environmental threats that confront the world.

The participants came from throughout Europe, Asia, Indonesia, the Gulf Region, and North and South America, and included representatives of companies, NGOs and academics that have established corporate responsibility as a model for business growth. The industrialists represented manufacturing, financial and service sectors.

With Dr Wilson, who is based in Lower Heyford, as moderator, they explored the relationship between the current economic collapse, poverty, and the Green economy. He explained; "Governments around the world have followed the UK lead by increasing public spending to promote economic growth. What we were able to demonstrate was that, by focusing this spending on the 'big issues' of climate and poverty, Governments can achieve a three-fold benefit rather than pursuing one that merely props up already exhausted markets."

In his opening comments, Antonio Castro Guerra, the Portuguese Deputy Minister of State for the Economy and Innovation, said that market structures will change and that it is crucial to develop innovative responses linking policy, industry and society.

"The world stands at a crossroads. We can turn back to business as usual or we can choose to use the huge opportunity the green economy offers as a way out of the current financial crisis and as the means to create a just and sustainable world" added Dr Madhav Mehra, President of the World Council for Corporate Governance.

Ulric von Hentaller, of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, went on; "Governments have recognized that the most significant way in which they can redress the economic crisis is by immediate and targeted public investment."

"Although PPPs, public private partnerships, have been used for some time, the current crisis brings their importance to the fore" commented Roman von Rupp, president of MEI Europe, based in Portugal.

The participants urged policy makers to ensure that this public spending focuses on environmental improvements, creating jobs that will address the financial crisis and will also, they believe, make dramatic in-roads into global poverty.

The group went on to identify a number of critical action points that they feel governments, industry and the public need to address.


ACTION POINTS

1. We believe the focus of this investment should be in the field of renewable energy and achieved through open market competition rather than subsidy driven. Further employment opportunities exist in resource reclamation, and environmental restoration.

2. Accounting practices need to embrace social and environmental assets, with appropriate standards being developed and adopted.

3. A new generation of corporate leaders need to be nurtured - driven by personal values that are just, sustainable, peaceful, and participative and respect human dignity.

4. Sustainable industry is only realised when personal gain is not achieved at the expense of corporate and society needs.

5. We live in a global world but need to reengage at a local level, with small communities owning and monitoring business activities in ways that remain consistent with free-trade.

6. This local focus (5) applies to the ownership of enterprises and the regulation of their activities, and extends to the responsibility that those organisations have towards the many stakeholders that they impact upon.

7. Partnerships between government, industry and NGOs need to be focused on the combined approach to address the environment, economic and poverty crises.

8. The Millennium goals provide a starting point for this approach, but need to be reviewed with a stronger focus on the immediate context.

For further information, contact:
Dr Graham Wilson - 07785 222380 (gw@grahamwilson.org)
Dr Madhav Mehra - 07957 448998 (madhav.mehra@wcfcg.net)

Best wishes

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Working behind the scenes, helping leaders achieve things they never dreamt they could
t 07785 222380 | grahamwilson.org - inter-faith.net - thefutureofwork.org

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