Anyone that listens to me with even half an ear will no doubt have heard me talk about how credit cards have had a huge impact on society, not just economically, but in term of attitudes. In 1972 Access, A UK credit card created from a banking consortium, later taken over by Mastercard, used a slogan in their first advert that epitomised the issues that would follow. "Take the waiting out of wanting".
This week I happened to catch an advert for Interact, a debit card system here in Canada. It starts "What if we had all of the holiday stuff without all the stuff stuff" and ends "Interac, for the stuff that matters."
I was fairly shocked, happily, when I first heard the ad. 47 years, nearly 2 generations, later the tides a turning.
Now I realise that it's an ad, and there is a vested interested. But in the capitalist based economy driven to a large extent by financial services and therefore credit and interest, the enticement of short term gain, and greed, used to create an entire credit industry captured in that 1972 slogan, has given way, at least in an ad, to a call away from excessive spending.
Again, those that give me half an ear, know that the the rampant attitudes around Christmas are quite the turn off for me. The commercialism and greed are pretty hard to take. Seeing more and more being spend with less and less gratitude is sickening. Not to mention the casting away of common decency. Have you noticed how the rules of the road are abandoned at this time of year? Have you notice how people aren't smiling.
I am therefore pleased to see that advertising has come round to the idea that the wanting of stuff is by implication not the thing that matters.
As I said, I know Interac has a vested interest, but I have to hand it to them. Nice going.
Saturday, 21 December 2019
Sunday, 4 August 2019
Pride, why I march.
Today it is the local pride parade and I will be marching.
I march because the rights I have today have been hard fought. I mostly enjoy equal rights because of the actions of others. That needs to be remembered. In some parts of the world I could not freely be myself. Even a generation or two ago I couldn't.
Those same equal rights are under threat in some places. I march to be seen and counted.
I march in memory of those that have lost their lives simply because the prospect of being themselves was too hard. Whilst we mostly have equal rights, we still don't have broad equal acceptance. Their loss needs to be remembered.
I march for those that aren't brave enough to be out here, seen and counted, still struggling to be. For you, I am here helping to pave the way. For you, I am here.
I march to represent those that would want to be here but can't.
I march for the generation to come to ensure that have the same or better rights and freedoms to equality and inclusion that I do. Especially, that kids don't have to go through what I did.
Today I march with pride.
I march because the rights I have today have been hard fought. I mostly enjoy equal rights because of the actions of others. That needs to be remembered. In some parts of the world I could not freely be myself. Even a generation or two ago I couldn't.
Those same equal rights are under threat in some places. I march to be seen and counted.
I march in memory of those that have lost their lives simply because the prospect of being themselves was too hard. Whilst we mostly have equal rights, we still don't have broad equal acceptance. Their loss needs to be remembered.
I march for those that aren't brave enough to be out here, seen and counted, still struggling to be. For you, I am here helping to pave the way. For you, I am here.
I march to represent those that would want to be here but can't.
I march for the generation to come to ensure that have the same or better rights and freedoms to equality and inclusion that I do. Especially, that kids don't have to go through what I did.
Today I march with pride.
Sunday, 28 July 2019
Vulnerability in Business
I have been reading Traction by Gino Wickman. As well as the great input for the entrepreneur world I inhabit for work, it has been validating personally for the approach I take with dealing with people at work.
Over the last 50 years or so the Personnel department has given way to Human Resources. The issue I have seen for many years is that there is a wholesale dehumanization of people with a move to viewing them as merely a resource.
The term resources within a business context will likely first conjure the thought of money. “Working capital, the life blood of a business” is something I have heard for many years in the business community and it is still a popular phrase. The transposing of values here was not lost on me. Humans have became resources whilst money has has been anthropomorphised.
These changes in language have far ranging effects. In general money tends not to have an emotional response to it's use in business yet the language of life blood places very people based values upon it. On the other hand people feel, they are emotional yet are viewed as a resource, stripping them of their very nature.
Many corporations will talk about a happy work culture but many know this is glib platitude in many instances. Some companies do walk the walk, a popular example being the Virgin group, where Sir Richard Branson is cited often for his beliefs of looking after the employees first whole will then look after the company.
Humans are vulnerable, they feel, they have emotions. Vulnerability is a strength of its own. Consider that for a moment. Vulnerability is often associated with being weak, fearful, and exposed. But what would happen if:
you let your colleagues see who you really are
what you do best you did more of
you let your leaders know you have doubts at times
you listened more to your colleagues
you understood your weaknesses and let go of some of the things you don’t do very well
and instead you other who excel at those things take them on
you asked for help?
In Traction, Wickman talks about letting go of the vine, the vine that you have been holding on to.
Those that have been around me for any time will know I talk about Cost, Price and Value. These three are often cited round sales like activities. The questions go along the lines of what does it cost to make the widget, what price is the widget being sold at and what's the value of the widget to the purchaser. I hope it is obvious that the relationship of these three leads to to understanding of profit, loss, sales, customer satisfaction and disappointment and so on.
However, the notion of cost, price and value can be applied to other areas of life too. What's the cost of a friendship, what's the price of a friendship and what's the value. I pick this example, not because I am a cold hearted friend but because I recently helped someone understand the extent to which they were being used and abused in a relationship – sometimes the cold hard truth is exposed simply and with clarity.
And so it is with vulnerability. What is the cost of being vulnerable in our relationships, personal and at work? What is that cost, probably cast in terms of risk, and what is the value.
To me the value has always been apparent. People feel. Treating them as such makes all the difference in the world to them and from a management only perspective, as Sir Richard Branson has noticed, employees that are happy look after the company. It's good for the people and it's good for the bottom line.
Personally, I would like to see the language around HR changed.
Over the last 50 years or so the Personnel department has given way to Human Resources. The issue I have seen for many years is that there is a wholesale dehumanization of people with a move to viewing them as merely a resource.
The term resources within a business context will likely first conjure the thought of money. “Working capital, the life blood of a business” is something I have heard for many years in the business community and it is still a popular phrase. The transposing of values here was not lost on me. Humans have became resources whilst money has has been anthropomorphised.
These changes in language have far ranging effects. In general money tends not to have an emotional response to it's use in business yet the language of life blood places very people based values upon it. On the other hand people feel, they are emotional yet are viewed as a resource, stripping them of their very nature.
Many corporations will talk about a happy work culture but many know this is glib platitude in many instances. Some companies do walk the walk, a popular example being the Virgin group, where Sir Richard Branson is cited often for his beliefs of looking after the employees first whole will then look after the company.
Humans are vulnerable, they feel, they have emotions. Vulnerability is a strength of its own. Consider that for a moment. Vulnerability is often associated with being weak, fearful, and exposed. But what would happen if:
you let your colleagues see who you really are
what you do best you did more of
you let your leaders know you have doubts at times
you listened more to your colleagues
you understood your weaknesses and let go of some of the things you don’t do very well
and instead you other who excel at those things take them on
you asked for help?
In Traction, Wickman talks about letting go of the vine, the vine that you have been holding on to.
Those that have been around me for any time will know I talk about Cost, Price and Value. These three are often cited round sales like activities. The questions go along the lines of what does it cost to make the widget, what price is the widget being sold at and what's the value of the widget to the purchaser. I hope it is obvious that the relationship of these three leads to to understanding of profit, loss, sales, customer satisfaction and disappointment and so on.
However, the notion of cost, price and value can be applied to other areas of life too. What's the cost of a friendship, what's the price of a friendship and what's the value. I pick this example, not because I am a cold hearted friend but because I recently helped someone understand the extent to which they were being used and abused in a relationship – sometimes the cold hard truth is exposed simply and with clarity.
And so it is with vulnerability. What is the cost of being vulnerable in our relationships, personal and at work? What is that cost, probably cast in terms of risk, and what is the value.
To me the value has always been apparent. People feel. Treating them as such makes all the difference in the world to them and from a management only perspective, as Sir Richard Branson has noticed, employees that are happy look after the company. It's good for the people and it's good for the bottom line.
Personally, I would like to see the language around HR changed.
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