26/09/2010 by Geoff.

We’re on a break in Australia taking in Noosa, Brisbane, Sidney, Melbourne and Adelaide.  My thoughts are that there are bound to be some things of interest I can share with you during this trip:

Noosa

Bit of a seaside resort and despite it being winter its been quite sunny. Chris (Mining engineer), Sheila (ex. teacher) and Bundy (aging Blue Heeler) have been great and its been even more like home from home with a hung parliament! Seeing the dingo again was great but yesterday a gardner called to show us a six foot long snake that had been sunning itself on a neighbours wall! Now safely released into the bush - I don’t think I’ll be going in there. A brief business view is that retail seems to suffering similar to the UK.

Brisbane

Missed this since our friends were a bit crook. The airports nice.

Sydney

Met an “Agile developer” see blog on this subject.

So seven days are coming to an end and we’re very grateful to Sam and Dave for looking after us. Its a nice city Sydney as well as the underground trains a popular mode of transport are the ferries. I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve been over the Sydney Harbour Bridge but the most memorable was the walk over it. Be warned there’s a bit of a climb to get started. The trip to the Blue Mountains was spectacular and we were lucky enough to see kangeroos and a lyre bird. The Hunter Valley wine tasting tour was also memorable the sleep on the way back was a bonus!

Our visit to Sydney should not go without a report on our visit to the ANZ stadium to see the Bunnies play the Eels (the South Sydney Rabbitohs vs the Parramattou Eels). Now this is rugby league and as regular readers of this blog will know I’m a rugby union supporter. Luckily back in 2003 the ANZ stadium was called the Telstra stadium and it was the scene of England winning the RUFC World Cup and Jonny’s great drop kick beating the Aussies in their own back yard. By the way I’m still an rugby union supporter! 

Now off to Mebourne and hopefully to watch a game of Aussie rules at the MCG.

Melbourne

A bit colder and wetter down here. Trips on the great ocean road and the penguin parade were great.

We did go to the MCG and see Geelong Cats vs ST Kilda Saints narrowly won by the latter. They seem to run a lot and there seem to be large number of referees in yellow. All good fun and I think we almost understood it in the end. By the way we were on the back row of the MCG - aren’t they supposed to play cricket here?

Adelaide

This city is a bit more spread out than others and there is no group of central sky scrapers here. Infact there aren’t many at all!

Great trips to the Borossa wine region (Wolf Blass) and Kangaroo Island (plenty of wild life).

Another cricket ground our hotel room overlooked the Torens River and the Adelaide Oval thanks to Sam.

Our five days soon came to an end and this entry is being completed in Singapore on our way back to Blitey.

Business Stuff

Now I’ve rattled on about the need for business processes and standards before. Its important these have the desired effect and don’t turn a customer off. Try these which we experienced during our trip:

• The hotel whose reception advised us to use the escalator to get to lifts with all our bags. We weren’t the only ones!
• At the same hotel the concierge showed little interest in helping.
• In another hotel refreshingly our bags were taken off us before entering the hotel.
• In a hotel every day the kettle was turned off at the switch.

So we’ll soon be home - I hope you’ve enjoyed the above as much as we enjoyed the trip.

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13/09/2010 by Phil.

I know, I know I know. It’s been far too long between report #1 and report#2. So long in fact I bet you have forgotten what it was all about. PTLLS is a training qualification which supports my work on NVQ’s in Business Improvement Techniques. More info available at:  http://www.cityandguilds.com/17976.html  http://www.get-licensed.co.uk/ptlls7303

I said this was due to finish in June and we are (all 18 of us in the group!) still here straining to reach the finish line. Thats a tale for later blogs and management issues with the college. Let me just give you my overall feelings about the course itself.

Someone told me as I started out on this qualification that it would take over my life. I of course dismissed that off hand. ‘Not me’ I said. But they were right. Producing accurate written assignments 35 years after leaving Uni was a challenge. However the basic learning experiences and concepts serve me well in my every day work and once again teamwork wins the day. It still amazes me that you throw 18 total stranges into a room and give them a common goal, and a good team emerges. Still optomistic after all these years!!!!!

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13/09/2010 by Geoff.

Developers in the true sense of the word are change merchants. Usually associated with IT they can exist in any function of the business. They can be really productive but beware of blocking them and they can be perceived as obstructive.

Leaders of a business have a tendancy to say “I want this”. The agile developer will ask “why do you need this”. If resource is constrained then their first comment will be closely followed by “which project shall I drop or delay”. If the leader and developer are going to work in harmony for the good of the Company, after all it is the goal, then there are some guidelines:

• The developer should be involved in the project from the start.
• There needs to be some mechanism for measuring and predicting the impact of a project on the business.
• Don’t be resistant to bad news - investigate and resolve the problem - beware of assumptions

If you work with these and with your developer then your business will improve.

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06/09/2010 by admin.

Some of us count ourselves as ‘self – employed’, others as an ‘employee’, but now we can be classed as a ‘Worker’.In a recent court case ( Yorkshire Window Company v Parkes ), though Parkes was described as ‘self – employed’ the court held that he was a ‘worker’, and therefore could claim to be paid statutory holiday pay under the Working Time Regulations.No mention of NI contributions, maybe the Inland Revenue will catch up with this one soon – Heads behind the parapet I think.

Regards John

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06/09/2010 by Geoff.

How does this sound for typical characteristics of a boss:

• Lonely?
• Makes all the decisions?
• Makes bad decisions?
• Blamed for everything?
• Shoulders other peoples problems?
• Lack of satisfaction?
• etc.

If this seems pretty accurate then what’s a solution other than a change of managment style?

One answer is make the business a co-operative!

In this instance all employees own the business and you’d be surprised how much their drive, commitment and motivation changes. It can remove the characteristics above. It also can give the Company an edge and provide a good marketing tool.

Its an an alternative business model and one where a group of like minded people are a tremendous resource. It can also provide a more sustainable business with ready made replacements available.

Having said all of this, as with all businesses, you need to do your sums - will it work and make a profit? - you can’t expect people to invest in a romantic notion.

A co-operative means abiding by its founding principles and rules which includes giving all members a say in how the business is run. It should also be noted that the boss no longer is the only person with a stake in the business.

If you want to know more there’s a website www.co-operative.coop/enterprisehub  and a nationwide network of experts who offer free business support and advice.

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