Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.
Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895)
- Find out what I'm doing, Follow Me :)
Friday, September 16, 2011
Monday Motivation: Tenacity
Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.
Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895)
Monday, September 12, 2011
Monday Motivation September 2011
“We become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions.”
Aristotle quotes (Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scientist and Physician, 384 BC-322 BC)
Sunday, September 11, 2011
September 11 Thoughts
Theres so much being written and thought and published about September 11- What can I add?
For the victims of all terrorism, war and hate, what can we do to stop these cycles of violence?
Prayers and hope for a better world.
For the victims of all terrorism, war and hate, what can we do to stop these cycles of violence?
Prayers and hope for a better world.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Weekender Article on Facebook
The Adelaide Hills Volunteering Team have been experimenting with this online means of communicating about volunteering for a couple of years now and it has kept me disciplined to write a lot of articles!
Thanks guys. What is interesting too is the paper have moved the community pages a little forward toward the front!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Friday Facts: Uk Big Society after the Riots
Been following a whole lot of comments and posts about UK after the recent riotshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12378974
Thursday, September 8, 2011
No More Free Training?
What do you think of something you get for free? How much value do you place on it?
I have been pondering this over the last week.
I spend about 700 hours a year presenting seminars and workshops (14 hours a week on average). This means I see and meet a lot of people and can make a lot of observations about what I have learnt from these trainings.
From time to time, a client will organise me to present training to their community, network or city for free. To pay for the training, they will use funds from somewhere else.
The training organiser will offer free training for many reasons:
1. More people don't show- they havent paid anything so they have nothing to lose. The organisers often lose with excess catering which is "wasted"
2. More people are late to a free training than a training they have paid for. They're less committed to it
3. More people actively plan to leave a free training earlier (many end up staying and telling me how good it was). It is almost as they believed before they came that if "its free so it probably won't be very good".
4. In a free training session, I find more people leave their phones on. Additionally more people will answer their phone and take a call in the middle of a free workshop. They don't value what is free as much as something they have paid to listen.
5. Bizarrely, I get more "rude people" coming to a free workshop than one where they paid. These people are more likely to interrupt, annoy others and sidetrack than in other workshops. I am particularly pleased with the way I and my team handle these situations.
6. I don't often get people arguing with what I say but I can tell you 90% of the times that someone has decided to start an argument with me, it has been at a free workshop. I am not talking questioning or discussing or even disagreeing, I am talking about picking an argument.
7. Finally, I can tell you that my overall evaluation scores are a little lower at the Free workshops I have done. Not dramatically lower. My average rating at a paid workshop is 93%. At a free workshop, it is 91%. The fact there is this consistent difference says something. I know I am not different when I present at these free sessions. It makes no difference to me and I try to give 110% to my presentations. I know my content is the same. The difference is in the expectations of the audience. Have other people found this?
Note to my clients, who I appreciate so much.
One because you are fun to work with and
Two because you have kept me employed. Thank you.
I dont begrudge or regret doing any workshops for you. I however, suggest for the future: If you organise training, and you believe in its value, don’t make it free.
What is your experience?
I have been pondering this over the last week.
 |
| Me in action! |
From time to time, a client will organise me to present training to their community, network or city for free. To pay for the training, they will use funds from somewhere else.The training organiser will offer free training for many reasons:
- to get more people there
- they were given a grant for the purpose
- its their agency's philosophy to give free training
- they are concerned at the tight economic situation of their community
These are all fair reasons. My reflections of my experiences of what happens when a group offers training for free, has made me question the value of giving training for free.
Here are some observations I have made over the last eight years:
Here are some observations I have made over the last eight years:
1. More people don't show- they havent paid anything so they have nothing to lose. The organisers often lose with excess catering which is "wasted"
2. More people are late to a free training than a training they have paid for. They're less committed to it3. More people actively plan to leave a free training earlier (many end up staying and telling me how good it was). It is almost as they believed before they came that if "its free so it probably won't be very good".
4. In a free training session, I find more people leave their phones on. Additionally more people will answer their phone and take a call in the middle of a free workshop. They don't value what is free as much as something they have paid to listen.
5. Bizarrely, I get more "rude people" coming to a free workshop than one where they paid. These people are more likely to interrupt, annoy others and sidetrack than in other workshops. I am particularly pleased with the way I and my team handle these situations.
6. I don't often get people arguing with what I say but I can tell you 90% of the times that someone has decided to start an argument with me, it has been at a free workshop. I am not talking questioning or discussing or even disagreeing, I am talking about picking an argument.
7. Finally, I can tell you that my overall evaluation scores are a little lower at the Free workshops I have done. Not dramatically lower. My average rating at a paid workshop is 93%. At a free workshop, it is 91%. The fact there is this consistent difference says something. I know I am not different when I present at these free sessions. It makes no difference to me and I try to give 110% to my presentations. I know my content is the same. The difference is in the expectations of the audience. Have other people found this?
Note to my clients, who I appreciate so much.
One because you are fun to work with and
Two because you have kept me employed. Thank you.
I dont begrudge or regret doing any workshops for you. I however, suggest for the future: If you organise training, and you believe in its value, don’t make it free.
What is your experience?
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
How naive are we?
Got this email in my in box the other day.
We discovered irregular activity on your PayPal account. In order to use your Paypal account furthermore, you must actualize your data. Please, use the link below and actualize your data.
http://www.paypal-iau.com/au/?cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-run Thank you for your assistance. Warm greetings, PayPal Team
I need to actualise my data? Come on. How many people click on such a link? And then give up their personal info?This is called Phishing and exposes you and your agency to fraud. It is extraordinary how many people fall for itWhat protections do you have in place to protect yourself and your workplace? You need at least some policy and some training. In our busy world, so many agencies dont provide either and expose themselves to money disappearing.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Friday Facts: Singapore Giving
I was stunned to learn recently that the Peninsula is slightly bigger than the area of the city-state of Singapore. However while I share my neighbourhood with 134 999 others, Singapore crams 5,076,700 people in! One of the most densely populated countries in the world. Although when you are there, Singapore's planning is so good that you never have a sense of being crowded.
In that island, Singaporeans cram business, education and recreation --and charity support. According to research from Singapore's National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), almost one quarter, one in four volunteer. Their research says a mere two years ago, it was less than a one in five volunteered.
The overall percentage of financial donors fell marginally but average annual donations per person are up to $331 from $300 in 2008. So while fewer people donated money last year, those who did, gave more. Roughly 60 per cent of the donations were made to the major religious groups on the island: Mahayana Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism.
The median income of all employed persons, full-time and part-time, is S$30 000. So giving as a per cent of average income is about 1.1%. NB 21 percent earn below S$14 400 per annum.
The World giving index listed Singapore as equal 91st in the world for "Overall Giving" along with Spain, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Peru, Mali and France.
The National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC)'s chief executive Laurence Lien said he was 'delighted' that more people than ever before 'stepped up to the challenge to give more of their time and money.' 'During the deep economic uncertainty, people see needs more obviously,' said Mr Lien
My question is how did they do it? To go from 20% of the population to 25% in two years is phenomenal. What was the secret?
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Volunteering is Socialist?
Fox News has posted a link to a blog that has criticised the call for the USA to dedicate September 11 to a day of service in memory of those who died.
The criticisms seem to be:
The criticisms seem to be:
- such a call is "Socialist"
- September 11 should be about remembrance not community service and soup kitchens
- volunteering should be spontaneous not mandated
Others note that: "President George W Bush was a strong supporter of this Day of Service... and... a clear majority of Republicans voted in April 2009 to make September 11 a Day of Service" with the Serve America Act.
What do you think?
- Is asking people to serve on this day "Socialist"?
- Is it wrong of a government to encourage or invite their people to volunteer?
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