Category Archives: My Work

The radio on my desk to make me cry

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As I was plugging my new desk radio in at work, I realised that by arriving at work just after 7:30, when it’s still so quiet and none of my colleagues have arrived yet, I will be able to listen to the 94.7 Highveld Stereo Christmas Wish List which should start sometime in late November.

Nothing marks the beginning of the end of the year for me, more than hearing the wish list on 94.7. I can still remember a wish which touched my heart almost 11 years ago. I had just pulled into the parking lot of the company I was working for at the time and sat in the car listening to the wish before walking into the office (a habit I do still to this day). The story was of a man whose wife had died and he was left with all the medical bills as well as bringing up three young kids, all on his own. With limited funds, his wish was that he could spoil his boys at the movies on a Saturday afternoon.

His wish was granted and he landed up getting free movies for a year for the family. I was touched by his crying and humble gratefulness and bawled my eyes out. It’s been one of the wishes I have always remembered especially because something so small and simple could bring joy to this man and his boys.

Unfortunately, the wish list has changed quite a lot and become somewhat commercial. It has also lost the special touch of Jeremy and I don’t think Wackhead brings anything to it. Even the jingle has changed. But I still enjoy listening to it because it reminds me that there are hundreds of people out there who are struggling, who are desperate and who are in need of help. This in itself is for me the biggest lesson to take out of the wish list going into Christmas.

But for now, it’s so cool listening to the tunes silently humming on my desk all day…

SUCCESS by Neil Tovey

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Soccer legend, Neil Tovey presented at a workshop I attended this week. My initial reaction when I heard he was coming was panic. I planned to keep as far away from him as possible for fear that he would sniff out my lack of knowledge about anything football/soccer. But surprisingly, he is a pretty casual, down to earth kinda guy. Over and above sharing some really cool stories about Bafana, Neil shared with us his take on S.U.C.C.E.S.S.

S – Solid Foundation

Laying a solid foundation is key to future success and is key to achieving your desired goals. You need to build this platform before embarking on any journey.

U – Unlimited Resources

Without people, we will fail. Each individual is an integral part of the journey. This not only includes the players but also those behind the scenes; the medical staff, finance etc. Do not underestimate the role these people play in your success.

C – Communication

It’s important that people communicate from the top down, bottom up and across all levels. Your game plan will fail if you get into the field to play a game and the team cannot communicate to one another, especially leaders to the rest of the team.

C – Committment

Go the extra mile. Put in the extra work. It’s worth it in the end.

E – Enjoyment

Do everything to the best of your ability. Enjoy doing it. Have fun.

S – Sacrifice

Time spent away from home playing games. Time put in to train. Time away from family and friends. To achieve success you need to be willing to make the sacrifice.

S – Setting goals

You need to decide where you want to be? Where are you going? Are you getting there? This matters to all aspects of our lives, both work and family.

Neil related many examples to soccer but as I listened, I realised that with all of the above, you can use for anything in life: family, career, sport, even friendships.

The important thing is that if one fails, most of the others do too.

Lunch with Pablo Picasso and the boys

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I have no real interest for most things artsy fartsy. Growing up, I was always more interested in reading the entire Virginia Andrews series or doing research into the Kennedy assassination than getting my fingers full of paint or putty. I was the brains of the family while my sister was the creative one. Even today, I’d prefer to spend three hours running a half marathon than browsing through an antique shop – something my mom and sister love doing.

So you can imagine my surprise when I visited the Standard Bank Gallery to see the latest French Masters of the 20th Century exhibition. The artwork is original works by Degas, Renoir, Manet, Matisse, Picasso and many more and shows how each artist depicted the human body through painting, printmaking, film and photography. I was filled with such awe and admiration!To see artwork that dates back to the early 20th century left me breathless. The detail. The colours. The frames.

Every time someone accidentally stepped too close to the paintings, an alarm would go off and the security would give a disapproving look. I’ll admit that some of the art looked way too weird for my liking. Some of them I did not understand and there were one or two that looked as if my niece had painted it. (mmm, a giveaway of my fine arts knowledge). However, how many chances in life do you get to stand in front of a Picasso or Renoir painting?

Visitors to the gallery get the option of strolling around unguided daily or a tour by the curator on Friday’s between 1pm and 2pm. Some of the facts she highlighted about the artists where really interesting and made me look at the paintings in a whole different way. (before I got bored and giggled every time the alarm buzzed.)

My colleagues and I felt like VIP’s as if we had “back stage passes” to the gallery and the curator allowed us to take a few photos (without a flash, of course). Just a perk of being part of the marketing team at the blue bank. Thank-you Mandy. And to you, Mr Picasso!

The day it snowed in Jozi warmed my heart

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When you work in a corporate environment, you come to realise that stress, politics and work pressure are part of everyday life. I have found the past few months particularly tough, not only for me, but also for my colleagues.

I have searched for many ways of encouraging them. Out of desperation, I have even proposed a rather cheesy idea to the head honcho of the department, hoping it would bring a spark back to people’s faces. But no luck. When people are down and demotivated, it’s very difficult for them to see anything positive in whatever you do.

But something magical happened today. Something unexpected. It snowed in Jozi.

At first, staff would casually walk up to the windows and look down. But as it became heavier and heavier, excitement grew and more and more people gathered together at the windows. It took one person to say, “Hey! Let’s go outside and play in the snow!” for everyone to grab their jackets and head on out. The excitement and giggling was electric.

What a sight to see hundreds of people from other departments all with the same idea, queuing at the ‘cattle gates’ to get passed security and out of the building.

Once we got out, we laughed and giggled and stood in the snow with massive smiles on our faces. I looked around and saw colleagues having fun. I saw them laughing and hugging and taking photos of each other and acting silly. We were like kids! We didn’t care if it was cold and we didn’t care how wet we were getting. It was awesome. But for the 5 minutes we stood out there, it was as if all the problems disappeared.

I realised that the snow was for me, more than them. You see, although I’ve been part of a project team where the focus is on “people” and changing that cold, hard corporate culture, I have also felt incredibly ‘responsible’ for their happiness in the office. It’s been a bit of a burden on my shoulders and a lot of my stress has been frustration in not seeing a change in culture and a vibe remaining so negative.

But today was different. Today came out of nowhere. The lesson I learnt was that laughter and fun will come at the most unexpected times. But also, that sometimes, I’m not the one that will bring about the change. I just need to be present. But most of all, I need to start laughing too!