RELIGIONS

I have no issue with belief systems.  I have issue with religions and the way gullible people blindly follow what the leaders say and that they demand that their followers have to convert others to their way of thinking.

For instance some of these religionists blindly believe that the Earth is only about 4000 years old. And no matter how you argue with them they will tell you that it is scientifically proved to be obly that old.  I wonder what science that would be?  The science of thumbsuck.

Even Judaism, the founding religion for both Christianity and Islam, acknowledges that the Earth is older than their 7000 year old religion which dates from the Circumcision of Abraham at 96 years old.

Religions are for the gullible, non-thinking, lazy people.  People who want to be led and want to be told what to do.  Most of the Christian religionists that I have come into contact with will happily quote a random verse from their bible and then I will ask them to tell me what is in the verse before and in the verse after, which nine times out of ten contradicts the verse quoted.

I have issue with people who tell me I have to believe what they believe.  I question everything, because I can and because I want to.

Recently I went to the memorial service of a man who was a confessed atheist.  His family decided to do a religious service with a minister officiating.  If  there is a life after death I had an image of him sitting at the end of the pew, beer in hand laughing his head off at the religionists praying for him.  If he has gone somewhere else I reckon he has gone to the big motor bike place in the sky.

I declare that when I die that there must be NO religious minister of any religion near me.  Cremate me, and scatter me to the winds and drink yourselves to a standstill with whatever money there is in my estate.  

DO NOT PRAY for me as there is nothing to pray for. I don't believe!!

LET ME DIE A YOUNG MAN'S DEATH

LET ME DIE A YOUNG MAN'S DEATH
Roger McGough


O Let me die a young man's death
not a clean and inbetween
the sheets holy water death
not a famous-last-words
peaceful out of breath death


When I'm 73
and in constant good tumour
may I be mown down at dawn
by a bright red sports car
on my way home
from an all night party

Or when I'm 91
with silver hair 
and sitting in a barber's chair
may rival gangsters
with ham fisted tommy guns burst in 
and give me a short back and insides

Or when I'm 104
and banned from the Cavern
may my mistress
catching me in bed with her daughter
and fearing for her son
cut me up into little pieces
and throw away every piece but one

Let me die a young man's death
not a free from sin tiptoe in
candle wax and waning death
not a curtains drawn by angels borne
'what a nice way to go' 
death

10 ideas for bad bosses on bosses day

After my recent experiences with BAD bosses, namely Ron Wheeldon, Wendy, Leeanne, Edwin Campbell, Jacqui Michael, Paul, Seth Angel, Nicola Dewar, Ali Carim, etc.  I felt I had to include this:

With reference to an article I found on the internet (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/smallbusiness/1110/gallery.bosses/index.html) plus a few options of my own:

Bad bosses are everywhere -- in big companies and small.

Half of all workers have experienced an "unreasonable manager" at some time in their career, according to a survey for OfficeTeam, a staffing company.

One-quarter of workers in a Developmental Dimensions survey say their boss is a know-it-all and another quarter work for a micromanager. No wonder one-third of workers say they spend about five hours a week lamenting their boss.

So what do you give a horrible boss for Bosses Day? Well, the employees in the summer flick "Horrible Bosses" hire a hit man. For gifts that have less dire consequences take a look at the following:

1. A demotivator calendar from Despair Inc.  

2. Whip and Bandage:  Workaholic bosses can be the worst. They expect you in at 5 a.m., are texting you at 6 a.m. and are wondering why you are leaving "early" after a 12-hour day. For that manager who drives everyone way too hard, head to a toy or dollar store and pick up a toy whip and a box of bandages.

3. A song telling him/her to what you really think and performed by fully dressed old people.

4.  A management course.  The American Management Association offers a variety of management courses, including "Servant Leadership," "Management Skills for New Managers" or "Improving Your Managerial Effectiveness." Even better, sign your boss up for one called "Win. How to Engage and Energize Your Employees."

5.  The best gift for them? An oversized piggy bank labeled "workers retirement fund" or "college fund for crew's kids." That will send a clear message that you're underpaid, said Karen Nussbaum, executive director of Working America, an AFL-CIO affiliate that runs an annual bad bosses' competition.

6.  A bottle of wine, or whiskey, so that he/she has to be nice to you for one day.

7.  Give yourself a gift:  Take the day off so you don't have to deal with the toxic boss on Boss's Day

8.   For a horrid boss, give him/she a Dildo (preferably huge and black) and find out how it is being screwed to death.  

9.  A packet of heavy duty tranquilisers.  Or possibly a nice pretty packaged pack of Ecstacy, Mandrax, weed or even a nice hallucinogenic mushroom or two.  At least it will keep out of your way for a day.

10.  A pack of suppositories or laxative laced chocolate, to blow the shit out of them.

Moral of the story is "Be careful who you crap on the way up, you might need them to catch you on the way down."

Of course my best would be to tell him to take a hike and shove his money up his butt, or alternatively buy his company and have the pleasure of beating his price down to rock bottom.  A hostile takeover, of course, would be wonderful, then one can have the distinct pleasure of telling him his mistakes to his face and making him squirm when told that because of his treatment of you in the past you, as company chairman have decide to take his salary for compensation.

10 ways you job is killing you

With reference to:
http://au.pfinance.yahoo.com/photos/photo/-/10452660/ten-ways-your-job-is-killing-you/10452662/

Employees who call in sick normally get most of the blame for lost productivity, but a phenomenon known as "presenteeism" has been gaining notice, as well. Defined as the act of coming in to work when you're sick and doing a third-rate job as a result, presenteeism costs businesses billions of dollars a year in lost productivity.

If presenteeism is damaging to businesses, then it would stand to reason that the workplace would be better off if sick workers stayed home until they got better. When the illness is a byproduct of the workplace itself, however, that worker will just get sick again and keep doing a listless and unproductive job.

Whether environmental or psychological, many workplaces have conditions that can make employees sick. These factors have a domino effect that ultimately is as bad for the business as it is for the employee.

What are 10 ways that your work may be killing you and your employer? Click ahead and find out.

Toxic Boss

In many workplaces, there are managers whose effect on others is best described as "toxic." This person can be so unpleasant that his or her mere presence in the office can cause it to become a stressful environment that stifles productivity. Normally, a co-worker fitting this description is a nuisance that can generally be ignored, but how can you tune out a toxic person when he or she is your boss?

The toxic boss lowers morale, causes a high rate of turnover, and makes the workplace a generally oppressive place — none of which boosts productivity. Career coach Nicole Williams says there are several strategies for dealing with such an individual, ranging from overperforming to direct confrontation. Successfully deploying these strategies can help make an employee's day-to-day life more pleasant and, yes, less toxic.

Insufficient Sleep

Doctors recommend getting eight hours of sleep per night, but one look around the average office reveals that, for many, it just isn't happening. The bags under everyone's eyes and the drained coffee cups tell the tale, along with a recent survey that shows lack of sleep impairs work performance by up to 30%.

What's causing the sleeplessness? One of the primary causes of insomnia is stress, particularly stress encountered in the workplace, according to another study. The sleep-deprived often don't view their fatigue as a reason to call in sick, however, so they go to work and turn in lethargic, sluggish performances that cost employers billions of dollars in productivity.

Lack of Exercise

A factor frequently implicated in the current obesity epidemic is the sedentary nature of many jobs. The unanimous consensus of the medical community is that a 40-hour-a-week stint at an office desk is a primary contributor to weight gain.

Dr Lyn Roberts, National CEO of Heart Foundation maintains that more than half of Australian adults (54%) are not active enough to gain health benefits, killing 16 000 Australians every year and costing our health budget $1.5 billion annually.

"In general, Australians - in particular those with a desk job - are spending too much of the day sitting which increases risk of heart disease" said Dr Roberts. "Travelling by public transport with the associated walking and cycling opportunities is one way to ensure that at least during the day's commute, sitting time can be reduced.

Commuting

A study by Umea University found that a longer commute not only causes stress but causes boredom, feelings of isolation, and even hypertension and obesity.

"Long-distance commuters are found to experience more stress and other negative effects such as higher blood pressure and trouble sleeping," says researcher Erika Sandow of Umea University.

"If you find that your personal wellbeing is affected negatively by long-distance commuting, this spills over into your personal life."

Workplace Incivility

No matter who you are or where you work, there will almost always be one person in your office who gets on your nerves. Most people are able to put those feelings aside, if only for the sake of civility, but there are always going to be employees who see no reason to hold back — sometimes leading to hostile, open confrontations in the workplace.

Public confrontations are awkward and stressful for those directly involved, as well as for the co-workers who have to witness them. They impact productivity, hurt morale, and cause other employees' stress levels to rise. According to the book, "Banishing Burnout: Six Strategies for Improving Your Relationship with Work," job stress caused by workplace incivility costs US employers $300 billion a year in lost productivity.

Chronic Pain

What was formerly the domain of manual labourers now afflicts office workers in various sectors. Hours upon hours spent at a desk can often lead to chronic back pain, and prolonged computer use has been linked to such painful ailments as carpal tunnel syndrome.

Offices that don't invest in ergonomic workspace equipment, such as chairs with adequate lumbar support, risk facing a workforce composed of ibuprofen-popping employees, whose physical ailments significantly slow their work.

Lack of Job Security

Lucky are those who have survived layoffs during the GFC. They've outlasted the bloodletting, so logically it would follow that they would return to work relieved. Many don't. In fact, following a layoff many surviving workers live in constant fear that the next round is right around the corner — and this time they won't be so lucky.

In 2008, the Center for Work-Life Policy conducted a study called "Sustaining High Performance in Difficult Times." It found that layoffs and firings are traumatic for the employees left behind, as their levels of trust and loyalty to their employers plummets. Paranoia was rampant, but rather than scare the employees into going the extra mile for their jobs' sake, the layoffs caused employees to do only the minimum amount of work necessary to not get fired.

Shift Work Hours

Shift work has been linked to changes in metabolism that elevate risk for diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Obesity in particular has been shown to decrease productivity in the workplace.

The irregular hours associated with shift work interfere with circadian rhythm — physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle, according to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. This interference can cause fatigue and insomnia. As if that weren't bad enough, the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2007 took the step of classifying shift work as a probable carcinogen, right up there with engine exhaust.

Long Hours

Just because an employee is putting in long hours, don't assume that those are hours full of quality work. A study conducted in 2009 found that workaholics who are the first to show up and the last to leave are frequently given to high levels of burnout and low levels of happiness. This can lead to a bad attitude that can easily go viral and infect the entire office.

The study claimed that employees who put in work weeks longer than 48 hours did so out of compulsion, not because there was a lot of work that was being diligently powered through. In such cases, these employees demonstrated high levels of presenteeism.

Indoor Air Quality

In 1984, the World Health Organization released a report finding that many newly constructed office buildings had flaws in their heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. These defects affected indoor air quality so severely that they caused conditions such as headaches, nausea, and fatigue, among others, in workers.

Many of the office buildings in the study still stand, with the same ventilation problems they had 30 years ago. Newer buildings are being designed with better ventilation, but until their designs become the norm it's probable that health issues related to indoor air quality will continue.

15 ways to spot a bad leader

This is for Edwin Campbell, John Davis, Ron Wheeldon, Paul Shapiro, NIcola Dewar, Seth Angel, the whole of Netcare management team, Ali Carrim, the accountant at Wanderers Protea Hotel.

Just because someone holds a position of leadership, doesn’t necessarily mean they should.

It’s important to realise that just because someone holds a position of leadership, doesn’t necessarily mean they should. Put another way, not all leaders are created equal. The problem many organisation are suffering from is a recognition problem – they can’t seem to recognize good leaders from bad ones.

In today’s column I’ll address how to identify bad leaders by pointing out a few things that should be obvious, but apparently aren’t.

If I only had a nickel for every time I’ve been asked, “is there a simple test that can quickly determine an executive’s leadership ability?”

The short answer is yes, but keep in mind, simple and fast aren’t always the same thing as effective. There are a plethora of diagnostic tests, profiles, evaluations, and assessments that offer insights into leadership ability, or a lack thereof. My problem with these efforts is they are overly analytical, very theoretical, and very often subject to bias.

That said, they are fast, easy, and relatively inexpensive. The good news is, there is a better way to assess leadership ability. If you really want to determine someone’s leadership prowess, give them some responsibility and see what they do with it.

Leaders produce results. It’s not always pretty, especially in the case of inexperienced leaders, but good leaders will find a way to get the job done.

There’s a not so subtle abdication of responsibility that has occurred as rationalisations take place around DISC scores, or justifications surrounding a 360 review are used to defend an ineffective leader.

My question is this: what about real world tests?

If your enterprise has trouble identifying leaders, or has a shortage of leaders, you don’t have a testing problem – you have a leadership problem. One of the primary responsibilities of leadership is to create more and better leaders. I believe it was John Maxwell who said, “there is no success without a successor.”

Go ahead, test if you must, but paying attention to the following 15 items (listed in no particular order) will be much more practical, accurate, and effective. If your organisation has leaders who fail to grasp the concepts outlined below, you may want to stop testing them, ranking them, and promoting them – instead consider developing them or exiting them.

Related: The biggest reason employees quit

1. Leaders who can’t see it, probably won’t find it: Leaders without vision will fail. Leaders who lack vision cannot inspire teams, motivate performance, or create sustainable value. Poor vision, tunnel vision, vision that is fickle, or a non-existent vision will cause leaders to fail. A leader’s job is to align the organisation around a clear and achievable vision. This cannot occur when the blind lead the blind.

2. When leaders fail to lead themselves: A leader who lacks character or integrity will not endure the test of time. It doesn’t matter how intelligent, affable, persuasive, or savvy a person is, if they are prone to rationalizing unethical behavior based upon current or future needs, they will eventually fall prey to their own undoing.

3. Put-up or shut-up: Nothing smacks of poor leadership like a lack of performance. Nobody is perfect, but leaders who consistently fail are not leaders, no matter how much you wish they were.

While past performance is not always a certain indicator of future events, a long-term track record of success should not be taken lightly. Someone who has consistently experienced success in leadership roles has a much better chance of success than someone who has not. It’s important to remember unproven leaders come with a high risk premium. Smart companies recognize potential, but they reward performance.

4. Beware the know-it-all: The best leaders are acutely aware of how much they don’t know. They have no need to be the smartest person in the room, but have the unyielding desire to learn from others. I’ve often said, leaders who are not growing cannot lead a growing enterprise.

One of the hallmarks of great leaders is their insatiable curiosity. If a leader isn’t extremely curious about every aspect of their organisation, trust me when I say there are huge problems on the horizon.

5. When there’s a failure to communicate: When leaders are constantly flummoxed by those who don’t seem to get it, there exists both a leadership and communications problem. Show me a leader with poor communication skills and I’ll show you someone who will be short-lived in their position.

Great leaders can communicate effectively across mediums, constituencies, and environments. They are active listeners, fluid thinkers, and know when to dial it up, down, or off.

6. It’s all about them: If a leader doesn’t understand the concept of “service above self” they will not engender the trust, confidence, and loyalty of those they lead. Any leader is only as good as his or her team’s desire to be led by them. An over abundance of ego, pride, and arrogance are not positive leadership traits.

Real leaders take the blame and give the credit – not the other way around. Long story short; if a leader receives a vote of non-confidence from their subordinates...game over.

7. Sing a little Kumbaya: While love and leadership are certainly two words you don’t often hear in the same sentence, I can assure you that rarely does great leadership exist without love being present and practiced.

In fact, if you examine failed leaders as a class, you’ll find that a lack of love, misplaced love, or misguided love were a contributing cause of said failures, if not the root cause. Empathy, humility and kindness are signs of leadership strength – not weakness.

8. One size fits all leadership style: The best leaders are fluid and flexible in their approach. They understand the power of, and necessity for contextual leadership. “My way or the highway” leadership styles don’t play well in today’s world, will result in a fractured culture, and ultimately a non-productive organisation. Only those leaders who can quickly recognize and adapt their methods to the situation at hand will be successful over the long haul. Think open-source not proprietary, surrender not control, and collaborate not dictate.

9. Lack of focus: Leadership is less about balance and more about priority. The best leaders are ruthless in their pursuit of focus. Those leaders who lack the focus and attention to detail needed to apply leverage and resources in an aggressive and committed fashion will perish. Leaders who are not intentional and are not focused, will fail themselves and their team.

Leaders who lack discipline will model the wrong behaviors and will inevitably spread themselves too thin. Organisation are at the greatest risk when leaders lose their focus. Intentions must be aligned with results for leaders to be effective.

10. Death by comfort zone: The best organisation beat their competition to the future, and the best leaders understand how to pull the future forward. Leaders satisfied with the status quo, or those who tend to be more concerned about survival than growth won’t do well over the long-run.

The best leaders are focused on leading change and innovation to keep their organisation fresh, dynamic and growing. Bottom line – leaders who build a static business doom themselves to failure.

11. Not paying attention to the consumer: Leaders not attuned to the needs of the market will fail. As the old saying goes, if you’re not taking care of your customers, someone else will be more than happy to. Successful leaders focus on the consumer experience, which in turn leads to satisfaction and loyalty.

The best leaders find ways to consistently engage the consumer and incorporate them into their innovation and planning initiatives. If you ignore, mistreat, or otherwise don’t value your customer base, your days as a leader are most certainly numbered.

12. Get Invested: Leaders not fully committed to investing in those they lead will fail. The best leaders support their team, build into their team, mentor and coach their team, and they truly care for their team. A leader not fully invested in their team won’t have a team – at least not an effective one. Never forget the old saying, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care – words to live by for leaders.

13. The “A” word: Real leaders are accountable. They don’t blame others, don’t claim credit for the success of their team, but always accept responsibility for failures that occur on their watch. Most of all, leaders are accountable to their team. I’ve always said that leaders not accountable to their people will eventually be held accountable by their people.

14. It’s the culture stupid: The lesson here is that culture matters – forget this and all other efforts with regard to talent initiatives will be dysfunctional, if not altogether lost. Don’t allow your culture to evolve by default, create it by design. The first step in cultural design is to be very, very careful who you let through the front door.

People, their traits, attitudes, and work ethic (or lack thereof) are contagions. This can be positive or negative – the choice is yours. The old saying, “talent begets talent” is true, but talent that aligns with culture will produce better results than talent that does not.

15. Show some chutzpa: Leadership absent courage is a farce. I’m not referring to arrogance or bravado, but real courage. It takes courage to break from the norm, challenge the status quo, seek new opportunities, cut your losses, make the tough decision, listen rather than speak, admit your faults, forgive the faults of others, not allow failure to dampen your spirit, stand for those not capable of standing for themselves, and to remain true to your core values.

You can do none of these things without courage. Courage is having the strength of conviction to do the right thing when it would just be easier to do things right.

The moral of this story is leaders need to be honest, have a demonstrated track record of success, be excellent communicators, place an emphasis on serving those they lead, be fluid in approach, have laser focus, and a bias toward action.

If these traits are not possessed by your current leadership team, or your emerging leaders, you will be in for a rocky road ahead...

Which of these traits stand out to you? Do you have any other signs of ineffective leaders worthy of mention? Leave a comment and share your insights with others...

Reference:

http://au.pfinance.yahoo.com/money-manager/career/article/-/15165315/top-signs-of-a-bad-leader

PUMP ATTENDANTS

Why do we have to deal with Petrol pump attendants in South Africa?

They are the most superfluous beings along with Car Guards.

I wish we could just do without them completely!!!!

LIGHTNING