Inspiration - the determination to suceed

A picture recently snapped by medical student Joyce Torrefranca and posted to her Facebook account was inspired by 9 year old homeless boy Daniel Cabrera doing his homework by the light of a McDonalds fast food outlet in Cebu city, Philippines.

Daniel is not letting his lack of opportunity hold him back; wanting to become a policeman, he diligently does his schoolwork while his mother works at a restaurant across the road at night.

Joyce told Philippine news network ABS-CBN "This kid, he doesn't have anything but he has dedication to study" apart from his makeshift wooden bench and the light shining through the window from McDonalds.

This snap has gone viral, Daniel had lost his father in a fire that destroyed his home, his sibling is sick yet this young boy isn't letting his situation beat him - his determination is truly inspirational.

The stuff of management legends

The dreaded performance review is usually an ineffective method of motivation in the hands of an inept manager. Ineffective managers who fail to provide leadership in the workplace generally attempt retrospective actions in a performance review instead of undertaking regular and ongoing coaching. 

If the manager feels the employee is exhibiting poor attitudes or behaviour, this once a year meeting to fix these alleged behaviours will pretty much waste of an hour of work time. The ineffective manager focuses on negative behaviours and the most recent efforts instead of building on positive actions whilst also providing constructive feedback on negative issues. 

A lack of a regular performance review is just lazy, many employees are unfazed by a lack of performance management as the manager has already proved themselves to be a manager in title only; lacking the respect of the individual employee and team in general. 

The manager in such situations is usually unprepared, having not put the effort into preparing for the performance management meeting. I have attended meetings after been given just 10 minutes notice. We all know this 10 minutes is preparation time for the manager to quickly review my performance prior to the meeting - that's a joke. 

I have even had a manager put the wrong name on my performance review, did he perform a simple copy and paste from other people's reviews or was he unsure who was sitting in front of him?

The purpose of a performance review is for the manager to ensure the job is performed well, to improve their productivity by removing obstacles to productivity and streamlining task functions - it's that simple.  

Dogs get old and die

It's great having a dog, they become part of the family complete with their quirks, moods and abundant personalities. Treated right, they are a loyal friend and companion but I feel dogs have only one downside - their lifespans are way too short. In short - dogs get old and die.

We still argue when I brought my 5 week old blue heeler kelpie cross home; I believe it was 1994, members of my family argue it was 1995, I also cross reference against my then girlfriend - interestingly, the dog outlasted her and a couple of others by a large margin. We also counted back the approximate of birth, it was the 4th of April, as a reminder, 4/4/94 had an easy ring about it.

She was so small, she was tiny. It could be argued that we picked her up too young, regardless, it didn't seem detrimental to her development, she was well looked after and lived a long life in dog years, the problem, I live in human years and still miss her. I actually believe being pulled away from her dog family and into the world of humans was a positive experience, we were what she knew - her loyalty was to me.

My problem was I worked away, so my little friend was placed in foster care with my parents while I was out of town. This worked well for all, my father was retired and my mother was a housewife, the dog was surrounded by loving people around the clock, a daily walk in the bush kept all fit and healthy.

Around the age of 11 is when dogs start to develop problems, this is when I started to notice issues in her hips, she had arthritis, she had it bad. Now vets know people will spend freely when their animals develop medical issues, I was no exception and we became frequent visitors. My dog however somewhat disliked the vet and embarrassed me every visit, they remember me well but unfortunately not fondly. Still, I purchased every expensive medicine, injection and remedy they had on offer, I still believe the vet knew my credit card, the expiry date and cvc by heart.

Because her back legs were in such bad shape with no cartilage left, I would carry her everywhere, the sound of bone on bone was heart breaking. Eventually she got used to her lack of mobility and would bark when she wanted to move about, this mean't one of us came running. When she spotted a cat and a chase was warranted, a 25 kg dog held to my waist racing after that pesky feline ensured the cat had ample opportunity to escape.

Boss - Number one

Boss Number One by Hugo Boss is a aromatic fougere fragrance for men; launched in 1985 and based on the input of legendary perfumer Pierre Wargnye, this fragrance is very much a product of that era - bold and unashamedly macho. Exuding confidence according to the advertising, this masculine scent is my formal cologne - this is not my daily aftershave.

According to the description, the fragrance base notes are artemisia, green apple, juniper, basil, grapefruit, caraway, bergamot and lemon; middle notes are honey, lavender, orris root, jasmine, sage, lily-of-the-valley, rose and geranium; base notes are sandalwood, amber, patchouli, cinnamon, musk, oakmoss, cedar and tobacco.

Phew, that is some pretty serious fragrance complexity, what I do know is I liked the cologne the first time I sampled this eau de toilet and had to immediately purchase a bottle, that was in 1999 traveling over the border from Greece to Turkey. I still have the original bottle and use it very sparingly as I had been unable to replace it until now. 

Formally known as Boss, I have been searching for this cologne for some time now in large department and duty free stores with none of the staff knowing anything about this cologne. This is pretty concerning as staff product knowledge is severely limited, it ruins your credibility when a customer asks a specific question and the whole team is clueless. 

That was until I walked into a Hugo Boss branded store in Makati in the Philippines and they knew exactly what I was asking for - now I know how to get my hands on this legendary fragrance.

Bowen Estate - 2012 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon

A stunning example of a great Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon is Bowen Estate, I was first introduced to Bowen Estate at the Perth Wine and Food Show a number of years back. Since then, I have sought out their full bodied wines whenever I am out at bottle-shops, bars and restaurants. 

I grabbed a bottle on the way through at the local bottle shop to drink with my father on Friday night to watch the football. This full-bodied wine displays intense fruit flavours with a strong blackberry bouquet and strong cedar overtones typical of the region; the fine tannins allow for an elegant structure that will undoubtedly increase with cellaring.  

The three-day entry level diver course

We used to run five-day entry level diver courses; in my view, everyone was a winner. The instructor was not under the pump for the duration of the course; furthermore, the instructor had guaranteed employment for the week. The dive students were not rushed adding to their personal stress, the students had a week's worth of exposure to the dive facility with retail opportunities frequently presenting and everybody winning. Everyone got to know each other and relationships and friendships were forged.

The instructor was happy, the divers were happy and the store owner was happy; so what happened? The dive certification agencies pursued the shortened entry dive level courses recruiting a major dive centre in every strategic area, once your competition was offering shortened courses, you eventually were forced to follow. In all fairness, the certification agencies are in competition with each other, one agency forces change and if the other agencies do not counter their move, they too risk being rendered obsolete.

So who is the winner here? The student receives a faster condensed course, is that better? My opinion is no, the longer exposure to skills and more importantly, in-water practice is lost leading to only the bare minimum standard being attained.

The instructor, certainly not - now every course is conducted at break-neck speed. What about the dive centre then? To a degree yes, wages bills are down and they have the ability to run two courses per week during peak periods without running two courses concurrently requiring one instructor only and one set of hire equipment. The downside is less opportunity to up-sell as time is limited, new divers lessen their interactions with shop staff and relationships are less likely to be built.

Ok, that leads us to the certification agency - the clear winner. Shorter courses, they still receive their certification fees from the newly minted diver, they still receive the dive centre/resort annual registration and they sell all the required learning materials with absolutely no discounts for shortened times. This is a pretty good business model for them.

Chateau 1771

One of my favourite fine dining establishments in the Makati business district is Chateau 1771, this French inspired restaurant is the leading dining experience in the Greenbelt entertainment precinct.

From the classical guitarist playing solo in the corner, their extensive wine list and their attentive waiters - this dining experience is one to be savoured. The upcoming Bastille Day celebrations saw Emilly and myself seated within sight of their guitarist listening to his well crafted notes. We ordered their Bastille Day special that was fairly priced beginning with a bottle of medium bodied red wine. 

The three courses began with stewed lamb shoulder with red wine and rosemary. This was followed by hotplate fish with tomato and melted cheese, slow cooked five-hour duck confit that had been marinated for three days prior. A carrot, pecan and raisin salad and finally a shared lemon meringue torte.

We arrived late, 9:30 pm is early for Mediterranean dining tastes but is fairly late for the Saturday night Makati crowd, this was no trouble even as we went well past their 11 pm closing time. At no time were we made to feel rushed or pressured to get a move on. A café with our desert - no worries. A double espresso to finish the night off, an excellent finish to a wonderful Saturday evening.

Rope-a-dope

On the evening of October 30 in Kinshasa Zaire 1974, the formidable and unbeaten George Foreman took on former champion and now challenger Muhammad Ali is what is now considered the greatest heavyweight fight of all time.    

Ali, famed for his speed and technical prowess was pitted against the raw and devastating punching power of Foreman. While Ali is famous for covering up allowing Foreman to wear himself out, he countered with straight punches to Foreman at every opportunity. 

Rope-a-dope, who would have thought covering up on the ropes to allow your opponent, one of the most devastating punchers in heavyweight history to wear himself out before springing into action and land a few blows yourself was a viable let alone a winning strategy.

Why I became a dive instructor

I love scuba diving, I had a occupation that offered much freedom and I had the opportunity to work hard in bursts and then take time off. What is hard work and what are long hours? Well, I worked an 84 hour week as standard, anything after that was considered overtime.

How many years can you do that? Quite a lot actually, naturally, I had a fairly high disposable income for all those hours worked and no immediate family ties. Time off saw plenty of overseas trips to South East Asia to dive some pretty amazing places; I dived up and down Western Australia, parts of Queensland, some Pacific nations, around the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

On one of those extended breaks I had six months off and I was backpacking around Europe, I had worked my way down the Agean coast of Western Turkey and was now on the Mediterranean coast of Southern Turkey where I found myself in a small seaside hamlet of Kas. My plan was to get to the Egyptian Red Sea and undertake a divemaster course to pick up some part time work as a backpacker; I never made it past Kas and I have no complaints - this was a life changing event.

I worked one season as a divemaster, I returned the next year and they upgraded me to assistant instructor status and for the third year, they wanted me to become a full instructor - so off to a instructor course I went. I never made it back that year after all instead working a short stint in Africa in my profession and then taking a short six week holiday through parts of Europe and the United States. The cost of the course combined with the time off work placed me under a little financial duress, the stint in West Africa restored my finances so I was able to pursue a full time diving career in a major Australian capital city on my return.

So, upon returning from Africa, I was jaded with working in my profession and decided the time to act was now. I started as a contract instructor barely meeting payments, then picking up more contract work, this actually hindered my development too as availability suffered, you just can't keep everyone happy. That is what's required to break into an industry as an unknown but soon, if you are professional in your actions and are exposed to a broad cross-section of clients, you break in and succeed.

Ironically, to break into the market I worked seven days per week for a whole lot less money, would I do it again? Probably not, I already proved to myself I could cut it and I don't feel the need to go back in time. That being said, I was surrounded by happy, carefree people on holiday you were undertaking an activity they enjoyed, they even paid you for the privilege. I had the time of my life and I have no regrets.

Sure, I have a big hole in my retirement plan from the years of low paid but highly enjoyable work. As a further sign of irony, while I am on a pretty decent income again yet I am forced to assign an ever increasing percentage of my income to prop up my superannuation account to live the life I lived during that period, I lost a lot of the benefits of compounding interest. Coupled with years of university study now behind me to catch up on career opportunities in the corporate world; I now embark on a master's degree that will sap my time, energy and funds for a further two years - go figure.

How not to control mosquito numbers

I lived in southern Turkey in the early 2000s; back then, we had to get home before 1 am prior to the smoke truck made its nightly rounds. Sometimes, either affected by alcohol or a short span of memory, we would hear the truck spewing out smoke and would have to make a run for it.

Either that, or stay tucked away in bars or nightclubs, these memories were well hidden in my memory until I heard the smoke machine again in a Bali beachside resort.

Hearing the hand held smoke machine brought back memories, forgetting about the truck, the sprint home down alleyways and backstreets, fumbling to get the key in the lock and jam a towel under the door and sealing then the window with more towels.

To be an effective leader

In business parlance, leadership is currently viewed as a higher level skill than management. In every job interview I have attended, leadership is sought but poorly defined. I myself have sought to identify the essence of leadership so as to be able to articulate the correct response to the interview panel.

Defining the essence of leadership; I believe leadership is influencing people - by providing purpose, direction and motivation. As such, leadership is described as a social influence process whereas the leader enlists the aid and support of team members in the accomplishment of a common task.

Sue really nails what is required from leadership; coming from a training background, learning objectives are clearly described outcomes that trainees must achieve in regards to performance, standards and conditions.

All MBA outcomes are measurable, so MBA graduates are not only conversant in economics, accounting, finance, operations, decision-making, management, marketing, quantitative analysis and strategy; graduates are able to provide leadership to achieve desired outcomes.

Capital punishment - state sanctioned murder

I am not a believer in capital punishment, it is nothing more than state sanctioned murder. It is vengeful, retrospective and inefficient, nor does it deter crimes. The government does not have the right to take the lives of its citizens; a government of the people by the people does not execute the people who live within its borders, that role is usually reserved for dictators or totalitarian regimes.

Neither am I a believer in soft policing or justice practices. The execution of Chan and Sukamartren was a political decision by a weak leader attempting to impose himself on a public racked with fatal reservations of his competence. Joko Widodo had the ability to grant clemency, he instead chose political gain over fair and just judgement. Not only that, the leader of the Indonesian opposition party stated there would be no political ramifications from the granting of clemency, he chose to ignore that.

I personally believe in strict penalties; for crimes such as drug smuggling, a sentence of twenty to twenty five years is appropriate. The two organisors had served nearly half of a drug smuggling sentence as it was. I was not convinced of the so-called rehabilitation of the smugglers; yes, they appeared to be repentant. I believed that had more to do with actually being caught than anything; that is not the issue though.

The Brazilian national was only aware of his fate as he was being fastened to the firing board of which he enquired "Am I being executed?" Even though he had been extensively briefed, such was the level of his schizophrenia, he was unaware of his fate. So the Indonesian government is executing the mentally ill, similar in nature to the NAZI regime of the 1930s. Significantly, Mary Jane Veleso was spared execution just minutes from facing the firing squad as a key witness came forward under the pressure of death threats.

Mary Jane had been the victim of a human trafficking ring and has been temporarily spared to testify at the investigation. So the failures of the Indonesian justice system were minutes away from sending an innocent person to execution, if a person has been falsly imprisoned, they at least have the opportunity to walk free after a judicial review - that can't happen after an execution.

The double standards of Indonesia seeking clemency for its citizens on death row overseas whilst executing foreigners smacks of political arrogance. Every aspect of this execution was stage managed for political gain, Joko Widodo is a spineless leader with no authority of a morally corrupt nation; the systemic corruption encroaching on the daily lives of Indonesian nationals is absurd. The transfer of prisoners from prison to execution island was carefully stage managed for maximum effect - this was overkill. Likewise, the treatment of the families of the executed was disgraceful, this third world nation seeking an audience on the world stage is shambolic and barbaric.

One has to remember, this is a nation supporting terrorism, the same nation that frees convicted terrorists. This pair were not the masterminds of the operation, this pair was the enforcers for the masterminds, these guys were the organisers. The Australian syndicate has never been brought to justice; likewise, the Thai prostitute who smuggled the drugs from Thailand to Indonesia escaped. So the supply chain is still intact - nothing has been properly investigated and the international drug syndicate remains operational.

Had the two governments worked together, the Indonesians would have monitored the Bali 9 through customs and allowed the Australians to follow the team through immigration with surveillance through to the syndicate running the operation with the Indonesians following up the supply end through Thailand. The Australian/Indonesian authorities then announce the joint cooperation program ushering in the new era in Australian/Indonesian policing; instead we had the Indonesians eager to make a bust of seven low-level drug mules and two mid-level organisers/enforcers with the trust and cooperation between these two organisations in tatters.

Do the people running these organisations have no strategic sense at all, do they only hold short-term thinking capabilities? They totally blew a prime opportunity to smash a international drugs syndicate, cement a joint working partnership and forge closer ties to combat terrorism, the Indonesians have proved themselves to be totally incompetent.

USS Illinois - Iowa class battleship

The USS Illinois was the fifth of the six Iowa class battleships ordered for the US Navy in World War II. As with the USS Kentucky, the ship was cancelled before construction was complete due to the Japanese surrender. Had the atomic bomb not been deployed, it was envisioned an invasion of mainland Japan required naval bombardment for the proposed marine landings and fighting well into 1947 and possibly 1948.

Originally designated to be the first of the Montana class battleships, BB-65 was reordered as an Iowa class battleship due to concerns of navigation of the Panama Canal before construction began. The shift in naval doctrine to air supremacy saw the aircraft carrier given preference over the battleship with the South Dakota class battleships throughout the war.