Working the foredeck

I have spent the last couple of seasons working up the bow of the yacht after our previous foredeck crew were constantly costing us races. After winning the start and being first to the windward mark only to end up last after a poor spinnaker raise undoes all of the good windward work. It needed to change and it needed to change really fast - it couldn't keep going on like this.

Counting down the start is imperative for aggressive positioning in the fleet, a poor start means you spend the rest of the race trying to catch up instead of consolidating your position. I see getting a clear start as the key role of the foredeck crew; they have an unrivaled view of the start line and the other yachts as you maneuver for position in the pre-start period.

This is not only from the time the five minute gun sounds but the pre-start positioning and maneuvering but after the start the foredeck crew spend most of their time sitting on the side providing ballast. However, a knowledge of sailing and tactics ensures you get heard and providing input to the race.

The arrogance of smokers

You can be sitting at a table outside at a cafe or restaurant in South East Asia with no smoking signs at all the tables and you can bet someone will grab a seat alongside you and light up. Once upon a time in Australia that would happen too until the government changed smoking laws; this was, without doubt the best legislation even enacted. The arrogant minority could no longer do as they pleased at the detriment of everyone else.

Their lame arguments that this would destroy the entertainment industry were without foundation. No longer would we come home from a hotel or nightclub with our clothes drenched in smoke. We felt better because we no longer engaged in passive smoking and we weren't poisoning our lungs with second-hand exhaled smoke. The stench of stale ashtrays that once dulled our sense of smell were gone and the cigarette butts littering the footpaths, walkways and common areas have greatly declined. While arrogant smokers walk down the street puffing on a cigarette still throwing their butts on the ground littering the natural environment, I take a certain comfort in knowing their days are numbered.

Ramsay's management style

I used to watch Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on television. As a frequent restaurant patron, I longed to see the inner workings of a kitchen that included restaurant service and how the integration occurred.

The show followed a defined format every episode, Ramsay would come in, order a meal, he would then trash the decor and service. The meal was always terrible at which point Ramsay would then have enough and storm into the kitchen and confront the chef. This would understandably create tension between members, a fight would ensure, colourful language would enter the vocabulary and the storm out would then occur - then the process of rescue would begin.

The revamp involves a menu overhaul, decor refit and then the long awaited relaunch. The reopening would involve Ramsay proving coaching; this however is not a positive process with Ramsay hurling abuse at selected staff members that includes an onscreen meltdown with Ramsay belittling, bullying and enacting management practices that were becoming outdated in the 1990s.

This was the actual reason why I actually watched the show, I have an interest in contemporary management practices and I like to compare my actual processes against industry benchmarks. There is no way I would ever talk to or treat an employee like he does, now he is running an exact same hotel show on the same tired format - amazing.

The pretender

I have plenty of Jackson Browne songs I like - I reckon The Pretender would have to top that list, it's a pretty long list too. The lyrics tell a story and I believe Jackson Browne is a master storyteller, he maintains high ethical values in an industry and age beset by materialism in the never ending chase for album sales,downloads, merchandising and endorsement deals.

The song centres on the disillusionment of working Americans, their plight to make ends meet along with their hopes and aspirations for the future. Despite the catchy tune, I really love the lyrics, Browne is creating a narrative for the working classes of which I am one, albeit not American, but the value of the lyrics is that many of us can relate to this song.

A Boracay sunset

So many holiday options exist in South East Asia with Thailand heading up most tourist itineraries, a little further south and Malaysia is also very popular. Heading south again and Indonesia is highly popular, this is especially so with Australian and Singaporean inbound tourists due to its close proximity and favourable exchange rates. My preferred travel destination is the Philippines as this country is less developed in terms of tourist infrastructure and also favorably priced.

White Beach on the Philippines' premier holiday destination and whilst more developed than other locations within the country, the lack of big business development makes this destination infinitely attractive. The Philippines is renowned for romantic sunsets, none more so than White Beach - these sunsets are world class. Furthermore, the locals have managed their environmental issues so much more productively than rival destinations such as Bali's Kuta Beach.

I am more than happy to promote Boracay as a holiday destination, the Germans have known about Boracay for some time now, the Koreans and Chinese are also highly supportive of this destination. As for me, even living on the west coast of Australia, I am enjoying Boracay sunsets.

Invest in yourself

It takes a certain degree of courage to invest in yourself, there is usually a large financial and time effort required - self-doubt inevitably follows. Will this investment in time and effort pay off? Post graduate education can take up to four years part time, that is a sizable time investment - it changes your life.

Your social life is non-existant; your friends are going out and you are invited. Naturally you decline as you have a chapter of a reference book to read and digest or a paper to write. After a while, the offers stop coming and you can follow their exploits through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr when you take a break from research or writing up assignments. Although, don't spend too long following their social status posts as you are likely to lose focus and become distracted.

Will you get that promotion? Will you pick up a higher paying job at another company? Will your qualification even be recognised? Is what you learnt relevant? Will you be able to execute your new skills? I don't know as I am not there yet but I am fortunate enough to be employed throughout and I won't have a huge debt at the end as I pay the individual units off as I go. Whilst a top-tier international institution like Insead has links to industry, an MBA in a second or third tier business school isn't likely to yield the same results.

Then there is the employment cycle, the West Australian job market peaked in 2012/13. From 2014 we were in steep decline, with 2015 showing no improvement and 2016 not much better. With 2017 still depressed with more jobs being shed and 2018 looking poor, the short-term to medium outlook doesn't look great. As I will be finishing my qualification in mid 2017; despite the decision to invest in myself - I am not filled with confidence.

Has the Liberal Party become too conservative?

Has the Liberal Party in Australia become too conservative? I am a liberal in the true sense of the political ideology; I believe in free enterprise, free trade, freedom of choice and personal freedom. A true liberal believes in the virtues and tenants of freedom; as such, I support the liberal psychology.

But now I have to question the conservative psychology, the more right-wing thinkers in the party tend to take a view that may be contrary to my own personal views. Former Prime Minister John Howard stated that conservatives are always welcome in the Liberal Party; that may be true but they can't let their ideology stray too far right of centre - too far left or right of centre style politics usually ensures a lengthy stint in the political wilderness. So where to from here?

I am seeing the Liberal Party beginning to implode under the Turnbull leadership, a return to an Abbott Prime Ministership isn't the answer so an alternative leader is probably required now. I am really not sure what their policies are, at least under Abbott, you were left under no illusions of their policies - stop the boats, stop the waste and reduce the debt. The sad part is, the Bill Shorten led Labor Party offers no alternative and unless Malcolm Turnbull gets his act together very soon, we could be headed back to the disasters of the Rudd and Gillard governments.

Moving a manager on

The manager to a large degree sets the tone for the workplace, they could lack the technical, communication and social skills required to create an effective workplace but we the employee have to deal with these fools on a daily basis.

When a business unit fails to meet targets, production schedules, budgets or quality you can bet this will be because of the failings of the manager. Excessive sick leave, low moral, poor productivity and a high turn-over of staff indicate poor management skills and a lack of leadership exercised by the incumbent management. Why then are senior managers reluctant to move poorly performing managers on?

Yes, redundancy and termination packages are expensive but not nearly as expensive as the damage an inept manager inflicts on the business. I tend to think the decision to hire these individuals reflects poorly on senior management and they don't like their decision-making undermined. Instead, they remain rooted in indecisiveness about how to act, the workplace suffers and usually the workforce is blamed for the failings of one individual and the people who appointed them.

Horn v Pacman

I'm loving it, relative unknown Jeff Horn defeated WBO champion Manny Pacquiao in a unanimous decision at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium. The former school teacher was given an opportunity after Pacquiao's fight against Amir Khan in the UAE fell through after initially agreeing to fight Horn and then reneging on the deal.

Now, I used the term a unanimous decision, not a majority or a split decision to describe the bout outcome because Horn was ahead on all the judge's scorecards. Pacquiao himself is no stranger to controversial decisions after narrowly defeating Juan Márquez twice on split decisions to win the WBA belt; most believed he lost both fights but the decision stood and Pacquiao refused to fight Márquez a third time.

So you can imagine the hypocrisy of the Pacquiao camp demanding the fight to be rescored. Is this the actions of a sore loser? What was hugely amusing was that the WBO rescored the bout after the Philippine government and Pacquaio camp pressured the WBO into a re-evaluation. The five independent judges all awarded the fight to Horn and the result stood.

Here is the irony, the now fabulously rich Pacquiao flew around business class promoting the fight whilst Horn sat in economy. Horn was paid $500,000 whilst Pacquiao pocketed $10 million for the bout, there was no winner/loser split so Manny made $10 mill for a win, lose or draw. Horn had one shot, one chance to make his mark, he took his opportunity and prevailed - he was ultra motivated.

Now Jeff Horn, the former high school teacher is $500k richer (less costs) but he is the current holder of the WBO welterweight title. I hope if he engages in a rematch with Pacquiao he is paid handsomely with the split being in his favour this time now that he has the ability to dictate the terms. If Pacquiao wants a rematch, maybe the $500k is his fight fee as contender and Horn is the champion pocketing the $10 million. No big payday or no rematch - this might be his only big payday and he needs to make it count.

60 years of the Speedmaster

Amazingly, 2017 marks the anniversary of the Omega Speedmaster. This iconic timepiece designed exclusively for motor racing earned its reputation as an aviator's timepiece through the NASA testing process.

Released back in 1957, the almost identical Speedmaster is still available with heslite crystal and the hand-wound Calibre 1861 movement. Now promoted by Hollywood superstar George Clooney, the Speedmaster in its many forms is the epitome of style and is cool again.

Omega is becoming increasingly difficult to purchase, in order to maintain their exclusiveness, they strongly control their retail chain with Omega outlets in selected markets and branded retailers in thinner markets. What I have found is retailers offering Omega watches are tightly controlled with distributorships lost when price discounting occurs.

As an MBA student, I find this market manipulation interesting, whilst price fixing is unlawful in the majority of worldwide markets, it occurs almost unabated. Yet, whist standing in an Omega boutique plenty of people walked through the door asking about the moonwatch, the Speedmaster Professional is still in big demand 60 years on.

Le Dome Cafe - Paris

The legendary Café du Dôme in Montparnasse, Paris; the intellectual capital of Paris, known as the Anglo-American café. I'm a big fan of the American literary brigade based in Paris in the aftermath of the first world war. Guys like Henry Miller, Ernest Hemingway and Elliot Paul were regulars, I am told F. Scott Fitzgerald was not a Dômier despite residing in Paris during the jazz age although he collaborated with Hemingway at the time.

My favourite author of the period was William Somerset Maugham, an English playwright, short story author and novelist - a regular at the Café du Dôme after he served in the Red cross ambulance corps during the first world war.

Amazingly, the café is still trading, while plenty of changes have been made; surprisingly, it doesn't look all that different from the photographs of old. Sure Café du Dôme is probably still trading a little on past glories, a trip to Paris surprised me at how popular the café still is. The establishment was full and there was not a chance of getting a table for even a quick coffee - great stuff.

It could have been Jeff OHalloran v Jeff O'Halloran

I had sometimes taken some short courses at the University of Western Australia that were not for credit, these were just for personal interest and run through their summer school part time. So you could imagine my intrigue when the University Club of Western Australia contacted me to join their reunion.

After a rather embarrassing conversation, the caller found out I was not the Jeff O'Halloran who studied law at the University of Western Australia who was a successful practicing solicitor. I was merely a summer school attendee who had taken a few lectures and workshops, as an invitation had been sent out I was informed I was still entitled to attend, I respectfully declined.

This generated some more intrigue on my behalf and I decided to research my namesake who was living in Perth in what some might argue in a parallel universe to my life. My research indicated that a Jeff O'Halloran was employed by the State Solicitor's office as a legal officer. Notwithstanding, I was also embroiled in a workplace dispute where I was correct in my analysis and had taken the issue above the heads of our recalcitrant management to the office of the Director General.

Much to everybody's amusement, the office of the Director General agreed with my analysis, that wasn't a difficult decision as I was correct but our management refused to act upon the direction of the department and I also refused to back down.

Yet, this should have been the point where the aforementioned recalcitrant management admits defeat and submits to my request. So you can imagine my surprise after exhausting all viable options, I was forced to take my employer to the Western Australian Industrial Relations Court and I then received a letter from the State Solicitor at my home address.

I was hoping the court listing would read Jeff OHalloran v Jeff O'Halloran so we could square off in court, a real solicitor versus a legal pretender. But it would have really been Jeff OHalloran v my employer; I can't publish their name even though it was listed in The West Australian newspaper - they are a little touchy about this.

I was disappointed our match up didn't eventuate but here is the real laugh, the State Solicitor was able to argue my default ruling (my employer didn't file a response) should not be awarded and then tried to get the case thrown out of court. The magistrate ruled otherwise and we set another hearing - one all was the decision.  

A crusade against corruption

This has become my fight now, uncovering and exposing corruption in the public sector in an attempt to eradicate corrupt behaviour and misuse of public funds.

The abuse of public money, bribery, the intentional release of confidential information, perverting the course of justice, blackmail, the falsification of records, extortion or fraud all falls within the sphere of corrupt behaviour. What also falls within the sphere of corrupt behaviour is an individual or group of people taking advantage of their position to the benefit or detriment of any person.

I am a taxpayer and I am in a position to scrutinise the spending of public money; this isn't a private company where the directors and managers are spending their own funds. This is money generated from tax revenues by taxpayers such as myself, families struggling to make ends meet and self-funded retirees who have spent a lifetime paying taxes. We have an obligation to spend public funds wisely and in an efficient manner that benefits not only the taxpayer but society in general.

What really raises my ire is a bunch of people who have spent a lifetime being paid by the public purse and have never had to succeed in private enterprise carrying like they are in business. This lifetime public servant mentality tends to manifest as empire building, backside covering and a failure to undertake any personal risk.

These people are not in business, they think they are business leaders but never take any personal financial risk as a business owner and entrepreneur does. This attitude of entitlement has to be stopped, if public servants want to swan around like they are in business then they can build themselves a business with all the entitlements that business ownership brings.

Plenty of sharemarket exuberance

You know you are involved in a sharemarket boom when everyone is getting involved; the market isn't just the domain of mutual funds, superannuation funds and wealth management arms of major banks. Whilst this isn't a new photograph, this Chinese banana vendor in Shanghai trading shares on the side of the road represents the small time trader taking on the corporate traders.

Good luck to him, if he is able generate an income stream from trading and let's face it, if this guy generates an income as a professional trader then he has my respect. Already he generates his living from retailing commodities to the public so it isn't such a step up to actually trading commodities business to business. Albeit, he trades on a smaller scale than most traders of coffee futures, frozen orange juice concentrate, cotton, cocoa, soybean, wheat, sugar or corn but I admire his courage to risk everything to follow his dream.