Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/I-am-me--living-by-my-own-authority.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/I-am-me--living-by-my-own-authority.html I am me. I am not you. I am comfortable (I think) with my beliefs, with my likes and dislikes, with my judgements and opinions; I try to be as honest as I can; I try to be truthful; I try to be kind and compassionate and generally try to behave towards other people as I would like them to behave towards me. In other words I like to think of myself as an ordinary kind of bloke trying to live by my understanding and interpretation of events and circumstances. In other words I am trying to live by my own authority. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Hints-on-managing-an-ageing-multicultural-workorce.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Hints-on-managing-an-ageing-multicultural-workorce.html Research has confirmed the commonly held belief that as people age their ability (and often their desire) to change is diminished and that their thoughts, habits, patterns of behaviour, ideas and perceptions become rigid and limited and that it becomes more difficult for them to change in response to events (‘plasticity’ of the brain is reduced). http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Complete-not-perfect.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Complete-not-perfect.html If we are not content within ourselves then nothing, repeat nothing, will make us happy. Winning the lottery will certainly give us pleasure – we will be able to satisfy our desires, but it will not bring us happiness. Pleasures are superficial and all external – such as buying new clothes, food, alcohol, drugs and engaging in extreme sports. They need to be repeated because desires can never be satisfied. Happiness comes from inner peace with a contented and tranquil mind and an understanding of who we are, which includes our ethics, morals values and virtues. This understanding allows an acceptance of what we perceive to be our current ‘drivers’ for whatever actions, thoughts or behaviour patterns that make up our lives. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Measure-yourself-as-a-manager-Go-for-gold.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Measure-yourself-as-a-manager-Go-for-gold.html Going for gold; what does it mean and what is your ‘gold’? You can never achieve anything lasting that is not in your nature. You cannot achieve anything that you have not a natural inclination for, with of course the appropriate mental and physical attributes. A gold medal is nothing without self worth – think of the Olympic athletes, or Tour de France cyclists who cheated, who took performance enhancing drugs, to achieve gold. Gold at any cost is not worth it. Such an attitude demeans the perpetrators and will not allow them to grow as human beings to reach their full natural potential – high, low or indifferent. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Have-you-become-a-commodity.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Have-you-become-a-commodity.html A society that accepts "head hunters", "down-sizing" and encourages people to sell themselves to the highest bidder in the market reduces its citizens to commodities. This has its ramifications in work/life balance or general life harmony. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Dont-attack-Life-It-is-a-process.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Dont-attack-Life-It-is-a-process.html Attacking Life as in a campaign is not a good idea. Accept that Life is a process from birth to death (and paying taxes!!). Learn to live with the ups and the downs. Anything else will be stressful and cause problems. This will not bring life harmony. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Be-carefull-Success-may-not-be-all-that-you-expect.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Be-carefull-Success-may-not-be-all-that-you-expect.html We all strive to be successful. But what is success? How is it rated or determined? How has your success been achieved? Has it been at any cost, to others or to yourself? The danger, today, is that success, almost exclusively, has now come to mean achievement in a particular field of endeavour. Success, for you, may be a collection of exquisite material items and great financial wealth; or to be in a position of power and influence. The trouble is that anything that is external to you can be lost. Hence the requirement for insurance, security guards, fencing, keys and locks, and for those with power and influence – minders to watch their backs! Lasting success is internal. It is contentment and being happy with yourself. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Part-3--Relationships-and-service.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Part-3--Relationships-and-service.html It is absolutely essential for any manager to communicate with and to understand what motivates each individual staff member. This brings relationships to the fore as the most important factor for any manager in any business. We are not just caged canaries or a selection of laboratory rats. We are thinking, feeling human beings, trying to be just that – human beings - not just human doers. We live to express ourselves creatively and to grow and develop each in our own unique way. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Part-2--A-business-paradigm-change-is-needed.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Part-2--A-business-paradigm-change-is-needed.html This is not a call to arms, for a revolution nor is it a recipe for chaos. This is a call for understanding; for a paradigm change. More of the same will give us all more of the same – this is the recipe for chaos. Just look around. It is obvious from the state of the World economy, the mental health and the well being of the general population that something is out of kilter. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Part-1--After-the-ball-is-over.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1898/Part-1--After-the-ball-is-over.html The ball is very definitely over. A good time was had by all but what a mess to cleanup! This cleanup has been compounded by the errant behaviour of some of the leaders and organizers of the ball: unbounded greed, ethical standards have been eroded, personal values have been overturned, virtues have been diminished to the point of ridicule, morality has been questioned, integrity has been ignored, trust forgotten and the meaning of life seems to have been lost. This cleanup will be a massive task.