20 is known as a "score' not for sporting reasons (although a dart board has 20 sectors), but because in the past when livestock, such as sheep, were being counted it was usual to score a notch in a piece of wood to record twenty animals before counting the next 20 in the flock or herd. The first citation was in 1100.
It is our company's Christmas Party this evening - it is going to be a great event with an amazing live band brought together by one of our talented employees (who knocked the Beatles off number 1 in the charts back in the 60's). It will be a great evening at which to celebrate all we have achieved over this past year. I am so grateful to so many both in and outside work. Thank you!
Today's post is a charming and uplifting poem by Helen Amery. Helen is a coach who likes to work with leaders unleashing their true potential through their Clarity, Contentment and Connection. She is married and has two much loved children. She (and her business) are based in Leicester in the East Midlands. After obtaining a degree in Chemistry from Edinburgh, Helen commenced training as an accountant with PwC but then realised that she was better suited to HR. She then took a postgraduate diploma in Personnel Management at Nottingham, before joining Boots (initially within employee relations). Helen succumbed to her entrepreneurial spirit and runs her own successful business Wild Fig Solutions. You can follow Helen on Twitter (her handle is @WildFigSolns) and read her people-centred blogs on her business site.
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Heartache it hurts But it need not be feared We are all OK No matter what we feel
Hope is the light The chinks in the dark That leads to a rising Of energy sparks
High fives connect They remind we are one Today, tomorrow, always With ev'ry rising sun
44 candles are needed, in total, to light the menorah (the 9 lamp, 8 branched candleabrum used in the rituals during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah - a celebration of the rededication of the Holy Temple). Hanukkah is observed for eight days and nights with a new lamp lit each day, it is in addition to the earlier lamps being replaced and relit, so the number of daily candles required are cumulative. Eight candles, one for each day, and one light that stands apart from the others, called the Shamash, from which all are lit. Other Hanukkah festivities include eating oil-based foods such as doughnuts, giving gifts and playing with Dreidels (a kind of spinning top).
Today's post is by Susan Popoola, the Managing Director of Conning Towers, a business founded in 2001 in Milton Keynes that specialises in providing practical business solutions to organisations and people with HR issues. She is also the founder of the social enterprise, Engaged For Success CIC, with has a strong focus on young people and issues such as deprivation and exclusion. Related to this, Susan is an award winning speaker and author with a reputation for championing diversity and inclusion, you might like her book on the impact of immigration and multi-cultural society - Consequences: Diverse to Mosaic Britain or, if you like urban history and culture, her first book, Touching the Heart of Milton Keynes. Susan has many years of HR experience and an interest in the power of technology to enhance businesses and the capabilities of the individuals within them. You can connect with her on Twitter - her handle is @SusanPopoola. Outside work Susan is actively involved in education - she is a governor for Hazeley School chairing the Support and Development Committee. She also serves as a Young Enterprise judge and a Business Ambassador for Countec Education Business Partnership.
“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh!" he whispered. "Yes, Piglet?" "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you.” ―A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
As one year begins to draw to a close and a new year sets in, there is often a tendency to reflect on the year, review the plans made at the beginning of the year and make new ones for the forthcoming year.
I’m yet to meet anyone who says that they made plans for a year and achieved everything on the list.
Sometimes we come pretty close and even achieve some phenomenal things that were not on the list, but no one really achieves everything. Sometimes we or at least let me say, I, have got to the end of a year, reviewed my plans and been quite disappointed. This happened to me last year and so I sat down and wrote a list of the things that I had achieved. I was pleasantly surprised and I believe the same would apply to anyone who went through the same process. We often do better than we give ourselves credit for.
Something else that I have come to realise from going through such processes is that there’s nothing that I have achieved alone. At times support comes from people that I’ve known for a long time, that I consider part of my inner circle, that if I’m to be honest I dare to expect to support me, just as they know that I will always be there to support them. In these cases I’m not overall surprised, just appreciative that they have been faithful to me and come through for me.
At times support comes from the least expected place. I have no reason why these people reach out to support me – especially without me asking for help or indicating a need to them.
There are also the things that people do that come as a surprise – whether people from my inner circle or not. The unexpected gift, a kind word, the invitation to an event, the recommendation, or the mere mention of my name by someone that I thought had forgotten that I existed, as we haven’t spoken in years. The person that I bump into, who mentions how much he or she likes reading my articles or tweets and finds them to be most useful.
It’s not all one-way though. It means just as much to me to be able to give people help and support of some kind. To help them move that step forward, to overcome a challenge. Even just that little thing that puts a smile on a face makes a lot of difference to me. I actually believe you get more out of giving too.
All in all, my support system says that there are people out there that believe that I have value and worth – because of the big things that I strive to achieve, the fact that they know they can always count on me; I make them laugh or put a smile on a face – or what have you, just because I am who I am. What this says to me is that not only am I never alone in my journey and in what I achieve, but that I can’t give up. I must go on (regardless of the odds) as there are people cheering me on and counting on me to succeed.
The why that draws people in is not always clear. I think it’s something about passion and purpose, but I’m not really sure – I don’t really ask. Maybe I should as feedback as important - it’s fuel and it’s reinforcement.
In terms of feedback I’ve always been one to say thank you. However, if I’m to be honest, I think it would be fair to say that I don’t take the time to let people know how much I appreciate them and the value that they bring as much as I should.
Going forward, I intend to do this much more as contrary to what we may think, people often don’t know how much they are valued and saying so may make all the difference. Preventing someone from giving up on a job, a relationship, and a project…. By not giving up that person may go on to do something that has a positive live changing impact for them or someone else.
42 degrees from a light sourceis the required angle of view, of airborne water droplets, for the vibrant arc of a rainbow to appear. A rainbow is an optical illusion and the spectrum range we see is caused by the human eye's ability to perceive colour.
It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Tony Jackson, the author of today's inspirational post. Tony is the founder and Managing Director of Chelsham Consulting Limited (http://chelsham.co). You can read his blog via the company's website and also see more of his stunning photography (there are some examples as part of the post below - I am not responsible for any of the beautiful illustrations that accompany this piece, other than the song at the end). Tony started training to be an accountant on leaving university, but soon realised that he preferred people to numbers. Via recruitment he came into HR and has worked for some of the world's leading professional service firms (including PwC and Simmons & Simmons), before moving into not-for-profit as Head of HR for Macmillan Cancer Support. He established Chelsham Consulting in 2013, on leaving Macmillan, and is now a highly valued coach, facilitator and specialist consultant on OD and people-related matters. Tony is cultured and creative - he enjoys travel and learning more about people and places around the globe. You can connect with him on Twitter, his handle is @JacksonT0ny.
It took me a while to find my way to this blog. And to be honest it’s a reworking of one I have written before. About where one finds one inspiration. For me it’s unquestionably out there.
When I need solace or inspiration my amateur photography can be an excellent ‘third place’.
In 2015 I started experimenting by including some of the results in my and my company’s Twitter feeds – without a particularly obvious objective other than to share and maybe to introduce people to the idea of seeking inspiration in new and different places.
For me there has always been something truly inspiring about wandering around – for example through the streets of a city – and finding views, angles, perspectives.
I’ve blogged before about how this can lift my spirits. Lift them out of the dust
It can be challenging arriving into a new place with me – I am less interested in the ‘set pieces’ than I am in the people, the colours, the ambience, the vibe, the unexpected and the sky. Oh the sky! Some say there is too much of it in my shots. Well I just love the sky.
In a museum or art gallery I’m soaking up the overall impact and keen to see what’s in the next room whilst others are methodically studying each individual item on display. That’s OK by the way – I’m happy doing what I’m doing and I’m right here if you need me. Right here.
Plonk me down at an outside table with a book, or a loved one, or a new friend and (crucially) a view and I can be at my best. Happened again not so long ago – a really productive conversation which would have been that bit less productive if I hadn’t had the stunning sea-view from a rather nice restaurant in Brighton.
There’s evidence for this in my MBTI profile. Off the scale on E (energy from the world around me etc.) with that very telling OOPS on Intimacy – so I can be energised by being on my own or with a small group of people whilst surrounded by the inspiring world at large. Also a clear preference for N so don’t bother me too much with the detail in the gallery, don’t ask me to study any one thing for too long.
At its extreme I end up doing things like taking a photo of the cupola outside the open window whilst everyone else is excited by the fresco on the wall in the room inside. Yes this happened this year:
When I’m stuck on something in my home office I pop out into my local area to see what’s going on. And often end up running back to capture the resulting ideas.
Some of my clearest ever thinking has been inspired by the mountains and sky in Andalucía (again I have previously blogged on this subject Complete.Clarity.Of.Thought )
As an HRD you would catch me “wandering around”. People notice what leaders do of course. For me it was combining a desire to be visible and ‘grabbable’ as the HR guy, whilst also seeking an infusion of ideas & thoughts by simply being out and about. So I would tour the floors without a specific destination. Some would say that’s a waste of time – I think it was some of the best time I ever spent.
My preferred way of breaking an impasse (ER or other) would often be a walk around the park or along the river with someone.
And to this day I can be inspired by what is going on outside the meeting room. Don’t worry – I’m right here but I might just be at my best if the world is more present in the room.
Anyway back to the photography – my Twitter feed is now dominated by my and other people’s photography. It’s part of who I am, so I am revealing the authentic me. I have woven my own photos into my company’s brand and its new website. But crucially some of them really show me (and you) where I get my inspiration from. The things that are ‘out there’……
That building, that fountain, that statue, that shadow, those puddles, the clouds, the sky. Oh the sky! Those comet tails! That’s me. And you? Where does your inspiration come from?
"Out there" from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame
