An Entitlement Culture?

From time to time i hear people in conversation calculating the number of days annual leave they have left to take and going on to count the number of sick days they have left – to take. I also encounter people who casually mention that they took a day’s sick leave because they didn’t feel like going to work or because they haven’t used up their full entitlement.

The truth is they are entitled to the time of it they are sick but not if they are not. The truth, however, is because sick leave requires self regulation there are and always will be people that abuse the benefit.

In many ways the current British fiasco around Minister Expenses reminds me of this scenario – most especially when I hear Ministers mention that they understand why members of the public are upset, but go on to mention that they have done nothing outside of the rules. The ultimate truth is they like people that take sick days of when they are not sick, some Ministers have refused to properly self regulate themselves. Probably because they simply believe that they are entitled to an allowance which they therefore spend, whether or not they have a real need for it.

What Gives Us The Right ...?

Like some many others, I had the priviledge of listening to Susan Boyle auditioning for Britain’s Got Talent over the weekend. Beyond shadow of a doubt her singing was impressive, but as the more I read commentaries on the audition, the more I become saddened and concerned.

You see I’m increasingly reading comments where people very casually refer to her as ugly or express a desire to give her a makeover. The fact that she does not look like someone from a glossy magazine does not make her ugy – from that perspective, she’s just another everyday person.

Possibly singing in front of an audience and possibly the Queen means she will need to sharpen her image a bit, but it doesn’t necessarily mean she needs a complete makeover.

So I say well done to Susan. If she does want a makeover, then good for her, but if not then may she happily be as she is.

For the rest of us, one of the judges, Amanda said that Susan was a big wake up call. Let it truly be so as the question on my mind remains – “What Gives Us The Right?”

Selah

Thoughts on a Snowy Day in Milton Keynes

I felt a bit sad earlier on Friday as I had really been looking forward to attending the Milton Keynes Environmental Exhibition and Symposium. In fact, I was really geared up for it and had started getting ready to go, hoping that yesterday’s snow would have melted adequately for not roads not to be too slippery. However, at about 7.30am, I looked out of the window to check only to find that it had started snowing – again!

I turned on the radio to listen and heard a repeated and strong message that I should stay indoors unless it was absolutely necessarily for me to go out. I considered venturing to take a bus into the City Centre, but the radio went on to inform me that the bus services were cancelled.

After some time I decided to take a walk down the road in order to better access things for myself. I came across a man with a car similar to mine trying unsuccessfully to drive down my road and stopped with him for a chat. He reinforced the message that I should stay home, as did my next door neighbours who told about the nightmarish journey they had, had when they ventured out. I concluded that sadly it was time for me to give in.

So I went back to my office to sit down and get some work done. Rather distracted, from time to time I looked out of the window and saw people carrying green bags from the Budgens in the next estate. After some time, I decided to go there myself and get some milk.

I must say it’s good exercise walking in the snow, as you really have to lift you feet up out of the snow to take your next step – so pleased that I was getting some good exercise, I trudged along until I came across an elderly lady gingerly walking towards me. Having stopped to have a chat with her to make sure that she was okay, I continued my journey -smiling as I watched the children play and within 10 minutes I had arrived at Budgens, together with a mother and her two toddlers walking right in front of me.

As I walked back, I thought thankfully that I was glad that we had not been battled like this with snow 2 years ago as Budgens did not exist then. I, together with everyone else would have had to walk for about half an hour to Morrisons. That would have been okay for me – possibly even good for me to have got the exercise. But then I thought about the elderly lady I had seen together with the other people who may have found the journey difficult.

It made me think that maybe it would good for Milton Keynes to reconsider the policy whereby “soft infrastructure” such as shops are not put into new estates until the housing is complete.

Further thoughts on Milton Keynes are available on "www.TheHeartOfMiltonKeynes.co.uk

Copyright 2008 This document is the specific intellectual property of Susan Popoola. Content may not be reused or reproduced without the specific permission of the owner or a reference to the source. Opinions may be generated from content obtained from other sources and such content is referenced as appropriate.

If I Was in a Position to Vote

I doubt if will surprise anyone that knows me to hear that I am hoping and praying that Barack Obama wins the American Presidential elections.

I am not an American, neither do I live in America and as such I am not in a position to vote. Some would even say that as a consequence I shouldn’t even have an opinion. However, if the truth is that we now have a global economy and the current economic problems that we are facing here in England (as with the rest of the world) stem from or at least relate to actions taken within the US, then I believe I as everyone has the right to comment – even though we are not in a position to vote.

My support for Obama is not due to the colour of his skin or his change mantra, but because I have studied him as a person, his background and his proposals and I believe he is best positioned to serve and propel America forward.

Indeed at the beginning of the primaries I studied all the candidates and specifically listened to biographical information on each of the candidates, searching.... searching for the candidates that I believe would be best positioned to understand , support and connect to everyday people. With an awareness of the divides and growing disparities that exist within societies, this was the most crucial factor for me.

Obama’s background, work experience and policies mean that he meets the essential criteria. His campaign strategy (which I believe should be studied by every business leader, entrepreneur, community worker etc) demonstrates his ability to mobilise and involve people. This is compounded with the experience of Joe Biden who I believe is very much in touch with the people, both because of his background and because he probably interacts with them on a daily basis as he travels with them on his daily commute. On the other hand, while I believe that McCain sincerely cares, I don’t believe that he or Palin have the background experiences to fully understand.

My focus and essential criteria for the next president sounds simplistic, but I’m a simple person. I do not however deny the importance of experience, intelligence, character etc. These are also very important. Though you may choose to question Obama’s experience, he has clearly demonstrated character and intelligence in the campaign and for any experience that he is lacking I believe he will pull together a team that will effectively fill in the gaps in his experience.

I still, however, go back to the ability to connect and support the needs of everyday people because I sincerely believe that as Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Said “As long as there is poverty in the world I can never be rich, even if I have a billion dollars. As long as diseases are rampant millions of people in this world cannot expect to live more than twenty-eight or thirty years, I can never be totally healthy, even if I just got a good checkup at the Mayo Clinic. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the way our world is made. No individual or nation can stand out boasting of being independent. We are all interdependent”.

For a leader to lead on this principal he or she must be a servant leader with fortitude, compassion and understand. I believe at the very least Barack Obama will do his uttermost to be a servant to the people.

A More Positive View of Our Youth

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend Countec Education and Business Partnership's Investors in Education Awards at the Ramada Encore Hotel in Central Milton Keynes.

It was an event that celebrated employers that provide secondary school pupils with an opportunity to experience the work place and pupils that had been on a work placement and had a positive impact in the work place.

In the current climate where there is so much negative talk about young people, I was amazed at how many positive words and phrases employers had used to describe the young people that had been with them on work placements.

I found myself jotting some of them down as follows: Motivated; Enthusiastic; Consistent; Hard Working; Always Smiling; Grew in Confidence; Lovely Boy; Wanted to do Well; Steady & Reliable; 'Can Do' Attitude; a Delight; Upbeat; Polite; Perfect Attendance; Dealt with Issues .....
and the list goes on and on.

These employers are people who have had a direct experience of these young people, but somehow they see something different from the image of young people that is constantly portrayed in the media. I'm not denying the problems that do exist with young people, but I believe that the young people that were honoured at Wednesday's event are more representative of the typical teenager than those portrayed in the media.

It makes me wonder what the typical young person trying to make the most of his/her life (who does not carry a weapon or belong to a gang) must think or feel about the image we are portraying of them.

Selah

Susan Popoola

Copyright 2008 This document is the specific intellectual property of Susan Popoola. Content may not be reused or reproduced without the specific permission of the owner or a reference to the source. Opinions may be generated from content obtained from other sources and such content is referenced as appropriate.

A Solution for All of Us please!

Last night I turned on the TV. The news was on and there was a story on how the Prime Minister was proposing to give £200 to parents from economically deprived areas to encourage them to go on programmes which I guess were aimed to help them. To me, however, it sounded like one of those schemes that deal with symptoms rather than real issues. Similar to the decision to prosecute young people for carrying knifes, without getting to the root of why so many of them are actually carrying knifes.

I went on to watch Dispatches - The Truth About Food Prices as from the trailer there was an indication that I might learn a few tips on how to save on food costs. I was, however, left disappointed.

There were two families featured. The first family, seemed to go into a supermarket and pick up what they wanted without any real awareness of individual prices of items, just a knowledge that the overall cost of their shopping had increased dramatically. The solution presented to them was to shop around and go to some of the alternative low cost stores.

The second family were in the habit of throwing masses of food away. In simple terms, they were adviced not to throw the food away, but to use it!

So as I said, I was left disappointed. In fact, irritated and slighted urked. I guess the advice given was great if you are in the habit of just going into a supermarket and picking things of the shelf without thinking of the price or if you ritually waste food. But for those that have never been in the position to do either of these things - those who naturally shop around and would not dream of wasting food .... I mean those who are really stretched by the food crisis and are most in need of help at this point in time .... I'm not sure what good the programme did for them. In a way, it's as if the programme was for a selected few who were suddenly feeling a bit of pain akin to what a number of people feel on a regular basis. It did not seem like a programme that has solutions targeted towards all of us in the general population.

So, I switched channels to numb my brain with a bit of comedy and watched a couple of series of the American sitcom, "All of Us"

Developing Creativity through Art

I've just got back to the office from a visit to a local Secondary School where I am a School Governor. While there I had an interesting conversation with the Head of Art about using Art to develop creative skills for the workplace.

I'm glad that they are thinking along these lines because creative skills are a must for the 21st Century workplace. The war for talent is not just about employers fighting for employees with the required skills. It's also about employees demonstrating that they have the skills required by employers.

Furthermore, both my direct experience and conversations that I have with employers clearly indicate that it's actually the softer skills that really make the difference