When there is no Leadership.

I'm not sure if this is a true story or not but on Thursday, 24th January 2002, Derek Guille broadcast this story on his afternoon program on ABC radio. Regardless I'm sure we have all suffered the frustration and hopelessness of dealing with an organisation who delegates no responsibility or leadership to those you have to deal with.    

In March 1999 a man living in Kandos (near Mudgee in NSW, Australia) received a bill for his as yet unused gas line stating that he owed $0.00. He ignored it and threw it away. In April he received another bill and threw that one away too. The following month the gas company sent him a very nasty note stating that they were going to cancel his gas line if he didn't send them $0..00 by return mail. He called them, talked to them, and they said it was a computer error and they would take care of it. 

The following month he decided that it was about time that he tried out the troublesome gas line figuring that if there was usage on the account it would put an end to this ridiculous predicament. However, when he went to use the gas, it had been cut off. He called the gas company who apologised for the computer error once again and said that they would take care of it. The next day he got a bill for $0.00 stating that payment was now overdue.                   

Assuming that having spoken to them the previous day the latest bill was yet another mistake, he ignored it, trusting that the company would be as good as their word and sort the problem out. The next month he got a bill for $0.00. This bill also stated that he had 10 days to pay his account or the company would have to take steps to recover the debt.

Finally, giving in, he thought he would beat the gas company at their own game and mailed them a cheque for $0.00. The computer duly processed his account and returned a statement to the effect that he now owed the gas company nothing at all. 

A week later, the manager of the Mudgee branch of the Westpac Banking Corporation called our hapless friend and asked him what he was doing writing cheque for $0.00. After a lengthy explanation the bank manager replied that the $0.00 cheque had caused their cheque processing software to fail. The bank could therefore not process ANY cheques they had received from ANY of their customers that day because the cheque for $0.00 had caused the computer to crash.

The following month the man received a letter from the gas company claiming that his cheque had bounced and that he now owed them $0.00 and unless he sent a cheque by return mail they would take immediate steps to recover the debt. 

At this point, the man decided to file a debt harassment claim against the gas company. It took him nearly two hours to convince the clerks at the local courthouse that he was not joking. They subsequently helped him in the drafting of statements which were considered substantive evidence of the aggravation and difficulties he had been forced to endure during this debacle. The matter was heard in the Magistrate's Court in Mudgee and the outcome was this:

The gas company was ordered to:
[1] Immediately rectify their computerised accounts system or Show Cause, within 10 days, why the matter should not be referred to a higher Court for consideration under Company Law. 

[2] Pay the bank dishonour fees incurred by the man.
[3] Pay the bank dishonour fees incurred by all the Westpac clients whose cheques had been bounced on the day our friend's had been processed.
[4] Pay the claimant's court costs.
[5] Pay the claimant a total of $1500 per month for the 5 month period March to July inclusive as compensation for the aggravation they had caused their client to suffer."

And all this over $0.00. 

This story can also be viewed on the ABC website. 

Let us all know what you think and do you have some idea on how to clean up the gene pool.

Young People

It never ceases to amaze and inspire me how young people who, when given the opportunity will take on the challenge, take control, solve problems and display great creativity and leadership.

Abby Sunderland had her dream cut short after being knocked down several times in very heavy seas off the coast of WA. Very unfortunate for the young lady but when the mast is snapped from your boat the adventure is over. Her attempt to sail solo around the world was done. Now we have the bean counters and snivelers lining up to inform us all of the recovery costs and pointing an accusing finger at people (parents coaches and supporters who in their opinion) who should never have let this happen.

It seems setting up drug and rehabilitation clinics across the nation for people who are unable to get their own lives together without mind altering substances is ok.“That’s OK”. Spending millions of taxpayer’s dollars cleaning up after misfits, who deface other people’s property with graffiti because they haven’t the intellect to channel their talent into something positive or legal, “That’s OK”. And what will the cost to the public be after a gang of morons ran rampant through a train recently stabbing, glassing and beating train travelers who simply wanted to get home. They will claim “we have nothing else to do” which of cause is just an excuse for people who can’t think for themselves.

So I for one admire those young people who want to challenge themselves in a positive way and know from experience that we have lots of young people ready to take on the challenge. We as a community shouldn't be afraid to provide the resources. I’m sure it would be a worthwhile investment. It may even reduce expenditure on the above mentioned.

As for the sniveling negative people who barely seem to have the courage to glance out the window of their office without first putting together a risk analysis or management plan, you people need to step back out of the way so our young people don’t trip over the obstacles you push out in front of them. 

I congratulate and admire Abby Sunderland on her attempt to sail around the world, Jessica Watson on her epic voyage on the Pink Lady and Jesse Martin for his great sailing story. Then just recently the 13 yr old boy Jordan Romero climbed Mt Everest and bad luck to the 12 yr old Michelito a young Mexican matador who got tossed by the bull. I hope you’re ready to try again soon young man.

All of these young people are our heroes. They are our leaders by example who inspire others  to take on the challenge and make our community a better place to live in. Even more heroic are their parents. I know there are lots more young people out there ready to have a crack so let’s support their effort.

This coming Dec I will get to meet 22 more budding young leaders who are just bursting to inspire us all. The Voyage of Discovery or CI Boundless is a 4 day program for 15 to 18 yr olds and takes place in Nth West Victoria and Central Highlands Victoria each year. 

If you have an interest in the personal development of young people check our website 

Why Having Fun Helps People Learn

All of the programs delivered by Canoe Images are powerful, often transformational, learning experiences for participants.  They are also great fun!

Creating an environment where participants have fun is obviously better than creating one that does not but there is more to this than meets the eye; people actually learn more effectively when they are having fun.  People become more creative, are more open minded and lose their inhibitions or preconceived ideas which all lead to opportunities to learn.

Neurologists have discovered that when learners are having fun a number of physiological changes occur in the body; levels of dopamine, endorphins and oxygen in the body are increased which leads to an overall pleasurable experience for the body.  The brain, being the powerful organ it is, associates this pleasurable experience with whatever triggered it and attaches the emotion to the event – locking it away in the memory which is able to be recalled at a later date.

Entirely the opposite is true as well.  When the body is uncomfortable, stressed or physically or emotionally tired, it reduces the amount of dopamine, endorphins and oxygen available to the body.  Further, if those conditions continue, the hippocampus shrinks leading to memory impairment and any available opportunity to learn is lost.

So when you are with the Canoe Images team and you hear lots of laughter, people are not only having fun but they are also actively engaged in learning.

Leader vs. Manager

Leadership and management are commonly seen as the same thing. They are not.  Leadership is also misunderstood to mean directing and instructing people and making important decisions on behalf of an organisation.  Effective leadership is much more than this.

A simple way to explain how management is different to leadership is:

• Management is mostly about processes, systems and procedures.
• Leadership is mostly about behaviour, people and relationships. 

We could extend this to say:

• Management relies heavily on tangible, measurable capabilities such as effective planning, the use of organisational systems and the use of appropriate communication methods.
• Leadership involves many management skills but generally as a secondary or background function of true leadership.  Leadership instead relies most strongly on less tangible and less measurable things like trust, inspiration, attitude and personal character.

Effective leaders are followed chiefly because people trust and respect them rather than solely because of the skills they possess.  Leadership is about behaviour first, skills second.

Do you agree? What do you think? 


(Contributed by Dean Cunningham, facilitator at Canoe Images)

What do we know?

Building teams since 1992!!

Over 20 yrs my brother Bernie and I have worked hard creating a unique style of learning for team & leadership models & concepts. A means of learning that is not just classroom based but includes hands on, experiential situations that are lived and enacted with real outcomes and consequences. Through this style of program the learning is compounded and has a huge impact on participants. With the encouragement and support of thousands of participants and our clients we would like to introduce our new and second RTO venue “Castle Hill" in the Central Highlands Daylesford. Our website Canoe Images provides information on the venue and the programs available. Facebook provides lots of photos and feedback from participants.

Without good leadership are we just blind followers?

We would invite people to follow our Blog or through Twitter where we will notify of weekly short stories or case studies and invite comment. Eg. What is the difference between Leadership and Management. The longer I work in this industry the more I realise that most people just don’t know what leadership is and that includes lots of our community leaders.

Remember there are 100’s of things a good leader can do but only 3 things that people will follow.

What are they? Watch this space......