I am so pleased to be able to say my precious husband made it through his op last night!  The anaesthetist came out of the op with wide eyes - seems like his pheochromocytoma behaved in typical text-book fashion and gave his doctors a run for their money - he had some very scary blood pressure spikes during the op.  But we did have the best doctor specialists in the country on his case, so he was carried through in skilled hands!

So he felt pretty grim afterwards, and is in the ICU while they try to help his body adjust it’s blood pressure to levels that normal people are used to, without the pheo pumping hectic stuff into the blood.  He’ll probably be there for a few days yet while he recovers. 

Both of us have been completely stunned by the amount of care and love standing around us through this time.  I can’t tell you how much it has meant to us to have all your messages of love and hope coming through on voicemail and sms.  Grant says he thinks this is one of the lessons he is to learn through this journey - to accept the love people offer to him so freely! 

He has asked that he not have any visitors for now - his mom and me are doing the family vigil thing, but I know he would really enjoy some wheat-free, sugar free snacks to enjoy when he gets back home and starts raiding the pantry when he gets bored!!

Thanks to friends and angels who have carried us on their hands and prayers!

Robin Sharma has a wonderful theory of “Being a leader without a title”. He encourages us all to be the best we can be in what we do, not needing a title in order to be leaders in our lives.

In one of his latest coaching videos “Hard Times Makes Great Leaders” he reminds us that by acknowledging the weak areas of our business (and personal lives) allows us to remove those weak areas and creates space for something new. Difficult times are purification times and time to build and create new things. To quote Niche “Chaos gives births to dancing stars!” check out

Sharma’s 4 steps to dealing with hard times:

Let go of old ways

Protect your thinking - don’t buy into negativity, “leaders are dealers in hope!”

Go the extra mile - when you feel you can’t anymore, do one more thing, be a merchant of “WOW”, develop a language of success!

Stay healthy - exercise, eat good food, drink lots of water.

My own take on it is: When you are in despair, look at what you have and how that can help you cope with the things you find hard. What always helps me is to look at what my strengths are, being open and honest about what I am not so good at and finding a way to achieve my goals, step by step

p.s. Our next open course for “Playing to your strengths” in on 27 May 2009. Join us, you can book on-line…

One of the icons that we have chosen which describe for us those things that will make our business as success is ‘Building a Better South Africa’.  We need to focus on the macro picture and believe that we can make a difference.
We, especially us at Avo, all work hard at taking a positive approach to what can sometimes seem a bit of a negative and futile outlook for our country. But every now and again, if you open yourself to it and look around, you’ll notice those small things happening around you that are worth celebrating.

Like last week: I was sitting working quietly at my computer when I noticed one of these events unfolding outside on the patio. I took a photo for you.

Out came Clayton and Donald, Clay with his Avo-work and Donald with his homework.  This is one of Clay’s favourite take-a-break spaces.  Clay lights up and Donald opens his homework.  Donald belongs to Evelyn, who is on our ’AirTafficControl’ team -  one of those people who make stuff happen for us trainers. And ’stuff’ can be just about anything. 

Donald, with a little coaxing from Clayton, starts to do his reading: he is in grade one and learning in a second language.  So I watched with a little smile on my face as this young man with his calm and caring manner coached Donald with his reading.  He helped him when he got stuck, praised when he got it right and just enjoyed the story that Donald was reading him.  Clay has taken on just a very small part of growing this country.  It’s only 15 min in his day but it will have a lifetime impact on Donald.  

So if you want to be an Avo or you want to understand who we are then ask Clayton.  Good on you Clay, thanks for the picture - every small contribution makes a difference and the reminder – that we are in the business of growing people in South Africa.

It is a wonderful thing being able to work for a company that has a tree full of my favourite fruit outside!  I love Avo’s and I think that is why I landed up coming back to this beautiful space after a two year gap finishing my honours.  I worked part time for Avo from about 2004 and just got more and more involved, eventually taking on the role of ‘air traffic controller’.  I am now back in that role of training co-ordinator but am disappointed to say there are no ‘glow in the dark’ control panels yet!

One of the things that I love about the Avo space is the constant shifting and growing that takes place and it is so evident in how much this position has changed.  Avo has grown up in so many ways such as the processes and policies which have added to the ‘magic’ we have.  It is wonderful to be a part of such a credible management team and in many ways it is satisfying to know that I am able to contribute in some way to the creation of this Avo Magic.  Who knows, I may be able to get some budget for my glow in the dark control panels!

One of the things that I am glad to see hasn’t changed is the philosophy that Avo is a place where mom’s and children are important and there is an understanding that flexibility is vital when you are a mom.  It was one of the reasons why I took the position at Avo because Clint and I were thinking of starting a family.  Well, it happened much quicker than we thought because we are getting our nursery ready for the little bundle which will join us in September.  I am excited at the prospect of our new beginning and it is so wonderful working for a company that is just as excited as we are.

So, that’s sums up a little bit of me and my Avo role.  But if I know this space I might need to add a few extra things further down the road.

South Africa needs to adopt a positive attitude in these tough times, it’s not all bad… and we need to focus on the good.  This is exactly what Jules writes about in her latest articles in the Star Workplace. So be resilient but keep your chin up.

Click the pictures to read February and March’s articles.

Has anyone else noticed the influx of spiritual healers that have suddenly seeped into Jo’burg?  With their cheap green or blue, monotone, roadside pamphlets and their dramatised promises; these people claim to be able to heal, council and aid ANY fathomable problem that you might have.  Anything from high blood pressure & lost lovers to sexual weakness & supernatural luck.

If the credibility of these folk was purely measured on grammar alone then I would stay as far away from them as possible.  They target anyone with problems and exploit them for personal gain.

Self-titled as either a sheik or a professor; each of these spiritualists, herbalists and psychics claim to heal the exact same things and read all your problems before you mention them. Many are “rated” as one of the top 10 spiritualists in the world (how exactly would one rate that level of expertise?) and besides, that implies that most of the worldwide top 10 live right here in Johannesburg… Strange?  Each of these guys guarantee their services, which means if it doesn’t work you get your money back (I would like to put that to the test), and if they can control supernatural luck then why are they operating out of small houses on the outskirts of the city and advertising cheaply on the side of the road, I wonder how many have won the lottery themselves? They claim to be able to do that for you! You wouldn’t buy clothes from a designer dressed in rags, would you?

By the way, to be labeled as a professor one would be required to be a member of the faculty at a college or university.  No tertiary education that I’ve ever heard of offers these kinds of degrees.

Please don’t get me wrong, I feel nothing but empathy for the poor guys who fall for these ploys. They are allowing themselves to be exploited by these charlatans.  Remember that people WANT answers, if we are stuck in a rut we naturally seek help from others, we reach out and clutch at straws, but if you think about it hard enough, these are not the people who will give you answers. Think rationally when seeking help, there are so many ways to dig yourself out of your hole and it doesn’t have to cost a cent.

Click the pic to have a laugh  :)

It feels like Vanessa has been pregnant for YEARS already!  But at last, I am just so happy to announce, little Sarah Louise Lowndes was born early yesterday morning!  So all the Avos are walking around with puffed up chests as proud uncles and Aunties, and Gareth and Vanessa are just in awe of their new little one!  And Granny and Grandad in Constantia, and Aunty Claire and Uncle Adam - well, I can’t even imagine how thrilled they are all feeling today!  Wish I was there!

Blessings to you, little Lowndes family in Hout Bay!  All the Avo love comes to you through cyberspace.

On the 1st April 2009, Avocado Vision goes public… and that’s no joke!

For the last 13 years Avocado Vision has been effectively servicing our clients by providing training programmes that assist businesses to effectively manage the “people connections” space. Where before, only sales people, engineers and accountants (yeah right!!) were really expected to be good at that stuff, it has now become a business imperative that managers, project workers, knowledge workers, call centre operators (we could go on here, but you get the point) all develop the skill of building better relationships. 

Avo brings a fresh and innovative angle to helping people connect more effectively. It’s a changed world out there!  Business hasn’t even really created a new language to describe our new reality ‘post crash’.  But one thing is for sure - the work we do in helping people build personal come-back-ability and people skills, has never been more key! 

Avo has developed a range of phenomenally effective programmes that to date have only been available to companies who wish to run them within their organisations. We recognised the demand for greater access to our courses and we will be launching our “open course” schedule on the 1st April 2009.  To view our schedule, please click here. 

We will begin these open programmes in Johannesburg and as the demand increases will take them to Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and Durban respectively. Watch out South Africa, here we come!

We will be marketing these programmes to our database through an innovative and creative electronic marketing format, without making you feel ’spammed’. If you would like to receive the open course updates, please click here.

Avos, Avo clients and friends alike have been following the Grant health saga for a while.  He’s being having weird ‘wobbles’, going pale and struggling with heart pain and hectic headaches for the past few years.  He’s been to all sorts of health practitioners over time and had opinions that range from ‘low blood sugar’ to ‘arrhythmia - needing pacemaker’.

But thanks to a very gifted and intuitive cardiologist, we have finally found the condition: Pheochromocytoma.  That’s a very big word describing a rare tumour that has been growing in his adrenal gland for years.  It causes the gland to pump a potent cocktail of peformance-enhancing chemicals into his bloodstream, completely explaining his lean and gorgeous bod, and his ants-in-pants behaviour!  Sadly, it also spikes his blood pressure to life-threatening levels, and sends his heart into weird contortions, making his life quite miserable at times….!

So we are now on the ‘fixit’ trail.  The tumour has to come out ASAP. Surgery is risky, but necessary.  He’s on drugs now to try manage the blood pressure to the point where it is safe to operate, which should be in early April.  As one of our key resources, it will be tough to run Avo in the short term, but we’ll do our best to manage around that until he is strong enough to get back into the training room.

Thanks to all of you who have supported Grant, me, and our family through this tough time.  Your love, prayers and support remind me of how very special it is to be part of the Avo family!