Jules is going to be on the eTV programme “Great Expectations“, next week Tuesday the 11th March.

(And joins our two other Avo mommies who’ve been on the show too, Elaine and Hanli).

The show is on every Monday to Wednesday from 11.30 am, with repeats on Saturdays and Sundays from 6am to 7am.

(Thats because only people with kids are awake at that time on a weekend, right?!).

So tune in and enjoy!

Eish, when it rains it pours! (But then we did say that we were famous and we had to back it up!).

Jules had another article published in the Star Workplace yesterday, called ‘Create better managers’.

In it Jules talks about current skills retention challenges and states that when employees do decide to leave an organisation, up to 60% are leaving their bosses and not the company.

She also mentions that most companies spend their money on developing talent at senior management and executive levels, and for those individuals who show promise for the future.

But she’s challenging us to think about something;

If people are leaving bosses and not companies, then isn’t it time to teach bosses how to retain their people?

She suggests that if you teach new managers to be better managers of people, those people might just stay long enough to add the value your company needs!

It’s a really thought provoking, interesting article and if you’d like a PDF version to read through, please feel free to email Carin.

Oh how hard it is to be so famous!

Jules recently had an article published in the Business Day, titled “Finger on the female pulse”.

In a nutshell, it’s about companies needing to make an effort to understand and meet the specific needs of women, as we move into an economy that embraces more feminine values.

It’s a (yet again) fantastic article, and you can read the whole thing here! (Seriously, you don’t want to miss out!)

We received this great comment from Bridget Teffo from SAVF Transform about it:

“I am very impressed by the article written by Jules Newton, MD of communications company Avocado Vision - Finger on the female pulse. I like it because she so eloquently expressed what was in my subconscious.

I think that in my working career, this is what I have been looking for and I was not aware of it until I read it. I currently work for a dominantly Afrikaans Non-profit NGO which pay me way less than my previous job, which happened to be a male dominated environment. Even if you were female, you tended to do business the male way, it was accepted that way. Until I made a decision to leave, with no definite job.

This organisation is very ideal when it comes to such issues of flexibility and as I like to say, considering a person as a holistic being, not just “another business transaction” who can bring in this, that or the other. We have quite a few women who have left and returned, some just to rear children. I guess that they are like this mainly because the organisation’s President, the two Vice Presidents and two of the three Directors are women. So I guess that I am implying that we need more women-led organisations and companies.

This is really a big reason why I am not looking for another job, they really have flexible policies, written and unwritten which are very accomodating, not just to women, but I think that it is mainly us who need flexible policies“.

Now this is how you send out a ‘boundaries’ email, a la Hanli:

Hi All Avo’s,

Sadly, I am not going to see you at Kudo’s this morning, but just know that I am there in spirit and that I am sending you good vibrations for the weekend! At the moment SAB is an all-consuming beast and Anabela and I are doing our best not to get eaten alive. It’s important for us to know that you guys are there for us when we need some Avo-lurve…

Someone else who needs some of your Avo-lurve is Vanessa. She has been to deepest, darkest Africa on a gruelling training mission and sounds exhausted. At the same time I have been harassing her relentlessly about work, because we are in the middle of delivering a training development project for SAB that is as big and scary as the NCA project.

Vanessa asked me to make an announcement at Kudo’s this morning to say that for the next two weeks she will have to put her head down and finish the SAB training curriculum, because after that she’s off to Cape Town to go get hitched.

So, please the Avo’s, could you be mindful of that and keep meetings / issues / interruptions that are not life / death to a minimum?

As soon as she gets back from Cape Town next week, I am locking her into a high tower (like princess rapunzel!) and only after she has spun me enough golden thread will I let her out to marry prince Gareth.

Beware! I am the wicked witch!

Well Sego’s definitely earned her stripes!

She dived into the deep end and trained Negotiate!, her first course as an Avo trainer.

(We like to make sure you’re kept on your toes here don’t we?!)

She’s done an awesome job and has managed to knock the socks off the delegates in the process!

Check out some of the feedback she received:

You blew me over.

Change absolutely nothing, you inspire participation.

She is great and must just keep it up.

You are great, you went beyond my expectations.

Keep on being who you are; you are great.

Mind-blowing course.

Sego, take a well deserved bow!

So, in the interest of keeping our news fresh, current and relevant - we have to tell you about the latest scandal at Avo.

Let me set the scene:

There we were, in our cosy conference room, having our Kudos session (beaming at all the wonderful things we’ve done this week).

Jules (also known as the MD) pops out. One or two others pop out too and we can hear some people talking and wandering around in the background, but nonetheless the session and the beaming continue without a hitch.

Suddenly, Grant appears on the stairs and says “Just a message for the sales guys, Jules needs to postpone your meeting…”

Images of what could have gone wrong for this meeting to be postponed flash through our minds (okay, mine at least). (Oh no, please don’t let there be a disaster!).

And then he says “…cause she’s locked in the bathroom and the key’s broken!”.

And, ladies and gentleman, here’s the scandal:

The entire room bursts out laughing. In fact, some of us had to hold back the tears!

No “Is she alright? She isn’t claustrophobic is she?”.

Just full on laughter.

We then bounced around a few ideas, such as leaving her in there. Leaving her in there, with her phone. Leaving her in there, with her laptop.

But, alas, she escaped through the window! And she even has war wounds to prove it!

So, you know you’re day’s going to be alright when you can start it off by having a laugh at the MD stuck in the loo, wouldn’t you say?

Thanks for the entertainment Jules! (Even if it was unplanned…).

We’re SO proud of Charles!

You’ll remember that Avo sponsored Charles last year at Jeppe Boys High School (his matric year) and Ngikwazi sponsored his hostel stay at the school too.

Well, recently Charles was playing in a rugby match for the Soweto Rugby Club against Boland and was spotted by a Scout - and guess what?!

He’s off in about two months to go play rugby in England for the London Wasps!!!

(Well, I wouldn’t want to get in his way on the field - look at those arms!)

He’ll be based in Bedford, England and we’re just so so SO chuffed for him!

Can’t wait to brag about how we knew you before you were famous Charles!

Hi everyone!…

We have an update on the “On living in abundance” story published by Jules at the end of December, about Hanli’s stepfather who was one of the recipients of a 94.7 Christmas Wish:

A week ago today, the day before Zak checked into hospital, my daughter Hanli gave him a big send-off in the form of a christmas party. There were twenty people, and it was so jolly, that at one stage Zak said to himself: “Life is just perfect, right now. Why spoil it? Just forget about the op…”

We left whilst the party was still in full swing (it went on until 4am) and drove to Pretoria, where we spent the night at Zak’s parents home, and the next morning we were at Pretoria East Hospital by 8am.

We were shown to the luxurious “Executive Suite” and then… nothing! Zak had stopped taking his Parkinson’s meds 24 hours before, and I think the surgeon just wanted him comfortable and relaxed.
By the next day, Zak was in very bad shape - just as the technical team wanted him to be. They came and video-recorded various tests, which consisted of him trying to walk (he all but fell over), drawing a spiral on a piece of paper (he couldn’t) and opening and closing his hands as fast as he could (he couldn’t).

Thereafter he was given a supra-maximum dose of his medication, and the tests were conducted once more when the meds ‘kicked in’. The second video would be used during surgery as a ‘benchmark’, to give an indication of what the team should be aiming for when Zak’s at ‘optimal performance’ - and he did, indeed, perform all the tasks much better, accompanied by the dyskinesia (uncontrollable twitching) that is a side-effect of the medication. After the op, the dyskinesia from the meds will be a lot less, if not disappear altogether.

He was also taken for scans, which took two hours in the ‘tunnel’. It was very painful and uncomfortable. The final thing that day, was getting his ‘warpaint’.

I don’t know what it was for, but I assume it was for the placing of the ‘helmet’ onto his head the next day - an aluminium cage screwed onto his skull, to keep his head motionless for the operation. I stayed with him that night, and at 4am our sleepless rest was shattered as two nurses stormed in and switched on the lights and started to ‘prepare’ him. Eventually, the aneasthetist arrived to apply local aneasthetic cream to the places on his head where the helmet’s screws would be clamped to his skull.
At 6.10am Zak was wheeled away, and I was told to go and do something, because it would take very, very long. Dr. Van Rooyen, the aneasthetist, promised to stay in contact via cellphone, and send me regular updates. I went home to my in laws’ to shower and change into clean clothes for the day - and crashed! I slept like a dead person for a couple of hours. I felt very guilty when I woke up, and rushed back to the hospital. I knew I couldn’t ‘do’ anything there, but I knew I couldn’t do anything anywhere else either. I couldn’t read, or write, or watch TV… so I was prepared to pace, sit, stand, wait…

I spent most of the day sending sms’es and answering our cellphones.

The device does not cure or halt the progression of Parkinson’s, so the technical team was very happy when they were able to switch on the device at very low charges. That happened on Thursday - whilst still in ICU. Zak will be transferring to an ordinary ward tomorrow (Sun 20 Jan)). He was able to bath today! GREAT stuff - as he has not been able to get into or out of a bath for more than a year. And he stood up straight whilst the physiotherapist came to work with him.

For me, the most beautiful thing is his smile! Gone is the ‘parkinson’s mask’ - I’ve got my beautiful Zak back! Can you see the difference?

The pictures were taken one day before and one day after the op. The left-hand smile is the best Zak could do before.

I was very aware, all this time, of being held up and held together by others’ prayers… I’m just too tired and distracted! I drove home today to Vereeniging to attend to our taxes (eeeeek! deadline 31 Jan!) and correspondence and stuff, and I plan to get back to Pretoria tomorrow (if I get any sleep tonight).

So don’t stop praying! I’m relying on you.

Baie baie liefde en dankies,

Erna.

So, I’m sitting here wondering how it got to the end of the year so quickly.

I remember many of us thinking (way back in January) that there was another year ahead that was going to take it’s own good time to get us through it… . Well, be careful what you wish for as they say!

Here we are at the beginning of December and most of us planning to take leave in the next few weeks, and I (for one), am dumbstruck by the feeling of “What, only how many days left till I go on leave?!”.

That’s not to say it hasn’t been a full and busy year, it’s been go-go-go since day one and it’s still buzzing!

Hey, at least (most of us…) have been kept out of mischief!

Anyone else wondering how we got here so soon?…

Here we go again!…

The quest for that ever elusive Elevator Speech carries on.

Avos, here is the post we used last time to give us ideas. Please have another look so you can start thinking about your elevator speech that you need to bring at the end of January.

There were a few suggestions made last time which would you should also have a squizz at to refresh your brains!

Look forward to the final speeches!

Here we go:
Here is the list of words that we wanted to use, so the challenge is to take these words (some, not all!) and make a one-liner out of them that best describes what we do, and how we do it.

Remember that the end date for the challenge is Thurs 31st May.

Words and Phrases:

Communication. Humour. Connecting. Business.

Conversations. Guacomole. Authentic. Soft Skills.

Fresh. Genuine. Open. Magical. Caring. Creative.

Passionate. Unique. ‘Fun with intent’. People. Real.

‘A symphony out of single notes’. Talking.

‘Work better together’. ‘It’s not what we do, it’s how we do it’

What we didn’t want to say/be/do:

Flaky. Corporate. Use ‘buzz’ words. Be ‘over-funky’. Stereotyped.

Be ‘just another training company’. Try to avoid ‘multi-syllable words’.

Go forth Avos, and find us a winner!