The West Article

Journalist Sue Yeap wrote an article about the Thinking Caps book airing in The West Australian newspaper on April 1st. No April Fool's Day this! http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/arts/7010799/thinking-caps-gets-em-talking/

Thinking Caps can be purchased from www.glenncapelli.com

Sir Richard Branson the Lionheart - The Interview

I was once told that being the 'warm up' act for Sir Richard Branson would be like being the support act for ACDC - kind of deadly. However, recently I spoke at the Sir Richard Branson In The Raw event hosted by Shane Kempton as a fund raiser for Strike the Chord. Like a good old Abott and Costello comedy routine, speaker Pat Misiti was on first, I was on second and Sir Richard was on third.

Then Pat and I stayed on stage, with a panel of prominent business leaders, to interview Sir Richard. My questions:

Question One: The Mind

I have a concept for a series of interviews titled Learning Styles of the Rich and Famous so my first question was 'Sir Richard, can you explain how your mind works?' His immediate response was 'Well I know it keeps racing ahead of itself. I love life and I tend to deal with the frustrations of life. If something frustrates me then I like to do something about it. If I want to fly into space and can't then I start thinking well how can I make space flight available to me, and to others'.

The Way the World Works

I was delighted with Richard's insight as I had been talking about the need to have a Bug List in life and to celebrate irritations (the things that bug you). In the spirit of Innovative Company IDEO, if something bugs you, chances are it will bug others and therefore it is an opportunity to develop a new process, product, patent and to make new revenue.

Question Two: The Education

I simply asked Sir Richard what kind of a school education would he want his future Grandchildren to have? He responded that he felt the UK education system needed an overhaul. To be bold and brave and to re-think education so that it was more real, more interactive, more engaging and punchy. He then turned the tables and asked me what I thought should be done about education. My response was to elevate the art and science of teaching and learning - if educators can be passionate in the skills of designing true learning experiences... passionate skillful teachers, with engaged & passionate learners... Virgin Schools perhaps!

Question Three: Ringing The Bells

The Virgin business empire was started with Richard's love of music and early success came from backing Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells album, so I asked Richard whether he capped, cheered or did a dance every time he heard the Tubular Bells music. He said he hadn't heard it for a while until recently and 'yes, it did bring a tear to my eye'. He then explained he is an emotional sort of guy and his family always take a box of tissues for him whenever they go to the movies.

In the space of an hour the questions bounced and Sir Richard responded with humility, insight, innovation and honesty. Towards the end he said he saw himself as a Creator rather than a Businessman. 'I like creating and growing things I can be proud of' he said.

Be bold, be brave, dream, think big, act and build small - Sir Richard the Lionheart.

Appreciation

As a young adult I spent some time visiting my Poppa at Graylands Mental Hospital in Perth, Western Australia. Poppa was regularly a patient there getting treatment for what we then called Manic-Depression. There were days when I could join Poppa in a game of cards, other days where we would simply sit. Poppa would be in and out of Graylands pending the effectiveness (or lack of it) of medication, Electric Therapy and how much alcohol or marijuana ('them funny cigarettes' Poppa called it) he had been taking as additional therapy.

My Mum also has battled the Black Dog. These days we know enough to call it Post Natal Depression, back then Mum said she 'had bad nerves'.

On certain days I feel the grey clouds start to gather and now know enough to have a variety of partial answers in keeping my mind and being as healthy as possible. I realize there are different strokes for different folks particularly when it comes to matters of mind but the following assist me:

Be healthily active physically - move.
Eat salads and vegetables.
Get some sun and wind on the skin.
Write an Appreciation List.

In the wonderful Woody Allen film 'Manhattan' his character makes a mental list of all the things he should be thankful for and, from my memory, includes things like some Louis Armstrong music. I always find it helpful to list the things in life to be thankful for and appreciative of. Whether the grey clouds are rolling or the sky is blue I think it helps to remind myself of Louis Armstrong's Potato Head Blues, the poetry of John Donne, the beaches of Esperance, the battles fought of my Poppa, the journey won by my Mum, the laughter of kids in natural play... and, yes, think to ourselves 'what a wonderful world'.

Even in the greyest of moments, especially in the greyest of moments, it is helpful to remind ourselves of the tiny beauties that can bring life joy.

The Lack of Service Systems (bring out the Wanker in me)

Right On Queue

Some times in life I don’t scrub up too well, don’t perform at my best and don’t come across as a really nice bloke. In fact, sometimes I can appear to be a bit of a wanker.

Usually this happens in Post Offices and more specifically in queues at Post Offices. Take today for example, or last week, or perhaps in several days time.

The local Post Office has a stack of good people working for it. The staff are mostly friendly folk, usually helpful and often with smiles on their face (at least at the start of the day). There are also a couple of nice walls displaying different sized bags, boxes, envelopes and such things for purchase and there are even tubs full of things you can buy to entertain yourself whilst standing in the queue, everything from Videos to Stamp Sets to Fishing Rods.

All good except for a few minor points; firstly I am never too sure where I should line up. People sometimes stand in a single queue and then (several hours later) when they get near the serving bench they branch off to whichever server beckons them. Other times people queue in two lines or three and you need to play the Pick the Fastest Moving Line Game. A couple of times there have been so many lines that distinguishing between a line and a mob becomes more than an academic point.

Now I am not against mobs. A few years ago I was in the International Post Office in Beijing and I foolishly stood in what I thought was a line when in fact the line was a throng (a sub-set of a mob). In throngs you push, shove and somehow find your way into the best shouting position to become the next person served. In a queue you wait your turn and proceed in sequence. As soon as I figured out that the Beijing PO was a throng I joined the fray and enjoyed the game.

Now, back to today. To all intents and purposes the Melbourne suburban Post Office I go to looked as if it was operating in lines. The Algorithm seemed to be set and the gradual shuffle forward was starting to happen. However, then a chap not in line (let’s call him: a. Ratbag b. Cunning or c. Just Plain Lucky) managed to get a Trainee to help him out and the Trainee went behind the counter and interrupted the server who then set about responding to the Ratbag and meeting his needs. Thus Ratbag had successfully jumped the queue, stumped the line, and raised my heckles, all in one move.

Some folk would simply stand and wait. Others would get slightly annoyed but realise in a life full of annoyance it is best to let some minor annoying things happen and then simply sigh. And some days I would be with them, I would calm my mind with deeply meditative thoughts, still my muscles with a relaxant, ease my spirit with a Green Tea and simply smile at all the other folk railing at the injustice.

But not today: today was a Camel of a day just looking for a piece of straw with which to break my back. Today was a culmination of too many recent flights on too many planes, too many airport queues and too many Ratbags who had slipped through to the Keeper in an Unsporting Game of Life’s Cricket. Today was the day to make a stand and put my stamp on things.

I would love to say that my complaint and mini lecture on Systems Thinking Approaches to Customer Service was welcomed with a ‘thank you’, a gentle round of applause and a pay cheque for delivering on the spot Professional Development but alas ‘no’. My complaint was greeted with a look of disdain, a volley of ‘explain’ and I was then told to ‘not be so rude’.

Rude?

No raised voice, no pointed finger, no personal attack… just a mini lecture from a very big Soap Box.

Still, I guess Australians in general don’t complain too much about lack of service and lack of systems. We often prefer to stand in silence or whinge after the event. However I did make my stand and state my case and I am proud to say that I am not the least bit concerned that any mail I now wish to post might end up in Timbuktu or the back of Bourke. No, I am more afraid than worried.

Still, any lack of service systems at my Post Office is usually forgiven because the folk who work at the PO are usually fine, friendly and far more patient than me. But it still bugs me that there are certain things that could be done which would help the staff from being on the receiving end of frustrated customers. William Edwards Deming, the founding Father of the Quality movement once said that ‘In 90% of cases where there is error it can be attributed to a Systems Error rather than to the error of a single person. Yet we continue to blame the person.’

So, if my PO had a system for letting people know how they should queue (or a sign saying ‘No Queues allowed – just throngs and mobs. The people who get closest and shout loudest will get served first’) then the staff might not have so many frazzled customers. If Trainees are taught procedure rather than being left to discover it for themselves almost by accident then they might not be on the receiving end of complaints. And if every Post Office had an armed Security Guard looking for and shooting Ratbags trying to jump the queue then a lot of potential grief could be overcome. Unless of course the Postal Offices bring in a System where potential wankers are also shot on sight, then I think I might potentially be in some very big trouble.

Thinking Caps book is available from www.glenncapelli.com