As you have probably learned the authorities are launching a program called Second Chance to alleviate the poverty and give a chance to the poorest of the poor.

« Autre mesure phare : la mise sur pied d’un Second Chance Programme , qui devait avoir été établi en janvier. Il s’agit d’un plan d’alphabétisation et de maîtrise des langues pour ceux ayant quitté l’école. Le but de ce programme est d’aider ceux- ci à s’insérer dans la vie professionnelle. « Ce programme a débuté ce mois- ci avec 220 étudiants dans 8 centres. Les étudiants vont bénéficier d’une allocation mensuelle de Rs 1 500 » , déclare le ministère de l’Education. »

I was very pleased to have been convened to a meeting of the evaluation to the team of social workers who have participated to the launch of this program. Caritas have been selected to spearhead this initiative of the government. Why?

The proposal of Caritas comprised 4 different elements that matches the needs of the sociological needs of the targeted population. Caritas have been working thereon for a number of years. Caritas have through the years researched the concepts and worked on the implementations required. Through a lengthy process of trials and errors Caritas have come up with a model that seems to hold the road.

‘Alphabetisation fonctionnelle’ has required years of research and the support of specialist in Education to be set up. The earlier research was done by Jean Pierre Carosin for 4 years and funded by Secours Catholique, later through Funds donated by the European community a specialist in Education of Belgian origin, Elise Ways was stationed in Mauritius for 4 years to carry on the implementation and development work. The objective of this ‘Alphabetisation fonctionnelle’ program is to fasten literacy for the underprivileged through a peer to peer learning experience.

Caritas spirit of Empowering the people by the people has always been present through the project. Caritas respects the freedom of the individual and work to increase the dignity and self esteem of the individual. At Caritas, every single human has potential of their own and thru his strengths other hidden talents may be developed. Sure enough the poor because of their conditions may have been disadvantaged Caritas‘s role is to empower them to bridge the gap.

Life skills management is another program which Caritas has developed using Covey leadership material as inspiration. There again, care has been taken to use a peer to peer sharing methodology instead of a top down, teacher to student teaching process. Learning occurs through eliciting collective intelligence from the group’s experience and building the capacities.

The two other elements of the proposed package are the value of work and personal and family budgeting.

Let us hope that Second Chance will bring some comfort and improve the conditions of the poor.

We are the world

We are the children

We are the one that make a brighter day

So let’s start giving

In 1985, you may recall the recording and publishing of this song that toppled at the charts. The revenue earned from this exercise was to raise funds to help the destitute children of poor Africa.

“We Are the World” written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and recorded by a supergroup of 45 popular musicians.

In a few hours Micheal Jackson will find his eternal abode in the celebrity cemetery of Los Angeles Forest Lawn. Micheal Jackson made his mark in the world.

Last night, whilst having fun with my two grand children who are only 8 and 5, I asked them if they knew of Micheal Jackson. Surely enough they knew him and they eagerly attempted a few dance steps on his moon walking. I was not a great fan of his music but have to admit somehow my musician vibes were touched by his works and have vibrated in harmony on his top tunes.

Good bye Micheal Jackson and thank you for your contribution to world music.

Having worked for a number of years in several car dealerships, my interest in cars got even more extensive and eager. I had the chance to visit assembly plants in Japan and India. The visit to Isuzu museum was very enriching, as I relived  the history of car manufacturing in Japan in 1998.

As a child I was always fond of cars as many boys of my age. I was lucky that  I was born in a family that owned  cars.  As such, I knew  about cars, more  than the average  teenage boy in my class. The  first time I drove was when I was 11 years old. At first I read and collected all I could lay hand on English cars, Rover as my grand father always had one. Later on, my interest got wider: one of my uncle had a red sports car Sunbeam Alpine, another uncle who was also frantic on cars has several sporty cars..Triumph, Ford and Toyota Celica.

I had my first car accident when I was only 12 or 13. It was a terrible experience, I attemped to move the cargo van in front of my parents store and seriously damaged my uncle’s car parked just in front. The clutches pedals were to high for the small boy I was. Dad did not get mad at me. I was myself full of shame. I still recall that I wrote a note to my dad to promise him that I was not drive till until I got a driving licence. I held on to my promise and got my driving licence a few days after my 18th birthday.

Should be  interested as I am in cars and particularly in the history of cars, I would advise you to purchase a DVD from Histomobile. There is little need today to possess a  hard copy car encyclopedia as I used to have.

In this world of today, carless society seems impossible. Cars of tomorrow, I imagine will be more efficient and more friendly to the ecology. Can you guest the number of persons in the world making a living off the car industry? The very recent shake out of Chrysler, GM and the major car manfacturers will give you an idea of the impact of the car industry and the related  industries on the world economy. Car industry is transforming and yet is there to stay for a long while.

Saint Syméon, déjà (949-1022) dans ses enseignements pose la question de savoir : est il plus facile de croire dans le Christ au temps des apôtres ou aujourd’hui ?

Croire en Jésus aujourd’hui

Beaucoup ne cessent de dire : « Si nous avions vécu au temps des apôtres, et si nous avions été jugés dignes de voir le Christ comme eux, nous serions aussi devenus des saints comme eux ». Ils ignorent qu’il est le même, lui qui parle, maintenant comme alors, dans tout l’univers… La situation actuelle n’est sûrement pas la même que celle d’alors, mais c’est la situation d’aujourd’hui, de maintenant, qui est beaucoup plus heureuse. Elle nous conduit plus facilement à une foi et une conviction plus profondes que le fait de l’avoir vu et entendu alors physiquement.

Alors, en effet, c’était un homme qui apparaissait à ceux qui étaient sans intelligence, un homme d’humble condition ; mais maintenant c’est un Dieu qui nous est prêché, un Dieu véritable. Alors, il fréquentait physiquement les publicains et les pécheurs et mangeait avec eux ; mais maintenant il est assis à la droite de Dieu le Père, n’ayant jamais été séparé de lui en aucune manière… Alors, même les gens de rien le méprisaient en disant : « N’est-il pas le fils de Marie et de Joseph le charpentier ? » (Mc 6,3; Jn 6,42) Mais maintenant les rois et les princes l’adorent comme le Fils du vrai Dieu, et vrai Dieu lui-même… Alors, il était tenu pour un homme périssable et mortel parmi tous les autres. Lui qui est Dieu sans forme et invisible a reçu, sans altération ni changement, une forme dans un corps humain ; il s’est montré totalement homme, sans offrir au regard rien de plus que les autres hommes. Il a mangé, bu, dormi, transpiré et s’est fatigué ; il a fait tout ce que font les hommes, excepté le péché.

N’avons-nous pas l’expérience des frères qui ont vécu avant nous pour nous éclairer sur la venue du Christ pour nous aider à croire ? Avant tout, je pense que la foi en Christ est un don de lui et que ce don qu’il nous donne n’est accordé que dans la mesure que nous y travaillons pour. A priori, notre initiative et notre volonté est requises. Certes, Le récit du passage de Jésus Christ sur terre est assurément très répandu : la foi est plus que de connaître un fait historique- le passage du Christ sauveur sur terre. Croire en Jésus Christ aujourd’hui , 2009 est semblable comme autre fois : ce qu’il nous est demandé s’est entretenir une relation intime et continue avec notre Dieu. La prière n’est il pas une conversation avec notre Dieu ? Peut on parler un être, pas le moindre, notre créateur,  que nous nions l’existence ? Il nous demande de Le reconnaître et de L’aimer en premier lieu. Est-ce que je pense assez fréquemment à Lui ? Ai-je suffisamment de consultation avec Lui ? Peut être suis-je trop imbue de ma personne pour croire qu’IL est la pour m’écouter et venir à ma rescousse ?

Marie-Noelle Thabut termine sa chronique Paroles de Dieu pour un dimanche de ce jour par ses paroles : Car celui qui reconnait sa pauvreté fondamentale s’ouvre à l’action de Dieu et se découvre alors des sources insoupçonnées. Pour cela, il suffit d’un peu d’humilité ou tout simplement de lucidité. A ce sujet St. Paul nous fait la confidence d’une parole reçue de Dieu : ma grâce te suffit :ma puissance donne toute sa mesure dans la faiblesse (2Co 12.9). Il nous suffit de « lever les yeux vers le seigneur » comme dit le psaume.

The great day is here today the 4^th July: In America it is Independence Day. For me this is a very special day. My whole family has come together to celebrate an occasion worthwhile for them to fly in from Toronto and Montreal. It has been a while since Stephane, our daughter and children as well as Olivier, our son are together with us at the same time. Marie Anne is going to perform her task of taking  Olivier to the altar!

We are going to be all ears  to witness the formal pronunciation of the vows of Olivier and Kristel to bond together their lives in the sacrament of Marriage.I am so pleased that Olivier and Kristel have decided  to come back home to take their vows solemnly in front of their parents and close relations. Sure, it is an undertaking, which in these modern times, is not as easy that before because of the fast changing mentalities and the pressures of the time.They have the blessing of God and the gathering.

Whilst one may think that a wedding is only the private engagement between the two persons, I still believe that this very private exchange of vows has an impact on the families and society at large. It is the creation of a new family unit. The ‘yes’ exchanged has far reaching repercussions. They promise to each other: to bond their lives together to love each other, to look after one another with all their might and to ensure their partners’ happiness afore of their own.

To pronounce these vows in presence of their love ones and more importantly in front of God is a well thought decision, when the matter has been thought of seriously in the preparation sessions which preceded this celebration. They had the time and leisure through the weekends spent together with specialists to discuss the issues which may crop up in their married life.

The family and friends gathering for this celebration and rejoicing is the record this momentous event and more importantly to accompany the newlyweds with their prayers and good wishes. In a way, the gathering by their presence not only witness the voluntary free will decisions of the parties concerned to bond their lives, the gathering promises support to the new family unit thus created with their support.

To Kristel & Olivier, May God accompanies you in your chosen common path…

I was amazed listening to Marshall Goldsmith on Voice of America business net work for over one hour. There were loads of common sense and simple talks done in a very pleasant way in a radio show by Susan Reece and Andrea Chilcote. I love his coaching process.

Reading Marshall Goldsmith, one of the sixty world guru who has influenced the world for the last 80 years is a must for any leader. Besides Marshall is an incredible generous person as he give out free of charge on the web plenty of material. Personal development is the essence of Marshall’s work.

Marshall Goldsmith

My mission is to help successful leaders achieve positive, long-term, measurable change in behavior. The following process is being used by coaches around the world for this same purpose. When the steps in the process are followed, leaders almost always achieve positive behavioral change – not as judged by themselves, but as judged by pre-selected, key co-workers. This process has been used with great success by both external coaches and internal coaches[1].

The 29th  June was the solemn feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. I read the homily of Pope Jean Paul II made on this feast in 2000, which shred lights of the missions of these saints and serve as models to us.

The naming of the two saints at the same time, as far as I am concerned, from my little knowledge, is the contrasting elements of their characters and behaviours. Just like there might be many means to one end, the stories I have of the different paths of those 2 saints indicates to me that God sets different ways to each person to reach Him.

I have in mind the comparison given the biblical comparison given by the personality profiling D.I.S.C.

St. Peter is classified in the ‘i’ category – out going, people. He needed as fuel ‘recognition’ to thrive and hungers for relationships. Whilst being impetuous, St Peter was big hearted, compassionate and friendly, he was also carefree and outgoing. Enthusiastic and impetuous Peter was sometimes over eager and saw things bigger than the reality. Influencers and inseminators are main of the traits the ‘I’ categories.

St. Paul on the other hand is classified in the ‘D’ category- outgoing, task. D category people need challenge and control, they thrive on conflicts. Strong willed leaders like St. Paul could me unemotional yet optimistic. Determined they drive forcefully with great innovations. The mission is to break the status quo and venture in unchartered area.

Confidence consists of positive expectations for favourable outcomes. Failure and success are not events—they are self-fulfilling pathways.

To every action that we take, there is a corresponding outcome. Failures and successes are judgements given to outcomes in relations to our intents. There may be outcomes that appear which have no relation to our intents, however, we could learn from as they may things we have not thought of. It is in this sense that I read Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s self fulfilling pathways.

Confidence is the word. One of the elements I found that  probably is the cause of so much pain suffered by the poor of the poorest of the Mauritians society, after working for a couple of years with the ONGs is precisely the lack of self esteem and self confidence in the capacity to progress. The poor of the poorest nurture the self fulfilling prophecy of their inability to get out of their conditions.

At Caritas, with a team,  we worked out schemes to enhance the self esteem of the poor by starting a listening service. On a second phase we then slower worked towards  enhancing their self confidence.

We would be far from the winning streaks titled by R Moss Kanter but surely we would be heading in the right direction.

Winning Streaks

ROSABETH MOSS KANTER

How do winning and losing streaks begin and end? Using research and case studies, I came up with a surprising answer—confidence. Confidence is the pivotal driver behind high performance, successful relationships, and teams that consistently win. I use the expression “water walkers” to describe people with high potential who are destined to gain top positions.

Confidence consists of positive expectations for favorable outcomes. Failure and success are not events—they are self-fulfilling pathways. Each decision, each business quarter, each school year may seem like a new event, but the next performance is shaped by what happened last time—unless something breaks the streak.

Three Critical Behaviors

My investigation of success and failure in companies, nonprofit institutions, athletic teams, and political races discerns three critical behaviors in people who work in cultures of confidence at high-performing organizations:

· They are accountable. They want to share information, take responsibility, and seek feedback and self-improvement because they are committed.

· They collaborate. They want to work together, help others, and feel a sense of belonging that makes them committed to the success of the entire enterprise.

· They take initiative. Since they believe that what they do will make a difference, they offer ideas and suggestions and feel empowered to foster innovation.

Moreover, these confident leaders institutionalize confidence by giving people a chance to tackle projects, succeed at those projects, and feel that they have made a major contribution. That makes people feel valued. It makes them feel that their contribution is worth something. And that feeling gives them the energy and motivation to go forward. It provides leaders with an opportunity, grounded in reality, to recognize and applaud people. Positive accomplishments lift everybody’s spirit.

And yet many performance evaluations tend to be based on personality and chemistry rather than on achievements. That’s a problem in terms of building confidence, because it makes too many things dependent on favoritism—who happens to be liked by whom. On losing teams, coaches tend to play favorites. On the winning teams, you get what your performance merits.

Of course, some leaders try to project external confidence to cover up problems. They resort to bravado or swagger to hide problems—usually when confidence has slid into that danger zone of overconfidence or arrogance.

Real confidence is grounded in three cornerstones—accountability, collaboration, and initiative. If accountability starts to slide because leaders cover up the facts or manipulate the numbers, then they are not being accountable. And if they don’t admit it and solve the underlying problems right away, they are not being accountable. So, whatever appearance they project to others is not true confidence grounded in the substance that would make success likely. It’s a false presentation of self, and I don’t think it’s the self-confidence of a leader anyway. The projection of charisma on the part of the leader who makes the difference is whether the leader creates a system that is accountable, that allows people to get together quickly to solve problems and take initiative to act on potential shocks or surprises. That’s what Enron lacked—they started to hide certain information.

I talk about confidence as the “sweet spot” between despair and arrogance. It’s that sweet spot that says, “We’ve got to work for a positive result; and when we do the work, we are confident we’ll succeed because we’re confident in the data, confident in the responsibility people take, and confident in each other. We have a collective goal, and people are not making side deals behind the scenes.”

Many people tell me that they feel that they are on a losing streak—losing people, losing capability, and losing viability. They are sliding away from confidence toward insecurity and feeling that “there is nothing we can do about it.” Leaders must guard against arrogance and over-confidence on one hand, and the feeling of hopelessness and helplessness on the other.

In my study, I found many examples of successful turnarounds. Turn-around leaders tend to be one of two types: 1) people who slash to the bone and save the organization financially, but leave nobody standing; or 2) people who realize that cost-cutting is a temporary solution and start rebuilding. Turnaround leaders must make tough decisions, but also believe in the potential of the organization and give people a vision of that potential.

One of my favorite leaders is Jackie Jenkins-Scott, former president of a community health center (she is now a college president). She came in to turn the center around when it was in bankruptcy. A receiver appointed by the court was busily trying to cut costs; morale was low; and the quality of the service was getting worse. First, Jackie convinced the judge to get rid of the receiver. She saw potential where he had only seen things to cut. She saw a way to raise revenues. For example, the center had historic buildings, and so she got those designated as historical landmarks and reached out to new donors. She believed in the people, so she gave the people a better work environment. They returned her faith by boosting productivity and by finding new sources of revenue—people who could pay for services, for example.

You either find somebody who cuts costs and slashes to the bone and just accepts the fact that sales are declining and plans around a smaller organization, or you find somebody who says, “There is great potential here. There are new services we could offer. Yes, we must get costs under control, or we won’t survive; but we’ll do that against a vision and long-term goal, because I have confidence in our future.”

Leaders build confidence and advance to victory. They see the potential and get other people to see the potential while they are making tough moves. But when they make a tough decision, they have the support of the people, because it’s done with a vision of success in the future.

Consistently successful leaders treat losses as temporary events rather than descents into downward spirals. They have resilience, and resilience separates winners from losers, because even winners lose games, have bad quarters, see temporary slips in sales.

Resilience is the ability to deal with those issues. If confidence is not just a belief in the minds of the people but also the culture of the organization, you can bounce back quickly. If people are communicating, sharing performance data, and knowing the facts of the situation, they can solve problems faster because they are collaborating. Everybody can do their part if they trust and respect people in other departments, and they have an experience of taking initiative through small projects and new ventures that build an ovation. Such people spring into action and make a difference—often without being told to do it.

When power went out in the Northeast for two days in August 2003, and every other airline canceled hundreds of flights—thereby losing millions of dollars—Continental not only kept flying but ended up making money in the disaster. Their employees rallied together to do whatever needed to be done to keep the airplanes flying. That freed up top executives to ask, “Are there any other services we could provide during this period?” They offered extra flights for all the stranded passengers and ended up making money.

That is a dramatic example of where a company wins because they had created a culture of confidence.

To the extent that the organization succeeds, it’s easier to attract and retain exceptional talent, because they want to be associated with success. Make sure they understand that their success and reputation are enhanced when the team wins. Show these stars that they will gain more and have more impact if they also support other people, build stronger relationships, and help the team win consistently.

December 2008

The above text from Leadership Excellence,  is an article which would summarise  her 2004 book: “Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End”.

Victor Bout

I recently saw yesterday on TV, the development of the case of Victor Bout. I believe that he is still in Thailand waiting for extradition. The extradition process has been more complicated than forecasted it would seemed. He will appear in court in Thailand on the 11 August 2009 following his arrest on March 6, 2008.

You will recall that I blogged on this case earlier in mid March.

More than a James Bond thriller, the story of Victor A Bout arrest which I saw on TV and fully described by BBC seemed to me unreal.

I am keen to see the unwinding of this story which later might be taken as a base story for a thriller or a big screen film.

a latest blog written on Bout:

Those who do not know are

I obtain the following article from UCT graduate school of business where I had the opportunity in my earlier days (1987) to hone my skills in Marketing. UCT I consider as one of my Mater Almas, if it was ever possible to talk of several Mater Almas.

I found the content of Elaine Rumboll’s writings very fitting as far as my career is concerned. As much as you may think that entrepreneurship as a science, I had always considered my entrepreneurship skills as an art. Psychological profiling I had undergone pictured me as a right brain thinker and placed me in the box of a creative artist. Have I been the business savvy artist?

Early in my business life career, I was lucky to have had a serious assessment of my psychological traits and preferences determined. I knew where were my strong hands and perhaps more importantly where were located  my weaker hands. I had learned to bank on my strengths whilst acknowledging on my weaknesses and delegating some of my unressourceful  duties and tasks. Later as I climbed the ladder of the corporate world, I made sure that I was supported by a team that made up for my deficiencies. I have always been a wholesome person or if you prefer, a big picture person, performing tiny detail tasks pumped up my energy. I make sure that my direct assistants were detailed and sequential oriented persons. Susan, a thorough and precise operator was always at hand. Cynthia another orderly organiser assisted me for years. I thus manage with a two brains tandem: my rightful own right brain and the left brains of my associates.

I also learnt early that success comes faster with creativity. I spend a fair amount of my time in observing changes that was operating on the business scene and anticipate speedily ahead of the trend. I often with a bout of humour asked: Whilst may be you know what you know, how do you know what you do not know? The answer came in often by asking the question: what if? I have to bless my parents, my educators for having instilled in me this craving for creativity. These creativity skills were later improved by the NLP training I had the opportunity to follow.

I would recommend to you to read: Enjoy your inner artist- Improving your Creativity with NLP by Luis Jorge Gonzalez.

The art of entrepreneurship

It’s often been said that there is an art to doing business, but conversely not much has been raised on the business of being an artist. That’s not surprising given that the words “artist” and “profit” have never traditionally been associated with each other. In the 21st century, however, things are beginning to change.

There is an increasing attention on the concept of artists as entrepreneurs emerging globally – artists are becoming more business savvy and finding new ways of sustaining their artistic livelihood. Artists of all kinds are applying their creativity in new ways as businesspeople, and proving that it is possible to leave the “starving artist” notion behind in favour of the “business savvy artist”.

In the US, the New York Times recently picked up on this trend, and in a feature presented some successful artists changing the game. According to Elliot McGucken who teaches the course Artist Entrepreneurs at the University of North Carolina, the advancement of business skills “rests on the principle that those who create art should have the skills to own it, profit from it and protect it”.

“It’s about how to make your passion your profession, your avocation your vocation, and to make this long-term sustainable,” he says.

This business imperative to the world of the arts has become all the more important in the past year, as the recession has not left the art world unscathed – while most of the media attention is on corporates, the plight of the arts is an important issue that needs addressing as well.

A study conducted by Arts & Business in the UK, for example, found that many UK arts organisations are already feeling the pinch of a shrinking economy. Released in April, the survey, titled Market Trends 2009, found that the majority (63%) of respondents are “experiencing a substantial decrease in business investment”.

In this tougher market context, the need for artists to become more self-sustaining and business savvy, and to find new ways of sustaining their artistic livelihood in the long-term, has become much more critical. It’s a realisation that has begun to permeate many individual artists and educational institutions.

Pioneering the way for artists as fully-fledged entrepreneurs are several leading business schools and universities. In many of these business schools, business and the arts are no longer mutually exclusive, but in fact mutually dependent disciplines that need each other to survive – and thrive.

With this in mind, the University of Michigan recently announced plans to offer a dual programme that will combine a Master of Fine Arts and Master of Business Administration degree later this year. New York University and Yale University already offer similar joint programmes.

This trend of two worlds merging, from a business point of view, also highlights a growing realisation that success in the 21st Century will depend on creativity more than ever before. This increasing link between business and the arts was massively popularised by author Dan Pink and his bestseller A Whole New Mind, in which he argues that people with right and left brain skills, or creative and analytical abilities, will be very much in demand in the years ahead.

As businesses globally seek to now be more creative and innovative in their search for increased market share, creative people are in turn learning that it is possible to make a sustainable living out of their talents with a little business savvy.

While there is a lot of untapped potential for success for South African artists of all kinds – painters, designers, writers, photographers and performance artists – many are not yet astute enough in business matters to move into the entrepreneurial realm with confidence. New innovative courses will help to close this gap.

Here in South Africa, the UCT Graduate School of Business’ Executive Education unit has for the past two years offered a Business Acumen for Artists programme to help local artists step into the world of business by teaching subjects like marketing, negotiation and intellectual property, as well as financial skills and presentation techniques – the course has been described as a revelation by many artists who have attended.

Simon Taylor of Periphery Films, who completed last year’s Business Acumen for Artists, described the course as a profound learning opportunity and a chance to connect with other artists experiencing similar difficulties.

“I went into the programme feeling like I was on an island. I felt really lonely as a creative entrepreneur, so to connect with people feeling the same way was amazing. It was almost like a support group and the experience was on the level of mind and heart adjustment, it was not just about learning new things.”

Tracy-Lee Scully, a freelance graphic designer, illustrator and writer, also from the 2008 programme, agreed.

‘I went to the course expecting to learn some basic business skills, but I finished having learned so much more than that. I learned the value of my work and to let go of my creative insecurities. I gained a whole new perspective on my reality – largely as to what was holding me back from following my dreams to succeed as an artist in a commercial world.”

As these statements demonstrate, artists need to find inventive ways to market themselves and price their goods competitively, without underselling their services and products. This is where marketing know-how and negotiation skills, as well as a good grounding in financial management, for example, could make all the difference.