This picture represents a typical scene in any wine growing area . . . orderly rows of grapes. When I see them it always reminds me of offices full of neat cubicles in a row. Both might appeal to our sense of neatness and order but they are not natural. Plants don’t choose to grow [...]

Tags: employee engagement, Employee retention, flexible working hours, Office cubicles, Organisational culture, Productivity

Over the holidays I created a micro climate in a small container. It’s called a terrarium. It is promoted as the ultimate, low-maintenance garden in a jar. The development of the terrarium is credited to Englishman Dr Nathaniel Ward, who invented a glass case – known now as the Wardian case – around the mid [...]

Tags: Karen Schmidt, Leadership skills, Organisational culture, Staff turnover

Just like a garden can tell you a lot about the people who live in a house, I can tell the state of your employee engagement by the state of your office plants. To me, they are a marker of what is going on, what gets attention and what doesn’t. Here’s what I mean . [...]

Tags: employee engagement, Employee morale, Leadership skills, Organisational culture

Did you know that 21 June is the shortest day of sunlight this year. It is what’s known as the Winter Solstice and there is a corresponding Summer Solstice in December. The day varies slightly (20th, 21st or 22nd) depending on the calendar. Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied from culture to culture, but [...]

Tags: Employee Communication, Employee morale, End of financial year celebration, Organisational culture, www.nscf.org.au

I am going to admit upfront that this blog post could be seen as controversial by some people because it deals with two topics that are sensitive . . . illegal drugs and manipulation. Michael Pollan in his book “The botany of desire” uses marijuana as one of his four examples of man’s desire. In [...]

Tags: Fierce leadership, Leadership and management, Leadership skills, Purpose, Reputation