Organisations, like gardens come in all shapes and sizes but the methods of keeping them healthy and productive are exactly the same. I like to divide workplace gardens into 5 different sizes, depending the number of employees, and compare them to a similar sized garden.   * A micro business with one or two employees [...]

Tags: Karen Schmidt, Leadership and gardening, Leading is like gardening, Small Business, www.letsgrow.com.au

When it comes to gardening there are a lot of people out there who will steer you in the wrong direction with their reliance on old wives tales or myths. If you listen to them you may well find yourself wasting time, money and energy. They mean well but their advice can’t be taken at [...]

Tags: Garden paths, leadership myths, Leadership skills, Small Business, www.letsgrow.com.au

The flood waters have all but receded here in Brisvegas, or Brisvenice as I heard it called the other day. As well as the damage to homes and businesses there is a significant amount of damage to public infrastructure including our beautiful parks and gardens. It was sad to see on the weekend the plants [...]

Tags: Crisis management, Employee morale, Flood recovery, www.nscf.org.au

One unexpected thing I am learning as a volunteer at the City Farm (www.nscf.org.au) is being more resourceful. With limited resources a lot of things have to be improvised and a lot of recycling goes on. For example, an old Council garbage bin has been turned into a clever bulk watering system for seedlings, old [...]

Tags: Employee benefits, engagement, Small Business, unofficial leaders, www.nscf.org.au

I have been inspired by my volunteer work at the Northey Street City Farm (www.nscf.org.au) to start growing some of my own vegetables. That and I’m getting sick of the poor quality available at the supermarkets and, of course, the price. This way I will also have less wastage as I only need to pick [...]

Tags: employee engagement, engagement, Fads in leadership, Karen Schmidt, Leadership and management, Outsourcing, Productivity, Recruitment, Small Business, vegetable garden, www.letsgrow.com.au, www.nscf.org.au