6 August 2001

• "At seventy you are but a child, at eighty you are merely a youth, and at ninety if the ancestors invite you into heaven, ask them to wait until you are one hundred…and then you might consider it." – Okinawa Proverb.

The Okinawa Way: How to improve your health and longevity dramatically. Authors: Bradley Willcox MD, Craig Willcox MD, & Makato Suzuki MD. Publisher: Penguin. Did you know that the people of Okinawa live longer than any other population on earth? In addition, the occurrence of many ‘western’ degenerative diseases such as cancer, arthritis and various heart ailments are extremely rare. Obviously they are doing something different from the rest of us. This book is based on what doctors learned from a landmark 25-year study of the world’s longest-live population. WARNING you may have to make a few changes to what you think, what you eat and how you exercise.

 

• www.askjeeves.com I love this site. Just type in a question such as what is the deepest ocean, the population of X, or whatever you wish to know and ‘Jeeves’ will find the websites that provide you with the answers.

Q. What makes a company strong?

A. Its culture.

Q. What makes its culture unique?

A. Its rituals.

What, you may ask, is the topic of rituals doing in a newsletter on customer service?

Well, as I look at all the great companies that exist today, and look at strong organisations and civilisations, both past and present, I observe that the ‘glue’ holding these groups together, is the strength of their culture. Their culture being the sum total of their history and all the things they think, say and do. Another way of describing culture is, "it’s the way we do things around here".

One way that many companies build strong cultures is to organise events that happen on a regular basis. One such event that a number of clients have instigated as a part of their company’s culture, is the monthly staff barbecue. Held generally on the last or first Friday of the month, staff members ‘knock-off’ an hour early and meet for a drink and something to eat. Some companies, where more formal business attire is normally expected, allow staff members to wear casual clothing on this particular day.

There are many benefits to having these types of monthly events.

Most companies pay homage to business today being a ‘team event’, yet how often is the team ever ‘physically’ present at the same time at the same place? Just the ability of staff to be able to socially mix and mingle, can make a huge difference to the level of camaraderie and harmony in the workplace.

Events like the monthly barbecue are also an appropriate forum for management to publicly acknowledge the team’s performance and to announce ‘figures’ for the month. It is also a good time to communicate to staff items of special interest.

An added benefit that some companies offer, which I encourage, is that events such as these are also open to spouses and partners of staff. Like it or not, the partners and families of staff are integral stakeholders in the success of your organisation.

Other rituals can include an annual golf day, end of financial year party, and kids Christmas party. More ideas for events in two weeks time.

Until next week, many happy customer returns!

Graham Harvey APS

Previous newsletters available at www.grahamharvey.com.au/Articles/

Please feel free to recommend "Touchstones". Tell your family, friends and business colleagues that their free subscription is waiting for them at www.grahamharvey.com.au