When does bribery become manipulation and why do parents do it?
Buying favours, or bribery, is a practice that has been abhorred in most cultures for a long time. In the English-speaking world, it is certainly frowned upon. Yet many parents use bribery as a form of control for their children, or even their spouses. ‘If you don’t do your homework you won’t be going to the movies.’ ‘If you eat all your vegetables, you can have some ice cream.’ ‘Do as you are told and you can have some lollies.’ A few months ago, a young boy told me that his mother...
read moreMake a New Years resolution to get fit with money
As the year draws to an end people often ask about our New Years resolutions, which of course always prompts me to think of some. I used to have ‘getting fit’ as one of mine, but I kicked that one some years ago (I’ll blog about that soon). I’m not a numbers man. It isn’t my thing. But, getting on top of your finances is a very important piece of achieving a thoroughly happy and successful lifestyle. What I do recommend to everyone is to sit down every six months and review all your incomings and outgoings. You...
read moreHow to put an effective team together
As professional coaches, we use a psychometric analysis in combination with a particular skills mix when we put an effective team together, but back when I was a kid, my father developed a very effective method of his own. My father was the type of person who went to any meeting and somehow ended up as a secretary, treasurer, president or vice-president. He worked tirelessly on many voluntary roles for local sporting and community groups and almost every project he worked on either achieved or exceeded its goals. So what was his secret? He...
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