Wikipedia describes Empathy as the capability to share and understand another's emotions and feelings, and is characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes". This connection to others is both an honorable and natural feeling, but can also often drive us to do something that, is the completely wrong thing to do. Since joining the Fire Service I've seen many situations where peoples empathy for another has not only caused them to be unable to render help, but on occasions has actually put everyone in danger. In a blog post the other day Seth Godin talked about empathy and asked To View More >>

'How did you become so wealthy?' is a question I've asked plenty of people in my life. But the answer I got from a very successful colleague of mine when I worked at Xerox wasn't about a product, or a service, or a sales  or marketing strategy. It was about a belief that underpinned everything he did. His answer was this. "I got rich by making other people rich... I add value to peoples lives." He took it upon himself every day, to go out and add value to peoples lives - whether it was his clients', or his customers' or his friends'. Now you're not necessarily going make people rich simply To View More >>

Yesterday I let you know that I was going to take the "31 Days To A Better Blog" challenge and I am getting more and more excited. Day 1 The task for today was to write an "elevator pitch for my blog". This was something that had been on my mind for a while, as I felt I didn't have a strong focus around what I wrote. I genuinely think I could go "toe to toe" and hold my own in a discussion on most of the issues I write about, but I wasn't providing any depth of information. We have deep experience and knowledge in HR, IT, Marketing, Relationships, Leadership, Strategy etc but I didn't want to To View More >>

Without a doubt the currency of the Fire Service is Trust. Without it all emergency services, and especially the Fire Service, would struggle to operate. I am sure it's true in all countries that the Fire Service almost always tops the chart of "Most Trusted Occupations", and I'm very proud to be a part of an organisation with that quality. This is important, not just between us and the public but also amongst members of a crew. Our job can be dangerous and you need to be able to rely on the people you respond with, and your ability to trust their integrity and courage is essential ... If not, To View More >>

I was walking the dog this morning and it occurred to me how much of the last week has been full of paradox . In no particular order ... 1, Do you find as often as I do that food that's good for you isn't usually as good for your wallet as food that's not? 2, Business is like a snow ball rolling down a hill: it grows faster the bigger it gets. So why don't we focus on getting the small snow ball right and rolling first? 3, I was shocked to realise a while back, and was reminded often last week, that the information (learning) we most need to hear is often the stuff that irritates us the most. 4, To View More >>

Hmm "Am I Self Righteous or a Hypocrite"? LOL I put that as an either or ... but on the weekend I was accused of being both ... Ouch that hurt, but like all things it got me thinking. I think we all are, from time to time, at least to a small extent, and I certainly leave myself open to being accused of both because I take a public position on things. The truth is this: I am certainly a long way from perfect and I have a lot to be embarrassed about and a little to be ashamed of. I have done lots of stupid things, made lots of mistakes and have hurt a number of people along the way. I regret these To View More >>

SPEAKING OF LOVE: We were out to dinner the other evening and the conversation turned to relationships, and more specifically how many people don't know how their partner 'needs' love expressed to them. It seems a lot of people our age are having relationship issues, breaking up etcetera, and a debate developed as to whether people 'weren't loving the other person' , or maybe, 'weren't loving their partner the way that person needed to be loved.' Is there a difference, and should it matter? I'm pretty clear on this, but that's another story. Anyway, knock me over with a feather, my wife Sonya says To View More >>

With great sadness we have said goodbye to two family members over the past few weeks. The first farewell was to to my Auntie Rita, who passed away after a long but brave battle with cancer. She is actually my Mum's Auntie, but always felt like a Grandmother to me. A beautiful woman that everyone loved from the moment they met her. My first memory of Rita is when, as kids, we visited her family in Wellington. She made us "Spiders", a messy mix of Coke and Vanilla ice cream ... and instantly became my hero. My last memory of Rita is of a woman, her body failing her, surrounded by a family loving To View More >>

Hi Everyone. I have been away for a while, so am sorry for the absence of blog entries and thanks to those who wrote to see if everything is ok. Basically it was so busy through Europe that attending to email from home took priority and work has been silly busy since our return. The amazing thing is so much has been going on so hopefully I can catch up and share some of the stories soon. Stay well and look after yourself Stephen To View More >>