Have a merry 2010

To all my friends and associates. I wish a fantastic 2010. May the winds of good fortune blow behind you with such vigour that your ears whislte.

Leading by Example

We all lose faith in our idols and they all disappoint us at some stage. Let’s look at world golfing sweetheart Tiger, who by latest count, is already 11 over par with extramarital affairs, Joost “powdering” his nose and a myriad of senior people drunk driving suburbia into a “non-walled” community. However I do think it is prudent that we look at ourselves. We literally gulp up gossip and so called failure of moral value stories but when a Government companies are crumbling left right and centre we just shrug and say something like “This is Africa”.

Julius Ceaser, was renowned and respected for the many battles he fought in the front lines, draped in his customary (very visible) red cloak. Many battles was perceived as lost till Julius arrived with a couple of men and turned the spirit of his soldiers and by that, the outcome of the battle. South Africa is currently fighting a battle against poverty, low moral fibre, despondency and a reputation of fraud and quick fix mentalities. In the forefront on this is the catastrophic board failures at the SABC, Transnet, Athletic SA and basically every state owned enterprise. Is this still the overflow of the Zuma/Mbeki power shift leaving us destitute and confused or is it just pure poor management and poor corporate governance. The more prudent question in fact should be when is our leaders going to put on a red cloak and turn public moral and allow us to win this battle.

Corporate Governance??? This is one of the new buzz words that is uttered over our airways, business corridors and board rooms. However can we see proper corporate governance within our institutions? The red cloak in this instance can be worn in the form as the newly published King III report and the simple application of it. With so many new boards being elected in and so many interim boards heading our transport infrastructure, judiciary, our television broadcasts and even our sports the implementation and application of proper corporate governance via King III should be simple mind set to entrench in these new boards. With the promulgation of the New Companies Act, which is due to come into effect in 2010, we as a general public should actually challenge the Government to take the proverbial tree out of their own eyes before investigating the small thorn in the private sectors eyes.

So to conclude. Make proper ethical, transparent and honest business the norm of government institutions. Make open communication with ALL stakeholders mandatory and stop hiding behind bureaucracy and eloquent language. Is it not the very government that made Plain Language a requirement under the National Credit Act, The Companies Act of 2009 and the Consumer Protection Act.

Having a will?

A Will is a simple, straightforward yet incredibly important document in your personal life. During 2009 seven friends passed on and only 3 had up to date wills. This has left the other four's families and friends destitute and struggling to understand how they should wind up the estate.

Most of us are hitting the roads from this week onwards, the sad reality is that this season has the highest road death ratio for the year and the reality that one of us may not return home after our holiday is very real. It is extremely reckless of all of us to believe that it will not happen to us, as this is what everyone of the "other people" in accidents also believed.

In conclusion, contact your financial advisor, attorney or accountant and get your will up to date. It will be the best Christmas present you can give your loved ones.