Don Jameson’s Post

Friday Arts. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of hosting The Brisbane Club Music Awards. The awards have been running for over 2 decades in collaboration with the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. Teaching staff from The Con select 7 students from the various disciplines who then perform in competition for a cash prize to support their further studies. The lucky judges get to choose the winner… think choosing between a virtuoso piano player, an opera singer, and a violin player. Glad that is Someone Else’s Problem. Regardless, it was so good seeing and meeting the young artists at the beginning of their careers and wondering about where life will lead them. And beyond just the cash support, the opportunity for these young artists to get in front of an audience is such a close setting is invaluable. That is a benefit that flows in both directions. Where else can an audience get to see the performances and the then have a personal conversation with the artist? And then there is the networking that is going on during the night. Who knows where that might lead? From a circle-of-life kind of perspective, someone once supported me, and whenever we (the oldies…) get the chance we should step up for our young people. An absolute shoutout to the Brisbane Club and the Queensland Conservatorium for this outstanding collaboration for the young people who are going to make the world a better place in hundreds of different ways. The arts add value to so may parts of life. Our world would be so much less without the contribution of the arts. And congratulations to the winners on the night! If you want (or need) a discussion of how the arts make everyone’s life a better place to be, jump on over to www.donjameson.com, ‘cos I am always ready to for a chat. #Future #TransformationalLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Directors #Technology #Performingarts #YourNetworkForLife

So the High Court reckons that executives and directors should be responsible for the actions of the organisations which they control… And this is a very significant ruling … apparently. High Court ruling might mean corporate executives face 'lower bar' for prosecutions, and more of them - ABC News Quite amazing that we need the High Court to tell us that. Call me old-fashioned, but that seems just obvious to me and I do not need to be a lawyer to understand that. But apparently, some people need a bit of gentle guidance on this subject. If this is the situation, the system that has allowed such an attitude to become established is clearly broken. ‘Cos it does not pass any test of reasonableness that I can think of. It is perverse outcomes like this that have led me to the conclusion that “the system” needs some 21st century renovation. It really is no wonder that ordinary people are losing faith in the way that these things work. The systems that govern us require social legitimacy and licence from stakeholders – who are all of us. So, for those of us who have a proper C21 worldview, this is not really an issue. I do not need protection … I am proud of decisions that I make, because if I wasn’t, I would not make that decision. And, if the decision is the wrong decision, well, I am happy to take the responsibility, because it is the best decision that I could have made. How about you??? If you are in the Brave New World of taking real responsibility … jump over to www.donjameson.com and let’s have a chat – you never know where it will lead to! #Future #TransformationalLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Directors #Technology #YourNetworkForLife

Watching the antics of the top end of town again… Our friends at Star Entertainment this time. I really hope that the directors and senior managers of this company take responsibility for the way that the company has been run. The behaviour is pretty awful, I think. And I also think that the directors and execs will be held to account. Or will even hold themselves to account. But I really fear that this will not happen today, or any day soon. The directors are clearly not going to hold themselves to account. Management was trying to talk the Queensland Government into some payroll tax concessions, and the government said “not while the managers are paying themselves bonuses …”. If that is true, well, I’m with the government this time. Will the regulators hold them responsible? That is yet to be seen in THIS round of misbehaviour. But the regulator’s track record is not good. The first NSW enquiry should have been enough, but there has been a second one as well. With apparently no improvement since the first. And still they are allowed to trade. I do not have a problem with people being paid for what they do – even high salaries like these people are getting. But when it all goes south, they need to be there and take the responsibility for the mess. They are happy enough to accept the reward when things are going well, but not so much when they have failed. Which these directors and managers clearly have. We wait to see… Being grown up and taking responsibility is – IMHO – an attribute of C21 professionals … jump over to www.donjameson.com and let’s have a chat – you never know where it will lead to! #Future #TransformationalLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Directors #Technology #YourNetworkForLife

One of the things that I am interested in is fairness and equity. And how a country like Australia has got to the place that it is… Lots of people who cannot afford a home. In particular, young adults unable to get into home ownership if that is what they want. And then there is the stories about who is to “blame”. Gen X / Millenials / Boomers??? It seems to me that this is a pointless argument to which there is no answer. Your answer will depend upon which group you are part of. A better perspective is… we are all in this together, so how do we get out of it together? Sometimes, it is not about you or me, but about US – together. And to quote the famous Helen Keller… “Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much.” In the togetherness frame, there is no limit to the possible set of solutions. It applies at work, in our community groups and everywhere else. I do not believe in silos (anywhere), or is short-termism, or me-ism (not sure that me-ism is a word, but you get the idea). We are all in this together, it has taken a long time to get here, and focussing onto one place or group is only going to offend the others. Siloless-ness (another doubtful word…) and other C21 problems… jump over to www.donjameson.com and let’s have a chat – you never know where it will lead to! #Future #TransformationalLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Directors #Technology #YourNetworkForLife

I sat into some Chartered Accountant PD today – a webinar about the rollout of sustainability disclosures by the accounting profession. It is interesting to see the accounting profession responding to the new requirements of governments and regulators, regardless of what you may or may not think of the sustainability requirements being imposed on business. One of the more interesting comments was around the way that businesses are now able to collected huge amounts of data about sustainability – or, I guess, anything that they need to focus on. But the problem is what do you do with all of that data? How do you make it accessible to the reader? Apparently, some companies provide 100+ pages of sustainability disclosures. Which, in my mind, is a bit silly. No reader, other than an analyst type, is going to read that many pages. Business was already trying to shorten the disclosure regime. Before sustainability disclosures became a thing. Don’t get me wrong, talking about sustainability is (IMHO) really important. But the question is how to do it so that it is useful to people who may want to understand but do not have the time or perhaps the skills to work through that much disclosure??? It is an interesting question, to which I have not got an answer. This is a C21 challenge… we are REALLY GOOD at gathering lots of information, but how do we turn it into useful insights. Big Data is great, but what to do with it? Big Data and other C21 problems… jump over to www.donjameson.com and let’s have a chat – you never know where it will lead to! #Future #TransformationalLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Directors #Technology #YourNetworkForLife

Friday Arts … I was following an online story the other day about the arts, and the discussion was about growing a strong future for the arts - in this case, opera. There was a comment to the effect that it was important that minorities are represented in the arts (as is also the case in the non-arts). The concept is that the arts become more relatable to people if they can see themselves up there participating in whatever the art form, or other activity is. This is true, and I would never say it wasn’t. But it also occurred to me that having diversity in the arts cuts the other way also. For me, seeing diverse faces in the arts (ie people who do not look like me) opens a whole new world of possibilities. Like… Different ways of performing a traditional arts form, like opera. Different interpretations of something that we all know and love – it might be challenging, and you might not like it, but there is nothing wrong with that either. Art in all its forms is about storytelling, and stories are not always comfortable. Because the world is not always comfortable. But if you as the audience get to see and perhaps understand a little bit about how the people who do not look like us experience the world…well … what is the harm in that? Diversity in the Arts – and everywhere else. It seems like a bit of a win to me. #Future #TransformationalLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Directors #Technology #Performingarts #YourNetworkForLife

I continue to be slightly bemused by the criticism of DEI – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – approach. Perhaps the problem is that this argument seems to be SOOO politically charged... Everything that I understand and read tells me that there are strongly positive outcomes for organisations from this. There is lots of research that has been done to support it. And, to be fair, there is some – but less – that indicates that the benefits may not be sustainable. In my various roles, I seek diversity – of thought and viewpoint. Being part of a minority is not the point. Having the right skills and viewpoint is. Your viewpoint is very much driven by who you are and your life experience. As much as I like to think that I do understand the viewpoint of others, I am not any of the myriad minorities that are out there, so I cannot see that viewpoint. That is just the way that it is. And that means that sometimes I might not be “qualified” to do the job. The point is to get balance, and there can be too many finance people or lawyers or engineers on a board as much as there can be too many of one cultural group or ability group. Balance. Is all that it is about. Diversity (and Inclusion and equity) – Not political, and certainly not just another box to tick It is just sensible. Skip the politix, jump over to www.donjameson.com and let’s have a chat – you never know where it will lead to! #Future #TransformationalLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Directors #Technology

The night was amazing all around. Check out the video link in the post for a taste of the night! The next opportunities to see Springboard in action... A Barefoot Opera experience ... just for fun! https://lnkd.in/gFKPmraU Or An Opera experience with our emerging artists ... https://lnkd.in/gRtgk3Ya Come down and see us in action! Elizabeth Jameson Jonathan Blocksidge Jonathan Jayasinha Jane Seawright Sam Harvey Pat Swell Gheorja Haidley Leslie Martin Luisa Tarnawski James Wishart Michael Arens Mitchell Tonino

The headline reads … The EV boom will drive electricity demand and big batteries are a risk, but also opportunity for the power grid. I am not going to lecture about EV’s, just so you know. Or even the environment. The headline did, however, talk about something that is so important and that so many of us seem to miss today. And that is that for every risk, if you flip it over and look at it from a different perspective, there is an opportunity. Way back in the day, when I was younger, so much younger than today (thanks John Lennon) ... We did SWOT analyses, and SWOT stood for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats. After I had been involved in a few analyses, I realised that Strengths & Weaknesses and Opportunities & Threats were just the side of the same coin(s). So, this is not news, by any means. Zipping forward (many years…) to 2024, many people just see the Weaknesses &Threats, but not the flip side. While it is critically important to recognise them, especially the risks if we are managing money that is not ours, we are missing out on so much if we don’t turn the Weaknesses & Threats over. And balance the scales. At least to see what is there. The Opportunity might balance or exceed the risk. Or not. But we are doing ourselves and our organisations a disservice if we don't look. If you are game to give the Weakness & Threat coins a flip, jump over to www.donjameson.com and let’s have a chat – you never know what is there! #Future #TransformationalLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Directors #Technology #YourNetworkForLife

Something that I have been wondering for a while now is this: The “Wellness” of the world seems to be out of balance. In 2024, there is no centre ground. You are labelled left wing or right wing and cannot be in the middle. The media (all the media) can only see one perspective, and echo chambers seem to be the - only - way to go. The opinion of anyone who disagrees with you is wrong, and carries no weight, or is possibly just stupid. The gap between those who have enough and those who do not is unsustainable. Across the western world young people cannot access the property market like 50 years ago, unless they have access to the bank of mum & dad. Refugees are stereotyped as terrorists, and “The Others” are scary and threatening. And it just goes on and on. Wellness out of whack, and it is impacting all of us. I have just started reading a book about what type of economic / political system can create a “good society” where everyone can achieve their best selves. I’ll get back when I have finished reading it, but in the meantime, I wonder what can be done at the micro level on which most of us operate. A couple of years ago I explored an idea that there must be a better way to run organisations which would positively impact all stakeholders. The two questions are the same. If the answer were to come from the bottom-up, where might that lead? The world in 2024 has changed. We – those stakeholders – are better educated and better connected than every before. There seems to be heaps of evidence that economic and non-economic things are inextricably linked, and that looking after the non-economic therefore impacts the economic. What are your thoughts? We need some answers, ‘cos the Wellness of the World is off balance in 2024… This is a fascinating discussion, jump over to www.donjameson.com and let’s have a chat – it might be world changing! #Future #TransformationalLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Directors #Technology #YourNetworkForLife