Top 10 Dunks of the 2012-2013 NBA Season

For those that don't know, I once played a bit of basketball.  And while I am a staunch All Black and rugby supporter, nothing gets the heart rate up like the kind of outstanding feats of athleticism that you will see here.

These men are gifted!  So sit back and enjoy some of this season's best dunks.  My personal favourites are 6, 4, 3 and 1 - which are yours? 

Cheers!

Julian Savea - Keep Playing!

Wrong, unacceptable, reprehensible. There is no excuse for violence in the home.

I wasn't going to write about this until his sentencing, but those calling for his head need to stop and think.

It is tragic that Julian Savea made a very bad choice, in fact it's beyond tragic.  

But here's the thing.  Julian has a job, and at this stage he should keep his job.  If every person who made a terrible choice, was prosecuted and ended up in court, lost their job then maybe, but that's not the way it works.

The only reason people are calling for him to lose his job is because his job is 'public' - well at least more public than others'.  If he was a bus driver (no pun intended), a freezing worker, an accountant or a business analyst, would people care as much?  I think not.


The best thing for Julian and for everyone he has hurt, directly and indirectly, is for him to have a job, be in a support network, and to re-gather and rebuild.  There is no benefit to anyone in casting him on the scrapheap of life.

Justice is not writing someone off. Let's see how things go when he is sentenced.  And thank goodness our judiciary is not influenced by the do-good media 'commentators'.

Cheers!

What Really is Worth Fighting For?

Years ago I started writing a book.  A simple book from a simple guy, to be fair.  It was to be called “Things I have Learned’ and the idea was to capture life’s lessons along the way.  Who knows, one day I might finish it, although as long as I am alive I’d hope I am still learning. 

One of the quotes I wrote down early was “If you think what you’re doing would make your granddad turn in his grave, it’s worth asking why.”

The thinking behind this lesson is that as a younger generation, at least younger than our grandparents, we are always pushing the boundaries of what is imaginable, possible, morally acceptable and economical.  Sometimes to great effect, other times with devastating consequences.

Try telling my grandfather that it was economically plausible, let along morally acceptable, for an MP to spend quarter of amillion dollars on travel in the first quarter of any year and he would have said, very politely, that we were bonkers, and reminded us that the chooks needed feeding if we wanted eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

Same for the so called ‘anti smacking’ legislation of a few years back, the ‘marriage equality’ legislation passed last week, and possibly even the selling of state owned assets (although he had blue blood in his veins).   Then  there would be negative gearing  of income for taxation purposes, borrowing scores of thousands of dollars to drive a car that has a European badge on it, or paying around 20% interest on HP or a credit card to have a 60” TV to watch global carnage on the news, in high definition 3D.

I suspect he wouldn’t be just turning in his grave – he may have just risen from the dead to help sort a few things out.  

None of this means he would have been right, or wrong.  It just means he would have thought about it.  And just because he did or didn’t agree doesn’t mean he would have fought (metaphorically speaking) for one side or the other in any debate.  But he did know what he believed. 

A lyric in the Green Day song 21 Guns sums up my thoughts: 

Do you know what’s worth fighting for?

When it’s not worth dying for?

Does it take your breath away and you feel yourself suffocating?

"21 Guns" as written by Billie Joe/pritchard Armstrong
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., EMI Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, CHRYSALIS MUSIC GROUP, TINTORETTO MUSIC

It seems to me that in this age of wall to wall media driven infotainment, sometimes erroneously referred to as news, that most things while sensationalised, really are not worth getting uptight about.

That said, I do think it is important to take time to sit down and figure out what is important, really important, to you.  Figure out what you actually believe and why.  Figure out why you will spend time, money and effort on something.  Whether Edmund Burke said it or not, and there is some doubt that he did, there was never a truer word spoken than, “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

For me it's about justice.  Not this crazy sense of self rights we claim, but true Justice.  Justice for victims and perpetrators of crime. Justice for parents and their children.  Justice for the homeless and for the high income earners.  

I intend to write quite a bit about justice and democracy but in short I believe true justice means giving something up to make sure there is a just outcome for all.  It is not like communism, and it is not necessarily social, political or economic equality, but it is fair.  It certainly is not the sense of retribution or punitive justice that is prevalent in our so called ‘developed civilisation’.  Equally it is not the hiding of criminals behind technicalities to stop them repaying to society their debt for wrongdoing.

It is up to those who can to promote justice and freedom for all, especially for those who can't do it for themselves.

Cheers!

Shearer vs Key... My money is on...

You know, I like the leader of the opposition, David Shearer.  He seems to be an honest bloke and like Prime Minister John Key he seems to be down to earth.

David Shearer, Leader of the Opposition

The thing is, who do I trust the most, and therefore who do I want to lead New Zealand?  Despite how much I like Mr Shearer, it is still Mr Key.  Even though I am not in total agreement with Key's politics or the way he is handling some of the current controversies I'd still pick him over Shearer.

Why?  Simple.  I am concerned that David Shearer is weak.  I listened to him on Larry Williams' NewsTalkZB drive time show today, right after Larry had interviewed the Prime Minister.  

John Key was authoritative and to the point.  The PM said what he believed, told us what why he was making changes, owned up to mistakes and was succinct.  He was authoritative - I felt I could 'trust him' to do what he says.

Not withstanding that Larry Williams is one of the few right leaning broadcasters in NZ, David Shearer was insipid and weak.  Mr Shearer was nice, very nice.  He was honest, and he was sincere.  But he wasn't authoritative.  And in my opinion, to lead the left in particular, a political landscape full of trade union, media and academic bullies, you have to be very, very strong.  You have to be the biggest bully.  Like Helen Clarke and Michael Cullen were.  David Shearer, while I like you, you don't fill me with confidence - in fact worse than that, I fear you will be only ever be the mouthpiece of bullies.

Apart from a lack of a solid coalition partner, my money is on John Key returning for a 3rd term in 2014.  But he will need a coalition partner and his options are currently limited.

Cheers!

Leaders, Players and Ma'a Nonu

I have often wondered why some truly talented players in sport and business have the ability to be brilliant and awful almost at the same time.

Ma'a Nonu is a case in point.  

When Nonu is on his game, he is unbeatable, but when he isn't I wouldn't want him anywhere near my team.  What have tried to figure out is what he, and others like him, need to succeed?. Here’s my conclusion, and I reckon the same applies to business.

Not all brilliant players can be leaders.  It’s as simple as that.  Ma’a only does well when he is surrounded by people that, in his eyes, are better than him.  

In the early days of his career in Wellington, Tana Umanga set the standard, and in the All Blacks, it is true leaders like Richie McCaw, Kieran Reid, and Dan Carter that keep the bar high.  But when Ma’a is expected to lead, he caves.  He sets a terrible example (yellow cards are far too common), plays like a novice (knock-ons, cheap shots, and poor decisions), and is generally a liability to not only his own team but to the game itself.

He wasn’t a high performer for the Hurricanes after Tana left, nor during his time with the Blues and at the Highlanders he has been sub-par.  Yet, during this same time period he continued to deliver as an All Black.

So it is in business.

Some people are just better when all they have to do is focus on their own game.  They are not ‘senior players’ in anything other than length of service.  They will never be good team leaders, and they certainly are not managers.  Does that make them any less of a contributor to the team?  Definitely not!  

We desperately want these people, who are brilliant at their game, to be brilliant at their game and not be distracted by things they are not wired to handle.  These people are game changers.  They will do things no-one else can do, win deals, deliver projects and beat the competition in ways that are simply super human.  They might not be leaders, but they can still be superstars.

So, when you hire a superstar from another team (company) consider this - just because they are superb, doesn’t mean they can lead your team to success.  A sales star at one company could be a dismal failure at another if they are expected to lead and they are not wired to do it.  

Make sure the people you choose as leaders are in fact leaders.  And make sure your best players and free to play.  And on the rare occasion you find the best players are also the best leaders, hold on to them like your team depends on them.  You never know, it just might.

Will we see Ma’a turning out for the Crusaders? For his sake, I hope so.

Here’s to success!

Should We Link Pay and Performance?

One of the things I have observed is that most people are not altruistic.

They pursue vocations for a number of reasons all of which have payback.  The payback may be something other than money - it could be status, a sense of achievement, or even an investment in some potential future return like, in the case of some religions, brownie points with a deity.  The point is, people do things to get something in return.

In a business context the issue is linking a person’s performance to a return, and importantly varying the return amount based on performance.  We do it all the time, and we teach our kids to do it all the time as well.  We give and expect loyalty bonuses from people we trade with - airpoints for example. If I ‘perform’ correctly by flying more miles, I will be ‘paid’ more points and be given a higher status.  At home we teach our kids that if they do their jobs they get pocket money - if they don’t, they don’t!

Yet there are some professions that actively resist this in their ranks, and I have never understood why.  The education sector seems particularly resistant, yet as a parent I would love to reward the teachers that apply themselves 110%, are involved in extracurricular activities and whose students have better learning outcomes than their equivalent peers paid more.

I genuinely believe that every job can have a performance pay component and it isn't that hard when you take the position that performance can be a mix of absolute and relative.

I define performance as one’s measurable achievement relative (in no particular order) to:

1. Their achievement against their own potential,
2. Others doing what they do, and
3. The requirements of the job.

If you apply yourself fully and in so doing manage to get a 90% outcome against the requirement of the job, you might well be entitled to more than the person that applies himself 50% but gets a 110% outcome.

This is an interesting topic, and one I will explore further in future blogs, but for now I just wanted to ask:

“is it fair that I get paid the same as someone else who applies themselves more or less than me, and/or who performs better or worse than me, and/or who exceeds or misses the requirements of their job?”

I think not.

Cheers!

DK

Welcome

Welcome!
 
For some time now I have been thinking of getting underway with one of my passions - writing.

While not a trained writer, nor even particularly good at it, I am often told that I should put pen to paper.  So, here is my blog, 'Making A Difference'.

I am not sure whether it is merely an age thing or something more, but I am motivated by making a difference.  For me it is about adding value.  At home it is about helping my loved ones be the best them they can be.  In business that is about adding value to my customers, colleagues and business partners.  Socially it is about, wherever possible, creating great memories.

So this blog will cover things I am interested in.  Things like:
- Families
- Business
- Politics
- Social issues
- Conservation
- Technology
- My chosen career - selling
- Beer (yes, I home brew)
- Sport, music, cycling and the outdoors.

For those that care about where I sit, funnily enough I am called conservative by the left and liberal by the right, so I guess I am pretty centre.  But then, I don't like stereotypes and think there are good things on both sides of almost any discussion.  While life is ultimately binary (you are alive or dead) there are many ways you can live the one you have been given.  Hopefully you can live yours to the max.

Welcome to my blog!  I hope you enjoy the ride with me.
Cheers!
DK