Is Email Ruining Your Life?

E-mail on the move adds to workers' stress level

We can spend up to half our working day going through our inbox, leaving us tired, frustrated and unproductive.

A recent study found one-third of office workers suffer from e-mail stress.

And it is expensive, too. One London firm recently estimated that dealing with pointless e-mails cost it £39m a year.

Now firms are being forced to help staff deal with the daily avalanche in their inboxes. Some hire e-mail consultants, while others are experimenting with e-mail free days.

Email has changed the way that we communicate changed the way we worked.

This technology also has its downside. It's too easy to write an e-mail and hit the send button.

And when an e-mail goes wrong, it can be around the world in 80 seconds and headline news the next day.

On average, we spend 52 hours a year just dealing with our junk mail.

Additionally, e-mail is a major source of employee anxiety.

E-mail inboxes are causing employees concern, because of the number of e-mails and the poorly written e-mails. They really want to find some sort of solutions for these problems.

We are 24/7, we are interfaced by the mobile phone, by Blackberrys, by e-mails, by a whole range of technologies, so that we are almost on call all the time.

City accountancy firm Deloitte found its employees had a problem with e-mail overload. So it came up with a radical solution.

"A lot of people complain they get too much e-mail, that they're swamped with it, a lot of the messages they receive are unwanted, unnecessary targeted to the wrong people," says Mary Hensher, who heads Deloitte's IT department.

"We all tried to see if we could avoid sending internal e-mail on a Wednesday. Now the first thing that happened was it got everybody talking.

"Everybody started to think about what they were sending, who they were sending it to and whether they could use another method instead of sending the e-mail. So it had a very good immediate response, where people were actually thinking more about what they were doing."

E-mail is so ingrained in our working lives that Deloitte's experiment was abandoned after only a month. But the company still thinks it was worth it.

"Although the e-mail free day is not an e-mail free day any more, the actual amount of internal email circulating has dropped, because people are more conscious of what they're sending," Ms Hensher says.

Top tips

One man that might have the answer to all the problems surrounding e-mail is Tom Jackson.

He has spent the last nine years researching and developing better e-mail practice and has five tips he believes can help you take control of your inbox:

• Invest in a spam filter. You shouldn't open a spam e-mail, because as soon as you open the e-mail up, it notifies the organisation that has sent that, saying this is a valid e-mail address. They know how long you've looked at it, when you looked at it and did you go back to it.
• Target your e-mail. One of most annoying things about e-mail is the sheer number of messages we receive that aren't addressed primarily to us. Does everyone in the cc box really need to be copied in on your words of wisdom? Basically, a cc is there for information purposes only, and you should only use it for that purpose.
• Write more carefully. The reason to write carefully is crystal clear. It just vastly increases the chance that whatever it is you want to get done will get done. If you don't write carefully, there's room for misunderstanding.
• Reduce interruptions. I think it does start to stress people out. Simply by changing the way they have their e-mail application set up, they can start to reduce some of that stress.
• Get training. E-mail seems like common sense. Anyone can write an e-mail. But the issues we're having are that many people are struggling with e-mail communication - and training can really help with that.

Simon Turner

The 10 Worst Days For Driving

Regardless of where you live, what you do or how old you are, this survey is worth a read!

Sunday is the least common day for car accidents and the most dangerous day to be on the road is Friday, 18 January.

After analysing 1.8 million claims received over the past 15 years, a leading insurer has identified the days when accidents are most likely to occur.

Historically, more accidents happen on 18 January than any other date in the year, while Friday is the most common day of the week for crashes. Unsurprisingly, the date with the least reported incidents is 29 February.

'Long week'
According to the research, the next safest dates are 25 and 26 December, when the roads tend to be very quiet. For the same reason, the report highlights Sunday as the days of the week when accidents are least likely to occur, followed by Saturday. The vast majority of problems happen on weekdays when the roads are busier.

TEN WORST DAYS FOR DRIVING
1. 18 January
2. 20 December
3. 27 October
4. 22 March
5. 20 July
6. 1 October
7. 21 October
8. 1 November
9. 15 December
10. 20 October

It's not surprising to see that the worst day of the week for accidents is a Friday: people are tired after a long week at work and can easily get caught up thinking about their weekend plans instead of the road ahead.

It is less clear, however, why there was such a concentration of incidents on 18 January: it could be that people have a lot on their mind as they haven't been paid for a while, the bills are coming in, and the fun of the festive period is a long and distant memory.

How did you fare on 29 February this year, given that 2008 is a leap year?

Rental Applications Being Taken as Seriously as Job Applications

Renters are treating the house-hunting process like the search for a job, even submitting resumes and photographs of themselves with their tenancy applications.

As Sydney's rental crisis spirals out of control, many applicants are also offering $50 to $100 above the asking rent to secure a property. Some are offering to pay 12 months rent in advance to secure a place to live.

People have been putting together compendiums of their whole lives, together with glowing references, binding them, and presenting them as if they're awards. The Marquette Turner team can certainly attest to this. One instance we can name are a Kiwi couple in their early 20's that put together a presentation folder of the quality that our agents would present.

We're being given life stories, their CVs, referrals, savings history, parent/employer guarantees and even including portfolio pictures of themselves.

It really is like applying for a job, they want to make their applications stand out. And, quite simply, this DOES go along way.

Finding a property to rent these days is almost a full-time job - and thus it is being taken just as seriously as career applications.

Building a raport with the real estate agent also goes a long way - they are after all the ones that provide the landlord with the applications and their "thoughts" on each applicant.

Michael Marquette or Marquette Turner confirms this, saying that "It is becoming increasingly rare for rental properties to become vacant these days, with existing tenants more willing than ever to sign up a new lease, rather that simply continue month to month."

He continues "On the rare occasion that a property does become vacant, tenants are already offering much higher than the asking rent, so it's becoming like a rental auction, and with so many people being forced to sell up as interest rates rise, more people will be forced into the rental market."

Quite simply, the situation for would-be tenants continues to look challenging.

Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au

3 Steps to Handling Stressful Conversations

If you haven’t been involved in one, I’m sure you’ve witnessed a heated conversation between work colleagues in which potentially beneficial discussion gets lost in the tension.

A colleague of mine, Donald Jessep from Profitableteams.com, was describing a heated exchange between Mike, a Financial Controller, and Steve, a Sales Manager. Mike suggested they close one of the company’s branches.

“You can’t do that” was Steve’s retort to Mike’s suggestion. Mike fired back a dirty look and the blood pressure of both men clicked up a notch. Mike’s enthusiasm evaporated and what could have been an idea worth discussing went no further.

If Steve had exercised discipline in applying the three steps of an age-old process there would have been a different outcome to the discussion.

Step 1 — Acknowledge the person. Even if you don’t agree with the comment. Acknowledgment can be a smile or the gift of undivided attention.

Step 2 — Give a reason to explore another angle. The reason has to be plausible, even encouraging to the person who proposed the idea … and free of all judgment.

Step 3 — Ask a question, a high-quality question. A high-quality question demands just the right amount of mental stretch to answer.

They’re simple ideas, but sadly, especially once we become familiar with people we sometimes lack the awareness and discipline to apply them. Highly influential people have this process deeply ingrained and can apply it even under pressure

3 Simple Ideas That Made Millions

Sometimes a single brainstorm can change the course of a career. Here are 3 people who turned brilliant ideas into big career moves—and the pitches they used to close the deal.

IDEA 1
Microsoft Xbox: Beating Sony at Its Own Game
The Product: Electronic gaming platform
The Genius: Game Programmer Seamus Blackley
The Story: In early 1999, Microsoft hired Blackley to work on software that would make games easier to implement on PCs. At the time, industry analysts were calling the then-new Sony Playstation an "alternative computing platform" and saying it represented a long-term threat to Microsoft's software dominance. Microsoft had recently bought the WebTV set-top box, which was proving to be a huge flop in the market. Blackley took advantage of management's paranoia about WebTV's failure and the threat from Sony and co-wrote a proposal suggesting that Microsoft regain the initiative by producing its own gaming console. Executives bit, and the Xbox is now the mainstay of Microsoft's $4.6 billion a year Entertainment and Devices division Blackley later left Microsoft and today represents video game developers at the Creative Artists Agency.

Basic Sell: "If you don't buy this idea, we'll eventually get screwed."
Advantage: Fear is a wonderful motivator.
Disadvantage: There's a fine line between "out of the box" thinking and "out of your mind" thinking. (Hint: If you suspect your idea isn't being bought because of a conspiracy against you, you're probably out of your mind.)


IDEA 2
MTV's The Real World: Reinventing the Sitcom
The Product: Reality television
The Geniuses: Daytime soap producer Mary-Ellis Bunim, TV newsman Jonathan Murray
The Story: In the early 1990s, Bunim (Search for Tomorrow, As the World Turns) and Murray (WXIA-TV, Atlanta) observed that production costs for situation comedies and drama were rising, yet the expansion of cable channels meant they were also generating less advertising revenue. MTV was changing formats at the time, moving away from its mainstay music videos. Since the network's more successful VJs had the look and feel of actual college students, Bunim and Murray pitched the idea that young viewers would prefer to watch the dating exploits of real-life peers rather than professional actors.

The combination of low production costs and conceptual similarity to MTV's existing "personality" lowered the risk for MTV execs. The network debuted The Real World in 1992, creating a new genre—reality TV—which has become a massive cash-cow for the network television industry. Bunim and Murray went on to a string of hits, including Road Rules and The Simple Life, creating a franchise that generates around $30 million in yearly revenue, according to Hoovers.

Basic Sell: "This idea will simultaneously reduce costs and increase revenue."
Advantage: Appeals to both visionaries and bean-counters.
Disadvantage: Cheaper and faster doesn't always mean better.


IDEA 3
Tom Peters: Redefining Management
The Product: Books and speaking engagements
The Genius: McKinsey consultant Tom Peters
The Story: In the 1970s and earlier, most business books were dry tomes written with the academic market in mind. In 1981, Peters co-wrote a book that changed all of that. In Search of Excellence expressed Peters' observation that successful corporations had eliminated hierarchical decision-making processes in favor of "empowering" decision-making at lower levels of the corporate structure. The idea of a more democratic workplace resonated with the ex-hippie Baby Boomers who were just then entering the executive ranks. When sales of the book spiked, Peters flogged the concept mercilessly, and it was later turned into a series of PBS television specials. In the process, Peters became arguably the world's most popular management guru. Twenty-five years later he still commands speaking fees in the high five figures.

Basic Sell: "Your intuition and experience tell you that this idea makes sense."
Advantage: Buyers are already emotionally inclined to your idea.
Disadvantage: You must be a living example of your idea. For example, if you're selling ideas for financial success, you'd better know how to look and act successful.

Crash Course in Mastering Office Politics: Step 1

Like it or not, every workplace is a political environment. But operating effectively within it doesn’t have to mean sucking up, lying, or slinging dirt.

In its purest form, office politics is simply about getting from here to there: securing a promotion, seeing an idea come to fruition, or gaining support to make an organizational change. Playing the game well is about defending your position, earning respect, exchanging favors, and keeping your sanity amid the chaos.

To get started, you need to know what you really want from work, then orient your political moves toward those goals. It all starts with strong relationships and helping others; those people in return make up the support system that helps you realize your goals. Here’s how it’s done.

STEP 1
Figure Out Why (and If) You Want to Play

Goal: Let what’s most important to you guide your actions.
Office politics gets a bad rap because the most obvious practitioners often do it for the wrong reasons: They enjoy the ego trip, or they like to compete for the sake of competition. But the people who quietly succeed at work are also political operators — they just do it better. Those who play the game well map out their career or workplace priorities and align their politicking to those goals. “Political moves are the navigation through your career — not the driver,” says Susan DePhillips, former vice president of human resources for Ross Stores.

Start by writing down your top five career goals and priorities. These could include switching departments, making more money, unloading some of your responsibilities, or becoming the go-to person for your area of expertise. Then write down the five things you’ve spent the most time and worry on during the last six months. Do they match up? If not, you may be caught up in your colleagues’ goals instead of your own.

Next, prioritize your goals. Maybe you’re seeking a promotion, but you recently had a child and want to start leaving the office earlier. It’s not that you can’t have both, but you’re not likely to get them at the same time since new positions usually entail more responsibility and a learning curve. Decide which matters most to you right now, and start thinking about who you’ll need to persuade or influence in order to get it.

Big Idea
Getting What You Want
It’s tempting to think that the best way to get ahead is to buckle down and work extra hard. You’ll be recognized and rewarded for the effort, right? Don’t count on it. You can’t expect other people to magically know what you want in return. Be clear on your goals, and don’t feel shy about going after them.

If: You want a promotion...
Then: Find out how to get one.
Ask your boss what she wants from you and what skills you need to demonstrate to get promoted. Document the conversation in a follow-up email, then master those tasks and skills. This puts you in a better spot to open the conversation again — and get the promotion.

If: You want buy-in from another department when you propose an idea...
Then: Ask for support.
Ask your counterpart in that department when and how he would first like to hear about new ideas: Over coffee? In an email? As soon as they come up? Once they’ve gained approval in your department? See if he wants to be included in related meetings. Involving him earlier will increase your chances of gaining support.

If: Someone’s blocking you from your goal...
Then: Stand up to them — nicely.
Dan Coughlin, a management consultant whose clients have included Toyota, McDonald’s, and Coca-Cola, remembers a regional operations head who was frustrated because her boss finished all her sentences in group settings. “He was stepping in to make sure she succeeded,” Coughlin says, “but in doing so he wasn’t giving her enough room to operate.” The woman confronted her boss privately, and he backed off. With her increased autonomy, she gained the support of the managers in her region, and her boss recommended her for a promotion shortly thereafter.

How To Have The Perfect Life

You already have everything you need to create a wonderful life for yourself. You know everything you need to know to be your own best friend, a gentle guide, a teacher and a helper to yourself so you can be truly happy and fulfilled. You can learn how to become your own psychotherapist for life, and how to resolve the difficulties that stand between you and personal joy.

Be Honest With Yourself
The starting point of becoming your own best friend is for you to be perfectly honest with yourself and your relationships. Refuse to practice self-delusion or hope for the best. For example, when something is making you unhappy, for any reason, the situation will tend to get worse rather than better. So avoid the temptation to engage in denial, to pretend that nothing is wrong, to wish and hope and pray that, whatever it is, it will go away and you won't have to do anything. The fact is that it probably will get worse before it gets better and that ultimately you will need to face the situation and do something about it.

Deal With Your Problem at a Higher Level
There's an old saying that you can't solve a problem on the level that you meet it. This means that wrestling with a persistent problem is often fruitless and frustrating. For example, if two people who are in a relationship together are constantly fighting and negotiating and looking for some way to resolve their difficulties, they may be attempting to solve the problem on the wrong level. Dealing with the problem on a higher level, those people would ask the question, "In terms of being happy, is this the right relationship for us in the first place?"

Find the Right Job For You
Many people work very hard and experience considerable frustration trying to do a particular job. However, in terms of their own happiness, the right answer might be to do something else, or to do what they're doing in a different place, or to do it with different people-or all three.

Here are a few questions for you to answer in this arena of happiness. Write them down at the top of a sheet of paper, and then write as many answers to each one as you possibly can.

What Would It Take?
The first question is: "What would it take for me to be perfectly happy?"
Write down every single thing that you can imagine would be in your life if you were perfectly happy at this very moment. Write down things such as health, happiness, prosperity, loving relationships, inner peace, travel, car, clothes, homes, money, and so on. Let your mind run freely. Imagine that you have no limitations at all.

What is Holding You Back?
The second question is a little tougher. Write down at the top of a page this question: "In what situations in my life, and with whom, am I not perfectly happy?" Force yourself to think about every part of your day, from morning to night, and write down every element that makes you unhappy or dissatisfied in any way. Remember, proper diagnosis is half the cure. Identifying the unsatisfactory situations is the first step to resolving them.

Determine Your Happiest Moment
The third question will give you some important guidelines. Write down at the top of a sheet of paper these words: "In looking over my life, where and when have I been the happiest? Where was I, with whom was I, and what was I doing?"Decide What to DoOnce you have the answers to those questions, think about what you can do, starting immediately, to begin creating the kind of life that you dream of. It may take you a week, a month, or a year, but that doesn't matter.

Every single thing you do that moves you closer to your ideal vision will be rewarding in itself. You'll become a more positive and optimistic person. You'll feel more confident and more in charge of your life, and you'll achieve true peace of mind.

Action Exercises
Here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, examine your business and personal relationships carefully. Is there any situation you wouldn't get into again if you had it to do over?

Second, make a list of every single thing in your life that would make you happy and then think about what you could do to begin achieving them.

Third, allow yourself to dream and fantasize about your ideal life, what it would look like and feel like, and then do something every day to make it a reality.

Brian Tracy is the most listened to audio author on personal and business success in the world today. His fast-moving talks and seminars on leadership, sales, managerial effectiveness and business strategy are loaded with powerful, proven ideas and strategies that people can immediately apply to get better results in every area. For more information, please go to www.briantracy.com

To Hire or Not to Hire

During the first few minutes of meeting a potential employee you tend to get a “gut feel” as to the suitability of a person within your organisation.

There are no guarantees to say this person is perfect in every way for the role, however if they have the right attitude, and the skill set that you need, or the ability to learn, chances are they will be a good match.


With the shortage of excellent candidates in today’s market, don’t take too long to make your decision. Often, in the time you take to make up your mind, the candidate has been offered and accepted a job elsewhere. The message here is simple, if your gut instinct says it is right, act upon it quickly.

Christine Watson christine@marquetteturner.com.au

Blogs? What Are They?

A blog is essentially a web-based journal. Because it’s web-based (known as a a web log, hence the name blog), it can also include photos and multimedia which allows its readers to add notes and comments to what they read. In essence, a blog can be classified as a “building block”!

Our cyberspace is full of blogs and for every blog that is out there, there are most likely numerous other blogs out there talking about the same topic. The terminology for this is “blogosphere”. But not all blogs stand alone. They can include clips from and links to outside content and other blogs.

Blogging gives you the ability to comment on other people’s writing and allows you to share your thoughts freely.

Many bloggers include extensive links to other blogs—or a “blogroll”— on their sites. You can find a blog that interests you and then explore similar blogs that are also listed . Bloggers often love to share news from their friends’ blogs, or talk about their partner’s or children’s’ blogs, which may deal with completely different subjects.

Blogging is a great way to learn more, directly from specialists, about specific subjects, or to converse online with people who share your interests. But you should use common sense when posting, and be cautious about anyone you or your children meet online.

Christine Watson christine@marquetteturner.com.au

SYDNEY Events: Catch Them If You Can

Australian Chamber Orchestra
February 9th-March 19th 2008
In a busy 2008 schedule that will include trips to Europe and Asia, the Australian Chamber Orchestra comes to Sydney as the city wakes up after the summer holidays. Australia’s leading chamber-music ensemble kicks off the year with two programmes at the Sydney Opera House and the City Recital Hall under the direction of Richard Tognetti, the lead violinist.
The first features Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No. 19” played by Melvyn Tan, a British pianist, and “Strung Out”, a piece for strings by Roger Smalley, a British-born composer from Western Australia. The second programme has works by Elgar and Vaughan Williams, with Katie Noonan, a renowned Australian vocalist, performing English songs ranging from the 17th century to the Beatles.

City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney. Tel: +61 (02) 8256 2222. For programme details, see the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s website.

Open-air Cinema
Until February 16th 2008
Sydney has two outdoor cinemas running this summer, both of which are worth visiting as much for their atmosphere as for the films. The most popular is the Open Air Cinema at Mrs Macquarie’s Point, facing Sydney Harbour off the Royal Botanic Gardens. The programme mixes recent releases (such as “Michael Clayton” and “Atonement”) with previews of forthcoming features (“The Savages” and “3.10 to Yuma”). Web pre-sales have sold out, but about 50 tickets are held for sale at the gate each day from 6.30pm; it is worth joining the queue. There is a bar with drinks and good food on the premises.

You should have better luck booking ahead for the Moonlight Cinema in Centennial Park. Here you'll find a less ritzy location with a more adventurous programme, including a repertoire of classics (“2001: A Space Odyssy”, “Thelma and Louise” and “Casablanca”, among others). Bring a picnic. This cinema closes on March 9th.

Films at both cinemas start at sunset, around 8.30pm. See the Open Air Cinema's website, and the Moonlight Cinema's website.

Opera Australia Summer Season
December 31st 2007-March 29th 2008
Opera Australia, the country’s leading opera company, kicks off its summer season with a New Year’s Eve concert of selections from its repertoire. Consider splashing out on dinner beforehand or a party in the foyer afterwards, and expect excellent views of midnight fireworks over Sydney Harbour. The season closes with a rare performance of “The Pilgrim’s Progress”, conducted by Richard Hickox, the company’s music director, to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Ralph Vaughan Williams, the opera’s composer.

In between, there are new productions of Bizet’s “Carmen”, directed by Francesca Zambello, and Richard Strauss’s “Arabella”. For something a little different, take a picnic and a cushion to the Domain on February 2nd for the free, open-air performance of Puccini’s “La bohème”.
Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney. Tel: +61 (02) 9250 7111. Box office: +61 (02) 9318 8200. See Opera Australia's website.

Sydney Festival
January 5th-26th 2008
In January many Sydneysiders escape the city for their summer holidays. But the Sydney Festival provides a good reason to stay. This year Fergus Linehan, the director since 2004, has added an opening night party of music and dance, which will wend through the central streets. Other highlights include appearances by Brian Wilson (co-founder of the Beach Boys), the National Theatre of Scotland and Spain's Compania Nacional de Danza.

After its sell-out debut in 2006, the Spiegeltent—a travelling tent—returns to Hyde Park to host risqué performances by La Clique, a cabaret and vaudeville company. The festival has two big open-air concerts in the Domain, both of them free. January 12th sees a jazz evening featuring the Spanish Harlem Orchestra of New York conducted by Oscar Hernandez. On the 19th the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer, performs an ensemble of classical and contemporary works. Arrive with a picnic a few hours before the 8pm starting time, as the best spots on the grass are snapped up quickly.

For programme details and bookings, see the Sydney Festival website. Telephone bookings: +61 (02) 1300 888 412.

Sidney Nolan: A New Retrospective
private collection (c) The Trustees of the Sidney Nolan Trust photograph Jenni Carter
Until February 3rd 2008

Sidney Nolan (1917-1992) is probably Australia’s most internationally renowned artist. Unashamedly modern in his approach, he drew his inspiration from the ancient landscapes of the outback. At a time when many dismissed it as harsh and barren, Mr Nolan saw this landscape as “the real Australia: old, dignified and coherent”. Starting with his earliest abstract works from the 1930s, and finishing with a spray-painted self-portrait completed in 1986, this exhibition of 117 works spans Mr Nolan’s visits to Antarctica, Africa and China.

Its essence, though, is the series of images for which he remains famous: of Burke and Wills, two ill-fated 19th-century explorers, and Ned Kelly, an outlaw whose gang was pursued by Mr Nolan’s grandfather, a policeman. They were the characters, he once said, whose stories helped him to interpret the outback. And do not miss the epic “Riverbend” series, depicting the Goulburn river in Victoria, where Mr Nolan spent part of his childhood. The exhibition is the centrepiece of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’s summer season.

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery Rd, The Domain, Sydney. Tel: +61 (0)2 9225 1744. Open: daily, 10am-5pm. Admission: A$12. See also the gallery's website.

Tough Men, Hard Times: Policing the Depression
Courtesy of Michael Cannon
Until February 10th 2008

This fascinating exhibition explores the political conflicts that rocked Sydney during the Great Depression. By 1932, more than one-third of Australia's workforce was unemployed; violent clashes erupted in Sydney between police and members of the Unemployed Workers Union, a communist-backed body. The New Guard, a paramilitary group with quasi-fascist leanings, attracted about 40,000 members in response to its claims that a Soviet-backed working-class uprising was imminent.

The exhibition presents the story of the 1930s by examining Sydney's police at the time. The force infiltrated both sides, and even uncovered an alleged New Guard plot to overthrow the government of New South Wales. The archival newspaper and film images of Depression-era Sydney are riveting, and provide a sobering contrast to the booming city of today.

Justice and Police Museum, Cnr Phillip St/Albert St, Circular Quay, Sydney. Tel: +61 (02) 9252 1144. Admission: A$8. Open: Sat-Sun 10am-5pm. See the museum's website.

The Photographs of August Sander
November 17th 2007-February 3rd 2008

There could hardly be a stronger contrast to the vibrant colours of Sidney Nolan's paintings than this concurrent exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW). It contains 155 photographs by August Sander, a German who documented life in the early 20th century using the faces of farmers, artisans and families around Cologne, where he lived.

The portraits tend to be austere and posed rather than spontaneous, and most predate the 1930s. The Nazi authorities’ disapproval of the social realism in Sander’s approach had a chilling effect on his output afterwards. The exhibition is drawn from the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, which boasts the largest collection of Sander photographs outside Germany.

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery Rd, The Domain, Sydney. Tel: +61 (0)2 9225 1744. Open: daily, 10am-5pm. Admission: free. See also the gallery's website.

Convict Hulks: Life on the Prison Ships
SJ Jones collection, State Library of Victoria
Success, a convict hulk, at Hobart (c.1894)
Until July 26th 2009

This revealing exhibition charts the human stories behind Britain’s policy of using hulks, or old and unseaworthy ships, as floating prisons in the 18th and 19th centuries. The system, pioneered in London as a solution for Britain’s overflowing prisons, was farmed out to colonies such as New South Wales, Tasmania, Gibraltar and Bermuda. Most of the displays here concentrate on Bermuda, which between 1824 and 1863 received some 9,000 convicts, 2,000 of whom died in captivity. Look out for objects recovered by divers in 1982 from the Dromedary, a sunken convict hulk. They include pipes, rings and gaming boards that convicts made from bone, shell and metal to sell in exchange for tobacco, alcohol and food. The exhibition fits comfortably in the Hyde Park Barracks Museum, which sits in Sydney’s most historic convict building.

Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Queens Square, Macquarie St, Sydney. Tel: +61 (02) 8239 2311. Open: daily 9.30am-5pm. See also the museum's website.

Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au

Taming the Lion: 100 Secret Strategies for Investing Success - by Richard Farleigh

BOOK REVIEW

A former economist and a chess player, Richard Farleigh saw investment and trading as a form of gambling. But gradually he came to believe that market prices are predictable and recognised the many opportunities the markets could offer.

In Taming the Lion, Farleigh shares the unconventional philosophies he has developed over the years. The book will take you through the 100 strategies Farleigh has developed to enable consistent success in the markets.

rrp: $29.95
ISBN: 978 0 731404 63 6

Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au

No Act: Keeping the Cirque de Soleil Show on the Road

If the logistics of mounting Cirque du Soleil’s signature big tent productions seem daunting, so is the behind-the-scenes maneuvering to keep entertainers and other employees properly insured and protected.


That task continues to grow as the privately held Montreal entertainment enterprise adds to its eight touring troupes, five resident shows and related projects.



Coordinating benefits for Cirque du Soleil can be as complicated as the somersaults performed by acrobats in the troupe’s giant spinning German Wheel act.

How can an employer provide health insurance for workers who travel 100 percent of the time? How should it calculate risk for employees whose daily routines include fireworks, martial arts and hanging from ropes 50 feet off the ground?

It’s all in a day’s work for Hélène Thibault, a senior benefits manager for the avant-garde circus. Her background as an accredited actuary makes her especially well suited to the job. It’s not the usual career path for actuaries, the highly trained professionals who use math, statistics and finance theory to calculate the business impacts of risk. But it’s one Thibault, 30, enjoys. It brings imagination to a profession that’s typically black and white.

"Cirque du Soleil is a creative company, so working in benefits can’t be that straightforward," she says. "We need to be creative and adapt to everything the company is doing. We always work in the gray areas."


On the road
In her role as senior benefits manager, Thibault is responsible for planning health care coverage for a majority of Cirque du Soleil’s approximately 4,000 employees. She is one of 70 employees on Cirque du Soleil’s HR team in Montreal, and her charges include 1,600 employees in Montreal and 1,000 permanent expatriates—the performing artists and support personnel who travel continuously around the world. Thibault and her team of four assistants were also responsible for developing and financing a health insurance plan for Cirque du Soleil employees in Las Vegas and Orlando, Florida, where the company stages permanent shows at hotels. A stateside HR staff administers it, however.

With such a diverse global workforce, one-size-fits-all benefits are out of the question. Expats pose particular problems because they change addresses—and often countries—every six to eight weeks. One of the first things Thibault did after joining Cirque du Soleil in October 2006 was reorganize the company’s health insurance coverage. Until then, the company had used one carrier for its U.S. employees and a second for everyone else. But the setup caused problems.

For a venture as risky as a circus, Cirque du Soleil’s accident rate isn’t out of the norm, Thibault says. "For sure we have some accidents. Things happen, but probably not as much as people think," she says.

In one such case in mid-November 2007, two performers in the circus’ Zumanity show at the New York New York hotel in Las Vegas were hurt during an aerial performance and taken to a local hospital. One performer was released the next day and the other was still being treated for undisclosed injuries two weeks later. At the time, a spokeswoman said all company emergency procedures had been followed.

Cirque du Soleil’s workers’ comp program is partially self-insured. Each year, Thibault uses historical claims data and other factors to calculate how much the company will pay per workers’ comp claim, a number the company doesn’t disclose. Anything over that amount is covered by outside workers’ comp insurance, also from Cigna.

Cirque du Soleil hasn’t encountered a major disaster, but there have been scares. When Hurricane Katrina devastated Biloxi, Mississippi, in fall 2005, Cirque du Soleil was in the final stages of prepping for a six-month show that was to open there the following February. In a short time, the company came up with a Plan B and sent the show to South America instead, Thibault says.

In the event that a show can’t go on, the circus carries cancellation insurance. Since joining the company, Thibault has also begun planning for other catastrophes. For example, she has used computer models to calculate how many days of work the company’s employees would miss in the event of a worldwide outbreak of the flu or another pandemic. "I don’t think anyone else in the HR department could have built that," she says.

The Stress of I.T.

Technology professionals seem to be happy with their jobs, but they are also extremely stressed and likely to recommend careers in other fields to their friends, according to a new report from Dice.com.

The Dice Tech Appeal Index measures a person’s inclination to recommend the information technology field to others as opposed to another industry. Some 1,000 individuals were surveyed, including 565 adults currently working in IT.

For IT companies, there is good news in the survey. Ninety-one percent of survey participants say they are somewhat or very satisfied in their current job. What’s more, 92 percent of respondents note they intend to stay in the IT field for at least the next six months.

The bad news is that despite the general satisfaction with their jobs, IT professionals are more inclined to recommend a career in other industries to their friends than they were a year ago. Recommending jobs in financial services went up by almost 10 percentage points to 56 percent, as it did for media and entertainment, which moved to 44 percent from 34 percent.

“Although the satisfaction and loyalty levels of IT professionals continue to be strong, we're seeing evidence of possible retention issues over the long term,” said Scot Melland, chairman, president and CEO of Dice Holdings Inc., parent company of New York-based Dice, in a release.

One key culprit may be work-related anxiety. The study found that 91 percent of respondents associate the work with stress—mostly due to workload, dealing with clients and pace of the job.

The fear of exporting work overseas also weighs on the minds of IT professionals. Forty-six percent of survey participants say they are somewhat or very concerned about offshoring, an increase from 39 percent a year ago.

Christine Watson christine@marquetteturner.com.au

When Writing is Wrong

Studies now show there is a glaring deficiency in reading and writing among new entrants in the workforce, and that is troubling employers who are being forced to invest in additional training—or simply look for skilled workers offshore—for one of the most fundamental job skills in the 21st century economy.

Studies are showing that today’s workforce is “woefully ill-prepared” for the demands of the workplace.

The decline in reading and writing skills has demonstrable social, economic, cultural, and civic implications. Workers who cannot read and write well earn less and have higher unemployment rates. Employers, meanwhile, must spend more time and money on what is considered a basic skill.

Even among recent graduates, new employees are frequently unable to write effectie business communication, read analytically or solve problems.

It’s nice that they are reading e-mails and reading comics, but if they can’t turn it into a communication tool, that is where the breakdown happens on the employer side.

Literacy levels today are similar to those in 1970, but the economy has changed drastically since then. Workers today need to be able to read and analyze complex, often very technical material, like manuals for car mechanics, to succeed in most jobs.

Jobs that don’t have much in the way of skills have moved out of the country or are not living-wage jobs. That means even jobs that are considered low skill, require workers to read at a reasonably high level.

Schools are not demanding students to read what the workforce is demanding them to read and the problems come down to basic errors in grammar, spelling and tone that can nonetheless be disastrous for a company and its image.

If you can’t make sure an e-mail is grammatically correct, what else are you cutting corners on? Companies invest millions of dollars in their image and it can be undone in a matter of minutes by one sloppy e-mail.

Christine Watson christine@marquetteturner.com.au

Ease Yourself Into 2008

Christmas and new year celebrations have come and gone, as have the decorations, family, and hopefully any hang-overs!

Now it’s time to get back into it, and it wouldn't be so surprising if there's more than a few people out there who are not exactly jumping out of bed in the mornings to hurry off to work, after seeing what a good couple of days or weeks off feels like!

Here are our tips to ease yourself back into work life, if you’re feeling a little less than enthused.

Be measured

If you spent a lazy week on a beach in Queensland, jumped on a plane, and were at work bright and early the next morning, no wonder you’re feeling a little worse for wear! Or, if you just had to go to every late night party on offer over the Christmas break, and then expected to be able to turn your body clock around in the blink of an eye, I’m sure you had another think coming!

Recognise that you over-indulged and lived completely differently from normal – hey, it’s called a holiday! – and take your time getting back into your everyday life. Perhaps try to keep your working hours shorter for the first week. Ultimately, however, don't punish or expect too much from yourself.

Engage yourself.

Find a project that you can get into straight away. Something a little bit exciting or different from your normal work routine. If you have something to work on, and an end result to look forward to, it can make taking your mind off other things a lot easier.

See the lessons.

It's hardly surprising if you rediscovered how nice it is to enjoy taking time off. Let this be a lesson for you. In your first spare five minutes, sit down with your diary and work out when you’re going to take your next real break. Let’s face it – if you wait too long before planning your next holiday, you’ll lose interest and just not do it at all!

And, most of all, remember that being at work is what enables you to afford to take holidays in the first place! So, get set for a fantastic 2008, put everything into your work, and most importantly ensure that you aim for balance.

Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au

How To Make & Keep Your New Year's Resolutions

Maybe you are among the many Australians who still welcome the New Year with resolutions to improve their lives.

But are you one of the still fewer people who actually manage to keep their resolutions?

Why are New Year’s resolutions so easy to make and so very difficult – for most of us – to keep? “The problem is that most resolutions are about changing behavior through discipline, but discipline can’t solve the problem if you don’t address the root cause of the behavior you want to change,” says life-change expert Janice Lindgren.

“The only way to truly change behavior is to change what you want, and our wants are buried deep within our psyches and rooted in our past.”

Although Australian's seem to be abandoning the tradition of New Year’s resolutions – surveys indicate that less than 45 percent of adults will make resolutions this year – “there is real value in creating a plan, and committing to it, to effect change in your life,” she says.

So what do you need to know in order to succeed with your New Year’s resolutions – and your efforts to improve your life throughout the year? “There’s no one silver bullet that works for everyone,” Lindgren says, “but there are things you should know, and things you can do, that will increase your potential for success.”

Marquette Turner has compiled 5 empowering points to help you stick to your resolutions next year:

1. Do write down your goals or resolutions.

By writing them down, you’ll feel like you are making a contract with yourself. Writing out your thoughts can also help you focus on what you really want to accomplish in the coming year.

2. Don’t overdo it with too many goals at once or with unrealistic resolutions.

“The concept that you have to be better, be harder on yourself or get tough is merely a boot-camp quick fix,” says Lindgren.

Keep your plans simple, specific and manageable or you might find yourself overwhelmed – and more likely to give up. For example, rather than resolving to “eat better” in 2008, refine your goal to “have a salad for lunch at least three times a week.” Instead of “exercise more,” try “walk for 30 minutes four times a week.”

3. Do explore the root of the behavior you want to change.

“The question isn’t whether you’re overeating, not getting enough exercise or sleep, or drinking too much,” Lindgren says. “The question is why are you doing those things? What is the underlying trigger for this behavior?”

Different people have different triggers. Often, our triggers stem from unmet needs or traumas of childhood experience. “What creates change is identifying current triggers and becoming aware of the catalytic events from our past and releasing the underlying emotional energy we carry around those events,” she adds.

4. Do view change as a positive thing.

It’s not unusual or even unreasonable to be cautious of change, but you’ll never be able to achieve your New Year’s resolutions – or any other life-altering goal – if you view change as an enemy. “Growth is nothing more than directed change,” Lindgren says.

5. Don’t go it alone.

If you feel you need help to really achieve your life-changing goals, find friends to keep each other in check.

Good Luck! Simon Turner, Marquette Turner

Take Charge of Your Life

One of the things you must always remember in your adult life, is that no one is there to rescue you – everything you are or want to be is up to you.

You cannot change anything that has happened in your life, whether it happened years ago or seconds ago.

There is absolutely nothing you can do to change that. So don’t dwell on it. What you can do is change how you handle and feel about things that have occurred in your life and to some - this may include taking some responsibility.

You need to take charge of your life and be aware that if you want things to be different and change in your life, you have to make those changes – they won’t occur just because you want them to.

There is an old Confucian saying “if you don’t change the road you’re travelling on you’ll probably end up where you’re going”.

Most successful people in this world today are successful because of the decisions they have made and the tough steps they have taken to get there.

Christine Watson

How To Become a Public Speaker (and get paid for it!)

Here are 12 steps to become a great public speaker and get yourself booked!

1) Define a niche. Instantly set yourself apart: identify the topic or issue in which you're willing to do endless and ongoing research for a market with the means to pay you.

The next challenge of course is to become known in your niche.

When you become the leading authority in your field, people seek you out. There's no point in being a fine marketer until you have expertise to offer.

And your expertise has got to be in a specific niche. A niche where the public with cash to spend recognise your value and are willing to invest in what you know.

2. Free to Fee. Speak for free in places likely to have people who could hire you for fee. Often there are people in these audiences who could hire you. Check your local Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce, and Rotary clubs.

Think about it: if someone hasn’t seen me speak in person, it’s less likely that this person will contact you, and even less likely they’ll pay for your services. Get out there!

3. Attend Events. Go to the events that your ideal clients attend and mingle with the decision makers who could hire you.

Research the event ahead of time. Know who will be in attendance. Have a hit list of people you want to connect with. Ask first what THEY do so you can tailor your 30 second pitch to address how you can help with their specific needs.

4. Speaker Directories. There are websites that list speakers for a fee. Meeting planners sometimes go to these directories looking for a speaker on a certain topic.

5. Smile and Dial. Flipping the pages of a meeting planner directory and cold calling can drum up business. Most speakers who use this approach successfully make 40- 50 calls everyday. If you are smart and committed about finding the right targeted leads to call, this is especially effective.

6. Ask for referrals right from the platform. Keynote speaker and master certified coach, Rich Fettke says when he speaks to groups, “As you can tell, I am really passionate about what I do. If you know of a group who could benefit from this message, please hand me a business card afterwards.”

7. Referrals. Ask for referrals from existing clients who have hired you to speak. Make sure you ask for letters of recommendation and referrals as part of the deal.

Let your clients or customers know they are rewarded for referring folks who invest in what you offer. Reward referrals generously.

8. Get on Your Prospects Radar Screen. Top of mind status comes from word of mouth of your clients, being "seen" in the pages of print media, and from testimonials of audience members.Know where your audience goes and be there.

This includes your prospect’s newsletters, clubs, organizations, bulletin boards, and magazines.

9. Speaker Website. An effective speaker website gives a meeting planner everything they need to decide that you are the perfect speaker for their event.

You’ll want to include a brochure to download, testimonials, program descriptions, media coverage, results gained for other clients, and your speaker video.

10. Join organizations where people can hire you or might be able to refer you to people. Review your organization memberships at the end of the year before you renew to make sure that the fees was worth it.

11. Invite prospects as your guest when you speak to groups. That way they can experience you firsthand. After they experience the power of your speaking, they are likely to hire you or even refer you to others.

12. Building relationships. Keep in touch with your clients and prospects. Sends articles to them to let them know you’re is thinking of them, and send cards and call them from time to time. Never let them forget your name. You want to be top of mind when they are ready to hire.

Simon Turner

Turbo-Charge Your Goals

We know the importance of setting goals in the fulfillment of our dreams in life.

But what if I tell you that there's a very powerful formula that will allow us to achieve our goals much faster? In fact, this formula is going to turbo-boost goal realization to the highest level!

Here's the formula:

Be positively obsessed with what you want. It's not enough that you want it, you got to desire it so much that you feel it flowing in your veins and you think about it every day and night.

You talk about it every chance you get and you see it in every situation you're in. If you're not fired up every time you think about it, then you're not serious enough.

Re-evaluate your goal and make sure that it is your passion, your fire, the very thing that makes your body tingle with life and excitement.

You must also complement your obsession with two powerful techniques: visualisation and affirmation.

You must have a crystal clear mental image of yourself already in possession of the thing you desire, or already doing/enjoying the very activity you want to do in life.

You must also consistently repeat saying what you want. If you want to be a singer, say "I am a professional singer performing in front of a large audience that is so amazed by my performance." As you say it, feel the happiness and excitement, and see yourself doing exactly the thing you say. Imagine the audience applauding you.

Write down your goals on a post-it note, then stick it in a place where you can see and read your goals daily.

It is also vital for you to think and say your desires most of the time, but sometimes we get very busy with other tasks. Therefore it is highly recommended that you engage in imagining, affirming, feeling, and being one with your dream at the most effective times of the day.

Do it 15 minutes before you go to sleep and 15 minutes within the time you wake up. This is very important. Your subconscious is in its most responsive state 15 minutes before dozing off. So before hitting the snooze button, feed it with clear pictures/images, powerful affirmations/commands, and emotions so intense you could experience the happiness and excitement right at that very moment.

Do it also 15 minutes within the time you wake up. Your mind is fresh, energized, and focused at this time, so utilize its power to your best advantage.

When you are relaxed, the mind is very receptive to your commands and mental images. Go to a beach or resort, walk around the park, go sight-seeing, or just lie down. Relax and allow yourself to get involved with your dream.

Relaxation can also allow you to think of creative ideas to reach your goals and ways to solve your problems.

Michael Lee is the author of "How to be a Red Hot Persuasion Wizard... in 20 days or less", an e-book that reveals mind-altering persuasion techniques on how to tremendously enhance your relationships, create unlimited wealth, and get anything you want...just like magic. Get advice at: http://www.20daypersuasion.com/. He is the Co-Founder of http://www.self-improvement-millionaires.com/

Simon Turner

The Secret to Success

Success is connected with continuous action.

It's largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.

You're not finished when you're defeated, you're only finished when you quit.

The most important quality essential to success is perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.

You can have a fresh start any time you choose.

Failure is not in the falling down, but in the staying down.

It's not over until it's over.

If you've got the courage to stick it out, you'll attain your goal.

Winning isn't everything, but wanting to is. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.