Author Archives: shaunebouwer

‘Do you work better in a team or as an individual?’ The old tried and tested interview question that after many years I still cannot understand the relevance. What is the recruiter trying to ascertain? Maybe it’s changed in the last two years with covid, lock-downs and remote working. I worked with some people thatContinue reading “The individuality of teamwork”

I recently went to a popular restaurant chain drive through and placed an order for breakfast on my way to work. It’s a quick stop on my way to work so if I am running late or just want a day off from making breakfast it’s the convenient thing to do. So I am inContinue reading “Setting goals to align to your strategies”

In recent years we have seen so many of our talented athletes leave the South African shores to enjoy better remuneration abroad. The number of our rugby players in Europe and Japan alone should be a massive concern. The retirement of CJ Stander especially made me think about this exodus of talented players that becomeContinue reading “The mindset and ideas needed to save sport in SA”

In the last few weeks a lot of leadership topics have come my way, the theme seems to have picked me and not I it.  If we were good at everything, we’d have no need for each other. Simon Sinek I was recently asked, do you think you are a great leader? I started havingContinue reading “How to go from being a good to great leader.”

Leadership is a tricky obstacle course which one must maneuver through ever increasingly difficult circumstances. There is a lot of focus on leadership styles from a social media and PR perspective. The old guard of leaders did not need to consider these issues twenty or even ten years ago. They are still at the helmContinue reading “Why no single leadership style is any good.”

The old saying that “If you don’t move forward, sooner or later you begin to move backward”  was spoken by Mikhail Gorbachev and is linked to discussing issues as serious as nuclear disarmament! I am here to say that when it comes to moving forward in your personal life or career it is as importantContinue reading “The Gemba and Kaizen way”

The fable – Sharpen your axe His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he would work. The first day, the woodcutter felled 18 trees. “Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that way!” Motivated by the boss words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring downContinue reading “The time to sharpen your axe is now, for employees and employers!”

In the popular 90s sitcom Friends, Joey Tribbiani argues that there is no such thing as a selfless good deed. “It made you feel good, so that makes it selfish”. Joey was one to often miss the point, but not this time. In fact, there are many articles stating the reasons why volunteering, charity workContinue reading “The time for charity work is now, even if it’s for selfish reasons”

As a South African I have heard so many people make a sweeping statement that it’s better to own a property than to rent. ‘You need to pay off your own asset and not someone else’s’. Our parents have indoctrinated this notion into our belief system that we all have just accepted that we mustContinue reading “Unpopular opinion: Why you should not buy a property in South Africa”

The incident I was driving down the freeway the other day from a face-to-face client meeting. Yes, we still do those despite COVID 19 making everything virtual. It had been raining before the meeting and the road was still soaking. A car indicated to merge into my lane and started moving across immediately. They wereContinue reading “How traffic proves that people are inherently good”