Hello Colleagues, Clients and Friends,
Today I had the opportunity to speak at the launch of the Canadian Black Caucus at Queen's Park in Toronto. I've included the video below. Enjoy!
Kevin
Monday, May 11, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Celebrating Administrative Professionals Day!
Hello Employers and Admin Professionals,
Another Administrative Professionals Day has come. Actually we are in a week of festivities of which today is the climax. Many people don't even know much about this annual event, but year by year it's gathering steam. Administrative Professionals Day is an annual event coordinated by the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), the internationally recognized industry association for administrative professionals. The theme for 2009 is "Excellence in Action" recognizing that as administrative professionals operate in excellence in all they do, they make major contributions to the workplace. Your local chapter of the IAAP may be holding events throughout this week. Check out the following link for more information http://www.iaap-hq.org/events/apwevents/eventlookup.asp. I would also like to share a copy of the IAAP's Administrative Professionals Briefing for this week. http://www.adminbriefing.com/?promo=iaap09
In my experience as an admin professional, we can be some of the most drained employees in a workplace. Our job is to address both internal and external needs, and many times we are the main point of contact for an organization or the person we are supporting. Take the time to find out more about Administrative Professionals Week and its festivities, whether you are an employer or a employee.
Enjoy your Administrative Professionals Day/Week! http://www.iaap-hq.org/events/apwevents/index.html
Kevin Bourne
Senior Admin/Management Consultant
Public & Busniess Administration
krbourne@jdas.ca
Another Administrative Professionals Day has come. Actually we are in a week of festivities of which today is the climax. Many people don't even know much about this annual event, but year by year it's gathering steam. Administrative Professionals Day is an annual event coordinated by the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), the internationally recognized industry association for administrative professionals. The theme for 2009 is "Excellence in Action" recognizing that as administrative professionals operate in excellence in all they do, they make major contributions to the workplace. Your local chapter of the IAAP may be holding events throughout this week. Check out the following link for more information http://www.iaap-hq.org/events/apwevents/eventlookup.asp. I would also like to share a copy of the IAAP's Administrative Professionals Briefing for this week. http://www.adminbriefing.com/?promo=iaap09
In my experience as an admin professional, we can be some of the most drained employees in a workplace. Our job is to address both internal and external needs, and many times we are the main point of contact for an organization or the person we are supporting. Take the time to find out more about Administrative Professionals Week and its festivities, whether you are an employer or a employee.
Enjoy your Administrative Professionals Day/Week! http://www.iaap-hq.org/events/apwevents/index.html
Kevin Bourne
Senior Admin/Management Consultant
Public & Busniess Administration
krbourne@jdas.ca
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Power of Relationship-Building
Those who know me personally know that I enjoy helping out in the community. It's not out of the ordinary to see me acting in a community play or helping people in an "at-risk" neighbourhood start a business.
Over the past four months I volunteered my time at my local church, playing a small part in an Easter play. To tell you the truth, this was one of the most fulfilling experiences I've ever had. Not necessarily because I was involved in the community, but because of the level of relationship that we experienced. As a cast and production team we developed loving relationships. We became a family to the point that many of us shed a tear at the thought of going our separate ways. Personally, the day after Easter Sunday, the day we had prepared for for months, I felt like I had experienced a loss. After the show I saw youths, boys and guys, crying because this play provided them with a level of stability and love that they weren't getting at home. I had to ask myself why this group was so effective in building loving relationships when other groups find it hard to accomplish that goal. The conclusion I came to was that there was no judgment in this group. Everyone was accepted for who they were. People who were leaders in the church were allowed to just be themselves and didn't have the pressures of being perfect. Those youth who were not Christians weren't pressured to conform to typical Christian behaviour; when a sware word or crude comment came out of their mouth they weren't condemned. Everyone was allowed to be themselves.
I left this community play with lessons in team-building that I'm going to implement in the business world. I've learned that when building a team people should be allowed to be themselves. Yes, people should rally behind common practices and a common vision, but in textbook corporate culture people are encouraged to assimilate into the culture and not express individuality. I have seen this kind of culture do damage to people emotionally and mentally. There has to be a healthy balance. As a manager at any level in an organization there is a responsibility to genuinely care for the people under our leadership, because we're not just in the business of managing systems, product lines, and profitability, but we're in the business of managing people's lives.
It almost seems like an oxymoron to value caring and relationship-building in business and corporate settings, but that's exactly what's wrong with our business centers. I'm asking myself what our businesses and corporations would be like if they were filled with the kind of fulfilling relationships that I experienced while working on this community play. Only time can tell. That's my goal.
Kevin Bourne
Senior Admin/Management Consultant
Public & Busniess Administration
krbourne@jdas.ca
Over the past four months I volunteered my time at my local church, playing a small part in an Easter play. To tell you the truth, this was one of the most fulfilling experiences I've ever had. Not necessarily because I was involved in the community, but because of the level of relationship that we experienced. As a cast and production team we developed loving relationships. We became a family to the point that many of us shed a tear at the thought of going our separate ways. Personally, the day after Easter Sunday, the day we had prepared for for months, I felt like I had experienced a loss. After the show I saw youths, boys and guys, crying because this play provided them with a level of stability and love that they weren't getting at home. I had to ask myself why this group was so effective in building loving relationships when other groups find it hard to accomplish that goal. The conclusion I came to was that there was no judgment in this group. Everyone was accepted for who they were. People who were leaders in the church were allowed to just be themselves and didn't have the pressures of being perfect. Those youth who were not Christians weren't pressured to conform to typical Christian behaviour; when a sware word or crude comment came out of their mouth they weren't condemned. Everyone was allowed to be themselves.
I left this community play with lessons in team-building that I'm going to implement in the business world. I've learned that when building a team people should be allowed to be themselves. Yes, people should rally behind common practices and a common vision, but in textbook corporate culture people are encouraged to assimilate into the culture and not express individuality. I have seen this kind of culture do damage to people emotionally and mentally. There has to be a healthy balance. As a manager at any level in an organization there is a responsibility to genuinely care for the people under our leadership, because we're not just in the business of managing systems, product lines, and profitability, but we're in the business of managing people's lives.
It almost seems like an oxymoron to value caring and relationship-building in business and corporate settings, but that's exactly what's wrong with our business centers. I'm asking myself what our businesses and corporations would be like if they were filled with the kind of fulfilling relationships that I experienced while working on this community play. Only time can tell. That's my goal.
Kevin Bourne
Senior Admin/Management Consultant
Public & Busniess Administration
krbourne@jdas.ca
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Vision: The Remedy for Inter-organizational Selfishness
Hello People. I'm back with another article. Over this past week I've experienced some stress on the job like never before. While it's leading to me wanting a vacation, I'm learning some important life and professional lessons.
WORKPLACE SELFISHNESS
In my Public Administration class back at York University we learned about an important organizational issue. Competitiveness between departments within an organization. It's human nature for us to go into survival mode and it can be seen within our organizations whether we are a Business, Church, Non-Profit or Government Department. How do you remove the sense of competition between departments? It's a real issue.
Exhibit A: Competitiveness in the workplace can be seen in how employees share the facilities. The organization which is outsourcing me at the moment has an income tax clinic every year. The lady who provides the service is an older lady with medical problems. She was recently sitting down with a client in an income tax appointment with papers all over the room. Another employee, who hadn't previously booked the room, wanted me to move the lady to another room so she can have it. The lady is old, has health problems, was in the middle of an appointment, and had papers all over the room. I asked her is she could use another room and she complied. A lot of time employees are only worried about their meeting, their budget, their department.
Exhibit B: I was sitting at my desk on another occasion speaking to a member of the maintenance staff (someone is often overlooked). While I was speaking to him another employee came in and interrupted the member of the maintenance staff, asking me to perform a task. In my head I was asking, "Don't you see this person speaking?" The person I was speaking to was completely overlooked and disrespected.
Exhibit C: When people come to my desk for assistance people don't usually want to wait in line. It sometimes ends up like a meat market where people are trying to get their request in before the next peron. People don't like to wait and line up; we see that where shopping is concerned, or waiting on the phone.
THE POWER OF VISION
How do you create the sense of a common cause; a oneness amongst your staff? I believe a major factor is VISION. For some people a vision statement is simply a step in the organizational development process, but it's a lot more important than that. The statement is really a summary of the picture in the heads of leadership. Having a clear vision provides a channel towards where you're going as an organization. I've sat down with clients who have great potential and ideas, but no vision. It's become a lot easier for me to differentiate between ideas and vision when I listen to someone speak. Vision is a group of interrelated ideas, or vision provides a covering for ideas. I've seen with myself and friends/business partners that whenever a new idea comes to the table I have to ask how that idea relates with (or works with) our vision.
I learned a lot about visionary leadership from the life of Ted Rogers; Founder/CEO of Rogers Communications. One night at a Christmas party I had the opportunity to speak to a friend who works as a technical consultant with Rogers. At the party he was telling me about the effects of losing "Ted". "When we lost Ted..." he went on to explain what it was like to lose the visionary of the company. I thought to myself, "What kind of leadership is this that an employee who responds to technical inquiries, who probably never met the CEO, could refer to him in such a personal way?" It was then that I learned the power of visionary leadership. It unifies and brings people together, from the boadroom to the mail room. Ted Rogers has become my new model for business development, relationship building and visionary leadership.Are people at odds in your organization (business, non-profit, or church)? First ask yourself if your vision is clear. It may not be the only solution, but it's a good place to start!
Kevin Bourne
Senior Admin/Management Consultant
Public & Busniess Administration
krbourne@jdas.ca
WORKPLACE SELFISHNESS
In my Public Administration class back at York University we learned about an important organizational issue. Competitiveness between departments within an organization. It's human nature for us to go into survival mode and it can be seen within our organizations whether we are a Business, Church, Non-Profit or Government Department. How do you remove the sense of competition between departments? It's a real issue.
Exhibit A: Competitiveness in the workplace can be seen in how employees share the facilities. The organization which is outsourcing me at the moment has an income tax clinic every year. The lady who provides the service is an older lady with medical problems. She was recently sitting down with a client in an income tax appointment with papers all over the room. Another employee, who hadn't previously booked the room, wanted me to move the lady to another room so she can have it. The lady is old, has health problems, was in the middle of an appointment, and had papers all over the room. I asked her is she could use another room and she complied. A lot of time employees are only worried about their meeting, their budget, their department.
Exhibit B: I was sitting at my desk on another occasion speaking to a member of the maintenance staff (someone is often overlooked). While I was speaking to him another employee came in and interrupted the member of the maintenance staff, asking me to perform a task. In my head I was asking, "Don't you see this person speaking?" The person I was speaking to was completely overlooked and disrespected.
Exhibit C: When people come to my desk for assistance people don't usually want to wait in line. It sometimes ends up like a meat market where people are trying to get their request in before the next peron. People don't like to wait and line up; we see that where shopping is concerned, or waiting on the phone.
THE POWER OF VISION
How do you create the sense of a common cause; a oneness amongst your staff? I believe a major factor is VISION. For some people a vision statement is simply a step in the organizational development process, but it's a lot more important than that. The statement is really a summary of the picture in the heads of leadership. Having a clear vision provides a channel towards where you're going as an organization. I've sat down with clients who have great potential and ideas, but no vision. It's become a lot easier for me to differentiate between ideas and vision when I listen to someone speak. Vision is a group of interrelated ideas, or vision provides a covering for ideas. I've seen with myself and friends/business partners that whenever a new idea comes to the table I have to ask how that idea relates with (or works with) our vision.
I learned a lot about visionary leadership from the life of Ted Rogers; Founder/CEO of Rogers Communications. One night at a Christmas party I had the opportunity to speak to a friend who works as a technical consultant with Rogers. At the party he was telling me about the effects of losing "Ted". "When we lost Ted..." he went on to explain what it was like to lose the visionary of the company. I thought to myself, "What kind of leadership is this that an employee who responds to technical inquiries, who probably never met the CEO, could refer to him in such a personal way?" It was then that I learned the power of visionary leadership. It unifies and brings people together, from the boadroom to the mail room. Ted Rogers has become my new model for business development, relationship building and visionary leadership.Are people at odds in your organization (business, non-profit, or church)? First ask yourself if your vision is clear. It may not be the only solution, but it's a good place to start!
Kevin Bourne
Senior Admin/Management Consultant
Public & Busniess Administration
krbourne@jdas.ca
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The World is Your Playground
This past week I had a unique opportunity to visit Wales in the U.K. On one side of the coin it was a slightly sorrowful experience because I went to burry my grandmother, but on another side of the coin my eyes were opened to many things. On a personal level I have a new found love for my family, and have reprioritized where family fits into my life. On a business level my eyes have been opened to the prospects that lie in the U.K. We all know that London is the largest financial market in the world, but I had a chance to stay in Cardiff, Wales where my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and counsins have been living since 1959. I last visited Cardiff and London in 1983 when I was three years old, so I was picturing the dismal place that I had seen 26 years ago (yes, I do remember a few things) or the picture I see in British television programs.
The vision for JD Administrative Solutions has always included Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean, but by the end of this trip my vision has grown to include the U.K.- London, Wales, and maybe even Glasgow and Dublin. By the end of my trip I gained a confidence in the fact that the world is my playground; that there are no geographical limitations to JD Administrative Solutions or for myself personally. In Cardiff I had the opportunity to tell a few people about JDAS and I received the same response I receive in Toronto. "Wow, I've never seen anything like this before!" I have personally determined that I will do business in every country where I have family since it would provide me with certain benefits that I would not have otherwise. The world is my playground!
In late 2008 my wife, inspired by her college professor, began speaking about one day being an international social worker, and eventually taking part in project in countries like Sweden (which is arguably the social work capital of the world). This past week, upon my return, my wife mentioned social work opportunities in England after speaking with her newest professor.
I would like to encourage you in the fact that there are no geographical boundaries to what you can accomplish. You can do business, or even advance your career, in North America, the U.K., the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. The only boundaries that you have are those in your mind. Dare to be globally-minded!
The vision for JD Administrative Solutions has always included Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean, but by the end of this trip my vision has grown to include the U.K.- London, Wales, and maybe even Glasgow and Dublin. By the end of my trip I gained a confidence in the fact that the world is my playground; that there are no geographical limitations to JD Administrative Solutions or for myself personally. In Cardiff I had the opportunity to tell a few people about JDAS and I received the same response I receive in Toronto. "Wow, I've never seen anything like this before!" I have personally determined that I will do business in every country where I have family since it would provide me with certain benefits that I would not have otherwise. The world is my playground!
In late 2008 my wife, inspired by her college professor, began speaking about one day being an international social worker, and eventually taking part in project in countries like Sweden (which is arguably the social work capital of the world). This past week, upon my return, my wife mentioned social work opportunities in England after speaking with her newest professor.
I would like to encourage you in the fact that there are no geographical boundaries to what you can accomplish. You can do business, or even advance your career, in North America, the U.K., the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. The only boundaries that you have are those in your mind. Dare to be globally-minded!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
What the heck is going on in our government?
I don't know about you, but I'm puzzled. Seven weeks ago Stephane Dion led the Liberal party to its worst election results in the HISTORY of the party. Not the worst in the decade, but in the HISTORY of the party. There was a rare person in the media, including Liberal supporters, who actually felt he had the ability to lead our country. In fact, if this man couldn't lead a party successfully, how can he lead a country? If the majority of Canadians thought this guy was incapable what makes them think we want him as Prime Minister? That's ridiculous!This whole coalition idea could almost have me convinced, except for the thought of Stephane Dion as Prime Minister. Again, that's ridiculous! What would make the Liberals and New Democrats think that Canadians would want him to represent us on the global stage? That's the weakest part of their plan; the part that makes the least sense.
My prediction is that this plan will blow up in their (Liberal and NDP) faces (the Bloc Quebecois doesn't really have much to lose). A few MPs may cross the floor to join the Conservative party. Citizens who have had enough of the political soap operas may now lean towards the Conservatives. In my opinion the Liberals and NDP are feeding the Conservatives a majority government in the next election. But I could be wrong. Let's wait and see. In the mean time, let your MP and the various parties know how you feel about their playing with your lives. Admittedly, politics can be boring, but this isn't a time to sit back and not care. People are making decisions on your behalf that affect your life. Be aware of what's going on around you and say something.
Friday, November 7, 2008
History Made in the United States
I've said in other writings on the recent U.S. election that I was upset by the fact that people seemed to be more focused on electing a black president than someone with sound policies. That frustration is subsiding. For me I believe that leaders should be chosen not only based on their vision for their country, but the practical policies they are proposing. If your vision is not reflected in your policies they are just words. Once that's in place we can then go into personal preferences such as wanting a person of colour in office.
As much as I would love to teach people that they should use certain criteria in electing a leader, right now peole need hope and inspiration. My prayer for the millions of people who supported Barack Obama (especially the black ones) is that we use this momentum to accomplish more in our personal lives. I get the feeling that for many people, behind the "Yes we can" is really "Yes he can", meaning we believe Barack Obama can do it, but at the end of the day in our alone time we aren't that sure that we can do it. A question that I've been asking myself is, "Now that we know we can, what will we do?" Personally, I'm going to conquer some fears. That's what this year has been about for me. I'm going to dream bigger and do things that I never thought I could accomplish. Not necessarily because of the recent elections but because I think that is the season we are in globally; a season where we should dare to do the impossible. Barack Obama was the most visible example of that.
The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. My prayer for the Obama Administration is that they will be able to accomplish everything they have envisioned to do.
Kevin Bourne
Administrative/Management Consultant
Public & Business Administration
As much as I would love to teach people that they should use certain criteria in electing a leader, right now peole need hope and inspiration. My prayer for the millions of people who supported Barack Obama (especially the black ones) is that we use this momentum to accomplish more in our personal lives. I get the feeling that for many people, behind the "Yes we can" is really "Yes he can", meaning we believe Barack Obama can do it, but at the end of the day in our alone time we aren't that sure that we can do it. A question that I've been asking myself is, "Now that we know we can, what will we do?" Personally, I'm going to conquer some fears. That's what this year has been about for me. I'm going to dream bigger and do things that I never thought I could accomplish. Not necessarily because of the recent elections but because I think that is the season we are in globally; a season where we should dare to do the impossible. Barack Obama was the most visible example of that.
The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. My prayer for the Obama Administration is that they will be able to accomplish everything they have envisioned to do.
Kevin Bourne
Administrative/Management Consultant
Public & Business Administration
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