As we speak this month, I reflect on our environment, on what is taking place around us, and how it impacts our business. The key message is that the global economic forum has changed forever. It has become evident that prudency in all we do has come to the fore and is now a key business imperative more than it has ever been.

In order to preserve value for the business, for ourselves and attain sustainable growth, we will have to become mavericks at what we do and in all areas of operation while maintaining our values. Although I use the term maverick, very much tongue in cheek, I must emphasize that we must realize that we will have to do more with less.

Income streams from our existing and potential clients are largely rationalized thereby resulting in a ripple effect to the service industry. This means that our guests are more likely to be price sensitive and at the same time demanding better service standards and delivery from us. This expectation has a direct bearing on our staffing and the requisite levels and caliber of personnel handling our guests.

I recently presented a paper at the Institute of People Management of Zimbabwe (IPMZ) conference held in Victoria Falls and my talk touched on these key issues of what is expected of our people to enable them to deliver to internationally acceptable standards, yet at the same time managing head count as any efficient business should. The issue of multi-skilling with the right candidates is a real one which should be the backbone of any organization. In order to effectively deliver at all times, we need to identify talent, nurture it, and this will eventually ensure our competitiveness not only on the African platform but on a global scale as well.

This forces me to revisit our staff skills competitiveness globally. What comes to mind is that we have pockets of excellence, but in order to change the perception of current skills level for Africa, our current training and development model has to be revamped in order to fit and meet modern challenges. The framework of the past will not work, therefore I leave you with this food for thought, what part can you play in your organization to ensure that your team remains relevant for today's world and beyond?

The South African World Cup 2010 has come and gone, and oh what an exceptional experience it was! The African continent is proud of South Africa for hosting such a sterling event! Oh, what pride I felt as I sat in the Soccer City stadium in Soweto watching the fateful match between Ghana and Uruguay! As Africans we have come far, and FIFA reiterated this through the rating given to South Africa by FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, of 9 out of 10 in the way the event was managed. The success of the World Cup in South Africa is an example of what the African continent can achieve. What remains now is how do we maximize the benefit from the positive publicity gained after the event?

The onus is on the region and sub-region to support this initiative post the event and ensure that Africa benefits from this exposure. We have to follow through and capitalize on the fact that sub-Saharan Africa held the global centre stage for a month by engaging in below the line marketing activities to showcase our attractions. The World Cup created value for Africa that is priceless. It is imperative for the continent to take advantage of the collateral created by the soccer showcase. In the development of any economy, especially in emerging markets, people first visit, then they trade and finally invest. The first hurdle of visiting has been jumped. The world now knows that Africa is real and a force to be reckoned with! We must prepare adequately to ensure that we stand up and be counted and that we are part of the trade and investment forum as the global economy evolves!

Gone: the first host nation to fail to make a World Cup second round. But forgotten? Disgraced, even? Most definitely not.

That was South Africa’s extremely satisfactory state of affairs as they bowed out of the tournament with valour in Bloemfontein on Tuesday, deserved winners against 1998 champions and 2006 finalists France.

Just in itself, that is a momentous achievement, French camp turmoil or not. We must not lightly dismiss that.

In fact, roll back the clock several months to when the draw was made, and Bafana were pitted against three teams streets ahead of them on the world rankings.

So featureless and inept did the national team look at that point that critics were perfectly entitled to suggest they might be in danger of not earning a solitary point in Group A.

Well, Aaron Mokoena’s outfit went well better than that, eclipsing the supposed European power into third place and only being eliminated on a three-goal inferiority basis to the other team to finish with them on four points, Mexico.

To put it in simplest terms, Bafana had two sprightly games and one clear-cut dud (against Uruguay) at this World Cup, and they have largely won the hearts of the country as a result – across our various communities.

It is true that France, already at sixes and sevens on their unhappy safari, suffered a ghastly blow under the circumstances with the sending-off (debatable, perhaps, but hardly a scandalous call) of Yoann Gourcuff as early as the 26th minute.

But South Africa, pleasingly, had already got an encouraging foothold on proceedings and led 1-0 courtesy of central defender Bongani Khumalo’s strong leap at the far post to meet a deep, swirling corner kick from Siphiwe Tshabalala.

It was just the tonic Bafana, sporting a massively re-arranged midfield and Bernard Parker to provide beneficial aid to Katlego Mphela up front, needed.

Indeed, when they entered the half-time tunnel 2-0 to the good and presumably quickly aware that there had been a goal in the other group game at the Royal Bafokeng, their Mission Impossible - winning by a genuine bundle - was beginning to look not quite the stuff of fantasy.

But the French “corpse” did retain some sort of pulse, with Franck Ribery suddenly getting his game together to a good degree, and when Florent Malouda pulled one back with 20 minutes to go it was really just about holding on for the pride-restoring Bafana victory.

It was only South Africa’s second ever win in a World Cup tournament, remember, and certainly their biggest scalp at the blue-chip event.

There was great snap and movement about Bafana on this occasion, unlike at Loftus where they had seemed listless, timid and wholly unimaginative against Uruguay.

With a bit of luck they might have prevailed by a wider margin in Bloemfontein and really made Mexico sweat late in their match at Rustenburg before qualifying despite the lone-goal reverse to the same Uruguayans.

Mphela looked like a distinguished greyhound in this game, the tall and athletic striker warranting his goal despite it being a scrambled effort and coming within a whisker of a second when he really ought to have netted soon after the break.

The engines of players like Steven Pienaar and Tshabalala were back purring again, too, while lanky Khumalo thoroughly atoned at the back, I thought, for his traumatic night against the wiles of Diego Forlan and company days earlier.

Mokoena was a muscular defensive presence too – though I hope he saw no need to respond especially to a wacko missive from the ANC Youth League this week questioning his game and leadership.

The entire South African defensive unit deserve laurels for giving Moeneeb Josephs, the goalkeeper deputising for suspended Itumeleng Khune, a surprisingly quiet outing.

Cautiously, I believe we can sum up Bafana’s World Cup - and a few notable friendly wins in the lead-up - by suggesting there is “progress” at the very least in their quest to claw back to much higher rungs on the global ladder.

A good start on that intended northward curve would be to perk up their performance on the continent: they do look capable of ensuring they stave off the ignominy henceforth of failing to make the African Nations Cup cut.

Several of the Bafana players have graduated at the World Cup to near-household names in parts of our country where they were previously unheralded, and it would be good if continued momentum is ensured by South Africa playing more matches at venues where they have previously been seen all too seldom.

Bafana may have exited, stage left, but at least South Africans may continue to wear their colours with sustained pride and simply revel in what’s left of this grandest of global sports bashes…

Source: http://www.sport24.co.za/Soccer/WorldCup/TournamentNews/Bafana-make-nation-proud-20100622

Have you heard that you can now take the Gautrain to the airport? This high-speed train links Johannesburg’s O R Tambo International Airport with Sandton CBD in just 12 minutes.

Gautrain buses connect a number of locations to the Sandton Gautrain Station. Whilst each station does have ample parking, the buses allow you to forget about needing a car for a while. Quite refreshing I must say! The bus fare is a standard R20.00, but note that you must pay with a Gautrain Gold Card. These can be bought & credited at any Gautrain train station.

I caught the Gautrain bus from Rosebank, just around the corner from The Grace Hotel. The Gautrain bus stops have the distinctive high-speed train logo and the buses are the only gold buses in the city, so it’s extremely easy to see. In less than 20 minutes I’m at the impressive Sandton Station. It’s a trip in itself just to marvel at the architecture. The station and track here are completely underground and we were at Marlboro Station, before seeing daylight again. By the time I’d settled into my comfortable seat we were already at the airport. That beats sitting in the traffic on the highway anyday!

Gautrain trains and buses run from 05:30 – 20:30 every week day, except public holidays and every 12 minutes during the peak periods of 05:30 – 08:30 and 16:00 – 19:00 and every 20 minutes at all other times. On the weekend and public holidays the Gautrain runs every 30 minutes.

The airport service fare is a flat rate of R100 for a single journey. At each station there is a drop-off zone with 15 minutes free parking and car parks cost R29.00 for the first 24-hours, then R29.50 for the second 24-hours at all stations. The secure parking at Gautrain stations also allows you to drive to your nearest station and then catch a train to Sandton CBD. It’s a great commuter service and a quick way to pop into Sandton for some shopping. Whilst staying at The Lakes Hotel in Benoni, I drove to the Rhodesfield Station and bought a combined train-bus ticket for R27.00, which covered my train to Sandton and the Gautrain bus to Rosebank to meet friends for lunch at The Grace Hotel. It was so quick, simple and cheap!

From June 2011 an additional stretch of track will be operational connecting Pretoria with Sandton and Johannesburg Park Station. This will also add stations at Rosebank, Centurion and Midrand.