No 29 August 2004 Telekinesis and the Small Business
Have you ever seen shows where someone moved objects with their mind, or bent a spoon by merely concentrating on it? Telekinesis, as defined by Webster, is the power to move an object by psychic force alone. Mind over matter. The idea of telekinesis has fascinated humans for millennia, including this human. Like me, you probably have a healthy level of skepticism about such claims. But what would you say if I said you are capable of telekinesis? If you have ever done any physical training, or walked straight up a long hill, you know that your body constantly sends messages to your brain that it's ready to shut down. When that first dissenting word from your leg muscles hits your brain did you obey, or did you send back a message that those muscles would just have to tough it out? Sometimes one side of your brain, the side focused on your goal, has to have a word with the other side, the one that is close friends with comfort. At some time in our lives, most of us ran, jumped, cycled, lifted, swam, etc., at performance levels beyond which seemed impossible to us in the early stages of training. We learned that building strength and endurance requires our body's comfort to become subordinate to attaining a goal we had set. What is that if not mind over matter? As small business owners, we perform a kind of entrepreneurial telekinesis every day. We accomplish things that marketplace pedestrians would say are impossible. And if you think I'm using the word telekinesis too loosely, what else would you call it when a small business owner defies the marketplace, the competition, and conventional thought by not only surviving, but actually thriving? Your entrepreneurial mind has the potential to defy the odds, the gravity of the marketplace, and matter, as we know it. Will is an intangible force created by another intangible, desire. As you desire to move your business forward, whenever the matter is weak, you compensate with will. Mind over matter. But don't try this on spoons.
The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man’s foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher. Thomas Henry Huxley
No more nine-to-fiveFrom Massey University Gone are the days of the nine-to-five job, notions of a secure career path stretching ahead. How New Zealanders engage in paid work has changed significantly in the late 20th century and is destined to continue changing in the foreseeable future. The University’s Labour Market Dynamic group has just launched a book that will add considerably to knowledge and thinking on the subject of work trends. Work and Working in Twenty-first Century New Zealand showcases collaborative research from the team led by Professor Paul Spoonley, Regional Director Auckland for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The profile of our work world has changed so markedly, the team reports, that more than half of all working New Zealanders work in what the researchers term ‘non-standard ways’. The mass employment of the mid-twentieth century has given way to new forms of working: casual and contract work, multiple jobs, temporary and part time work. This has impacted on different groups of New Zealanders in different ways, they say. In the book the research team explores the nature of the changes and considers what might be expected in the future. The labour market researchers are an interdisciplinary team and the group is acknowledged as leading the way in this field with their now well established, ongoing project. The book is part of a major research project funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, which provided $1.4 million from 1997 to 2004, and has now funded it for another five years and $1.5 million. They have found, says Professor Spoonley, that our employment policies in New Zealand have not kept pace. The many agencies with a direct interest in work have not shown an understanding of what has happened and what it means to individuals and communities, he says. The research team’s latest publication has been very well received. The Director of Human Relations at WINZ and former Auckland Commissioner at WINZ, Barry Fisk, was guest speaker at the project launch at the Albany campus. "I commend this book as adding to the sum of knowledge. Whether you are in business, a tertiary institution, a government agency or a human resources practitioner, there is something for everyone," he said. In the introduction the editors say: "No longer is full employment, underpinned by the male breadwinner model, the norm. Gone too is the expectation of a job for life and the reliance on a male income sufficient to provide an adequate standard of living for a married couple and their children." They say the overall direction of change that can be observed in New Zealand reflects the growing internationalisation of the labour market and a rapid move to economic liberalisation. The book provides an overview, examines contemporary forms and patterns within the world of work, discusses issues and perspectives in the labour market and provides case studies of ‘new ways’ of working. The research team tells us that demand for workers is high and that more New Zealanders are in full time work than ever before. There are more types of work than ever before, with non traditional work increasing rapidly including portfolio jobs, casual and part time self-employment. They report unemployment is at its lowest in 16 years. The range and choice of jobs has increased so markedly that it is bewildering and stressful for young people trying to make a choice for their future – and to parents trying to advise their offspring on career choices. The picture of labour supply and the workforce has changed. There are more migrants and more women in the workforce and mature workers are in high demand. Employment demand is higher than supply. Careers today are more flexible and loyalty to one organisation or profession is fading. A big challenge for the New Zealand economy is finding skilled people, says Professor Spoonley. "This is a major barrier to growth." In conclusion, the editors question the significance of the changing workplace. "Does the appearance of the information society, the stress on knowledge work and workers, and the changing patterns of labour market engagement indicate a shift of the same magnitude as the industrial revolution?" The academic team who contributed to the publication are: Tricia Alach, James Baines, Peter Conway, Carl Davidson, Anne de Bruin, Ann Dupuis, Margot Edwards, Bevis England, Patrick Firkin, Anne Henderson, Lynn Hunt, Kerr Inkson, Kate Lewis, Claire Massey, Eva McLaren, James Newell, Nicola North, Carole Page, Hector Perera, Martin Perry, Janet Sayers, Paul Spoonley, Brendan Stevenson, Nick Taylor, Andrew Trlin.
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