Business in Australia is operating in an uncertain world and we love certainty as a framework for our strategy.  The answer is – get over it.  Learn to live with uncertainty because there is no choice.

We have an uncertain global economy and this is bound to have some impact on our own economy.

Uncertain industrial law because the pendulum has been swinging from one extreme to another.  My personal view and that of many business people is that is has swung to far away from sensible business interests at present and in the current political climate this could change.

We have an uncertain carbon tax with the promise of repeal when the government changes and who knows how that will affect us other than pushing electricity even higher.

The new Federal workplace safety has also swung a bit too far away from employers and unfortunately not all states are “harmonising” their state legislation so January 1 could be somewhat confusing.

My strong suggestion is to get yourself a proper safety system as soon as possible so that you are covered because the new legislation starts from Jan 1 whether the states are organised in time or not, the fines are much larger and owners and managers have now lost the right to silence and to wait for a lawyer if anything happens. 

You will be interviewed in a state of shock if any safety incident happens in your workplace and having a robust system and the backup documentation to grab as your support will help.

I do not see a change to maturity in government both federal and state happening soon so you do need to take account of your own planning and make it robust enough to cope. 

So the issue returns to the need to learn to live with uncertainty.  This is where you need to be aware of all your gaps and risks so that your strategy becomes managing these.

The purpose of my upcoming workshops is to allow you an almost costless opportunity (only $97) to experience the easy way that I take you through discovering and managing your gaps and risks as you build the first third of your integrated management system.

You will begin to realise the reasons why you do need to cover a wider range of risks including quality (customer satisfaction), workplace safety and the environment and carbon reduction to make your business more sustainable, even though yopu currently cannot see any relevance to you.

Whether or not you want certification in any or all of these is NOT the main issue.  Certification is an important tool if you want to apply for tenders and for market access in some areas while for other businesses it is not at all relevant.  Tenders often require ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and AS/NZS 4801.

I personally like the discipline of being audited every year because it prevents putting things off until tomorrow.

Your planning problem is not the economic woes impacting your business from outside but how you and your staff address them.  For every threat, there is an equal and opposite opportunity you need to be looking for.

You and your staff need to become more aware of the benefits of a consistent approach that avoids errors and waste.  This provides increased customer satisfaction and saves you time and money – the time you need to look around for those opposite opportunities that are out there.

My kindest regards,

Jean

The issue of feed-in tariffs

The German feed-in tariff legislation, the Renewable Energy Sources Act has undergone 10 years of tweaking, overhaul and improvement and it is a pity that our state government energy departments didn’t learn from this spectacular success.

Canadian ice shelves halve in six years

Half of Canada’s ancient ice shelves have disappeared in the last six years, researchers have said, with new data showing significant portions melted in the last year alone.

WA kids told to get barefoot, wet and dirty to make them better adults

Western Australia is leading a new charge to get kids back to being barefoot, wet and dirty, with the aim of making them smarter, wiser and more able to handle the challenges of the modern world.

Europe calls for climate vision

Climate negotiators from around the world are meeting this week in Panama, hoping to find some common ground before a UN climate conference in Durban, South Africa, opens on November 28.

The European Union has urged all nations to make clear how they will tackle climate change, saying the world needs a road map this year on future action even if a treaty appears out of reach.  The EU is responsible for 11 per cent of global emissions.

Adelaide’s drinking water will get worse as the world warms.

When water stored in reservoirs heats up, algae grow, bacteria multiply and metals leach out of the sediments. And this means more chemicals have to be used to clean up the water.

p.s. Most  of my readers tell me this newsletter is a great way of getting up to date information easily but if you are really snowed under by lots of emails from other sources you can chose to keep in touch by emailling jean@jeancannon.com.au and go onto the monthly list.