I am just back from holiday where the kids and I went to Northern Thailand to volunteer at an elephant conservation camp. This is one of the few places in Thailand where elephants are safe and able to live an elephant’s life. Clearly we are a family of ‘experiences’ and I wanted us to experience the challenges and joys of participating in a volunteering program as well as getting an understanding of how an individual can make a difference to…
Tag Archives: Volunteers and Charity
Coming Up this week 5 Dec 2011
Okay so it is half way through the week and I’m just getting to my blog. It is Christmas after all and I think I am still recovering from last week. My week did not go exactly as planned – but it did go to other peoples plan. My colleague had put a ‘speaking engagement at the airport’ in my diary. This was in fact a complete ‘set up’ – the team was playing a trick on me – they…
Coming up this week 28 November 2011
Christmas, Christmas, Christmas…. Oh it is ‘the season’ and I do love it, such a time of celebration. It seems as if the last week rushed by, with interviews and a speaking engagement – and lot’s of meetings and writing – but really my focus now is all about being part of the best Christmas ever at RedBalloon. I had a wonderful week in Melbourne being very productive and enjoying the city. Melbourne is such an important market for us…
Get a buzz from giving
Kahlil Gibran: “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” You would expect that I would write a blog at this time of year about the importance of giving – Christmas is everywhere, especially at RedBalloon. However here’s a thought: One of the greatest gifts you can give is your time – and when you do – you will experience a euphoria, which is very good for…
The big questions in life.
Some days I pinch myself and wonder how I got to be where I am… really it is very amazing. I find myself sitting in Amsterdam in a room with 500 other entrepreneurs (I’d never been to Holland before). The energy in the room is effervescent. Suddenly the group is hushed as if we are ‘one being’. There is a Nobel Peace Prize winner on the stage. All of us are instantly humbled. Over 4 days we will have access…
Coming up this week 22 August 2011
Sometimes I even surprise myself at they variety and quantity of things I get up to in a week. Last week was no exception. I started the week in Melbourne. Then I visited the careers advisor to support my daughter in her subject selection for her final years of school. I shared a cooking experience at ‘Our Big Kitchen’ for the launch of our Best Buddies citizens program in Bondi. Sophia was my buddy – we had a good giggle…
10 Questions from Dream Employer Webinar
1. What effort is involved to transition non-attached employees back to attached, if it is at all possible. Re-establishing trust takes time – often years but is the essential ingredient to engagement. This must be achieved consistently. Leadership needs earn trust and a great way to do that is simply notice what people contribute. Often the hardest question to answer is: Is the effort it will take to re-establish, trust worth the reward for the organisation? Sometimes there are very…
Coming Up Week of 29 Nov 2010
What a fabulous week last week. We are clearly in the festive season… I was asked on Kochies Business Builders to speak on employee engagement – clearly a passion and so little time… we will have to work out a way to share more with that audience… iStrategy 2010 was very productive and insightful. So enjoyed Sailing on the Harbor with some of the RedBalloon for Corporate clients and friends. Kristina Karlsson from Kikki-K kept the whole team enthralled with…
In memory of Steve Pickering
It was with sadness that I read this email… Hi Naomi It’s my sad, sad duty to inform you that last Thursday night Steve Pickering passed away at home following what is believed to be a heart attack. We had our Gold Coast event on Sunday event, held in Steve’s memory, and following the event we cast some flowers in to the waves to honor him. A full paddle-out in his honor is going to be held soon and at…
Coming Up Week of 22 Nov 2010
The launch of this Trimesters theme was last Monday morning. It is all about growth. – We will celebrate when we achieve 54 by 24 –that is every RedBallooner will celebrate with an extra day of summer holidays with 250 points to have a fabulous experience on the day. Fun! I had three speaking engagements last week – which meant lots of travel, from the Yarra Valley to Lorne in Victoria. (Lorne was looking spectacular – I have not been…
Imagine running a business based on fun - that's what I decided to try when I left a very serious corporate career in marketing to set up RedBalloon...
