Hiatus - Views in Verse on change

Change is sometimes nice, sometimes optional, sometimes necessary. The latter is often hard and can be met with fear, denial and procrastination...

Hiatus

Many a slip 
twixt cup and lip
Many ways,
To rise and fall.
Yet, it seems
I've surrendered to a lock-step
A promise of tomorrow,
Simply decided, not to call

What is it...
that shapes our intention?
A hitch-hikers guide...
Designed to amplify?
When all that's left
Unanswered
Of today's tough questions
Is a need for us to clarify...

How to evaluate a failing road...?
Does the chicken
Always make it
To the other side?
Is it ok...
When ugly's smugly smiling?
To simply shrug, shut down
And stay inside?

Next steps can be hard
Given the road you've taken
Got you safe
To where you are today.
While the wondrous maze
We wake up to each morn'
Can leave some: bereft, unmoved, perplexed
With stubborn feet of clay.

The philosophers, lots of them,
Might have some answers
If only we, the will,
Their message to translate.
Suggesting a new perspective
May be all that is needed
To see beyond the troll,
Imagined, standing by the gate.

Some people swear
by their own religion
To advance clear thinking
It can without doubt be said;
While a soldier might, simply, resolutely
Whisper in the ear:
"Get up early, face the day,
...and make the bed."

From my desktop Grahame J Flynn Views in Verse

Views in Verse on 'things that change'

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans"

- John Lennon





In our business lives we do a lot of planning. 'Woods meetings'. budgets, strategy,  ...'deliverables'. With often a general belief that the 'roadmap' produced is 'written in stone' ...as long as 'no one gets in the way'.

From these aspirations we appoint teams of people. Some new to the business, some not, some visionary and some, 'meat and potatoes' types. They all get together and try to deliver 'the change' to what is too oft' believed to be - 'hostile types' - generally thought to be resistant to change. These people are in fact generally the the core of the business!

Despite best advice from the 'oracles of management & leadership' over the past twenty years these views still remain prevalent. Is it any wonder major organisational changes fail so often ...regardless of how much effort is thrown at them?


"If the systems we design are based on the principle that people can't be trusted, then these people simply won't bother to be trustworthy"                                    - Charles Handy, The Hungry Spirit


A more appropriate model then presumes that:

- people are drawn to do new things by their very nature

- generally embrace things positively when they see something new 

- naturally engage in communities

- relish being seen as a productive member of a newly formed team

- given they are operating in a clear, empowered and rewarding role


Even when we are working in harmony, things will arise that are not in 'the plan'.  

That's life ...not theory!

The appropriate philosophy then is that we bond together to find a solution and implement it with all speed such that the common good will be enhanced. Trust is the prerequisite. Our supportive leadership should underscore that using requisite management techniques and a fair spread of governance.

Contingency plans are always prudent ...but cannot meet all unexpected issues that will arise over time given the complexity of a change programme say. The best thing we can have is a strong and resilient team culture that 'steels' together to meet the need - much as we do with natural disasters.



This says a lot for how we should approach major change. Instead of depending on a 'few people' being seen to bravely take on 'the rest', our change programme needs to feature broad involvement and a 'communication plan' that not only 'spreads the word' but one which really 'engages people'.


Get them all on-side with bravado (even in policy development) and promote 'sharing' the journey! Leading with a straight forward honesty helps... but this needs to come from all levels (one story).


Planned change is about us ...it affects us all.


Grahame J Flynn FAICD CGEIT(ISACA) 

at last he could see over the mountains

Beautiful Boy 

Before you go to sleep 
Say a little prayer 
Every day in every way 
It's getting better and better 

Out on the ocean sailing away 
I can hardly wait 
To see you come of age 
But I guess we'll both just have to be patient 
'Cause it's a long way to go 
A hard row to hoe 
Yes it's a long way to go 
But in the meantime 
Before you cross the street 
Take my hand 
Life is what happens to you 
While you're busy making other plans 

Before you go to sleep 
Say a little prayer 
Every day in every way 
It's getting better and better 

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful 
Beautiful boy 
Darling, darling, darling 
Darling Sean 

Views in Verse on 'realisation'

"How is the transformation going...?"

"Clearly, a lot is happening but...

I'm not seeing a lot of change!"

The secrets to 'successful' business transformation

(Transformation + Governance = Value Realisation)

Don't confuse cost management projects with transformation

they are not the same thing...

Transformation drives growth, productivity and a better bottom line

Focussed on a fixed period of dynamic 'change' across the business

Driven from the top, enacted within and around work-groups

Getting the governance structure right ...before you start

Transformation should not be about the journey ...it's all about the destination!

Articulate the vision, goals, expected returns very clearly from early on

Foster an understanding of the hi-level 'line of sight' objectives

Add some internal branding to this and maintain it

Plan to get out in front early and stay there!

Realisation will require input from right across the organisation

Building the expected benefit returns right into the budgeting process

Managing the delivery of business outcomes in 'commitments',

controlled via programme management

Don't compromise on short term planned benefit return ...this is critical!

Featuring a strong 'programme management office'

Reporting to the Executive Office

Maintained by the active sponsors


Fact: An organisation that can't really see the value of the central PMO doesn't as yet see the challenging breadth of transformation




Governance thereby demands that a formal hierarchy

of controls, standards, programmes and projects be recognised

The end game is to deliver your 'change' programmes to meet planned objectives

A well tuned project portfolio management process makes this possible!


PROJECTs                                                  PROGRAMMEs

deliver capabilities                               return planned benefits to the business

linked with planning custom dates          linked with business fiscal cycles

decentralised and within tiers                centralised and across whole of business

resource and activity focussed                governance intensive

portfolio of solution alternatives             reflective of changing strategies

stepped approach to change                   transformative approach to change

delivers to time and budget                    ensures operational change


Think agile, sure ...but consider projects as enablers or assets

they are not business outcomes

Technology and process play a core role but lead with your 'people' people

Maintain your related IT projects in an IT project office

but they must link thru the Programme Management Office

Never forget the lessons of the 90's where process and technology were 'king'

Systems should enact policies to achieve desired results...

Policies should in turn drive behaviour

Policies should thereby be the centre piece of your communications strategy/project

Corporates struggle with this concept...Public entities just see it as fundamental


Redefining your 'managers' as 'leaders'

Experienced people, filling vital roles,

A Change Manager should be a Programme Manager

Ensure all of your leaders are intent on helping build the new culture

Focussing on continuous improvement (to help reinforce the culture of change)

Outsource packets of work only where value is seen

Prepare to manage outsiders within your structure ...not theirs!

Remembering all processes are customer facing

Intruding into the culture is mandatory in order to address behavioural change

Recognising the need for active supervision and the management systems that support it

Ensuring clear accountabilities in all roles


Featuring social leadership skills designed to help develop engagement and trust

Reinforced by coaching in the workplace

Measurement is essential but is only a part of a much bigger people focussed agenda

Performance management too must be a social process

Remembering that "work turns intention into reality" (Elliott Jaques)

'Work' is indeed a pathway to achieve desired results

...not the related (hi level) launches and coffee meetings!

(although they do help with the morale at a time of unsettling change)

"Human nature plays a bigger role in business benefits realisation than any other factor" - John Thorp (Chair ITGI) and author of 'The Information Paradox'.






Clarity in purpose, role, authorities, systems, policies and in hi level objectives will all help to ensure that behavioural change 'sticks' if understood where 'the work is actually done'


Above all, ensure that governance is not just a buzzword in your organisation

Otherwise, all your money, effort and best intentions will preface failure

...possibly of your business at large!

Requisite Uncertainty (Jaques)

as shown here as a sample platform

counter balanced

with elements of

Programme Management &

Project Portfolio Management


“Under requisite uncertainty, a well-functioning governance hierarchy is differentiated by the degree of strategic uncertainty addressed at each level and integrated through a cascading series of strategic commitments as those uncertainties are resolved” - Michael Raynor ‘The Strategy Paradox’

Enterprise risk management ensures that the above value return cycle is constantly turning

It is vital to have absolute integrity in every element of the processes and controls as shown.

There are no short cuts to effective governance in ensuring sound value return on investments.

Funny thing how governance can appear to be something that is 'optional' or 'dispensible' or, even more frightening, 'not very well understood'.

                            Transformation + Governance = Value Realisation

Good luck with yours.

Grahame J Flynn

FAICD CGEIT (ISACA)

The Troubadour

He came to us
as one of us
With a want to try to sing
His songs
were not 'the usual'
but long complex things

He spoke out
on looking out
from beyond your own back door
His call was to lead
not follow ...as before

With no concession
to class or place
as our fathers readily bore
But as an uncompromising
bringer of change...
revolution at the door

Using words
Powerful words
That spoke of freedom and truth
Thoughts he shared
with a growing army
of anxious wide-eyed youth

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free

Luther King
The Kennedy's
All praised in their own way
For their part
in social change
the heroes of their day

Yet no engine starts
without a key
The facts are plain to see
A new dialogue
the ready basis
for open thought to breed

Dylan surfaced
He provided that spark
in his shrill compelling voice
Truth spoken out
again and again...
it serves enlightened choice

Establishment frowned
...in time gave way
leaving Richard Nixon dethroned
We all answered
in the western world
J Edgar took a long walk home

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free

From my I-pad - Grahame J Flynn

views in verse on behavioural change

What type of trees do you see?

No it is not a trick question...

they are of course trees typical to Australia :

eucalyptus or gum trees, but ...





In sketches still kept to this day, in colonial times in Sydney Town and in the extended penal colony of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), the English scribes continually drew their impressions of the forests they saw before them as oak, elm or larch trees. Or indeed any other tree that reminded them of the way things were back home. A case of mind over matter.

So remember when faced with behavioural change issues: never underestimate the human mind's urge to return to what it was comfortable with yesterday despite being faced with a new 'modus operandi' being demanded today. Beware a convenient myopia that may resurface for some time.

Confidence in 'the new' requires coaching, documentation, reinforcement and reassurance in order to ensure complete adoption of the required standard.




Renewal

Release
the past
It's spent
and gone
Accept
my friend
it's done!

Embrace
tomorrow
as a child
plays in rain
The future
holds promise
for some

For those
who open up
their hearts
and trust in
themselves
Good things will come
to them
as if by chance.

To lovers
who caste aside fear
the odd
chortled jeer
and boldly
march up to the floor
and dance

And to those who
take a
selfless route
in fulfilling
their pursuit
Reward will come
to them
with seeming grace...

Live to love 

the day
before wishing it away

on the past
...spent
but never

out of place!

From my I-pad - Grahame J Flynn

Views in Verse on business transformation

It seems these days that everyone is transforming...or are they?

Transformation is a high level management initiative designed to deliver benefits within the business by the implementation of a mix of process, people and system. Always overseen by the planned and astute management of the desired change of related behaviours. It is always a serious challenge. 

Yet 'transformation' will soon become another of the dreaded management 'weasel words' and there is little that can be done to stop this happening as once 'everyone wants it' ...'everyone sells it!!!' Thereby... everyone is now transforming!!! But they're not.

I saw an advertisement last week for an IT switch capable of yes ...'transforming your business'. How many commodity products are we seeing today (enterprise or otherwise) that are being promoted as just this ...well? 

In recent years I have worked in several new CRM environments where in each case the transforming software product was effectively configured and rolled out in less than two months. Promoted as such over that period with assumed benefits flowing immediately thereafter.

The sponsors in each case saw the 'proof of the pudding' payback was to be in the 'all singing, all dancing' dashboards that would 'thumbnail sketch' everything important going on in the sales & marketing businesses. Each project I joined just after the perceived transformation (each IT implementation complete with basic app training).

We were able to deliver generalised yet meaningful dashboards (the best kind) in about twelve months in each case. The major stumbling block - the behaviours of marketing and sales people - which are not conducive to being simply 'changed' at the push of a button. They already believed themselves to be working 'at the top of their game'. Therein your behavioural challenges.

The real transformation period was indeed a year. But when there is so much hype going around about a new piece of 'transforming' software - in this case: Salesforce.com - who wants to talk about reality? 

Each of these projects began without even a basic understanding of the reporting required by key managers - thereby there was no 'user engagement' even requested. Only a packaged solution served up. Thereby, immediate (but often unstated) resistance.

Many splendid management philosophies and methodologies lie within the 'transformation paradigm' yet (much to my regret) within a year or two all this this work will be condemned to the 'weasel words' lexicon like many other splendid management tools & techniques. And why...? Because of us!

We are quite simply not ever willing to stand up to these quick fix merchants. The same merchants who will by that elapsed time be firmly attached to whatever they see is 'the next big thing' with all the right pedigrees of integrity to which they believe this can complement their next campaign release of commodity X product.

Or indeed we are so willing to embrace the rose coloured glasses approach proposed, we fall into thinking we can pay less than we really n e e d  to. 

Somebody throw open a window and start screaming or something ...p l e a s e! 

There is no substitute for originality, research, investment, hard work and governance. But there is 'sweep real change under the carpet' if we let industry mavens and quick fix internal merchants get away with it. 

The Troubadour

He came to us
as one of us
With a want to try to sing
His songs
were not 'the usual'
but long complex things

He spoke out
on looking out
from beyond your own back door
His call was to lead
not follow ...as before

With no concession
to class or place
as our fathers readily bore
But as an uncompromising
bringer of change...
revolution at the door

Using words
Powerful words
That spoke of freedom and truth
Thoughts he shared
with a growing army
of anxious wide-eyed youth

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free

Luther King
The Kennedy's
All praised in their own way
For their part
in social change
the heroes of their day

Yet no engine starts
without a key
The facts are plain to see
A new dialogue
was required
for open thought to breed

Dylan surfaced
He provided that spark
in his shrill compelling voice
Truth spoken out
again and again...
it served enlightened choice

Establishment frowned
...in time gave way
leaving Richard Nixon alone
We all answered
in the western world
J Edgar took a long walk home

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free


From my I-pad - Grahame J Flynn

Views in Verse on change thru renewal (Bledisloe cup - rugby)

The Wallabies came close to beating the all conquering All Blacks in Sydney last night; but by trying to beat them at their own game only came up with an energy sapping draw (12-12 all). The result was as perennial as the rain that fell for the entire duration of the match.





In order to regain the beloved Bledisloe trophy, the Australian team now need to win twice in New Zealand cities over the coming months - a mountain too far one would think. Last nights game was a must win for the Wallabies.

The Australian Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie could have taken a leaf out of the Michael Cheka book. Cheka, only a few weeks back, ended the domination of the NZ Crusaders in the Super XV competition by adopting to play an open rugby 'at all costs' mantra - to have lost last night was in effect no different to the resulting draw. It was worth the risk even in the rain. Paradigm shifts require courage not conservatism!

Kurtley Beale (#10) was a secondary player in the Waratahs make-up behind Bernard Foley; while the choice of the three Brumbies backs was rooted in the 'war of attrition style' the Brumbies play week in week out. They were not going to beat the All Blacks this way. All water under the bridge now.

McKenzie needed to look to major change in his fumbling Wallaby team - he got more of the same - sorry, the draw wasn't good enough! The best players languished on the bench. Wishful thinking only from here.

Renewal

Release
the past
It's spent
and gone
Accept
my friend
it's done!

Embrace
tomorrow
as a child
plays in rain
The future
holds promise
for some

For those
who open up
their hearts
and trust in
themselves
Good things will come
to them
as if by chance.

To lovers
who caste aside fear
the odd
chortled jeer
and boldly
march up to the floor
and dance

And to those who
take a
selfless route
in fulfilling
their pursuit
Reward will come
to them
with seeming grace...

Live to love 

the day
before wishing it away

on the past
...spent
but never
out of place!

From my I-pad - Grahame J Flynn

Views in verse on our 'OZ-strain' language

On - the Aussie and how we speak

Sometimes you do struggle to understand don't you ...?

"whatthehelldidesay?"

and are we proud of these our folklore 'stereotypes'?

or are we...just as happy to move on?






"Stone the crows - Barry's taken off for the mother-country". Australian Barry Humphries, well known throughout the world for his Dame Edna character,rarely lays claim to Barry McKenzie these days. Our Bonza Bazza incidentally spawned his (to be Dame) Auntie Edna way back there somewhere... yet Humphries seemingly left him behind. Why would he do that?

'Barry' was the ugly Aussie tourist abroad (Earl's Court London - to be exact). A product of the Humphries' vivid imagination largely founded I guess in impressions from his own father's background as a construction worker.

Bazza spoke in a rich Aussie slang - 'hit the frog and toad', 'rather eat a dog's eye','may your chickens turn into emus and kick your dunny down' and a so on. None of these unique to Humphries, mind you.

Surely fiction to the outsider ...but no, a legacy product of the Aussie at play both "in the bush" which in many ways spawned us all (see Eric Jolliffe) and into the cities. Yes, on construction sites, and in some ways in all working class homes for all us 'Baby Boomers' (as those marketeers like to refer to us these days).

To the point of today's chat - what of gen X & Y's? - what are they losing of our linguistic Ozzie heritage going forward? as these multi-cultural internet users explode on the global scene with a tighter language that has to be more or less correct English. These days,brevity too is 'the go'. And as for using colourful slang based imagery that has flowed through from our forefathers ...well,  not advised really...

I have found myself pulled up time and time again in the past decade to explain my slang which I have thrown-in to simply colour a 'yarn'. Thereby in explaining it, often losing the punch of what I was saying.

On speaking of a sportman's poor effort in game last weekend, I said to group of Gen Y's - "he dogged it" - the three looked back at me as though I was speaking another language - I guess I was. A friend only this week mentioned to her 30 yo daughter-in-law re a doctor they know "he's getting a bit long in the tooth". The d-i-l had no idea what she was talking about.

So I guess the colourful language of the 'bushie come to town', we everyday Aussies have learnt to 'hold dear' as we have urbanised ourselves these last hundred years is in truth condemned to the dustbin of history and gone the way of 'button up shoes' (whatever they were?).

Well, from there, I felt a touch of melancholy.

So I turned to the greatest Aussie poet I know, Banjo Paterson, just to get a sense of where his 'Clancy of the Overflow' would be without some expressive 'slang'. And ...much to my surprise despite the hundred years - there is no slang ...only correct English. (One clear abbreviation though... perhaps a sign of things to come)

So what do you make of this lot then?

I wonder whether people will be able to translate 'omg" in a 'hundred years to come' - our 'gen 100+ers'?

As for Barry McKenzie ...I liked his Uncle Les much better anyhow. Or ...maybe not!!!

Clancy of the Overflow

I had written him a letter which I had, for want of better

  Knowledge, sent to where I met him down the Lachlan, years ago,

He was shearing when I knew him, so I sent the letter to him,

  Just ‘on spec’, addressed as follows, ‘Clancy, of The Overflow’.

And an answer came directed in a writing unexpected,

  (And I think the same was written with a thumb-nail dipped in tar)

’Twas his shearing mate who wrote it, and verbatim I will quote it:

  ‘Clancy’s gone to Queensland droving, and we don’t know where he are.’

       . . . . .

In my wild erratic fancy visions come to me of Clancy

  Gone a-droving ‘down the Cooper’ where the Western drovers go;

As the stock are slowly stringing, Clancy rides behind them singing,

  For the drover’s life has pleasures that the townsfolk never know.

And the bush hath friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him

  In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars,

And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended,

  And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars.

       . . . . .

I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy

  Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses tall,

And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city

  Through the open window floating, spreads its foulness over all

And in place of lowing cattle, I can hear the fiendish rattle

  Of the tramways and the ‘buses making hurry down the street,

And the language uninviting of the gutter children fighting,

  Comes fitfully and faintly through the ceaseless tramp of feet.

And the hurrying people daunt me, and their pallid faces haunt me

  As they shoulder one another in their rush and nervous haste,

With their eager eyes and greedy, and their stunted forms and weedy,

  For townsfolk have no time to grow, they have no time to waste.

And I somehow rather fancy that I’d like to change with Clancy,

  Like to take a turn at droving where the seasons come and go,

While he faced the round eternal of the cash-book and the journal

But I doubt he'd suit the office our Clancy of the Overflow

- our Andrew 'Banjo' Paterson 

17 February 1864 – 5 February 1941

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banjo_Paterson

Views in verse on the change-bringer - Waratahs win at last!

Views in Verse on 'change bringers'

Waratahs win maiden title in Super XV competition

on their belief in a mission!





Last Night in front of 62,000 people at Homebush Stadium in Sydney, the NSW Warataths beat the Crusaders 33-32 in what was a rousing game of rugby.

The latter being many times champions and recognised as the toughest team to beat in a final. The former a side of (well) 'showponies' who loved to perform but were often not committed to win or so it seemed to their long suffering supporters ...until last night.

What brought about this change? They always had good players. The club was always well funded. But over time they lost their fans owing to their erratic performances and a revolving door of players. What changed?

Last year they enlisted the help of a European Cup winning coach. An Australian as it turned out - Michael Cheka. He came to the table with an uncompromising style based in player belief and a mission to play the game as it is intended to be played - 'openly' and with firm regard to the fans enjoyment. One would follow the other as this resulted in the biggest Final crowd in Super XV history.

The key to it all : Cheka taught them to believe in their own success.

If in doubt go back to what you believe gets you there. As they struggled through the second half last night and the Crusaders began to spin their tight web of control on the game, it was refreshing to see the open 'trust in what we know' style return as they stormed off with the win.

I had of late heard Cheka's talk of trusting to 'let the head go' as the only thing that will deliver the required outcome. A lesson to any long suffering golfer who tries to steer the club-head onto the fairway only to be later found trudging off into the trees. I heard one of his key players reiterate it this week and then again Bernard Foley mentioned it after the game last night as one of their key success factors.

Cheka brought about a common belief (previously missing) among a group of what must be called 'star players' who will now go on to form the bulk of the Australian team to meet a lot of again common faces in the Crusaders team who will very soon roll up as "All Blacks" to meet the Wallabies.

However when asked to comment on this, the 'Tahs' captain Michael Hooper (also the Australian Captain) quickly corrected the reporter with "This is all about the Tahs mate ...all about the Tahs". Absolutely correct, as the common bond found here amongst these "star players" was the mission and the strategy shared by this group of players, provided by an uncommonly inspirational coach.

Cheka was later seen wandering around the ground in a very unpretentious way; in fact he could have been any of the fans who had wandered down from the stand. Well, every one of those fans (and not just the ones who were there) thanks you for delivering on what has been in many past years a painful leaderless mission.

You made the difference 'Chek'. A real Change - bringer!!!

You hear the word 'transformation' loosely thrown around these days in the corporate world in which I dwell. One of the latest management 'weasel words' used politically to reward faceless people who do sometimes very little towards real change in a loosely prescribed initiative. The team is often refreshed quietly every few years (see National Bank this week) for purposes of continuing the reward stream without too much fuss. Much in the way the Waratahs had been!

Perhaps trusting in "letting the head go" might resonate with the new team there if they're remotely interested in pursuing any clear objectives!

The Troubadour

He came to us
as one of us
With a want to try to sing
His songs
were not 'the usual'
but long complex things

He spoke out
on looking out
from beyond your own back door
His call was to lead
not follow ...as before

With no concession
to class or place
as our fathers readily bore
But as an uncompromising
bringer of change...
revolution at the door

Using words
Powerful words
That spoke of freedom and truth
Thoughts he shared
with a growing army
of anxious wide-eyed youth

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free

Luther King
The Kennedy's
All praised in their own way
For their part
in social change
the heroes of their day

Yet no engine starts
without a key
The facts are plain to see
A new dialogue
was required
for open thought to breed

Dylan surfaced
He provided that spark
in his shrill compelling voice
Truth spoken out
again and again...
it served enlightened choice

Establishment frowned
...in time gave way
leaving Richard Nixon alone
We all answered
in the western world
J Edgar took a long walk home

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free


From my I-pad - Grahame J Flynn

CFMEU - 'views in verse' on being Australian

Views in verse ...on being "Australian"
Change in our society is only ever achieved through touching at people's hearts - not by instilling bullying and driving fear
Real Australians reach out to their fellow Australians with empathy and respect. They lead by example. Over time, this brings reward won by mutual co-operation and shared success.


On my daily morning walk through central Sydney this week I was met by what appeared in front of me to be a 'mob of bikies' in their black jackets and 'colours'. Before baulking to cross the road I read one of the emblems ..."CFMEU'. They were all the same.

They were in fact clustered in front of a coffee shop - all dressed for battle.  A day in court I suspect. The closer I got the more evident it became that there was only just enough of them to actually spread out and seemingly 'claim the sidewalk'.

As I nudged my way through them however I heard only one voice: "...that was all I had left...". A very personal voice coming from within a mob that looked anything but personal.

In reality, the words I heard from the one member could (probably would) invoke help and support from greater society for one who is really 'doing it tough'. Sadly though guys, we as humans generally draw immediate conclusions from what we first see (threatening?), basic instinct has taught us this. Further... we ALL must at least appear to be open to others or no-one will ever stop to listen.

Sometimes 'groupthink' is a very dangerous thing. You can't ever go back to check the very foundation upon which you (we) stand. Without a clear understanding of core values (founded within society's values at large) our objectives and plans can be skewed towards something that we may have never intended to be in the first place. Integrity begins with the individual.

The Great Aussie Bloke

He's been the lovable larrikin

The butt of many a joke

For he speaks his mind right at you

plain speaking kind of folk

To get a true likeness of him though...

the painter would need few stokes

For straight up and down 

just as you find him

is the great Aussie bloke:

Give him a field

He'll raze it clean 

in just a given day

Give him a bar 

he'll fill it with fun 

At his regular pay

Open his eyes 

to a worthy cause

He'll move  

without delay 

Yet introduce him 

to a worthy miss

He'll quietly shrink and choke...

Not much with his softer side really

The great Aussie bloke

The 'engine's always running'

He's 'chatty' and forthright

A friend  in need...? 

He'll turn up ready

to help him with his plight

Injustice found?

In his own way

He'll defend the given right

A time of darkness...?

he'll be there too

to raise his sleeves to fight...
Then without words
he'll tip his hat.... and
slowly roll a smoke...
Straight up and down
Just as you find him

He's the ...great ...Aussie ...bloke

Forwarded from my I-phone Grahame J Flynn

State of origin - Views in Verse on ...that certain something!

Rugby League State of Origin (or Origin as its locally known) was once again fought out this week and finally won by NSW after eight gruelling years in which Queensland Maroons had gleefully taken home the prize. Eighty five thousand fans packed out the Sydney Olympic Stadium to see New South Wales Blues win the second game in a three game series.

The participants are regular combatants in the national (NRL) competition playing for individual clubs. So while the fitness and skillsets are remarkably similar, the winner must really exert a certain will to win. The Queensland team has been said in this decade to have a mortgage on 'passion'. But this week NSW dragged themselves from a demoralised eight years; a situation that could easily have become a decade without the spirited revival we saw this week.

What was the catalyst in the reversal? It is hard to tell why "winning is a habit" and "losing is a habit" as we so often hear in sporting circles. However what this highlights is that something special has to really happen to take a psyche from downtrodden to be ...dominant! Whatever it is if you could bottle it ...you could sell it! for heaps!!!

Serendipity

Since going my own way
I do ok
but I can at times relapse
Today the crossword I do each morn'
Was the trigger to such a collapse

The early clues began this slide:
'regret,  loss and  ...falling'
No matter
what I did from there
The trend just kept on forming

Words  like 'rejection' and 'scorn'
Provide for further fuel
While... 
'promise, growth and ...hope'
Point towards renewal

Progressively though
my eye was drawn
To the 'mystery word of the day'...
An eleven letter teaser...
That steered my thoughts away

After much 'to-ing and fro-ing'
Addressing thoughts absurd
It seemed to me
without question at all
'Serendipity'
was surely that word

I note that this is a term
related to 'sudden joy'
A state of mind 
I must say
not felt since I was a boy

It struck quite a chord
I must admit
In looking beyond the 'mundane'
to truly envisage a richer life
built on a 'serendipitous' plane

The sound of children playing
A reassuring vibe
Suddenly reminding you...
 "yes I am alive!!!"
Life is jellybean colors
Fireworks in the sky
A silvery beam is shining
Out of a wondering eye

They say ...we set our goals
far short of what we presume
Instead if we were to
'shoot for the stars'
We might just
'hit the moon'

Forwarded from my Iphone - Grahame J Flynn