Working in an office with boys

Last week the gender balance in our IT office changed even more in favour of the boys, to the point where this week, I am the only female. This small shift played to my advantage today.  I'm not saying the males in the office don't notice things, its perhaps they don't notice SOME things.  This afternoon I found myself coming back from teaching my Pilates class and changing into my office attire.  Dress- check.  Tights- check. Shoes- check....that is until I went to put the shoes on.

Now at 7.00am in the morning I'm usually desperately trying to get out the door.  This morning was particularly bad as I was getting texts from sick staff and at the same time a critical news item had come on TV concerning the area my start-up is working in, not to mention the cat under my feet.  No time to race down-stairs and get the my-sky recording.  With iPhone pointed at the TV, I was recording, a great little clip to take into work and show the team.  Being proud of myself and now 5 further minutes late, I rushed around getting my change of clothes for coming back from teaching classes- stuffed into a bag and out the door I flew.

This incident wouldn't have been than bad if I had not just been discussing over lunch with a friend and fellow Pilates participant how funny it had been when she came to a fitness expo with her pants on backwards.  Not to mention we also realised that another gentleman in class appeared to have his pants on backwards today with the zip at the back!  After a few laughs we both flew off to our busy lives.

Now back in the office around 2.00pm and changing into my next set of clothes for the day, putting my shoes on, I start to feel a little odd.  I felt almost off balance or like I had something on the bottom of my shoe.  I look down and cringe.  I have managed to grab two different shoes in my hurry this morning.  This left me with 4 choices.  1. Put my gym gear back on with my sports shoes. 2. Put my sports shoes on with my corporate wear.  3. Don't wear any shoes around the office for the afternoon.  4. Put on the shoes and hope no-one notices.

After a few seconds deliberation I thought to myself, if this was last week and the girls were in the office, I would NEVER put on an un-matching pair of shoes, especially different height shoes!  Today there were all boys.  I decided to opt for option 4- wear the different height non-matching shoes and half limp around the office.  I did this for two reasons.  Firstly, I didn't have much of a choice, and secondly as a bit of an experiment to see if any of the boys noticed.

Now at this point I do have to add that I am in an office of IT boys, lets say 'Geek Guys'.  Not to say they aren't observant but I think they pride themselves in being more into computer games than shoes if that makes sense.

So the afternoon pressed on and I'm up and down from my desk- over to the printer, back to my desk, over to another desk- up and down with my different shoes.  Now they have all gone home.  No one either noticed or said a thing.  Now I know they would have said something if they noticed as we have a 'Dick of the Month' award and this would have seen me in top spot.  I chose to stay quiet on this one for once!

So, back to the topic heading.  Working in an office with mainly boys over the years due to working in IT, a very male dominated industry has taught me a great deal.  Here are the pros and cons I've found as one of few females working in an office with boys:

Pros

1. Guys don't notice if you wear non-matching shoes to work

2. You have a clean toilet all to yourself (most days)

3. The office plants near your desk look the healthiest

4. Your perfume does not compete with others

5. You can talk about Motorsport all day long if you are a Petrol head gal

6. Your clothes will almost always be brighter than theirs (almost always)

Cons

1. Guys don't care if they don't match their cothes and even sometimes congratulate others on doing so.

2. On the days they may use the ladies due to over-flow - the seat can be left up

3. They put pant food in the office branded drink bottles so you don't know they are trying to revive their plants every day

4. They don't wear perfume of any kind, and possibly some days no deodorant

5. They don't watch My Kitchen Rules or Married at First Sight so don't even try discussing it with them

6. New shirt crease marks don't bother them and neither does not washing or ironing a new shirt right out of the packet.

If I'm being serious, I actually love working in an office with boys, after all I've done this nearly my whole career.  The gender balance does not bother me as that's what I'm used to. I simply enjoy working with smart and funny people who are professional about their chosen career, boys or girls.

I will say though that I'm pleased they never noticed my shoes or how awkward I felt all afternoon.  I guess the jokes on me!

Would you tell your team you are having a colonoscopy?

My Dad was 36 when he got bowel cancer, thankfully he's still around with us today.  Genetics can be a frustrating thing but we all have to live with the consequences both good and bad.  I have to be screened for Bowel Cancer as I'm supposedly high-risk as my Dad, my grandfathers brother and my great granddad all had bowel cancer. 

So here I am, sitting at home trying to work while doing bowel preparation.  I've literally just sat back down in front of the computer to do some more work after sculling back my 6th glass of Glycoprep, waiting for things to happen, literally.  I've been on a low fiber clear fluids diet for the past few days- no fruit and veges, no good fibre- this is just not me at all.  I'm grumpy and cold...oh and bloated. I've just finished drinking 1.5 litres of this glorious lemon flavoured liquid that's meant to 'clear you out'. I have a timer set for every 15 minutes to have another one until all 3 litres has gone. 

OK so now its happening, I clearly spoke to soon, here I was thinking it was a complete waste of time because it wasn't happened.  Wrong.   I'm now finding by self blogging between trips to the kitchen to drink the Glop and the bog.  I think the pattern is kitchen, blog, bog, blog, bog, blog kitchen.  In that order. However I think it may change in the very near future. Actually it has.  I think its more now like kitchen, blog, bog, blog, bog, blog bog, blog, bog, blog, bog kitchen.  If I was at work repeating such an efficient pattern I'd be patting myself on the back with just how productive I'd been in one 15 minute block!

I've been in the wars lately- I tore my calf in March and just after I recovered from that, tore a tendon in my arm.  My team have seen me racing from Sports Doctor appointment to Physio to Ultrasounds and now this!

So I thought about this procedure for a while, knowing I need to just get on and get it done. I'm not sure why I've been avoiding it.  To be honest I've just not been prioritising it, knowing its just a precautionary screening, or perhaps just not wanting to face the music if something was found. I think we all do this as humans to an extent. It probably one of our ultimate flaws, simply not prioritising things because they are precautionary.  And just as I'm about to make my point, the 15 minute timer goes off for my next glass of lemon bliss,  Back in a minute..... ( If that glass was a shooter and I was in a bar, people would be cheering me on the way I am handling these glasses of Glop!).  I think I will time myself on the next one. 

Now, back to my point about priorities and things that are perhaps a little awkward like my current situation.  I think we don't openly discuss these awkward things as they are embarrassing.  This in itself perhaps makes it harder for us to actually set about doing them.

At the start of this week I had to tell the team I would be working from home today and would be having a 'minor medical procedure' the next day which would require me to be knocked out.  I announced this in our stand-up morning meeting.  One of the team then innocently asked 'Is it for your arm?'. 

I stood there for a few seconds contemplating my answer.  So do I tell them what I'm doing or not?  I'm the boss.  Do I sweep this awkward procedure under the mat and simply tell them its 'private',  or do I tell them I'm actually having a Colonoscopy?  For those who read my blogs, I refer you back to my Are you being your Authentic Self? blog.  From this you know that this is what I've been trying to do.  So guess what I did? 

Instead of brushing it under the carpet like I might have done in the past, I just told them.  "I'm having a Colonoscopy because my father had Bowel Cancer at the age of 36 and I have to be checked too".  I could see a few puzzled looks so I continued.  "So guys, I have to be on a low fibre diet for a few days this week eating ham and cheese omelettes and fish and rice and no fruit or veges".  One of them said- wow that sound awesome and a few others nodded with smiles on their faces and visions of cheese omelettes.  I then told them the rest.  And after that I have to go on a fluid only diet, take laxatives and drink this stuff until I'm cleared out for the procedure". That wiped the smiles off their faces! (In case you are wondering, as a side note, I just timed myself and its 40 seconds, that's my new record for skulling the Glop back, this now appears to have bought on another new record, but that's perhaps for another day.  Put it this way, I'm close to officially blogging on the bog now).

As they all stood in silence I started to question my actions.  They then started asking questions and I started discussing things with them.  When we departed from the meeting I felt good.  I'd managed to take an otherwise taboo topic and make it easy to talk about openly with my team.  I felt proud about the example I was setting for them.  Being open and honest is important, it simply builds better teams. I hope I am teaching the team this.

I decided I would do the same with my Pilates class.  Rather than just tell them I would be away for today's class, I would tell them exactly where I was going to be. So during our foot facia release and neck stretch and the start of the class, I told them the same thing- I was having a Colonoscopy and I went on with instructing the class as normal.  I completed the class with some relaxation and closed off by telling everyone to have a great day.  Afterwards a few ladies came up to me.  This was not that unusual as I usually get questions after the class and I stay and chat to members on a regular basis.  These three ladies came up to me, one of them new to the class and said 'we want to talk to you about your Colonoscopy'.  They then went on to give me the most excellent tips about drinking the Glyco Prep fluid, the clear fluid diet and being prepared for the procedure and what to expect afterwards.  These ladies touched my heart.  Because I opened up to them, they opened up to me. Some of them have never met each other.

I left with a smile on my face again.  Just look at what being open and authentic does.  People feel engaged and want to help.  Taboo topics are discussed and people band together to help others out.  My team knows where I am and why and can support me.
I just wish I had the confidence to do this years ago.  Being open, transparent and authentic about difficult subjects makes a difference to those around you and how you feel.

So, the advice for anyone facing a Colonoscopy Prep process, just simply set your office up in the bog with a mini drinks fridge next to you.  Life is so much easier when you know what to expect and when you can expect it! 

Wish me luck for tomorrow team!   Either way with a good or bad result, I'll be proud to tick this off my list and at least a few more of you may know what to expect and I've potentially helped you out too.

P.S.  I'm signing this off while drinking my final glass, I think I'll take my time with this one and celebrate.  At least I can have clear chicken broth for dinner, I made three litres of it in case I needed it.....

Why you should bother to remember someones name

Cassie.  She is 31 weeks pregnant and works at Pita Pit.  I visit Cassie every week on the way back from teaching one of my Pilates classes to pick up a healthy lunch.  I know Cassie's name because its on the badge on her hat.  I also know she is pregnant and how far along because I take the time to ask her this every week.  I also know she recently moved.  See the thing is, Cassie and I might be from different worlds and at different stages in our lives, but Cassie is a person.  I sometimes watch when I'm queuing for my Pita Pit and see not one person acknowledge her. 

She just goes about her work like a robot.  Cassie serves me nearly every week so I decided a while back that instead of just placing my order, that I would start to use her name- either when I greeted her or when I said goodbye.  I also decided each week I would ask her how she is feeling and how things are with the baby.

I saw a robot transform.  When she sees me each week queuing for my Pita Pit, she flashes me the biggest smile.  I only see Cassie for probably less than 10 minutes a week.  She knows what I order as I know how she's doing.  While she's making my order, she tells me how things are going.  We chat for probably 2 minutes.  Today, the 'Pita of the Day' had changed which I usually get for my husband.  She said 'no problems, we can just do the usual at the same price if you like. Cassie is great, she always puts extra tomato in at no extra cost- she knows I'm a good customer and I treat her with respect.   I told her not to worry about the new Pita and I'd try the new one and report back next week- with a twinkle in my eye and a little wink!  She gave me my order and I said- "thanks Cassie, have a great week" and left, I glanced back and saw the smile on her face.  I left feeling happy too.

I thing is, I don't have any reason for knowing Cassie's name.  I don't have children and don't know that much about pregnancy, but I took the time to ask how she's been.  I saw no-one else do this in the queue.  It made me feel positive for simply knowing I knew her name and asking about a random stranger.

I often wonder why as humans we struggle to treat others with humanity.  I've certainly worked out that you get what you give.  If you want to be ignored at Pita Pit, then Ignore the people who serve you.  Pretty simple really.  If you do the minimum, then they probably do too.

The reason I've learnt that names are important is to connect with people.  I also try to learn at least one personal thing about that person so I can connect on an even deeper level.   As many of my blog readers know, I have multiple jobs.  In my Pilates classes, I try to remember peoples names so I can connect with them on a personal level.  I use their names at the start of the class and sometimes point them out by name when they are doing things properly or well.  If I greet someone with a hello 'Agnes', they usually smile right back at me.  I feel warm and happy myself and it creates a connection.

In my business world, I've learnt through my years in Sales that knowing someone's name and something about them is a vital Sales strategy.  Again- people buy of people who just happen to work at companies.  I've also learnt that people are more likely to buy off people they connect with.  I deal with a lot of people trying to sell me things and to be fair most of them don't care about me as a person, they just want their commission.  I get annoyed and frustrated and lose respect for these people rapidly. Just think if they bothered to learn one thing about me, they might have been able to connect on a better level.

I've watched previous leaders in companies I've worked for admit they don't even know their staff's names, let alone anything about them.  Just imagine what its like working for a company like that!

I always try to make a point about knowing something about my team.  Perhaps its what they are studying at Uni, maybe its discussing the sort of cakes they are baking, perhaps its talking about their new flat.  Connecting with people is vital.  Simply put, it builds better teams.

I've certainly learnt that knowing someone's name is a vital part of my day, I just wish I had the capacity to know everyones names I deal with in a day- I could add so many more smiles into a day for both them and myself!  I challenge you to do the same and see how it changes the way you feel and makes others around you feel.

My Morning as a Dragon on Dragons Den- NZSE Style!

I do love a good negotiation.  I’ve watched Dragons Den and now Shark Tank Australia for years.  I love to listen to the comments the Dragons make and the rebuttal from the pitching party.

This morning I had the pleasure of being invited to be a Dragon on a Dragons Den Panel with 2 others for New Zealand School of Education (NZSE).  Simon Cope who runs this event for NZSE is doing a fantastic job with this programme.  What a great idea for the students to work with to teach them valuable and real-life skills in business and entrepreneurialism.  I took part in this process last year and loved it so much I was back for more this morning. 

Just like the TV programme, teams of students have to pitch their ideas to the Dragons and we get to decide if we invest or not.  The students spend time preparing based on what they have learnt- financials, legal, marketing, business plans, target markets and more.  I just love to see Entrepreneurialism shining through...these poor students would have no idea what was coming next!

The process is simple, the Dragons are given monopoly money in which we decide to invest…or not and the students have about 20 mins to pitch their idea and about 20 mins of questioning from the Dragons.

Today was a smorgasbord of pitches, mainly based on food.  Shredded was a word that I would use to describe the happenings today.  Those poor students got shredded by the Dragons, but to be fair a number of the groups deserved it!

I had to leave before all of the pitches were completed but got to be around for the first four. Here is my take on what happened and the great ideas these students had:-

Group One: International Students Concierge Service

This was my idea group.  I know International Education well and have a start-up business myself in this area.  Unlucky for them this was my area.  This team of 7-8 students started strong and then fell apart mid-pitch.  With commas in the wrong place in their financials and confusion if they meant to say costs were $5.6 million or 560,000 amongst the group and then the Dragons being told they were using Indian Accounting started to have us worried!

The idea was simple- a meet and greet service for International students at the airport as well as on-going services to show students the best restaurants and places to go.  Even supervised shopping trips.  When we saw the budget only included $7,000 for a car and no allowance for a commercial driving license as well as no research into the International Student Pastoral Care laws, it was enough to put each Dragon out.  I was the first to exit when they didn’t understand the numbers of International Students in NZ and also said they would only target Uni students.  The $2,700 price tag was enough to make me wary of there service, despite only 2 of the 7 fessing up they had drivers licenses to operate this meet and greet service.  I’m out!

 Group Two: Indian Tea and Snack Stall

I was intrigued to start with this one, despite the initial technical difficulties with the presentation.  They started off saying tea was complimentary then later added that snacks were also complimentary.  Which confused all of the Dragon as to how the business model was ever going to work!  The shop was going to be in Sandringham and the tea $2 (a change from the earlier suggestion it was free!).  The numbers were staggeringly good- $300K in revenue and $60K Cost of Goods with a staggering $240K profit!  They were going to put up $1M initial investment and wanted only a mere $84K from the Dragons for 15 percent of the company.  When we asked what they were going to do with the $84K we gave them, confusion reigned amongst the team until one student quickly said’ Marketing’, we will spend it on Marketing!  We then asked them where they got their $1M from and they quickly looked at each other and one the spot decided half of it was bank financed.  Alarm bells were starting to go off in our heads!  One of the Dragons then asked, and what’s the bank interest rate.  Another bright young student paused and said 18%!  I did some quick calculations and worked out that this would be a mere $100K in interest if not compounded, which started to make the profit margins look awfully sick.  I was also intrigued and had to ask one last question before I bowed out.  “You mentioned that you had a new market in South Auckland and you were going to offer them Home Delivery”.  I simply asked “And how do you propose to keep your tea hot delivering it from Sandringham to South Auckland.  Another lot of quick thinking later and another student says “It won’t be made of course- they will make it up when they get there”.  I then let them know I was out…..swiftly followed by the other two Dragons who also did not invest!

 

Group Three: Japanese Wheel Cakes

Firstly, I had to admit I had to do a quick Google to check what one of these was while they were presenting to make sure they actually exist.  They do!  Its like a Japanese Pancake.  This was an all-girls team of a smaller group size to the other groups.  Their presentation was slick.  The had only one competitor in Auckland and had their financials well thought through.  There were some issues around them wanting to import ingredients rather than purchase local, but they talked their way around this.  Their marketing plan was solid using social media to promote their products and allowing online ordering.  They were going to be better than their competition and be located in a different area of the CBD to their competitors who already have queues out the door.  They were also planning to stock at Gas stations and supermarkets, which their competitors were not doing. This team had costs of $206K and managed to have a reasonable profit margin of $77K (unfortunately they confused the word income with profit which all had us baffled for a bit!).  They wanted a reasonable $20,000 for 40% of the company.  The numbers seamed to stack up and the investment seamed like a cheap one.  I decided that I needed to make an offer.  I offered $10,000 for 40%.  Then the next Dragon went with his offer, which from memory was the same as mine or very similar.  We were then battling.  My time to sell.  “So girls, firstly, I loved your presentation- very slick, I really believe I can help you here- I’m a female entrepreneur and in support of a team of young females.  I studied Japanese for 4 years also.  I also have qualifications in Nutrition and I’m great at Marketing”.  Then Tony started (the other bidding Dragon)- “I have a background in hospitality……” and the fight went on!  The girls were then asked to decide which offer they would take, but they couldn’t decide- saying they would take both!  They were asked to decide which offer.  And guess what- they took my offer!  I got my Monopoly money out and handed it over.  I was now the proud owner of 40% of a Japanese Wheel Cake Company to be opened in Auckland CBD!

 

Group Four: JCO Coffee Franchise (ex Philippines)

On a totally different tack to the other food businesses, this team simply wanted to purchase franchise rights of a popular Philippine Coffee & Donut Company and bring it to NZ.  Not only this, their Donuts were HEALTHY Donuts.  Yup, Sugar would be substituted with Stevia and the Deep Frying would be done in Coconut Oil instead of regular oils.  They even gave each Dragon a sample!  We had the Donuts and were listening and chopping away.  I must say how impressed I was that the usual Stevia after-taste was not there and the fat flavour was just right, even with the coconut oil.  I was baffled.  On taking another bite I suddenly realised that the Donuts were like our monopoly money- not the real products and I was in fact eating a full sugar and full fat Donut which I would never ever eat!  Despite our attention being fraudulently gained, we continued to listen!  They had done their market research and new their target market.  Stats were being thrown at us left right and centre.  We were impressed…until they threw out a stat- that there were 4,125 people living in Auckland…wait what??  Although all Dragons were a little baffled, the group continued pitching away.  Now the numbers came at us.  They had a net profit margin of 15% and they were investing an initial $120,000 of capital and financing the remaining $195,000.  They were looking for $100,000 for 15% of the company from the Dragons.  This put their company at a valuation of $670,000.

I then asked how they were going to protect their secret recipe for the Donuts.  I was looking for a Patent. One of the team came back with the fact they had confidentiality agreements with their staff.  Not a bad start I thought!  I decided not to bid as the Donut was starting to repeat on my- that much fat and sugar is never a good thing at 10.30 in the morning!  The other Dragons joined forces and ended up stealing the company for $50,000 for 15%, basing this on the fact that the franchise fees seamed cheap at $100K!

 At this point I had to leave with 3 more groups to go- I would love to have stayed as I felt like I was just getting warmed up!

Thanks to the students for putting up with a good nailing in the Dragons Den- we hope you learnt some valuable lessons from the Dragons questions today.  Thanks also to NZSE for being a fantastic customer of Business Mechanix - I love doing things like this to show how a great partnership can work.  Thanks also to Simon Cope for asking me to be a Dragon on your Dragons Den Panel, just like last year I loved every minute and I most certainly will be going and finding the Japanese Wheel Cake stand in Lorne Street for a real sample of what I actually bought into with my Monopoly money!

Its rubbish getting rubbish removed! Auckland Council Ambassador for Clean to inspect!

Rubbish.  The theme word of the day today for me! A random mattress appeared outside my commercial buildings driveway this morning.  Given the location being the top of Nelson Street in Auckland CBD, one would have thought it was an odd place to find a random mattress.

I've stopped being surprised about what people dump in my car park.  In fact I've literally come to work and found someone has even taken a dump in my car-park, yup that was a shit day- literally! But that's a story for another day.

I was actually in a good mood this morning when I departed forwork.  As soon as I pulled off the motorway onto Cook Street and then Union Street, I could feel my day turning to Rubbish.

On Union Street, the Rubbish Direct Truck (which I have actually phoned the company and complained about twice) was yet again blocking the lane onto Nelson Street and the Motorway.  Awesome.  Some selfish Rubbish Collector parking on double yellow lines during rush-hour, and yup, blocking my lane!  This made me sit in traffic for extra time I didn't need to spend.

I then turned the corner onto Nelson Street to see my Rubbish Bins (1 has been stolen already) lying sideways across the footpath blocking pedestrian traffic.  Not far from them was the dirty old used mattress someone has dumped next to my driveway.

They say things come in threes, but seriously by 8.30am?

So the first thing I do is walk up the stairs and google for Auckland Council Rubbish Removal.  After being transferred to the right department, I find myself speaking to a lovely call centre operator.

I tell her my dilemma 'there is a mattress that has been dumped on the council verge next to our driveway'.

After many keyboard clicks later and being asked to hold the line, she comes back and asks if I'd like the reference number for the job.  I tell her 'no', I'm just ringing to report it.
She then tells me 'OK, it will take up to 5 days to remove' - I then said- 'what- 5 days!' She said, yes, we first have to send out a Rubbish Inspector.  At this point I think I was speechless.  "really" was all I could squeak out in the nicest possible way.  I said I better take the reference number down then!

I hung up and first though.  Wow- they need a Rubbish Inspector to come and have a look at a dumped single mattress.  Why?  To see how dirty it is?  They wear gloves right?  Surely all single mattresses are the same or similar size and weight.  Then I though, nope, its my rates.  My rates exorbitant so there must be a flag against my file that says "commercial building owner'- make sure they get their money's worth"!  Then I had to email everyone residing in our building to tell them its going to be there for up to 5 days.  Awesome!

I then couldn't help myself so I actually went onto the council's website and searched for the job 'Rubbish Inspector".  I was so curious about what this person would do that I needed to see if I could find out more.  No hits.  Hmm.  I tried again with the word 'waste'.  Then I smiled.  There is was in gold.  My gold plated council rates in a nutshell. 

The advert title read "Ambassadors For Clean Wanted - Expression of Interest - Greater Auckland Location - City Parks Services". 
OMG- An Ambassador for Clean.  What next!  Lets be honest here- a rubbish collector must be a crappy job.  But when I read the next line I wondered how someone let Marketing get away with this:

"Life is definitely too short for the wrong jobs so, if you love the outdoors, come and join City Parks Services!"

It then went on to say " We are currently having a number of opportunities available, so if you like an early morning start, or driving through the night we have you covered".

I though, hmm of all the people I know, I can't think of 1 that would like early morning starts or driving through the night!


The more I read the more I ended up in laughter.  There was another part to the advert that said
"

Our teams constantly deliver a high standard of cleaning across a wide range of indoor and outdoor acilities, from public toilets and sports changing rooms, to children's playgrounds and beaches.".

 By personal choice I try to avoid public toliets at all costs.  I can't imagine the excitement someone must have reading this advert to see them listed on the Expression of Interest. 

Since my day has been about Rubbish, I've taken the honest approach to adding footnotes to the advert to keep it real and be 'Authentic, my changes in red below.  Happy reading.  Just goes to show a Rubbish Day can end in laughter

Ambassadors For Clean Wanted - Expression of Interest - Greater Auckland Location - City Parks Services

https://careers.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/jobdetails?ajid=XwVyl

Rubbish Collector- Greater Auckland

Ambassadors For Clean Wanted

Rubbish Collector Wanted

Expression of Interest 

We'll be lucky to get anyone to apply so we'll call it something different

Life is definitely too short for the wrong jobs so, if you love the outdoors, come and join City Parks Services!

Its possible you;ve just lost your job and need another one, have never had a job, or perhaps never seriously considered Rubbish Collection as a career.  You have to work in rain, hail, sun and wind, its an all weather job, if it doesn't make you, it will break you.

City Parks Services is a leading provider of waste collection and sanitation services as well as maintenance of some of Auckland's best open spaces, so much so, we are proud that our organisation is going through an exciting period of growth and in need of new staff.

There is a lot more rubbish that needs collection as there are more people in Auckland in a smaller space therefore more Rubbish is generated.  With the housing shortage in Auckland, there are more people living in less houses and therefore more rubbish generated in Auckland.  There is just too much rubbish for our current team to handle.

We are currently having a number of opportunities available, so if you like an early morning start, or driving through the night we have you covered.

The truth of the matter is you'll start early and potentially work all day and probably into the night,  Potentially you'll do this while smelling rotting rubbish for the day.  You may also end up smelling like rubbish yourself.

A little about us and the fun stuff we do daily:

Rubbish is not a fun job, but we'll try and make it sound better, if we don't you;ll probably never apply!

We are a fun well-functioning team who pride ourselves on providing everyday exceptional customer service to Auckland's residents and visitors. 

We pick up a LOT of rubbish, everyday.  Even when tourists drop it, we still pick it up

Our teams constantly deliver a high standard of cleaning across a wide range of indoor and outdoor facilities, from public toilets and sports changing rooms, to children's playgrounds and beaches.    

We clean dirty dirty public toilets and have to make them really, really clean.  You have to scrub them, smelly sports changing rooms and childrens playgrounds when young kids rub sticky stuff in places really hard to get to.  Beaches also have dog poo.  You also have to pick that up too

Because it is not just about cleaning and waste, it is also about the 400,000 people a year that will visit some of our key sites (such as Domain Winter Gardens) along with hundreds of sport teams who will untimely rely on us to prepare 300 playing surfaces to a winning standard. Our teams also constantly deliver a high standard of collection and recycling services across Auckland, and we do it with our customers at heart. We also sweat the small stuff too, as we are often the ones re-planting that little garden at the end of your street. 

You have to pick up so much rubbish, you won't even believe the volume.  You will also have to do recycling - you may even have to sort our rubbish and recyclying as sometimes people put it in the wrong bins.  You have to make sure you don't leave any behind and you do it quickly.  Picking up rubbish in front of rate payers could earn you bonuses.  If you tear up a garden in the street with your rubbish truck, you will also have to re-plant that.  This means there will be variety to your job.

So, to be part of our team, if you have:

·         pride in Auckland, and a passion to keep it clean and tidy

You will need to smile when you pick up rubbish

·         an interest in driving a wide range of modern vehicles for a great team

We We haven't standardised our fleet (looks better to the rate payer if we mix it up with some old and new vehicles).  You must also be able to drive manuals as well as have an HT licesnse and drive 6-10 wheelers if needed.

·         a need to provide the best customer experience possible,  by respecting our residents property, ensuing containers  are always upright,  not blocking  driveways or footpaths

Do not knock over rubbish or recycling containers.  Do not run people over, block footpaths or be a general nuisance.  The old lady down the road will chase you and set her dogs on you

·         knowledge that in doing a "great Job" makes Auckland's visitors want to come back again and again. 

Smile and great people while collecting rubbish

·         ability to understand and follow a designated customer route, giving feedback where you can see improvements

Do not get lost.  You need to be able to use a map or a GPS

·         a good level of team spirt along with the right fitness and agility

If you drink too much beer or eat too many take-aways, you won't be able to do the job.  Spirits can only be comsumed when with the team.

·         the ability work unsupervised and follow health and safety requirements

Do not eat the rubbish, no not touch the rubbish with your bare hands and do not climb on the rubbish.  Notify a Director if you do any of the above, they are now liable and could face a fine or imprisionment for your actions.  No one is going to tell you how to pick up rubbish.  You have to do it by yourself.

·         motivation to do a great job and commitment to best practice

hold a valid and full NZ driver's licence to be able to commute between the different sites at any time

If you speed, crash, drink and drive, drive dangerously or can't drive in Auckland, don't apply. You will be like a human yo-yo sent from one place to the next collecting rubbish,  You will know Auckland very, very well.  You will sit in traffic- A LOT. 

…and you want to discover the exciting world of the outdoors, come join us today! We will have a range of work locations across Auckland that could suit you.

To re-iterate you have to work in rain, hail, sun and wind, its an all weather job, if it doesn't make you, it will break you. Rubbish is everywhere- choose your location.

City Parks Services has a range of existing and new contracts that include taking care of Auckland's gardens. This is an Expression of Interest for possible future jobs within the organisation, as they become available.  This is not an application for a current vacancy but we have plenty coming up.

You could be promoted to a gardener, we usually expect 10 years of rubbish collection experience 

Register your interest before 10 July at 10:30pm.

No one will be there at 10,30pm at night to answer your questions so we have made the closing time then.

For assistance with registering a profile, please contact us. 

Alternatively Book a Librarian session at your local community library for assistance with submitting an application for future vacancies or help with creating a CV/cover letter.

We can't be bothered helping you- go to your local library instead

Health and safety, for everybody, is very important to us so before we can offer you a job we will do security screening, criminal checks and pre-employment drug screening as per Auckland Council's Drug and Alcohol policy.

If you are a bad person, do not apply. 

Just remember a Rubbish Day can end in a good way.

Happy Abassador for Clean Day everyone!

Are you being your Authentic Self as a Leader?

My word of the year is Authentic.  Sitting at my desk in my Gym gear at 3pm is not unusual.  I am a CEO and I also run Group-Fitness Pilates Classes during the day.  I do this for my work life balance and because I love working in the health and fitness area. 

Finishing my fitness class at 1pm allowed me 30 minutes to have some lunch and 30 minutes to drive back to the office.  Thankfully my client meeting at 2.00pm was online via Skype- just like the old Telecom Advert, except I was sitting here in my Lycra and no-one was under my desk painting my toes!

My team are fully aware that I have multiple jobs and it does not surprise them when I run a meeting in Lycra.  This is also part of me being Authentic.  A few years ago I would never had dared to do such a thing, however now it enables my team to see me as a person and a leader and that yes, leaders can be real people too!

I’ve drastically taken a look at myself and my own style recently, especially my Authenticity.  As a leader I was often much more guarded about my feelings at work, choosing to present to my team how I ‘thought I should behave’. 

After having the opportunity to self assess, I now behave how I want to behave.  Being Authentic as a leader means telling people how you feel and opening up about yourself.  I am now able to discuss personal issues with staff in one on one meetings which I would never had dared broach in the past. 

I had the opportunity to float the concept of “Being Your Authentic Self with another CEO this week.  His comment was that he believes that he has to ‘Act’ in the role of the CEO as that is what is expected of him and that people have a perception of how people in that role should be. 

Pondering this thought, he also added that different types of Authenticity may be needed at different times of an organisations life-cycle, or perhaps with different cultures within an organisation.  We then discussed Millennials.  I pondered myself and realised that our organisations were quite different in culture- mine being fully of Millennials and Gen-Y, his being perhaps more full of Baby Boomers.  So I thought about this question: Does the organisational make up of these different generations have an impact on ones Authenticity as a leader?

I sat on this blog for a few days thinking of the answer and I have decided, Yes, it does.  I’ve also worked out that Millennials and Gen-Y’s like to feel like they are working with their “friends” but just as important working with people who are Authentic.  When I asked one of my Millennials in the office about this he said that having fun and achieving at work was ranked well below working with friends and Authentic people. 

This got me really started.  I then did a mini flash survey around my team asking them to rank on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being most important, the following questions:

“How important is it to you that the people you work with are their ‘Authentic Selves’?

I then followed up with “How important is it to you that your leaders/ managers or superiors are their Authentic Selves?’

The results of these questions actually astounded me, both questions coming up with an average of 7.2 out of 10.  Telling me that working with Authentic people is critical to my team.  The lowest mark was a 5 and given in the ‘people I work with’ question, yet the highest mark was a 9 given in the ‘how important is it that your managers/ leaders are Authentic”.

I also had the conversation with these Millennials and Gen-Y’s about why Authenticity was important. The few I was talking to while preparing their lunch said something quite astounding.  They said- “How can you truly connect with someone if they are not Authentic?”.  We then had the discussion that connection also builds trust as this was important between both work mates , leaders and colleagues.  Trust is essential in all relationships.  So it looks like in this scenario in the workplace, Authenticity helps build Trust.  So why do we not see the word “Authenticity” sitting in many organisations company values I wonder…..

Being Authentic allows my team to see me as truly present.  I laugh with them, I share their sadness and I can also lead them together as a team to achieve great things simply because I am being myself, not someone I think I should be.  Not everyone may agree with my style but I do know that it is as important to my team as it is to me. 

Since spending the time working on myself and being more Authentic, I am finding things at work a great deal more effortless.  I have also since discovered how ‘tiring’ it is to ‘Act’ in a role all of the time.  Just imagine- having more Energy.  Those who know me well would say I have enough already!

Being Authentic enables me to feel more relaxed and to deal with the frustrations in a more seamless way.  Since I have changed my own behaviour and worked on my Authentic Self, I have also seen my team around me excel in ways I never imagined possible.  I have the best team around me in the 10+ years of working at Business Mechanix.  The company is excelling, the team are excelling and our customers are getting the best of us we can offer. 

So my gym gear is going to stay in the office and I will continue to let the people around me see my Authentic self- both the good and bad.  Keeping it real just feels good!

Is it time for you to change and truly be your Authentic Self?  Have you being acting in your leadership role for so long that you just don’t know how to be your Authentic self and be in your role? 

I challenge all leaders out there to simply ask yourself ‘Am I truly being my Authentic self?’  If you answer ‘no’, it’s probably time you ask yourself what’s holding you back?  Just think of the possibilities for yourself and the people around you…..

Wellness and Leadership go Hand in Hand

Most people who know me also know I operate between two universes that don't often collide.  I was always destined to be in business, I studied Business, I had my first serious job at 11 and always strived to be in the corporate world.  Driven and focus beyond words.
I've worked in many places around the world, jetting around like a road warrior for a large part of my career, travelling between NZ and Australia weekly for a number of years.

My other world, outside of my work has always been a constant for me.  My health and fitness.  Surprisingly, I was a terrible athlete at school.  Never picked first for any team.  Useless at athletics, tennis, hockey and netball, only excelling in one sport- table-tennis.  To be fair, I did represent North Harbour and Auckland in my teens and completed at national level for a few years alongside my brother.  I'm pretty sure thinking back that was to keep my mother happy as she used to also play!  Which is why some people may find it surprising that I am now a qualified personal trainer and group fitness instructor.

I've also had my fair share of health issues.  Over-dosing on Alcohol at the age of 15.  The overdose was so bad my heart stopped twice in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.  Then later in my early 30's I was stopped short in my tracks when I blew my back-out and had to have spinal surgery- a laminectomy and discectomy to be precise.

One thing I've always known is how important my health and fitness is to my career. 
As a CEO of a successful IT company and a previous corporate worker in various management roles, I've always known that to perform at the level I need to be at, I need to be alert, have energy and know how to control stress.  I do this be staying fit and eating well and getting the required amount of sleep and hydration.  I'm not perfect, no one is and I don't expect that from the people I train. 

I work on an 80/20 rule- as long as 80 percent of the time you are doing what you are supposed to with your nutrition, fitness, sleep and hydration then you are doing well.

Sounds like a dream right? Its not.
So how do I do it?  Here are my 10 key tips

Routine
It sounds boring, but one way I know I have the correct nutrition is I always have the same breakfast every day (except for Christmas day), which is porridge, skim milk and a banana.

Treat Fitness like your corporate job- make appointments- keep them- don't be late
Possibly sad but true.  Its too easy to make excuses if you don't actually comit to the appointments.  For me, I instruct fitness classes so I also stay fit - its pretty hard to get out of this form of exercise!  Also, I make dates with my fitness friends to go for a walk...and I stick to them as if its an important business meeting.  It works nearly every time (unless they cancel !).

Do it with friends or find some buddies who will
Its always easier to stay motivated when there are more than one of you doing something- you each keep each other accountable.  Currently I'm training for a walking half marathon- 3 of us go together.  When one sends me a text message saying its going to rain on our training day, I tell her to put her raincoat on and stop making excuses.

Understand your food and eat for fuel
I still have treats, lets be fair.  Today I had a chocolate bar- the first in probably a month.  BUT I'm also going to walk 22km tomorrow so I don't have to feel guilty about it.  I will also be ensuring that I eat good carbs tonight for fuel for tomorrow walk- veges and some protein and possibly some rice or pasta to keep me going.  Its the 80/20 rule again.  You can be bad, but just a small portion of the time.

Water Bottle- Always have one
I never had a blanket I dragged around as a kid, but my water bottle goes everywhere with me.  One thing I learnt in sports nutrition is that if you wee yellow, then you have not drunk enough.  If this happens, then I come back and drink a large amount from my bottle.  I would usually drink 1.5-2 litres of water per day.  I have one coffee in the morning and don't drink any other liquid other than water and a Friday diet ginger beer.  Liquids can hold a large amount of hidden calories.  Lets face it- I prefer the chocolate bar!

Fruit Box at work
I think we have probably done this for at least 10 years, possibly longer.  Every week in our IT company, we order fruit boxes which arrives on a Monday.  This means during the week when people are hungry, there are healthy snacks supplied by the company.  Who turns down free food?  At the end of the week, I take the left overs home if there are any and juice them for a weekend detox and fruit burst which I have after my marathon walking.


Incidental Exercise
A lot of people don't know about this one.  I always use this.  Incidental exercise is the additional exercise you can get in during the day without planning to exercise.  For example if you have a lift, never use it- take the stairs- you can burn energy and strengthen your legs in the process.  Go out for a walk at lunch time.  Park you car far away from the shops rather than right near the front door.  Mow the lawns (I love that one!)


Use Scales
Some people may disagree with me on this one but after being in Sales roles over the years, I know numbers drive people.  They also drive me. This morning I jumped on the scales and realised my weeks exercise efforts had dropped me 1.3 kg's.  Which is possibly too much in a week (hence the chocolate bar). But this also gives me an indication of where I am at and what my body is doing.  Marathon training speeds up your metabolic rate.  For a period after training you will be so hungry you may want to eat everything in site- this is your body adjusting to the extreme conditions.  It will be realising you are doing more and it thinks it needs more.  Then body then adjusts and dumps fat.  This needs to be carefully monitored along with fluid intake.  Sales tell you a lot, not just your weight, especially if you have body composition scales which I use with my training clients to show them BMI, Bone Density, Body Fat and Hydration.


Measure Progress with clothes
I keep telling my training clients this.  Sales are only one part of the equation.  If you want weight loss or weight gain.  Think about how you fee in your clothes.  Marathon training for example will tend to tone the legs and butt and your clothes get looser in these areas.  Upper body training will make your t-shirts feel tighter if you are trying to build muscle.


Get help when you need it- don't be proud
Over the past 2-3 years I've experienced terrible facial swelling in the mornings.  I put up with this for a long time before going to the doctor as it would often subside.  I did go to the doctor and have allergy tests and CT scans and no one could tell me what it was.  I finally went back to a different doctor and he discovered the cause- it was nasal polyps.  He gave me a prednisone based nasal spray to take twice a day and guess what.  Its more or less fixed the problem.  What a difference in how you feel.  Looking after our health and wellness is critical- even the little things can make a major difference on how you feel and perform at work or at play.

In summary, my health and wellness does impact my leadership.  When I'm not feeling great myself, it can reflect on the team.  If I have low energy, they can mirror my energy.  The way you personally feel will radiate through everything- your posture, mood and performance. 

Positive Wellness = Positive Leadership.
Go well and lead well!