This Is A JOKE... Right?

This is a 'spot-the-deliberate-mistake' JOKE... right?

You tell me, does this crooked/skew effort show 'world-class' pretensions or is it just a symptom of an 'I DON'T CARE' malaise within an organisation?

Does it inspire confidence and pride in our community initiative?

Would you employ the person, or believe in the entity, conveying this sloppy lack-of-attention-to-detail as their shop-window to their publics?

To understand the contention of 'remarkable service', perhaps a reading of Seth Godin's Purple Cow and 99 Cows will help.

Just 4 of the many points made by Seth Godin can have significant meaning for our initiative:

1. 'Real security comes from growth' ( Page xiv )

2. 'Those who fit in now won't stand out later' ( Page 5 ) - It's difficult to change once you get into a rhythm of mediocrity.

3. 'Compromise kills. Doing something half-ass is worse than doing nothing' ( Page 97 )

4. 'The energy isn't in the idea, it's in the execution' ( Page 101 )

Regards
Trevor Nel - 705-2790
Lonehill Resident

A Touch Of Class... or Broken?

Let's start with some welcome COMPLIMENTS to Ian Bell and LRA leadership for attending to the graffiti (just missed the yield sign at entrance to Lonehill Village Estate, Ian) and holes as mentioned in last week's mailing. They prove that it is so simple to attend to the little things in Lonehill in short time - showing more great promise for our estate management prospects in 2007.

It's just about RAISING our community's standards... raising our personal standards... raising the standards of our paid service providers... looking to achieve standards that demonstrate a touch of world class.

But it is so easy to lose the plot. Here are some examples.

Take a look at this humorous video extract by Permission Marketing guru: Seth Godin - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4101280286098310645&hl=en - where I'm almost sure that he could have been discussing our Lonehill community signs.

The gist of his presentation is how people in positions of responsibility/accountability actually show embarrassing clues as to how they clearly don't care by the things they leave 'broken' for all to see.

Say's Seth (to paraphrase): 'Why design a sign to say... NOTHING..!'

Really what our blank community signs say is that something is 'broken' in Lonehill... someone in 'charge' of communication just doesn't care that R7 200 was recently spent on refurbishing these signs - for what?


What if the signs at least contained a positive message from the LRA and interactive contact for emergencies - something to show the LRA really cares for the moment.

To get the silliness of the message being sent to our community, go to one of Seth's pet project sites - www.thisisbroken.com

Take for instance, the smell of raw sewage permeating through Lonehill this past week, as it spills down the main bridle path spruit into the dam, giving the impression that Lonehill STINKS.

When something is left 'broken' the perception is far more powerful than the reality.

Surely, after 4 or 5 such spills this year alone, that can only have had a lasting impact on our dam pollution levels, SOMEONE can now be traced and held responsible for compensation to be made to the Lonehill environment fund? If the ACSA airport fuel spillage can have consequences for polluting dams in Boksburg/Benoni, why not this?

How many people also see the fire hydrant lying at 45 degree angle at the Franschoek bend... and the red cones on over-sized manhole covers and over holes in the ground. Why not just do things right or repair them ASAP, instead of showing people how much they don't care by highlighting the 'broken' commitments with red cones for days and weeks at a time?

And a Security Guard, Manager or Service Provider walking or driving past litter on the ground, or past a young tree bent over having broken from it's stake, to me, shows someone who doesn't care... who leaves our community 'broken'.

Which brings me to the main point of this week's message. Whilst I understand that current leadership are feverishly unwinding positions from the past, the question I ask is: What do we intend to do in Lonehill that makes us 'World Class'... or that at least shows that we are working towards a touch of world class?

Here we are, after six years, having spent over a R100 Million in mass-consumer security spend... and what do we have to show for it that puts us in the 'world class' bracket?

Oh yes, in the first few years of this initiative we were at the leading edge of community security initiatives... but not today... almost every community is doing the same.... and many are doing it better.

Take a look at what Sandhurst estate agents are doing to beautify their community traffic circles and roadsides.


Why not us. Someone started in Pineslopes. Why so long for this to take root in Lonehill's circles and open spaces? Because something's 'broken'? Because no one really cares enough? What a great missed opportunity for estate agents, garden nurseries and this community to do something world-class.

So what makes us unique? What makes us special?

In the early days our innovative efforts had a massive impact on Lonehill property prices, proving what a Wharton University study has just underscored: Economic Value of Community-Based Investments - '..community-based investments provide significant economic benefits to neighborhoods as well as citywide gains. The study reveals that property values can increase 25 percent when integrated projects have been completed.'

It's easy to see what happens when a community's leadership and management sits on its backside and 'fiddles while Rome burns' - something breaks! Or as Seth says: 'It's BROKEN'.

The hard lessons of life applies to community initiatives - if it is not growing it is dying!

It's my opinion that 'scarcity thinking' is not a model for growth... 'ABUNDANCE thinking' is.

So here's what I'm asking of our NEW leadership... what is it that we do that is WORLD CLASS?

And if nothing, what will we do to take our community into the WORLD CLASS league? And, if not an objective, why not?

What is it that LRA does WELL.... with a TOUCH OF CLASS?

What is that our service providers are truly proud of providing to our community... as being truly UNIQUE?

Focus on the answers to these questions and we'll all live in, happily CONTRIBUTE to, and attract corporate investors to, and build a community that we can truly be proud of.

Why? Because we have an economic incentive in our lifestyle, peace-of-mind and property investment values to see it happening.

Seasons greetings to all.

Regards
Trevor Nel - 705-2790
Lonehill Resident

A Wrong RIGHTED - That's Leadership!

I'm very pleased to see that Ian Bell's, in my opinion, disingenuously expedituous removal from our Lonehill estate management function has been RIGHTED by our new LRA leadership... and I provide proactive links to POSITIVE ideas on how to appreciate the efforts of volunteers and stimulate a greater sense of community in Lonehill.

Whether anyone believes Ian is/was the right man for the job, or not, is of little importance... no individual, in my opinion, ever deserves to be treated in the manner that Ian was treated - especially given his almost 20-year long history and commitment to environment & estate matters in our Lonehill community.

The lesson to be learnt: Leadership is entrusted to do things RIGHT by their people - or to lose the respect of their community.

Ian knows that I, as something of a tough taskmaster with high expectations of the human potential, have always had higher expectations of his potential for making great things happen in Lonehill than perhaps even he had of himself... so I welcome the LRA's decision to allow Ian to cap an amazing history of contribution to this community. This is an opportunity for Ian to leave an indelible legacy for our estate and environment management into the future.

Perhaps this is the time to bring up another past dysfunction that MUST, in my opinion, be changed within our LRA management philosophy. And that is to raise the levels of RECOGNITION of key contributors to the Lonehill Community.

Nothing disturbed me more in this past year than to witness the failing health and brave cancer-stricken death of Dr. Jan Nel (no relation) - a past Chair of the Lonehill Security Committee and committed gentlemanly fighter for the Lonehill Community Initiative - with nary a blink of concern or interest seemingly shown by anyone involved on the LRA at the time. To the point of even ignoring to post a deeply-felt obituary and invitation to Jan's funeral on his passing.

These things do not go unnoticed, and it was an indication to me that our then LRA leadership, supposedly professional management and service providers were so far removed from any sense of 'community' so as to be considered ludicrous in the lip-service they deigned to provide. Perhaps a further insight into those who still seem to wonder why I was such vocal instigator for CHANGE to the fresh ideas of a NEW leadership team. To be fair, the past LRA Chair did attend the funeral.

Regardless of any of the personalities involved and how I might feel about them, or for the good or bad decisions they might have made, I believe that individuals should be feted and remembered for their critical contributions to this community. Not that I expect that any such individual ever 'needs' the recognition, but more to lay down a foundation for the future and to build a tradition of on-going respect and recognition for those contributors to come in the next 10, 20, 50, 100 years.

To me, every past, present & future Chairperson should AUTOMATICALLY be feted on a Board/Roll of Honour (if purely for their intention to step into the breach of leadership to take responsibility for making a difference in this community). Some may well be better than others - for which exceptional service honour awards can be made - but I cannot believe that anyone of them did not take their tasks seriously as best they could with the best of intentions.

LRA Boards of Directors should be team-photographed each year, framed and displayed in pride of place to recognise their contributions.

And, then there are the INCREDIBLE individual contributors to whom I have my own individual bias arising from watching their IMMENSE contributions since the launch of our mass community initiative in 2000. There are so many that stand out over this time. Without embarrassing some in our midst, I offer the late Dr. Jan Nel as an example of the type of contributor deserving of such recognition. Regardless of the number of people that may be eligible, criteria should be identified to honour such past, present and future people so critical to this community initiative.

Here are some links for proactive ideas on how to THANK volunteers and community contributors:

1. Valuing Volunteers
2. 101 Ways To Say THANK YOU To Your Volunteers
3. Matching Volunteer Residents To The Right Role
4. Community Leader Guide: Volunteer Management
5. Thanking & Supporting Volunteers - 50 Ideas
6. Thanking Volunteers
7. Survey on Preferred Recognition for Volunteers
8. When a 'thank you' can be meaningless or insulting
9. Community Volunteer Recognition Ideas

Compliments & Kudos: - To whomever had the potholes done in the last week. Comes off the list below. Also for tending to the long grass on Franschoek corner.

The Embarrassing Unattended To: - Please feel free to add to list or comment on when the matter is attended to.

i. Graffiti on electrical box outside Studio Park - since Jan. 2006
ii. Graffiti on electrical junction box - since Jan. 2006
iii. Eskom holes/diggings left uncovered and unkempt in Leslie Drive - Oct. 2006

Regards
Trevor Nel - 705-2790
Lonehill Resident

How Do We MEASURE Up?

After discussing last week why the proactive prevention of crime will continue to be our BIGGEST challenge that we face in this community, I received a distressing midweek call from a concerned stakeholder to say that a Chinese family within a 'secure' Lonehill road enclosure had been attacked by criminal elements. Their dogs were apparently poisoned by the attackers.

And that's it. No further information. Not a peep from our LRA service providers to let us know what happened or what is going on.

This lack of dissemination of essential information in this community is of serious concern to this writer. Almost everybody I meet in South Africa is HIGHLY CRITICAL of the Minister of Security's moratorium on crime statistics as being, they say, something of a perverse indication of our police having lost control and crime being out of control in our country.

So it just leaves me dumbfounded when our very own community leaders and service providers do exactly the same thing and they cannot see the peverse logic of what they do compared to what they criticise government for doing (or not doing).

I repeat, as adults this community can deal with REALITY - and I, for one, will appreciate an INSTANT ALERT (and if not instant, at very least within 6 to 12 hours) when such incident occurs. If only to demonstrate that our service providers are on top of the situation and that they have a clear response strategy in place.

Contrast that with this information. I received a notification from a security forum this morning that a Craighall woman's car had been hijacked. Within minutes a tracker alert was activated and was soon notified of the following arrest in Thembisa: 'The suspect that was shot is Annanias Mathe, one of South Africa's most wanted criminals, who escaped from Pretoria's C-Max prison some two weeks ago.' - now doesn't that almost-instant feedback make one feel good?

At the moment, I have the feeling - whether rightly or wrongly - that in Lonehill this information hasn't been disseminated in the past because those accountable did not want to accept their accountability/responsibility, or just didn't know what to do, or how to respond to our concerns.

Let's face it, if YOU are charged to PROACTIVELY protect a community, and an attack happens in your midst, in your area of accountability... who is not measuring up to their responsibility? No one else but YOU..!

So, as concerned stakeholders, the message that we have to get across to our LRA service providers and leadership (and to ourselves as community stakeholders) is... How Do We MEASURE Up?

Quote: "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." - Yogi Berra

Quote: “You can't control what you can't measure” - Tom DeMarco

Quote: "Define your business goals clearly so that others can see them as you do." - George F. Burns

Quote: "The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs." Vance Havne

Quote: "If you don't do it excellently, don't do it at all. Because if it's not excellent, it won't be profitable or fun, and if you're not in business for fun or profit, what the hell are you doing there?" Robert Townsend

Each one of the above quotes, in my opinion, point to serious areas of past deficiencies in our Lonehill community initiative management process that I sincerely hope is being addressed by new leadership.

I'd like to see a firm statement of intent from our LRA board as to what every director and service provider sees themselves being ACCOUNTABLE for... and what parameters they will MEASURE themselves against. We have over six years of weekly incident report statistics that should be on record to serve as a base. At least 10 to 20 criteria for measurement should be identifiable in our community.

To help, I have sourced some complementary links, for those interested, to refer to:

1. A Model for Community-Driven Governance - this excellent article explains how and why: 'The board is accountable for ensuring the organization is providing as much benefit as possible to the community, improving the quality of life for those who will be affected by your mission'.

2. The Fable of the Beekeepers and Their Bees - this article highlights the critical difference between Activities, Outputs and Outcomes.

I'd like to hear from our LRA leadership as to what criteria we are going to measure our future community performance against... and who will accept responsibility for delivering on that performance. Without these criteria clearly displayed and measured against for all to see, our community goes nowhere.

The little unattended things that show 'our service providers don't really care':
I'm getting tired of mentioning the same simple little things that go on unattended week after week, so I'm just going to list them here with a date of when they first appeared and leave them as an embarrassing list if they have not been attended to. Please feel free to add to list or comment on when the matter is attended to.

i. Graffiti on electrical box outside Studio Park - since Jan. 2006
ii. Graffiti on electrical junction box - since Jan. 2006
iii. Pothole outside Highbrook - 2nd week Nov. 2006
iv. Eskom holes/diggings left uncovered and unkempt in Leslie Drive - Oct. 2006

I am a little concerned that illegal posters stay up in our area longer than 24 hours after being strung up - some up to a week long. With proactive security guards around, and roving management, surely they shouldn't stay up longer than an hour or two at most?

Regards
Trevor Nel - 705-2790
Lonehill Resident

Here's OUR Challenge & Why WE Must Speak UP

What is our BIGGEST challenge that we face in this community?

Well, if you had driven up Franshoek Drive on Tuesday morning you would have seen it with your own eyes... spread-eagled at the feet of our local security reaction personnel and police officers.

From what I hear, it seems that THREE opportunists - reportedly from Alexandra - rang the bell of a Franshoek Drive home. When no one answered, they jumped the wall and attempted to force their way into the home.

Fortunately they were seen by construction workers up the road who raised the alarm with Fidelity and, together with some domestic gardeners a miscreant was apprehended... later leading to the arrest of two others.

For me, this shows how all DECENT South Africans, regardless of race, colour or creed, are sick & tired of crime and willingly pitch in together to fight it.

As if to underscore the point I am about to make, on Thursday I received a call from an elderly friend who was in a severe state of shock as his daughter-in-law had just been released after a two-hour ordeal of being accosted and tied up in her Blairgowrie home by THREE black teenagers - youngsters - again reportedly stating that they were from Alexandra.

And now this incident report just arrives in my inbox: 'Robyn street, Jukskei Park - The complainant arrived home at approximately 17h55. As she stopped her vehicle to wait for the garage doors to open, three black males accosted her. They pulled her out of the vehicle and forced her into the house where they threatened to rape her if she didn't show the the safe. The complainant opened a safe. The following property was taken by the suspects : ID books and Passports, house keys [with panic alarm and remotes], credit cards, DSTV; DVD player, cellphone, jewellery. The suspects took the complainant back to the garage where they tied her up with electrical cable. They stole her vehicle, a blue Mini Cooper, registration number *******. This vehicle was later recovered by NETSTAR in Alexandra township.'

Notice any commonalities?

My Point: Our challenge will be to proactively stem the influx of opportunistic criminal elements into our midst and thereby to protect our families peace-of-mind and security.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not bleating about living in South Africa. Having traveled widely, I love this place as one of the best locations in the world. Also, lest anyone interpret what I am about to share incorrectly, I'm not being xenophobic in any way at all. I believe that people should be able to relocate freely to improve their lot. However, I also believe that organised and opportunistic crime is a hugely-increasing social phenomenon almost everywhere in the world.

Here's where our challenge gets bigger. If you think that our community challenge is going to get any easier, you've got another think coming. Take a look at this report on economist Mike Schusler's research: More illegals set to flood SA - 23/11/2006 21:13 - here are the key extracts from the report:

- 'South Africa is home to as many as 10 million illegal immigrants and must brace for a flood of new arrivals'

- 'Yes, some of them are involved in criminal activities.'

- 'Schussler said the positives of having so many illegal immigrants far outweighed the negatives for South Africa.'

WE must speak up for MASSIVE ACTION & PREPAREDNESS in our community. WE must be prepared for BIGGER challenges coming - both positive and negative. WE must stimulate NEW IDEAS & INNOVATIONS. WE must support those who recognise that we cannot afford to sit back and rest on our laurels. We must speak up against any lack-of-interest/enthusiasm and incompetence within our own structures.

I'm a believer that the little things are very important - which is why I fume as this week I again drive past scrappy little posters left on street poles for days, graffiti (it's still there outside of Studio Park and Lonehill Village Estate) and developing potholes appearing once again.

Do our service providers honestly have no understanding of the Broken Windows Syndrome?

Personally, I believe it can only be laziness, lack of interest, or gross incompetence that allows such little things to continue unattended in our community. It seems that our service providers management are not touring Lonehill twice daily to see what I see. Sometimes I get the feeling that they are 'majoring in minor things' in their cushy little office environments. Get out and manage by walking around! Soon the long grass is coming because of the big rains... are we ready for it? The little things do count.

And then, the BIG things are MASSIVELY IMPORTANT in my opinion.

Here are some of the biggies (amongst others):

1. Communication about crime in our community. Hey, we're all adults! I, for one, can handle the reality of what's happening around me. But, I want to KNOW about it so that I can make up my own mind as to what to do. I want to know that these gangs are operating in threes, I want to know that they are youngsters, I want to know that our proactive security guards know this so that they can question/follow loiterers. I want to know what is happening in my community that can potentially compromise my family's safety and security, don't you? Let's get past the old nonsense of restricting information to the few, this ain't the apartheid era... this community needs more open revelation of mature information and instant spreading of crime alerts.

2. Strategy, Communication & Marketing. Please someone, SHOW me consistently that we are treating our initiative seriously as a MULTI-million rand per annum initiative... and GROWING it. Show me how EVERYONE who wants to contribute - the astute minds and leaders in this community (they're here in big numbers) - is/are being encouraged to contribute and being harnessed to achieve these BIG objectives. I've already begun to get the feeling that this may unfold, but I'd like to see quarterly OPEN public meetings and highly visible indications/signs/PR demonstrating this commitment.

3. Show me the money - BIG MONEY thinking. Everything we need for our future community initiative success - security, environment, administation, innovation, progress, social responsibility, charity et al - all requires funding. There is a limit to the funding that will come from our internal database. Show me the BIG innovative ideas & projects designed to attract MASSIVE funding from alternative sources. Show me something out-of-the-box, off-the-wall, totally unique, perhaps a world-class initiative, that says we undestand our MASSIVE future challenge for this community: More illegals set to flood SA.

Don't be silent... SPEAK UP..! It is important that WE all share our opinions - intelligent, real discourse even if confrontational and controversial - so that our community leaders can understand what we want and how we think. After all, this is OUR community initiative, WE launched it, WE fund it, WE drive it. WE want to know what's in it for us (WIIFM - what's in it for me) and we want to SEE the clear benefits from making our personal contributions - whether through time, money and/or effort.

Regards
Trevor Nel - 705-2790
Lonehill Resident

Aaaah... REFRESHING Winds Of Change

Isn't CHANGE great?

I feel as though I again have the rare privilige of experiencing an exciting NEW dynamic unfold in Lonehill.

Having had the pleasure of a visit from new LRA Chair: Rob Gillespie during the week, and taking up the innovative LRA invitation to meet with new LRA directors at the Lonehill Mugg & Bean on Saturday (a great 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. initiative to get to meet the LRA directors), I get the distinct feeling that refreshing winds of change are set to take Lonehill on a POSITIVE new course.

As I looked into the eyes of the NEW directors sitting around the coffee table (and of those directors who popped along to say 'hi'), and listened to their enthusiastic sketching of NEW ideas, new objectives, new perspectives, and different approaches... I saw something that for me has been missing in Lonehill's leadership over the past while - a sparkle in the eye, a new ENTHUSIASM, people on a mission, people with FRESH minds.

For me, one of the essential arts of LEADERSHIP is the ability to listen, and I noted that when a concerned resident was talking, this new team was listening... and the new Chair was taking notes!

I like the way that they are going about their work. They seem decisive, committed, open to input... and most important - cheerful.

To me, to have serious folk willing to step up a gear to take our community to a HIGHER LEVEL conveys the ultimate respect to all those Greater Lonehill residents/stakeholders who launched and contributed to the foundation-building phase of the Lonehill Community Initiative.

I think that these folk on the current LRA are going to do it - they're going to make BIG THINGS HAPPEN! I feel it in my water. I'm EXCITED.

Now, why is this initiative so important that I comment as regularly as I do? Why have I made it my personal mission to ensure that it never collapses through lack of interest?

Well, it is because of the times that we live in, whether we like it or not, wherever one may be in the world, our families peace-of-mind and security is at continual risk almost every day. In South Africa we know that criminal elements are all around us waiting to rip us off. It's just life as we live it today. And, we owe it to our families to make sure that the 'good guys' win for a change.

On Thursday night in Bryanston, my matriculating daughter's school-friends were gathering at a celebration function when accosted by 3 cool-looking, smooth-talking, armed black dudes who proceeded to clean them out of their cell-phones and jewelry and who hijacked three vehicles to cart away the hosts most valuable appliances. The matriculants, of all race groups, including some of their parents were locked into bathrooms and ordered to stay silent to avoid being shot.

This is happening now, today, all around us... and no one is safe from these opportunistic thugs, regardless of race, colour, creed or whatever. I have the distinct feeling that their modus operandi is changing to hit private functions as soft targets over the coming pre-Christmas celebration weeks. But, we can outsmart them!

The Lonehill Community Initiative offers an opportunity to live a relatively 'normal' life if one calls on the LRA security provider to relocate their roving guard in your area just a few hundred metres to keep an eye over any gathering of people and their cars during partying. A simple preparatory call can save lives. Be aware. Build a relationship with YOUR community security initiative.

Regards
Trevor Nel - 705-2790
Lonehill Resident

Community Security - Who VISIBLY Dominates Wins!

Taking an early morning walk around Lonehill last Sunday, I was struck by the number of competing security company boards encroaching on walls and fences of properties on critical corners and visible approaches where Lonehill Residents Association (LRA) boards used to be and/or should be.

I was also struck by the high visibility of three competing security company vehicles CRUISING around Lonehill in the hour that I spent around the village - almost in a show of DOMINANCE.

Anyone with the slightest semblance of marketing nous can see what's happening... competing security companies know that 'he/she who visibly dominates a community wins'. It's a game of persistence... and the persistent slowly eat away at the edges until they dominate. Which is where they were in this community before we residents changed the rules of the game back in 2000.

Seems to me that the battle is seriously on to wrest Lonehill's security revenue back from the hands of the LRA - representing contributing residents. And our own internal forces don't seem to see it happening right under their noses.

If they did, they would be making MASSIVELY VISIBLE innovative marketing/promotion 'noises' in the community to stand out above this clear competition... or to at least bring the competition into the community contributing loop.

Oh yes, I'll get the argument: '..but we have our visible street guards posted all around Lonehill.' Again, I say, if one has the slightest semblance of marketing nous one will understand that 'familiarity breeds contempt', and that these guards have been around for so long doing the same old things that they have just faded away into the community backdrop - no one really notices them anymore.

Let me demonstrate how this works: our service providers KNOW that graffiti is an absolute no-no in this community, yet daily they drive by graffiti that has been on their Studio Park electrical box for over 9 months now. Let alone that on the electrical boxes at Lonehill Village Estate. They just don't see it. Familiarity breeds contempt.

Still not being privy to any numbers from the past 18 - 24 months... and still no one from the LRA talking openly with concerned residents in OPEN meetings (a bit disappointing, I must say)... I am guesstimating that we have lost close to 18% of our individual houshold base of contributors due to a combination of the above 'lack of visibility' and poor follow-up support service from our local providers.

I also guesstimate that the LRA actually reaches less than 10% of our total householder base of +- 5000 households (I am told) via the LRA email newsletter. Would love to see physical evidence from simple tests that can be conducted to show the contrary.

I am hoping that the NEW LRA board members are jacking-up where I believe the cause of the poor service lay/lies. I do see encouraging signs of an increase in alertness all around.. ;-)

But here's my advice on the visibility side... make something MASSIVE happen... do something OUTRAGEOUS... capture the hearts and minds of your target market - make your visible points of presence far more PROMINENT... do it REGULARLY... get service providers to show this community how they really CARE for this community's business... outperform the encroaching competition by 1000%..! Until you do this the competition keeps eroding our contributor base away and we all lose.

Unless we all shake and stir, shake and stir, shake and stir (the benefits of which I sense can already be felt stemming from the shaking up of the LRA out of its recent slumber) ...our community initiative goes down the tubes. As it is we've already relinquished our claim to fame as innovators in community security dominating the moral high ground. It's time to make a MASSIVE play to recapture that position... it needs MASSIVE INNOVATION... it needs BIG THINKING... it can be done... by bringing the savvy of quality minds in this community into play.

Regards
Trevor Nel - 705-2790

Will Change Of Order Bring Change Of 'Order'?

I almost missed a little byline on the last LRA Group mailing proclaiming: LRA Chairman: Rob Gillespie .

This is Rob Gillespie's pen picture presented at the AGM: 'Rob has lived in Lonehill for 2 years and is an electrical engineer by qualification. He previously acted as the chairperson for the Glenferness Residents Association and was actively involved in setting up their security initiative. He has been chairperson of the board of Welgevonden (the largest privately owned game reserve in South Africa) for 7 years. Rob has organisational strengths and would like to serve the community by providing management and control experience.'

Well, congrats on being voted in as Chairman, Rob... whilst I don't believe that we have met, I certainly hope that YOU can bring some fresh thinking and initiative to leading a massive change in the recent past order of things.

And, what is that past 'order' that needs to be changed? In my opinion, over the last +-18 months, it has been the seemingly confused order of... 'FIRE... er, Ready... er, Aim'.

An example of this was the strange approach to pre-investing in and preparing to foist Community Improvement District (CID) status on this community as the 'only' solution for our future. The 'only' solution - says who?

CID may well be only a small part (say 10 to 20%) of an overall solution to funding our community project. Meaning that we could well be missing a good 80% to 90% in alternative funding innovations and initiatives that could be the future backbone of this community.

Proposing a list of 'one' solution only and jumping to conclusions... leads to tunnel vision, and if combined with a 'FIRE'-first mentality can lead to one barking up the wrong tree.

Another example of 'FIRE... er, Ready... er, Aim' seems to have been the Ian Bell affair. Did he 'resign' as we were told or was he unceremoniously dumped? Did he take the LRA on and 'win' a settlement of some type as the Lonehill grapevine suggests? In an atmosphere of low trust where people close up shop on information, it is difficult to get to the truth. It just seems that someone or some group had a knack for shooting themselves in the foot. That's the problem with 'FIRE... er, Ready... er, Aim'.

I can point to a number of further such examples to highlight my point, but it is perhaps not conducive to building an atmosphere of NEW positive input should they be raked up again. I really am pinning my hopes for NEW positive developments on the NEW blood on the LRA board to become open, transparent and inclusive of stakeholders input on everything they do. Hopefully the lessons have been learnt.

So the first change of order is to get back to some simple basics of leadership strategy - getting to understand the lay of the land: i.e. 'Ready, Aim, FIRE'.

For example, if individual contributing householders have declined by +-18% in the last +-18% months to only +- 20% of the total number of individual households contributing (all while costs mushroomed), perhaps some house-to-house market research of the ENTIRE community is needed (it's only 5000 households, for goodness sake).

i.e. Find out what your Stakeholders want. Find out what their mass individual WIIFM (what's-in-it-for-me) needs are... and build an incredible WORLD-CLASS value proposition that makes it a no-brainer for them to get on board.

It's clear to me that there are many savvy successful business strategists and implementers living in this community who can contribute to Lonehill becoming a WORLD CLASS initiative... if they were just openly invited in to contribute into a consultative forum. So when do we get our FIRST open community forum meeting to contribute into..?

For those reading the POSITIVE article extracts and insights into quality Community Leadership that I refer to in each of my communications (and there is so much of this material available it's almost inexcusable to not consider applying it) you may be interested in reading the "7 C’s" of leadership development for social change (click on the link).

Regards
Trevor Nel - 705-2790

Community Leadership for DUMMIES..!

And so, after the July 2006 LRA AGM debacle, and much in-between indignant wailing and baring of fangs, I hear that last Tuesday's 'repeat' LRA 2006 AGM was a much more genteel affair with a NEW board of directors elected.

So much for the community 'apathy' that we were told about at the previous meeting!

Just a little stirring of the community pot and we find plenty of applicants ready to step up to the plate and make their mark. That's the Lonehill community that I believe in.

I just cannot understand why the typical, silly, bureaucratic mentality keeps creeping in to managing our community... such as, to put limitations onto the number of people who want to contribute on the board. Flatten the hierarchies and get with today's world of recognising the quality and input of independent people.

Who says there should only be 10 director's? Who made that silly, arbitrary suggestion/decision? Especially when 15 or so concerned community members have the COURAGE to stand up in front of a crowd to openly commit to making a difference in Lonehill. Every one of them should be applauded for standing up and actively encouraged to get onto the board and make things happen.

I hear tell that someone said that it was because there wasn't a meeting room large enough to accomodate so many people. I sincerely hope that comment was not true, because if it is I will ask... why is 'common sense' so uncommon?

Being that I may well not be considered the brightest kid on the block for expressing my simple views, I offer an insight into the simplicity of information that I can understand. To each of the 'new' LRA board of directors, I seriously recommend that each reads a copy of Leadership for DUMMIES - by Marshall Loeb and Stephen Kindell to produce the kind of leadership and results that Lonehill is really looking for.

I'm very much a 'cause & effect' kinda guy, and when one sees the debacle that unfolded in Lonehill's community affairs in the past +-60 odd days (arising from the July AGM deacle), it's not difficult to trace back how this became the pressure valve release for a 2005/2006 season that left this writer, and many others, totally 'underwhelmed, unimpressed and unhappy' at the poor level of service delivery that we experienced. The signs were so simple to see.

So what in this writer's opinion can be pointed to as reasons for our recent debacle... especially for the 'new' leadership to take note of and rectify:

1. Rotten ATTITUDE towards customers and stakeholders. When leadership gives the impression that it thinks its own community is 'apathetic', 'unfairly critical', or 'uncooperative' they tend to become dismissively arrogant towards any criticism and develop a 'them & us' antagonism. This rotten attitude rubs off on to service providers who forget that the 'customer is king/queen' whether they are right or wrong. Both our recent leadership and service providers, in my opinion, treated their publics as their 'enemies' without being aware of it. I have a simple view: Apathetic Communities arise from Pathetic Leadership.

2. An acceptance of the MEDIOCRE. When leadership and service providers closet themselves away from their publics and ignore the unhappy feedback and fallout symptoms all around them they begin to believe in their own internal 'marketing' hype. Consequently they can become complacent and fallible to being caught out embarrassingly with their knickers.around their ankles. One's publics will tend to forgive the discretions of those who make them in the visible, active, open and transparent pursuit of higher goals with clearly demonstrable results. The same publics will take those same discretions - when made in a low-trust, high-suspicion, closed, non-inclusive, no-result environment - and they will crucify those who they believe to be the perpetrators. It's just human nature. What we will look for in this community is visible productivity, demonstrable achievement of goals, , EXCELLENCE and INNOVATION to increase the peace-of-mind and quality-of-life benefits to residents.

3. Lack of understanding of Polar Opposite Management Styles - the danger of GROUPTHINK. Uncommon sense is counter-intuitive, and often the road that 'groupthink' takes one down is directly opposite to that wanted by one's publics. A common saying is that 'Power Corrupts, and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely' and I believe that this applies in an environment where only one voice or idea is allowed to become the sole, almost intimidatory, 'power'. The only way to overcome 'groupthink' is to encourage open debate, criticism and comment - to turn current thinking on its head and to encourage full assessment of ALL alternatives.

Take a look at the polar opposite management styles below and choose for yourself which you believe last year's board and service providers chose to follow... and which you want for this year:

Interactive vs. Top-Down - Do you want to be able to interact openly with your Board before major decisions are taken or do you want your Board to prescribe to you what they believe is in your best interest?

Two-Way vs. One-Way - Do you want your Board to open channels of communication to listening to your honest input or do you want your Board to control and censor information?

Open vs. Closed - Openess creates a sense of belonging and teamwork, closed systems breed paranoia and suspicion - what community management system do you want in Lonehill?

Inclusive vs. Exclusive - Do you want your Board to include everyone who wants to participate and to motivate those currently not engaged or do you want your Board to promote ‘them’ vs ‘us’ divisions?

Fact vs. Spin - Do you want your Board to give you the honest facts, or to dress them up in 'spin' that masks the true picture?

I have my opinion as to what management style was adopted by our past LRA board and service providers... and I know that I want the direct polar opposite from this year's LRA board. What do YOU want?

So what would be the first magnificent step that the new board can take... well to me, it would be to immediately broaden the number of directors onto the LRA (just find a credible way to do it ASAP) to include all of those willing to commit to our community initiative as demonstrated at the AGM ... to introduce new thinking and innovative debate to search for and apply new alternatives and ideas.

My congratulations to those who stood up to the plate to be considered for the LRA board... may you take us massively forward with giant leaps.

Please don't fall into the trap of thinking that everything is now 'hunky-dory' because it ain't... find out why we were 'underwhelmed, unimpressed and unhappy' and nip that in the bud immediately. There is much that still has not been said that needs to be discussed. It's simple to do. Call that first FRIENDLY, non-confrontational public forum to openly discuss and debate the issues that really concern your publics.

Trevor Nel
4 Etterby Close, Lonehill - 705-2790

Why Stirring The Pot Makes For A Great Stew

After last night's 2nd meeting of proactive 'concerned residents' - aka the LRA Reform Group - I am reminded of the fresh, enthusiastic optimism within the Lonehill community team when, in 2001, we inititiated the merger of our Lonehill Security Action Group (LSAG) into a then moribund and technically-bankrupt LRA.

The impact on our community was AMAZING then... and I get the feeling that an even GREATER impact is about to be felt once again.

I was considering an alternative title for this piece - 'Why Stirring The Pot Is Better Than Boiling The Frog'... so you can choose which best suits this dual analogy below.

Quite simply, I believe that the syndrome of the boiling frog crept up on certain individuals responsible for ensuring service delivery and leadership within our LRA project over the past +- 18 months. In my opinion, with the temperature in the water never having been ratcheted too much above 'tepid', the LRA 'frog' became too fat, comfortable and glazy-eyed to notice what was beginning to happen around it.

The 2006 LRA AGM debacle then resulted in the heat being raised instantly under the pot which has made things extremely uncomfortable for the 'frog'... and the 'frog' doesn't like it.

So onto my second little analogy of the heat now being turned up under a pot of cooking stew. The more one turns the heat up, the more one needs to stir the pot to avoid two possible disasters in order to ensure that it becomes a GREAT stew:

1. The burning of the stew at the bottom of the pot - in which case, you may as well throw the stew away, and

2. In many recipes for great stews you will notice that - scum floats - and the accomplished cook tends to stir the pot to infuse the flavours or to remove the scum.

Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management - www.mrsbeeton.com
Stew gently for about 1/2 hour, and serve garnished with sippets of toasted bread. ... and as fast as the scum rises to the surface of the water, remove it. ...
www.mrsbeeton.com/17-chapter17.html - 105k - Cached - Similar pages

Point 2. seems to have been taken up by some some of the world's leading life masters to state these quotes:

"Society is like a stew. If you don’t keep it stirred up, you get a lot of scum on top." — Ed Abbey

'Life is like a stew, you have to stir it frequently, or all the scum rises to the top.' - Tom Robbins

So, I am more than comfortable that a little stirring of the pot will result in a much better stew that will be even tastier than we have ever had in Lonehill.

Just listening to the new, fresh inputs last night, I got to wondering if they had all been reading the "Seven Essential Skills for Teamwork" :
Listening to each others' ideas.

- Asking each other questions both to clarify and challenge ideas.

- Seeking to persuade others that your ideas are sound.

- Respecting each other's role in the discussion.

- Helping each team member to express and understand ideas.

- Sharing one's insights and information with other team members.

- Participating fully and equally in the task at hand.

Now, therein lies a great recipe for cooking up an LRA stew to benefit our community.

Regards
Trevor Nel
Lonehill Resident - 705-2790

Something Rotten In Lonehill's Hamlet?

Following the Lonehill Residents Association (LRA) July 2006 AGM financials debacle, the clear showing of a majority of dissatisfied hands, and the apparently disturbing consequent clamp-down of access-to-information as requested by concerned residents, I experience this uncomfortable ringing in my ears of Marcellus words' in Shakespeare's Hamlet: "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."

Of latest concern is the staggering and unprecedented announcement from the LRA office, effectively stripping all Lonehill Community Initiative contributors of their LRA Membership status.

Lonehill residents responsible for contributing to the success of the Lonehill community security initiative and previously having been recognised by the LRA, by stated intention, invitation and process, as being eligible to vote at previous meetings, are now required to 'apply' to the LRA to become registered as voting members. By my reading, only then may they record their dissatisfaction or otherwise at the second-attempt repeat of the LRA AGM - set to take place at 19:00h on Tuesday 17th October at Crawford Preparatory School in Sceales Road, Lonehill.

This writer implores Lonehill residents to take note of and question events unfolding in the current affairs of Lonehill's critically-needed LRA community initiative and, if deemed necessary, return it to the the principles of common sense, open transparency, integrity of purpose, and mass community involvement that were the hallmarks of our 2001 security initiative's multi-million rand success.

In my personal opinion, we must ensure that we avoid the bumbling bureaucracy of a ‘command and control’ hierarchy and keep Lonehill residents fully in control of our own Association.

by Trevor Nel - Lonehill resident and initiator of the Lonehill community security project

Do WE Demonstrate The Characteristics of TRUE Community..?

Following the lack of delivery of financials at the the Lonehill AGM 2006, the Lonehill grapevine is now rife with all manner of concerns related to the management of our community initiative.

Given that everybody has the responsibility and right to raise issues of serious concern in their community, and that we should all be deeply concerned at the evidential reactions to such questions being raised at the AGM (and by many since), then the NEUTRAL information below is submitted to stimulate further thought on the issue.

Lets raise the simple question as to whether WE - as residents, stakeholders, leaders et al - can look at the 'salient characteristics of true community' identified by author Dr. M. Scott Peck below and honestly assess with rightful pride that WE are successfully on track with demonstrating these characteristics... or whether WE should be ashamed and embarrassed at being so far off track.

How do YOU believe WE compare..? And based on your answer, what do you believe is the way forward for OUR community initiative..? Please feel free to interact by adding your comment to this article.

Extract from Answers.com:

Community building
In his book The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace', Scott Peck says that community has three essential ingredients:

- Inclusivity
- Commitment
- Consensus

Based on his experience with community building workshops, Scott Peck says that community building typically goes through four stages:

Pseudocommunity: This is a stage where the members pretend to have a bon homie with one another, and cover up their differences, by acting as if the differences do not exist. Pseudocommunity can never directly lead to community, and it is the job of the person guiding the community building process to shorten this period as much as possible.

Chaos: When pseudocommunity fails to work, the members start falling upon each other, giving vent to their mutual disagreements and differences. This is a period of chaos. It is a time when the people in the community realize that differences cannot simply be ignored. Chaos looks counterproductive but it is the first genuine step towards community building.

Emptiness: After chaos comes emptiness. At this stage, the people learn to empty themselves of those ego related factors that are preventing their entry into community. Emptiness is a tough step because it involves the death of a part of the individual. But, Scott Peck argues, this death paves the way for the birth of a new creature, the Community.

True community: Having worked through emptiness, the people in community are in complete empathy with one another. There is a great level of tacit understanding. People are able to relate to each other's feelings. Discussions, even when heated, never get sour, and motives are not questioned.

The four stages of community formation are somewhat related to a model in organisation theory for the five stages that a team goes through during development.

These five stages are:

Forming where the team members have some initial discomfort with each other but nothing comes out in the open. They are insecure about their role and position with respect to the team. This corresponds to the initial stage of pseudocommunity.

Storming where the team members start arguing heatedly and differences and insecurities come out in the open. This corresponds to the second stage given by Scott Peck, namely chaos.

Norming where the team members lay out rules and guidelines for interaction that help define the roles and responsibilities of each person. This corresponds to emptiness, where the community members think within and empty themselves of their obsessions to be able to accept and listen to others.

Performing where the team finally starts working as a cohesive whole, and effectively achieve the tasks setof themselves. In this stage individuals are aided by the group as a whole where necessary, in order to move further collectively than they could achieve as a group of separated individuals.

Transforming This corresponds to the stage of true community. This represents the stage of celebration, and when individuals leave, as they must, there is a genuine feeling of grief, and a desire to meet again. Traditionally this stage was often called "Mourning".

It is in this third stage that Scott Peck's community building methods differ in principle from team development. While teams in business organizations need to develop explicit rules, guidelines and protocols during the norming stage, the emptiness' stage of community building is characterized, not by laying down the rules explicitly, but by shedding the resistance within the minds of the individuals.

Scott Peck has started the Foundation for Community Encouragement to promote the formation of communities, which, he argues, are a first step towards uniting humanity and saving us from self destruction.

The Meaning of True Community
Peck describes what he considers to be the most salient characteristics of a true community.

- Inclusivity, commitment and consensus: Members accept and embrace each other, celebrating their individuality and transcending their differences. They commit themselves to the effort and the people involved. They make decisions and reconcile their differences through consensus.

- Realism: Members bring together multiple perspectives to better understand the whole context of the situation. Decisions are more well-rounded and humble, rather than one-sided and arrogant.

- Contemplation: Members examine themselves. They are individually and collectively self-aware of the world outside themselves, the world inside themselves, and the relationship between the two.

- A safe place: Members allow others to share their vulnerability, heal themselves, and express who they truly are.

- A laboratory for personal disarmament: Members experientially discover the rules for peacemaking and embrace its virtues. They feel and express compassion and respect for each other as fellow human beings.

- A group that can fight gracefully: Members resolve conflicts with wisdom and grace. They listen and understand, respect each others’ gifts, accept each others’ limitations, celebrate their differences, bind each others’ wounds, and commit to a struggle together rather than against each other.

- A group of all leaders: Members harness the “flow of leadership” to make decisions and set a course of action. It is the spirit of community itself that leads and not any single individual.

- A spirit: The true spirit of community is the spirit of peace, love, wisdom and power. Members may view the source of this spirit as an outgrowth of the collective self or as the manifestation of a Higher Will.

Trevor Nel - Lonehill Resident - 705-2790

When Is an AGM Not An AGM..?

When there are no financial statements prepared for serious community stakeholders who give up their valuable time to attend the MOST IMPORTANT meeting of any Association's year.

It is time that some of the PASSIONATE contributors to the development of the Lonehill Community Initiative make their voices heard once again... to DEMAND that Lonehill Service Providers make an immediate and major upward adjustment in their attitudes towards service delivery and customer support.

In this writer's opinion, we are being delivered a service that is below MEDIOCRE and, in some key areas, borders on the INCOMPETENT, despite the fact that we pay full-time professionals good money to deliver the goods.

Most glaring weaknessess of 2006 have been an almost total incompetence in the areas of Marketing, Communication & Innovation befitting of the foundation laid by the many PASSIONATE committed volunteers who have sweated blood to get this community initiative off the ground.

The lack of financial statements at today's meeting, together with a quick sight of the hurried collection of two copies of the statements, raises questions as to INEFFECIENCIES and LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY that may well exist in the minds of service-providers who are not being called to account for piddle-poor deliverables.

Trevor Nel - Lonehill Resident - 705-2790