What a Week!!!

This week has been a real busy one for me. Have been working and helping my flatmate with organising an event. Moreover at work we have a new project of an Australian bank and hence have to work after hours to catch up with the time difference.

On Thursday, I was occupied by an event organised by the EEO Trust called Work and Life Awards and Diverisity Symposium.. It was about how diverse employees can help the organisation grow and about employee treatment and things related to that. EEO Trust stands for Equal Employment Opportunites Trust, provides information and tools on EEO to employers and raises awareness of diversity issues in the workplace. It was interesting to see the Corporate world of New Zealand and all thanks to my flatmate, she works in the EEO Trust.. I was a volunteer there for that evening.

The morning started with a seminar of Frans Johnasson.. the man behind the book The Medici Effect.. I must tell you what a personality!!! He was simply the best speaker of all the rest. I am going to read the book as soon as I can get my hands on it.. I can go on and on talking about him, this Swedish by birth Afro-American who is a Havard business school graduate is so full of energy and still so approachable. I saw him walking around the hotel lobby like any common man. Can one imagine this in INDIA?

His book is based on how to use your ideas and someone else's ideas which intersect and give birth to a new idea.. I will b able to explain more when I have read the book but one example that I clearly remember of many he gave us was of a successful Swedish chef in New York, Marcus Samuelsson and how he was the best chef at the age of 24 and it was not because he was the best, he was still learning then but because his ideas were accepted by people.

Marcus was a chef on a cruise liner before he came to New York and during his that venture he learn't about diverse cultures, cruisines on ever shore they landed and when he came to New York and got his chance he gave rise to new ideas by mixing all the ideas and knowledge he had gained during his last experience and as they say no experience goes waste, he was 3 star rated by New York Times. In his video interview with Frans he mentioned that he and his chef partner brain stormed ideas and gave rise to a new dish. He said its not that all our ideas are accepted or liked but that tells us what is not accepted and makes us walk ahead. I must say, Frans made my day.

The Work and Life Awards which was in the evening is incomplete without Helen Clark (our honorary Prime Minister) who could not make it, she was overseas for an urgent meeting but the Speaker of the House, Margaret Wilson had come on her behalf. Well can you imagine a speaker of the house without any security around.. yes the hotel had security arrangements but they were waiting outside the hall..

And that was about me for the week.. so until I publish my next post, ADIOS :)