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Recent News

Reflecting on 2016
December 2016 Newsletter


• Lessons from Lions

Have you noticed how animals that live in herds, prides and packs can seamlessly work together to secure their future and achieve synergy in task accomplishment? In contrast, why do so many business books and articles describe dysfunctional groups or teams?   It is from nature where we recognise the value of leadership, understand the importance of “playing to your strengths” and admire the ability to focus despite massive distractions. It is in nature where effective communication becomes a matter of life and death, where trust is non-negotiable and the spectacle of survival plays out and reminds us how precious life is. We, the most sophisticated of all species often stand in awe of nature. Lions specifically teach us wonderful lessons…lessons about life in the pride.
In this series Niel will highlight what he captured over a number of years studying lion behaviour. He will share valuable teachings that we can apply in our business and personal lives.

LESSONS FROM LIONS:

ONE: It's all about relationships (read more)
TWO: The territory is strategic to a pride's success (read more)
THREE: Hunting to your strengths (read more)
FOUR: Lions live in the tension (read more)
FIVE: Hunting buffalo comes at a price (read more)
SIX: It is all about execution "Do you have XQ?" (read more)
SEVEN: Resting is part of the plan (read more)
EIGHT: Taking learning seriously (read more)
NINE: Wisdom from failure ... turning mistakes into success (read more)
TEN: "Hunger" is a prerequisite for success ... (read more)
ELEVEN: From cub to lion ... A case for accelerated development (read more)
TWELVE: Nature's most powerful brand (read more)
THIRTEEN: True leadership brings stability (Part 1) (read more)
THIRTEEN: True leadership brings stability (Part 2) (read more)
FOURTEEN: The signature of the king (read more)


• Apollo's Story

Apollo's Story

"Apollo died on the 3rd of February 2015. I lost a friend, a partner and soul mate. His legacy will continue as long as I have an opportunity to share his story and that of his species. I owe it to them, those that roam free, those that hunt for a living, teaching us lessons about life in the pride." - Niel Steinmann

READ MORE


Thank you.
We've had an overwhelming response to sharing Apollo's story ... Here are some of those responses:


-------------------

Niel,

It was great to have you at our conference in Knysna. You were brilliant! I personally enjoyed your presentation and the connection you made between the experience in nature and the workplace.
People were very complimentary and all the people who referred to speakers that they enjoyed, who inspired or motivated them, included your name. You were also one of the speakers that people wanted to hear again. I didn't include this information in the survey as I wanted to send it to everyone!
May your business go from strength to strength and may many people's skills be improved by your presentations.
God bless!
Alta

-------------------

Niel,

I write to you with a heavy heart and tears streaming down my cheeks! I am so saddened by the passing of Apollo and your personal loss.

I was privileged and bear witness to your relationship as I witnessed this first hand at Farm Inn in 2006, when I was Head of Learning and Development at STANLIB, you facilitated our Mentorship program at this venue and during the program we did a visit to the lions. I will always be in awe of the way you called him, “Come Pollo” and he walked across and came to the fence to greet you ... just like a dog would do. He allowed you to stroke him, our jaws dropped … as few would dare to touch a grown lion.

Your experiences with Apollo and the lion family led to your invaluable Mentorship book “Raising Giant Killers”. It is still in my mind the most power Mentoring book, the lion analogy could’nt be more apt for the African landscape.

He leaves an incredible legacy ... I feel so blessed to have shared in a tiny part.

Please take care. I hope to connect with you when you are in JHB next or when I visit Cape Town. (PS: I always spoke about this experience to my husband, Kriby … I have copied him here)

GOD Bless
Kind regards,
Losh Pather (Larimar Training Academy)

-------------------

Hello Niël - What a beautifully written story and what a beautiful story! When I look at so many Americans looking down … it’s not that they’re discouraged, it’s that they aree texting on their iPhones … and never truly looking up to experience the wonders of nature as you do … I think you’ll live a longer and richer life because you lived with Apollo. His mortality, of course, reminds us of our own, which is part of the complex process of loss and grieving. Thank you for taking the time to share the NiëlApollo bond with us. Long live the spirit of Apollo in you and in everyone you touch. Our best to your family and to you.
Cheers,
Tom

-------------------

Aag neeee!

Dankie vir die update, ek is bevoorreg om Apollo te kon ontmoet het in my tyd, en weet sy legacy sal voortleef.
Ek het nou sommer saam jou gehuil Neil!! Ek mis die bos, die diere en die awesome mense soos jy!

Baie liefde groete!
Cornel


• Niel Steinmann on Mentorship & Synergy

Mentorship


Synergy

• PDD Cape

Birgit has continued to provide a comprehensive consultation service to our clients, strengthening presence in the Western Cape.

Introducing the LEAP Series through Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL):

EFL is an experiential learning approach where we use horses as active participants to help facilitate the learning experience for the human participants.

In his bestselling book, “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”, executive coach Marshall Goldsmith outlines twenty common habits that prevent successful people from becoming more successful. These pitfalls have nothing to do with intelligence, technical skill, wealth, talent, education, or courage. They have to do with attitudes, interpersonal communication difficulties, and personality quirks inherent in our culture. As Goldsmith shares, “The higher you go, the more your problems are behavioural.”

EFL's methods reveal the keys to these behavioural issues via “horse wisdom”. Using a team approach, by bringing together a horse specialist, a trained facilitator and the horses, the collaborative and experiential EFL process creates space for individuals and groups/ teams, to use experience, reflection, generalization, and application to facilitate their learning.

Why horses? In daily life we tend to assume different masks for the different roles we play, e.g. boss, employee, parents, or child, and we interact with each other based on these roles. However, horses respond differently. Once you are within a meter of a horse, the horse will respond and mirror back to you whatever is going on behind the mask you’re wearing in the moment. This gives you insight into how you are really feeling in a given situation. And, by examining equine behaviour, and how the horses may or may not react to us, we can better understand what may be more effective in our own human relationships. While EFL is related to other experiential programs, equine assisted programs have the added element of horses with as many different personalities, attitudes and moods as the humans they are working with.

Watch this space: Combining interactions with horses (on the ground – no horse riding involved or horse experience is necessary) and using narrative coaching techniques to facilitate powerful learning experiences, Birgit will be introducing the LEAP Series with Horses during 2014.

The series is designed to assist individuals and teams/ groups in expanding their emotional intelligence, for team capacitating purposes, for strategic sessions, leadership capacity building, communication and influencing capabilities.

CSI work:

Birgit, together with the generous investment of time from Client Partners, has also actively been involved in impacting the lives of young workplace entrants through Corporate Social Investment Initiatives with a focus on workplace employability for new entrants to the job market. This year, the post graduate students of the University of Stellenbosch Industrial Psychology Department as well as Goodwood College were the beneficiaries of these CSI efforts.

In her letter of thanks, Professor Ronel Du Preez, of the Industrial Psychology Department noted: “Thanks so much for your time and extremely valuable input on Friday. The students are full of praise and I think your stories motivated them to make the best of the year to come!”

The very dynamic and inspirational Principal of Goodwood College, Mrs Virginia Africa expressed the following: “THANK YOU most sincerely for your generous investment of knowledge, time, effort, expertise and experience...Matric educators are already noticing a marked difference in the learners attitude in comparison to last year and we have better expectations from them than previously existed”.

In this regard, PDD CAPE would like to extend a significant word of thanks to client companies who passionately partnered on a no-fee basis with us on these initiatives. We in particular wish to thank: Snowy Kruger, Marketing Manager, Bokomo • Martly Rademeyer T-Systems International Human Resources International (HRI) Area Manager: America's & South Africa • Wendy Mc All, Group HR Manager, NMC • Noko Masipa, Regional Manager, LandBank • Siobhan Knock, Human Resources Consultant, Sanlam Investment Management • Marni Pagano-Leclezio, Marketing Director, Kimberly Clark •Theresa Kearley, Corporate Social Investment Manager, Virgin Active • Lesley McDonough, Group Brand Manager, Corporate Affairs Division, Engen Petroleum Limited

Birgit can be contacted at the Cape Town Office: 021 873 6693 or on her mobile 082 561 3965. 



• PDD is proud to announce a brand new Synergy offering and partnership

Nature provides an inimitable backdrop to learn and understand the principles of high performing teams.  The trophy or accolade?  Survival and sustainability of the herd, pride or pack.  The changing territory represents a strategic challenge, “playing to your strength” is a key differentiator.  In nature, communication is a matter of life and death and buzz words like trust, continuous improvement, and focus provides new meaning and context.


We believe there is no better place to learn this than in nature itself.  To be able to provide this we have partnered with CNP Safaris.  They provide in our view, one of the most intimate experiences that you will ever find on the African Continent.

CNP Safaris is a company that specialises in top end Nature Photography Safaris.  They have 2 fully equipped custom built photographic boats on the Chobe river at Kasane.  They can accommodate a total of 6 clients per boat (12 in the group) and provide each client with a 500mm/600mm Professional Nikon Lens and a Nikon D700 camera body. 

(They welcome photographers of all levels, as they like to ensure that they can get the right photography pegs in the ground for the individuals to take their photography to the next level.)

This unique process provides an opportunity to involve also partners in a significant way to co-learn and understand the importance of their role towards synergy in business.  
We will throw the group together in a new territory with new challenges. 

CNP will help delegates to master the software side in terms of the editing of photographic images, the teaching of what makes good nature photography and all over appreciation of getting close to nature and being able to capture those memories as world class images.

We at PDD allow for this interaction and seamlessly integrate the synergy principles during group interaction away from cameras. People’s Dynamic Development has extensive experience with high level executive teams Locally and Internationally and have facilitated a number of Strategic Partner breakaways for Deloitte Consulting MANCO in South Africa.

CNP Safari’s will ensure that the team learns a new skills set in terms of nature photography. This in itself becomes a key denominator that allows the team and partners to interact in the future on common ground, experiences and newly developed skills.




• Peoples Dynamic Development helps the USB launch the Small Business Academy


PDD_USB

2013



2015

Through its Small Business Academy launched in May 2012 the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) aims to give life to its vision of meaningful engagement with society at large. The USB hopes to contribute in its area of expertise, namely business education.

With the Small Business Academy, the business school wants to make a difference to the lives and businesses of small business owners in townships, and has made a commitment to share knowledge and work closely with small business owners in an effort to develop business skills.

How?
The USB works with corporate sponsors and other stakeholders to develop a skill set for small business owners and to support and guide them for 8 to 9 months.

The University of Stellenbosch graduate school of business started a small business academy in Kayalitsha! ABSA and Distell sponsored this first programme where USB alumni will act as mentors (trained by Peoples Dynamic Development) to entrepreneurs from the community!

The first group of participants from Khayelitsha, Cape Town, will started at the USB Small Business Academy in March 2013. The initiative will be extended to other townships in years to come. The participants will be part of the USB SBA for up to 9 months, after which they will graduate with a certificate from the USB.


Newsletter December 2013

Newsletter December 2012

Newsletter December 2011

Newsletter August 2011

Newsletter December 2010

Newsletter June 2010




• ASTD Conference - Washington DC :: May - June 2009


Rethinking your business strategy in uncertain times

This has been noted as a key theme for this year’s annual ASTD conference to be held in Washington DC from Sunday 31 May - 4 June 2009. PDD has again been selected to present at this prestige’s event.

Please contact us for more information about feedback session.





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