Jedidiah https://jedidiah.org.za/ Raising a Standard of Excellence & Significance Thu, 02 Sep 2021 20:15:57 +0000 en-ZA hourly 1 Replaceable parts and people https://jedidiah.org.za/character/replaceable-parts-and-people/ https://jedidiah.org.za/character/replaceable-parts-and-people/#respond Thu, 02 Sep 2021 19:50:56 +0000 https://jedidiah.org.za/?p=1681 Between 1908 and 1927 Henry Ford’s motor company produced 15 million Model T Fords. He was the first automobile manufacturer that produced replaceable parts for motor vehicles. Before that, parts were either repaired or manufactured. To be able to walk into a shop to buy replacement parts for your vehicle was a revolutionary newbie. That was one of the major developments of the Industrial Era. Nowadays it is commonplace and businesses that specialise in selling automotive parts can be found in almost every city and town.

Replaceable people

On the ... continue reading

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]]> https://jedidiah.org.za/character/replaceable-parts-and-people/feed/ 0 Olympics 2021 – A reflection https://jedidiah.org.za/business/olympics-2021-a-reflection/ https://jedidiah.org.za/business/olympics-2021-a-reflection/#respond Thu, 12 Aug 2021 20:21:00 +0000 https://jedidiah.org.za/?p=1676 In the aftermath of the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, the SA team’s achievements made me think of a scripture in Hag 2:16 that says “When anyone came to a pile of grain to get 20 measures, there would be only 10. And when anyone came to a wine vat to draw out 50 measures, there would be only 20 in it.”

Disappointment

The South African Olympic Committee expected that the South African team would bring home at least 13 medals, but only 3 medals found their way to ... continue reading

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]]> https://jedidiah.org.za/business/olympics-2021-a-reflection/feed/ 0 Groupthink https://jedidiah.org.za/business/groupthink/ https://jedidiah.org.za/business/groupthink/#respond Thu, 29 Jul 2021 16:03:38 +0000 https://jedidiah.org.za/?p=1667 You may wonder what groupthink is and why I consider it worthwhile to write about it? On the webpage Investopedia.com, Will Kenton describe groupthink “as a phenomenon that occurs when

a group of individuals reaches a consensus without critical reasoning or evaluation of the consequences or alternatives.

Groupthink is based on a common desire not to upset the balance of a group of people. This desire creates a dynamic within a group whereby creativity and individuality tend to be stifled in order to avoid conflict.”

Disastrous consequences

After the space ... continue reading

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]]> https://jedidiah.org.za/business/groupthink/feed/ 0 Choice is yours https://jedidiah.org.za/character/choice-is-yours-2/ https://jedidiah.org.za/character/choice-is-yours-2/#respond Thu, 22 Jul 2021 20:07:59 +0000 https://jedidiah.org.za/?p=1662 Right to vote

The other day I read something in the line of “At what point will having something to eat become more important than the right to vote?” Please don’t think that I regard the right to vote as not important. One of the greatest freedoms and privileges offered in a democracy is to have a choice in whom you want to govern your country.

Yet, if I look at the present situation where people are looting and destroying businesses and vehicles transporting goods necessary for our livelihood, I ... continue reading

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]]> https://jedidiah.org.za/character/choice-is-yours-2/feed/ 0 Born with a silver spoon https://jedidiah.org.za/character/born-with-a-silver-spoon/ https://jedidiah.org.za/character/born-with-a-silver-spoon/#respond Thu, 04 Mar 2021 19:35:17 +0000 https://jedidiah.org.za/?p=1652 I recently received a WhatsApp message containing a video of an elderly man making a short speech after receiving his Doctorate degree (I suppose in Theology). Unfortunately, I do not know who the speaker is, neither the university, but I’ve decided to share his wit and good advice with you.

The speech

I am indeed humbled and honoured to be awarded a doctor’s degree from such an outstanding university.

I have a strong faith in God and I don’t know how people live without it.

Born with a silver spoon... continue reading

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]]> https://jedidiah.org.za/character/born-with-a-silver-spoon/feed/ 0 Lockdown – From port to starboard https://jedidiah.org.za/business/lockdown-from-port-to-starboard/ https://jedidiah.org.za/business/lockdown-from-port-to-starboard/#respond Thu, 04 Feb 2021 19:56:58 +0000 https://jedidiah.org.za/?p=1643 In one of his classic quotes Forrest Gump said, “Mama always said ‘Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.’”

To my mind this is what we experience at present.

You never know what to expect when it is announced that the President will speak tonight.

Someone said it almost feels like when your mother used to say “Just wait till dad gets home tonight.”

Eenie meenie miney mo

The past year was like “eenie meenie miney mo,” you may not buy liquor, now ... continue reading

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]]> https://jedidiah.org.za/business/lockdown-from-port-to-starboard/feed/ 0 The man who had everything https://jedidiah.org.za/character/the-man-who-had-everything/ https://jedidiah.org.za/character/the-man-who-had-everything/#respond Thu, 03 Dec 2020 19:52:50 +0000 https://jedidiah.org.za/?p=1632 The Man Who Had Everything was one of the hit movies during 1920, a hundred years ago. The title of the movie grabbed my attention, because I never met or heard of anybody who said they have everything they wanted.
In those early years movies were black and white and silent with subheadings to show the dialogue. The plot is something I don’t think modern day scriptwriters would have imagined for their next movie.

The plot

Mark Bullway is a very wealthy business owner whose son Harry is a careless ... continue reading

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]]> https://jedidiah.org.za/character/the-man-who-had-everything/feed/ 0 Customer effort leads to disloyalty https://jedidiah.org.za/business/customer-effort-leads-to-disloyalty/ https://jedidiah.org.za/business/customer-effort-leads-to-disloyalty/#respond Wed, 25 Nov 2020 19:28:27 +0000 https://jedidiah.org.za/?p=1623 When you’re in business and a client tells you “I am in the market for ‘let’s say a motorbike’” you as the dealer knows that it is time to perform; a client with money that he or she wants to spend, needs your undivided attention.

One must remember that there are always more dealers that a client can turn to for the same business. So if you do not serve him or her well, the client’s money will just go to your opposition.

Customer effort

Matthew Dixon et al in ... continue reading

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]]> https://jedidiah.org.za/business/customer-effort-leads-to-disloyalty/feed/ 0 A pioneering spirit https://jedidiah.org.za/gps-living/a-pioneering-spirit/ https://jedidiah.org.za/gps-living/a-pioneering-spirit/#respond Thu, 19 Nov 2020 19:13:55 +0000 https://jedidiah.org.za/?p=1617 Can you imagine that the first flight from London to Cape Town took place only 100 years ago in 1920.

It was an enormous milestone in South African flight history and it looked very different from anything we know today.

South Africans to be first

Although several British teams had set out to pioneer this new air route, each one had crashed and abandoned their effort. General Smuts, then Prime Minister of South Africa, wanted a South African to be the first so he authorised the purchase of a Vickers ... continue reading

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]]> https://jedidiah.org.za/gps-living/a-pioneering-spirit/feed/ 0 GPS for Life Course https://jedidiah.org.za/courses/gps-for-life-course/ https://jedidiah.org.za/courses/gps-for-life-course/#respond Sun, 01 Nov 2020 12:26:55 +0000 https://jedidiah.org.za/?p=1610 Get more information about the GPS for Life course

Listen to recorded radio programs (In Afrikaans) about GPS for Life

Let us know if you are interested to do the GPS for Life course online. (Afrikaans or English)

Let us know if you would like the GPS for Life course to be presented to your church or group. (Course available in Afrikaans or English)... continue reading

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