Road Safety Tips

 

With all our long weekends in April , one of the most important and yet most often overlooked dangers we as road users acknowledge, is road safety.

 

Which sounds like basic common sense. But when last did you check your tyres? Not just the pressure in them, but your spare’s pressure? What about your wheel alignment? Your tread? Yes, tyres are expensive. Very much so. But what is the alternative to maintenance and replacing? Blowouts? Endangering our families lives?

 

And while on the subject. How many people have seen the ‘Arrive Alive’ campaigns on our TVs? Do you flip the channel or do you watch and observe what they are telling you? Next time they are on, watch them. Listen. And learn. When you drive, keep your lights on. The visibility it adds to your presence on the road is priceless.

 

If you are the driver, make sure to rest and stop often to stretch. Stay hydrated and nourished. If you are the co-pilot, make sure you chat to your driver. Keep them awake and alert, and ensure that they are well looked after as they are totally in charge of your life at that moment and any other passengers.

And lastly, watch out for other drivers on the roads. You may be perfectly capable, and totally aware, but are your fellow South Africans on the same path as you? Give way. Keep a safe travelling distance. Do not allow road rage to have a seat in your car.

Arrive alive.

Introduction: Rising Star Entry Form - South Africa

Introduction: Rising Star Entry Form - South Africa

Mentorship and your future

Mentorship is a concept that in South Africa has been around for many years, but yet many companies have not embraced it for the incredible opportunity and career advancement and indeed nation advancement that it deserves.

 

You may not be one hundred percent certain of what mentorship is. Wikipedia describes mentorship as being a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The person in receipt of mentorship may be referred to as a protégé or a mentee.

 

Mentoring in Europe has existed since at least Ancient Greek times. Since the 1970s it has spread in USA mainly in training contexts, and it has been described as ‘an innovation in American management’.

 

This is not a specialised skill. It involves one person with business knowledge, generalist or specialist in nature, transferring their knowledge on to somebody less experienced. It is about a relationship of trust and knowledge transfer. It has a starting point, and must be governed by guidelines agreed to by both parties, inter alia how long will the relationship last, which party will be responsible for meeting dates, meeting venues etc, what the goals and objectives for each party will be.

 

Start-up companies and SMMEs in particular can benefit from such a relationship, but so can employees within an organisation, in career advancement and indeed personal development. Managers, CEOs and MDs, in the same vein, can benefit as they learn from those who have been there and done that.

 

It is not archaic, it is not soft, it is indeed vital! Research this, read more about it, and explore the amazing world of mentorship toady.

Your financial future

Future is a word that makes you automatically think of a time, far far ahead, when you are old and grey and ‘big’. When you are an ‘adult’. Let me tell you, at 38, I am still not a grown up. In my head. But the reality is that in actual fact I have been working for 20 years. I have another 20-30, and then I am done. And then? Who will support me? How will I earn my salary?

Well, I won’t. And the reality is, me. I have to support me. Most South Africans have no idea just how scary the real amount needed is for retirement. They think if they save a little here, and open a pension fund there, they will be fine. The truth is, you cannot be an ostrich. The amount is huge, and the sooner you start, the better. The more you save, the safer you are.

 

The time is now, not next week, not when you clear an extra R500. It is now. My advice? Get a financial advisor to come and see you. In fact, get a few. Choose who you like the most, as remember this is a relationship that will hopefully span a good few years. Let him be independent, and let him offer you various solutions for YOUR needs. It doesn’t matter if you earn R10 000 or R100 000 a month, the future is guaranteed to nobody. Financial futures need to be created. They don’t just appear, and the chances of winning the lotto, let’s face it, are slim.

Examine your options, be it unit trusts, RAs, pension funds. Even stashing the money under your Sealy. But start now. Make a decision and commit to your relationship with your future, with your money, and with your security. Don’t delay!