AMMAN

I never knew how much I have missed AMMAN until this visit. No work , no meetings and no audits, just visiting.

AMMAN has changed new buildings, new areas were developed yet it is still the same.

I remembered what I actually was missing. The weather is warmer than usual, windows were open to allow a gentle cool breeze, no rumbling of air conditioning as yet and in the early morning one wakes up when the sun filters in along with the sound of birds. The chirping of birds is what I missed most. Throughout the day, as long as the window is open, you hear that natural twittering.

I grew up in AMMAN, a chaotic city with underlying order. The streets that resemble village roads, no lane dividers yet there is some kind of an insane order. I fell in love here and raised a family.

AMMAN is where I lived my formative years, both as a child and as an adult and a professional.

I will never forget these hills, the houses surrounded with trees and most of all the quietness accompanied with the songs of birds.

Turning Points

I always maintained that as long as the itch for doing something new, exciting or innovative persists one will endure all difficulties. However, as life goes on and we navigate through it, the challenges grow and one is pushed to the limits.

Recession is a good excuse for incompetent management to hide its inadequacy, just dump on your staff. Remunerations are cut in the name of savings and unrealistic targets are set at a whim and every one is left to his own devices without leadership. The leadership is busy undermining its staff.

Professionals manage, they know what they have to do and they will always find a few who will carry the day and meet the challenge of an impossible target. Sadly, success is met with silence at best or petty complaints and childish outbursts.

As long as the itch persists you don't care, you are still loving the challenge and actually enjoying the work. Until, incompetency and delusions of power and grandeur set in and they, they being very senior management, stop listening, or use selective listening (only what they want to hear) and believe their own version of reality.

What goes round comes round and sometimes faster than we like, what was great a few months back like savings, cutting down and not listening to those who deliver, catches up with them. The impossible target was delivered and the rest of the organisation that was taking it easy failed to deliver. The project is at a standstill and we are in headless chicken mode trying to recover the situation.

The nightmare starts, tantrums and outbursts become the norm and one is faced with a TURNING POINT, is what remains of that itch and the challenge worth the crap?

Turning points are terrible things, they hit and arrive at the wrong time. Nevertheless, they are good, they provide us with the opportunity to reassess things, do we zig or zag. Going through life is like navigating the Mississippi, you never know what is behind each turn.

Yes, a turning point is upon us and will see......

Hopenhagen

The people of the world are awaiting the World's Leaders meeting for the UN Climate Change Conference December 07 - 18 at Copenhagen. Great expectations are pinned on this conference but most think it will not amount to much.

Hopenhagen "When People Lead, Leaders Follow is a movement, a moment and a chance at a new beginning." It is a movement of people across the world telling our leaders that we demand change. Change that will provide a better future for the planet and its inhabitants. It is a demand for a greener economy. It is a change powered by us, the people.

Scientists and Politicians are still debating whether climate change is caused by mother nature or is induced by human activity. At least, we all agree that there is a climate change. A climate change that may threaten the way of life we are used to. Even if this climate change is a natural thing, is it that wrong to help ma nature to reduce it.

Charity starts at home. We all can contribute to the well being of the planet from energy saver light bulbs, car pools or even walking, to recycling and using recyclable material. This is not sufficient, what we need is a green revolution, government intervention to stimulate a move towards a greener economy. This intervention should be in the form of incentives to stimulate innovation in greener technology, tax credits for individuals that install solar power panels or insulate and reduce the carbon foot print of their homes and in the form of taxes on services that involve carbon emissions to ensure that alternative energy forms are given the chance to reach competitive and sustainable levels.

Oh, I can hear the loud screams of conservatives against taxes and government intervention that will affect our lives in the immediate future. We need to look at the long term at the sustainability of the standards of living we enjoy and would aspire to continue enjoying.

Change was never easy and people will resist change even when they know it is good for them. But change we must if we want our children and grand children to have a clean environment and a habitable planet.