11 March 2014

Bogan's Rant - With Michael McShane - March 2014

Bogan bubbled over on the weekend. There was thongs, a Stubby in my hand and a stubbies label on my shorts but I couldn't get back to my happy place no matter what I tried. You think you know what fired Bogan into a rant to be remembered? Did you guess it was Finding Nemo? Because, interestingly, you'd be right.

If you've got kids you'll probably know that there is absolutely no limit to the number of times a small person can watch the same movie. It's one thing this Bogan is actually pretty grateful for. Because when the kids decide it's time for some Disney fun, I can watch the AFL without someone trying to crash tackle the remote from my death grip.

But this weekend I was sitting down watching Nemo and had an absolute epiphany. A child fish with a bung arm worked out that if a whole group of fish worked together they could avoid getting eaten, when all of the reportedly 'grown up' fish were swimming in different directions trying to save their own hide. In the end, self interest was getting them nowhere but closer to danger.

Well blow me down! What a theory! Too bad in this modern corporate world of territorial natures and blatant self interest that we haven't learned a lesson that was obvious to a gimp fish.

Every day. No Joke. Every SINGLE day I hear of people in this industry who are looking after their own backside for the purpose of looking after their own backside.

What are they doing? They are the dobbers, the pointers and the blame layers. The people who will happily point out failures, real or perceived and parade them in very public ways. Does this make them the doers and the go getters? No, absolutely not. This breed is the champion of the 'That's not my job' and 'That's not your job, it's mine'.

Fear and a lack of job security is encouraging us to put some pretty darn important qualities back in the swag for the long haul and I'd like to see them unpacked again.

Where is the trust, the loyalty and the teamwork that make Australia an awesome place to live, work and call home? Why do we work against each other when clearly we can acheive more if we're swimming in the same direction? 

Buggered if I know.

So what are we going to do about it? Clearly the pointing and antagonism is their game and not ours. We can't solve a problem by utilising it's tools of destruction. So here's what I'm proposing.

Today when you meet up with the lover of self, the defender of imaginary turf, the least team of players; I want you to walk up to them and give them a big hug and tell them that it's from Bogan McShane. That he understands how hard the market is and what it's like to feel insecure. Like an evangelist without any of the creepy stuff, he wants to show them a better way. A team approach. A one in, all in way for the industry as a whole to prosper. After all, the number of people in the Mining Industry in Australia couldn't fill a postage stamp on the envelope of humanity. We're a small group that I see as a close knit community.

Let's not rip each other apart. Let's stand united and take the challenges of this market head on.

I'm Bogan McShane, and I'm here if you need a hug.

Note: Hugs may be digital at the discretion of Bogan incorporated. Photo identification and police clearance is required to enter the hug zone.

Bogan's Pet Hate: Cars with an animal magnetism towards push bike riders. I know you're jealous of my lycra buddy, but can we wait to hug it out until a time when you're not in a metal cage?