Episode 138: 12th November 2020

Surrounded by Psychopaths, upskilling & Madam C J Walker.

The phrase ‘upskilling’ seems to be in danger of getting too much publicity as we spin ever faster into the digital age but this week we take a look at whether ‘upskilling’ it is just another fancy pants word for ‘training’? Forbes talks us through what and why this is important and helps us to recognise the true meaning of the word.

We both unearthed a detailed article from PWC (PriceWaterhouse Coopers) which expands very much on why we need to be looking to upskill staff to make sure they are ‘work ready’ for the needs of the future business world but we also learn that the financial investment needs to be balanced with the costs of not investing in the type of staff development and we also unearth their comprehensive resource on the subject which is well worth checking out.

In other news we not only discover that it is nigh on impossible to find a story that is not related to Covid19 but aren’t surprised by some of the data being released by the ONS around employment figures this month. We also turn to our focus to the long suffering High Street but discover there is hope within our local communities if we choose to seize opportunity when it comes knocking. In www.positive.news we learn about a number of community ownership  projects that are proving successful in re-energising some of Britain’s High Streets.

Our review section this week sees us reviewing a book by an author we have previously mentioned. Thomas Erikson, author of Surrounded By Idiots has also penned a sequel called Surrounded by Psychopaths or How To Stop Being Exploited By Others in which he guides us through understanding how we respond to others, how we are influenced by others and how we can be manipulated by others in many real life situations. Interesting reading indeed. PLUS as part of our journey of self discovery it lead us both to complete a simplified DiSC profile which, once Heather got her head around her reds from her greens proved interesting reading. You can do your own simple DiSC profile here.

And finally, as October was Black History Month, our attention was caught by a lady who neither of us had heard of but who, it transpires, after being born to a poor family and after experiencing real hardship transformed her life to be recorded, in the Guiness Book of World Records as the first female self-made millionaire in America. All of this despite being born in 1867 into an abusive family, widowed with two children at the age of 20 and found inspiration in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in St Louis, Missouri. All in all a fascinating story and one worth reading about here.

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