I was watching an episode of JAG, the American legal show focusing on US Navy operations with a particular emphasis on the F-14 Tomcat. The episode in question had the F-117 Nighthawk as the aircraft undergoing tests and it got me thinking, wasn’t this a US Air Force jet fighter and not a navy jet? I couldn’t see the navy landing one of these on an aircraft carrier – not that I would know.

I started to do some checks and found the aircraft became operational in 1983, much earlier than I thought and retired in 2008 – I was under the impression this aircraft was still operational. The F-117 was only became known to the general public in 1998; so I guess this aircraft flew secret night missions keeping the aircraft secret. Research indicated the aircraft was supposed to be retired in 2011; but was retired earlier than planned to free up funding for the F-22 Raptor.

The  F-117 was given the F for fighter designation even though the aircraft undertook the primary role of attack (or A designation) although the aircraft wasn’t an air-to-air superiority fighter instead utilised for laser guided bombing runs and not ground attack duties that is undertaken by the A-10. But then, the B-2 bomber pretty much does the same role as the F-117 and is a much bigger platform with the ability to carry a greater payload.

The corporate world understands the requirement of developing their employees, a government and private university model operates worldwide, the latest incarnation is the corporate university. The Motorola University doesn’t award bachelor degrees, it does offer fairly impressive corporate level training aligned to organisational goals and no longer offers courses to the general public.

Motorola has been a leader in internal training and even though what they offer isn’t a real university education; the partnership with public training providers serves Motorola employees with course content focusing on quality engineering such a six sigma, customer service and satisfaction and management issues.

The old orthodox views of politics of centre-right or centre-left governments are giving way to ultra-left and ultra-right wing policies driven by voter dissatisfaction with the prevailing direction their nations are headed.

The huge inflows of Muslim refugees into Europe are fueling right-wing nationalistic agendas; countering this movement is the socialist ideology of the near bankrupted nations severely affected by the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Structurally, these countries were already on a slow track to failure, the GFC and resulting financial shocks brought about a more rapid decline. The EU nations led by Germany and France were willing to bail out these bankrupted countries, this financial rescue package needed to be met with some fiscal responsibility that wasn’t appreciated.

Can you blame the Germans, we will lend you an endless stream of money and you don’t have to change anything. Our citizens are happy to subsidise your inefficient practices, your lack of work ethics, overblown bureaucracy and a national unwillingness to pay tax. Yeah right, we will bail you out but you need to make the necessary structural changes required to support an efficient economy.

In Australia, we have a coalition government willing to adapt left-wing feel good policies instead of addressing the pressing issue of successive budget deficits and the increasing public debt after the disastrous two terms of the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd governments. Beginning under the later years of the Howard government and greatly expanded by the Rudd and Gillard governments, the middle class welfare saw just over fourty percent of all of Australian taxpayers pay no net tax after rebates and family payments.

In their own Donald Trump moment, the Philippines people have elected their own self-described wannabe rapist. Riding a wave of misplaced nationalistic pride, Rodrigo Duterte is threatening to kick the Americans out of the country in a move that would certainly embolden Chinese claims to the Sprately Islands, apparently they can go it alone. He has made a bunch of non-sense claims intent on drawing headlines and popularity to a nation still shackled with corruption and a vast poor uneducated sub-class. Then there is his vigilante groups bringing their own form of self-indulgent justice to the city of Davao.

And finally, there is The Donald claiming to make America great again. The business tycoon and property speculator seeks an isolationist view for the United States; but hey, wasn’t it property speculation that got them to this point? The majority of people blame governments for their plight, they are seeking poorly designed policies that are not grounded in economic theory where everyone receives benefits from the governments but nobody contributes, simplistic answers to complex problems consequently fail. Geez, what a mess.

I view financial management firms offering fairly standard financial instruments such as stockbroking, bond and cash management services as a reasonably sound business model in a highly competitive field.

You can, if you are aggressive enough get a little more tricky and trade options, warrants and futures; then there is commodities trading and forex if you really enjoy a wild ride. I see wealth management divisions connected to financial services firms and I frequently ask myself, what do wealth management divisions actually do?

I had to go looking for a complete definition of wealth management to assist my comprehension wealth management and my research led me to believe that wealth management is a high-end service combining multiple fields. Wealth management is a high-level professional service holistically incorporating financial investment advice with retirement planning including accounting and tax minimisation strategies with estate planning and legal advice.

Receiving financial planning advice is not cheap; likewise, the fees superannuation funds levy against members is very costly so future retirees are faced with a quandary. One has to ask, does the greater fees charged by wealth management divisions result in higher earnings? Generally speaking, in order to qualify as a client to wealth management divisions, the individual may require one million, five million or ten million in funds. These products are targeting high net worth individuals seeking complex instruments to minimise tax and generate higher than industry returns – then fair enough.

It has been argued the best method of managing up is to make your boss look good in front of their superiors. This is all good in theory but harder to implement in practice; my experiences are less than stellar in this regard. I have been lucky to work with some really great mangers, this is why my current predicament really grates me.

When making your boss look good in front of their superiors doesn’t work, then your best option is to get your facts together after extensive research and go right over them to their superiors. You will naturally be met with suspicion, but if you have documented your interactions then you have a strong case. I now don’t stress about my interactions, I tell them exactly what I am about to do to give them the option of action and then break the golden rule of managing up and make them look like fools in front of their superiors.

Workplace bullying is costly business not only talented people but ultimately profits. Despite recent laws coming into effect in January 2014 encouraging reporting of workplace bullying, this trend is showing no signs of abating.

A survey of Australian businesses by Drake International found more than half of survey respondents have witnessed workplace bullying with slightly over twenty five per cent reporting bullying behaviour directed towards them. That’s pretty disturbing news and it’s costing Australian business billions annually, the loss of productivity is difficult to calculate with a 2012 federal government inquiry estimating costs between $6 to $36 billion.

Adjunct Professor Ward sums it up well, what I failed to learn was all systems are indeed political systems; apparently I lacked the foresight to play the game effectively and now I am paying.

Forget about competence, forget about hard work, forget about updating your qualifications and knowledge and forget about team results – the political system and playing it well is all that counts. The Machiavellian tendencies of managers forging their personal empires at the expense of team work and increased productivity is endemic. While networking is considered an absolute must for well connected professionals. The prevalence of building political systems at the expense of competence and sustainable outcomes for game-playing is systematic.

So all hell has broken out at my workplace, a whistleblower has reported wrongdoing and corruption to the relevant authorities and the old boy’s club is in damage control. So while one would expect a whole bunch of measures to prevent these occurrences happening again – that’s not how we roll.

Instead we have to mount an inquisition, better known as a witch hunt to attempt to flush out the alleged perpetrator. Instead of providing leadership in a stressful period to stamp out the inequity leading to the disclosure, an approach reinforcing the negative behaviours is their modus operandi. Naturally I was the one they supposedly identified, no evidence of course – speculation and finger pointing is the way we operate.

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2003, Western Australia is designed to prevent whistleblowers from harassment in the workplace. Ok, so the objectives of these laws are to provide protection against victimisation and appropriate protection for those who make such reports. The laws should provide a safe means to report wrongdoing with a framework to properly deal with and fix reported matters. So what really happens is the whistleblower whilst trying to remain anonymous really suffers detrimental career effects after the whistleblower is hunted down and harassed into submission.

I hardly go to the movies anymore despite wanting to view The Big Short and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. My second choice was much to my embarrassment but I wanted to see what the big deal was about anyway even if I am not a sci-fi geek.

It never happened, but I wasn’t perturbed as I knew I was flying Singapore Airlines in late April and could more than likely view the movie on the inflight entertainment system. I’m happy enough watching a movie on the inflight entertainment system, it gives me the opportunity to enjoy and reflect on the movie.

When Wall Street II: Money Never Sleeps was released, I immediately dragged my arse down the local cinema for a late night screening. I was not willing to wait a while to watch this excellent depiction of the GFC sub-prime crisis and resulting aftermath as Michael Douglas once again played Gordon Gekko brilliantly.

We already knew Ryan Gosling was an excellent dramatic actor, likewise Brad Pitt is well renowned but the real smokey is Steve Carell. A comedy actor owning a dramatic role in much the same way Robin Williams transitioned from Mork from Ork to Good Will Hunting is playing out before us. Carell plays a burnt out fund manager who through experience has observed a huge lie perpetuated by the banks and financial institutions. Lacking fundamental teamwork and communication skills, he attempts to reason with people who have no interest in putting an end to the greed.

Ironically when the collapse eventuated in late 2007, I was in the Philippines and instead of going diving that day I stayed glued to my hotel television screen watching Bloomberg and contemplating my next move. I still recall an industry expert telling me by 2010 this will all be a bad memory. Even as this event unfolded the financial experts grossly underestimated the extent of this financial disaster that ruined the retirements of so many innocent people across the globe.

Flying Cebu Pacific is like playing Russian roulette, it is a choice of either red or black. You can’t hedge your bets, you are either in or you are out. A recent flight from Manila to Iloilo saw an sms message received at 4:07 in the morning – are you fucking joking? The reason given was extended service of the aircraft, what that really means is a fault existed with the aircraft – fair enough as safety is paramount.

As the 11:30 am flight was cancelled; the next option was get the 3 pm flight, not a bad compromise I suppose. Though waiting at the airport for hours, the 3 pm flight was delayed, limited messages and limited staff interaction ensured – great. After extensive delays the flight was cancelled, luckily for me, I was proactive already changing to the next flight. I felt sorry for the all the people waiting patiently for a flight that wasn’t going to happen.

These poor people were left without a flight and they quickly scrambled to secure a flight when it became clear this one wasn’t going; some were rebooked on PAL, many missed out – this is no way to run an airline. Cebu Pacific totally wasted a day of my holiday; my time is precious and I do not appreciate being treated in such a manner. The wheels of the plane were still on the ground at 5:45 but at least we were on the taxiway now.

It was annoying after all the messing around and inefficiency, the weather had closed in now – great. The flight has been delayed because of weather conditions; the really annoying factor was – the weather was fine when the schedule was in time. Can’t this mob get anything right? I had an appointment that was cancelled – they totally wasted my precious time and they just don’t care.