Author Archives: browney

I’m entering the Twilight Zone

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I feel like I’m entering the Twilight Zone, a place where I will be in two worlds both of which in their own ways will be all consuming.

The first is my job and the second is one I’m both excited about and very nervous about – University!

I’m used to the ups and downs of my life in professional practice as well as it’s demands. It’s been my life for the last 35 years, but University is different. Whilst I completed some post grad study about ten years ago it was quite straight forward as was dabbling in study last year, just a subject a semester.

It already seems that I need to operate in a parallel universe. Scheduling my time is already a nightmare but would be so much easier if I operated in two universes. For example, I could be in both Sydney for an important client meeting and on campus learning about the approach to research at the same time.

If I operated in parallel universe I could attend to my work emails, proposals and client demands in the evening whilst also preparing for next week’s seminar.

It would all be so much easier with effectively 48 hours in one day, but alas that isn’t going to be the case; I’ll be stuck in the twilight zone flipping between two equally demanding universes.

Orientation Day!

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A couple of weeks ago I posted about my new adventure. Today I sat through the Orientation Lecture for Honours.

Here are my thoughts …

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Springsteen – He’s in my Hometown

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It’s only eleven months since after the best part of forty years I saw Bruce Springsteen again and this time in my hometown of Adelaide.

This is the best concert I’ve seen since I saw Springsteen last year and that was the best concert I’d ever been too!

To say I am a fan would be a gross understatement. Just thinking of the concert whilst I write this post sends shivers down my spine. I’m sitting in a plane going back to Perth for the second time in the week listening to The Boss and the memories flood back.

It was another stinking hot night in Adelaide and

Continue reading →

Who do I write for?

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Who is your Reader?

My blog is not a Dear Diary, however it is my own personal reflection. It’s not my goal to reveal my inner most secrets, but an opportunity to write about what matters to me.

It was as I have posted before a way for me to keep myself honest to my personal challenge of writing a thousand words a month. I have achieved that goal in each and every month whether through this blog, via my articles for The Adelaide Review or in my University assignments.

I write because I enjoy it. It’s both intellectually stimulating and relaxing at the same time, although as I am reviewing and editing a post the relaxation aspect can get lost in my desire to get the grammar right! That’s why I enjoy my personal fifteen minutes and then post challenges, of which this is one.

Also I think My writing has got better. Maybe that’s not surprising because it’s like everything – the more you practice at something the better you get. I’ve even tried to write some fiction which is a long way out of my comfort zone.

I haven’t written my posts to necessarily have them read by lots of people, which is fortunate because they haven’t been. That said, I have been gratified that sometimes my posts get some comment and the occasional like.

So when I answer the question who do I write for its Me!

Is this one bite too much?

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I am notorious for taking on challenges. I’m never happy unless I’m busy.

Following a weekend in late 2012, organised by firm on life after professional services I read a book called Working Identity by Herminia Ibarra at the recommendation of one of the facilitators. Thanks for recommending it Tim!

The central plank of the book is to experiment before committing. As I put that thought into practice last year I took a couple of undergraduate subjects in Media. It involved sitting in lectures, attending tutorials and writing essays. I did really well – hopefully not a false positive!

As I continued to experiment I also struck up a dialogue with the Commerce School of a local university about how I might go about undertaking some research.

I also started to write articles for The Adelaide Review, all the time continuing with my full time work.

I took plenty on and certainly wasn’t bored!

As the year went on, I found I was really enjoying my study and was looking to further it. Why not do some Postgraduate study in my field I thought. So I started a conversation with the Commerce School and they were enthusiastic. I was too – hopefully not another false positive

Next step, how to go about it. A Masters by Research and then PHD maybe? Seemed pretty good until we talked more and I realised I had no research skills of an academic nature. I had considerable research and writing experience but business is different to academia. This was likely to be a limiting factor. Then came the suggestion of undertaking Honours which could lead into a PHD.

I applied had an interview and was accepted into Honours – another positive step. I thought that was job done and it would have been if my potential Supervisor hadn’t taken early retirement! This was a potential issue as having a supervisor is essential.

The challenge now was to find a Supervisor.

Over Christmas I wrote a submission. This is when I learned something which I now understand is a key issue, that being, how important having a Supervisor interested in the topic is.

Over the next couple of weeks I had a series of meetings with potential Supervisors, eventually finding one who was interested in a topic which I had initially discussed with the Commerce School in October.

So I now have a supervisor and idea for a research question . With that the journey begins!

The question is have I bitten off more than I can chew?

Photo: An Australian university campus’ Image: An Australian university campus (AimanB; Flickr.com/ Creative Commons)