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PAGE A10 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 1991 4 â€"*\\\\V/fl% ?!:‘l:?%;n Z{/}.‘//, Their serendipity can almost be counted upon â€" even predicted â€" because those who keep busy on projects of various kinds, in which they are genuinely interested, are always coming up with happy ad unexpected things which, upon reflection, are perfectly natural byâ€"products of their activity. It‘s like finding a fiveâ€"dollar bill while out picking mushâ€" rooms: it seems like a lucky find until you realize that you wouldn‘t have found it if you had not gone looking for mushrooms But there is more to the meaning of the word than might ippear People who have an apparent aptitude for making fortunate discoveries, seemingly by accident, are always people who are following their natural curiosity, who are always looking for something interesting any way All of this is wellâ€"known and counted upon by successful business people and scientists. We would all be amazed to learn how many of today‘s most popular and profitable products and services were stumbled upon, quite by accident, by people who were busily engaged in looking for something else. Talk to successful salespeople and they‘ll tell you a good share of their incomes are derived from stumbling on unexpected sales while on the track of a prospect who may turn them down cold. The important thing to realize is that they were busily engaged in pursuing their business, or these unexpected sales would not have been made As Sophocles pointed out. "Heaven ne‘er helps the men who will not act. Scientific breakthroughs have been equally serendipitous; penicillin is a case in point. Sir Alexander Fleming relates that this chance discovery was infinitely more important than what he was looking for at the time At any rate, it‘s an interesting word â€" serendipity. You might want to make it part of your vocabulary. if it isn‘t already in it, ind a part of your life, if it isn‘t already there People who know that serendipity can occur only while they ire actively engaged in some other pursuit, and who have inquiring minds, find their lives filled with pleasant and often profitable surprises. It is a word that lends meaning to the old saying that God helps those who help themselves Or as Aeschylus put it "To the man who himself strives earnestly, God also lends a helping hand." Geoff Fellows operates the Human Resource Development Institute, PO. Box 642, Cambridge, NIR 5W1, providing effectiveness training for business and industry. Make serendipity part of your life The theme of the story made such an impact that the word serendipity became part of the language, meaning an apparent iptitude for making fortunate discoveries while in search of something else How often have you been rummaging through your belong nas. looking for one thing. and finding other things you had "orgotten you had" Or gone into a shop intent on buying one ‘hing and come out with something quite different‘ Back in 1754, Horace Walpole wrote a story about the Three Princes of Serendip, who made the most amazing and delightful discoveries, seemingly by accident Since 1974 hildren, serendipity tills their Iives. Send them on an nd, as often as not. they will forget it completely )f some intriguing discovery that has caught their the way g 39 .& PERSPECTIVE * °. Stephanie Mancini and others at the Working Centre assist local people in job transition as a result of plant closings. Thousands of plant workers are bracing themselves for the inevâ€" itable â€" unemployment. At plants such as Seagram Distillery and Uniroyal Goodrich, employâ€" ees know their jobs will be gone before too long. And those who worked at other plants that have closed, such as Sunarâ€"Hauserâ€" man, know what‘s in store for those who are waiting for the axe to fall. For them, the recession is no where near over. The transition period between losing one job and finding another can be a very difficult time, Easing the ‘shock‘ of a plant‘sâ€"closure Deborah Crandal! Chronicle Staff It‘s a scenario that‘s become all too familiar across Waterloo Reg: ion, and the country, for that matter «& _ < Te \‘3"’% The Working Centre has been assisting people in work transiâ€" tion for more than a decade, providing services such as group employment â€" counselling, job searching â€" groups, â€" individual counselling, and career planning. But the recession has made it necessary for the Centre to estabâ€" lish a "Plant Closings Response", in which the Centre works on a contract basis with plants that are closing. Fortunately, the Working Cenâ€" tre, Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo‘s selfâ€" help unemployment resource cenâ€" tre, can provide assistance for those facing that transition. especially for longâ€"time employâ€" ees, older employees, or employ: ees with limited skills. House «: Cedar 210 Regina St. N., Waterloo 885â€"1711 ' The Area‘s Cedar SuperStore 6 Grades Cedar "The first thing the committee does is sit down and talk about what they want to do," says Stephanie Mancini, program coâ€" ordinator. "And one of the first things a committee looks as doing is interviewing the employees to determine what their needs are and what their interests are. That‘s a role that the Working Centre plays." Some of those services include retraining programs (often done in conjuction with the Canada Employement Centre and the Kâ€" W Training Advisory Council), job search assistance, counselling services and emotional support, financial planning, continuing education information, and reâ€" sume writing. In any plant closing processs, the Working Centre has to bid against private consulting firms. If successful, it then begins workâ€" ing with the committee and the employees. "We first interview everyone, and then we report back to the committee with the basic needs that were outlined or that we saw or that people talked about in interviews," Mancini says. "And then we can make some recomâ€" mendations back to the commitâ€" tee as to what we think woud be useful. At that point, the informaâ€" tion is the property of the commitâ€" tee, and they help to shape the strategy around what would come into that picture. We form part of the committee at at point, and work with them on developing support services." s Many plant closure committees establish a dropâ€"in centre, usually located at the plant, where these services are offered. Steven Kaye, a former employee of Domtar Packaging and a representative on that plant‘s closure committee, has been working with employees at such a dropâ€"in centre since that plant announced its closing last April. "In general, things have been going quite well," Kaye says of (Continued on page A11) At that time, a committee is usually formed, made up of plant management, plant employees, federal and provincial governâ€" ment representatives and a repreâ€" sentative of the community who sits as chairperson of the commitâ€" off 50 or more employees, it is required that the closure or layâ€" offs be reported to the Ministry of Labor. Representatives with the provincial and federal goverment then meet with the plant‘s manâ€" agement to discuss and come to an agreement as to how they can provide support to the laid off worker. YAMAH% BOB GRA MUSIC LTD: 13 King St. Sout (at Eb) Watartoo . 886â€"0100 11 3