tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396456199754420872024-03-05T16:23:19.469+00:00Management by AmateursIt's all about the biscuits!Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-48138844438664483912008-07-02T18:35:00.004+01:002008-07-02T18:41:24.481+01:00Emotions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/22/29893744_8bafa424e2.jpg?v=0"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/22/29893744_8bafa424e2.jpg?v=0" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />There are 6000 words in the English language representing emotions.<sup>1</sup> Can you name more than 30?<br /><br />How does this affect your understanding of other peoples feelings?<br /><br /><sup>1</sup><small><a href="http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/tony_robbins_asks_why_we_do_what_we_do.html">Tony Robbins @ TED</a></small>Sam Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08421549166318810378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-43121052123196957312008-03-06T11:57:00.000+00:002008-03-06T12:00:54.209+00:00Some advice on inspiration(1) Never apologize for your enthusiasm, passion, or vision.<br />(2) Never apologize for being inspired by another human being.<br />(3) Seek out inspiration (don't wait for it).<br />(4) Inspire others by sharing your talents and time.<br />(5) And no matter what: Don't let the bozos grind you down, ever. <br /><br />From zenpresentation.Sam Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08421549166318810378noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-19054229101334990012007-08-02T10:13:00.000+01:002007-08-02T10:21:28.808+01:00Career Advice from DilbertScott Adams, the creator of the wonderfully funny (and scarily accurate) Dilbert comic strip <a href="http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/07/career-advice.html">shares his advice on how to have a successful life</a>.<br /><br /><blockquote>If you want an average successful life, it doesn’t take much planning. Just stay out of trouble, go to school, and apply for jobs you might like. But if you want something extraordinary... become very good (top 25%) at two or more things.</blockquote>Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-27126285644661566232007-07-19T14:33:00.000+01:002007-08-02T10:21:53.628+01:00Can we fix it? Yes we can!<a href="http://www.symphonious.net/wp-content/bob_the_builder.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px;" src="http://www.symphonious.net/wp-content/bob_the_builder.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a>There I was, minding my own business on the web when out of the blue I got hit with this on a corporate webpage:<br /><br /><blockquote>"Our principal businesses are positioned in large growth markets driven by the continuing trend to outsource the maintenance and management of buildings and by the high levels of investment required to renew the UK's health, leisure and education facilities and its transport and utility infrastructure. With over 8,500 employees, we aim to be the partner of choice in the built environment where we can provide integrated solutions for our broad range of public, private and regulator sector clients."<br /></blockquote><br /><br />Ouch! I should have been wearing a hard hat for that one. I <em>think</em>, roughly translated into English it means that they 'build stuff'. Please dear reader, if you think you can rescue the true message from that horribly verbose rubble pile of words please let me know!BrianDroughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832996221488954963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-63869204906135956602007-07-19T11:16:00.000+01:002007-07-19T11:33:11.502+01:00Jack of All Trades.....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UqtgPfMh3USXtGP7OG0W2JhCC4ZBWQk-LB01efsrCfKxUfEYubEyjHfxREHF2nrxO9CksFCsjTYD5EjJd-Q8gKh9vYfSpmWZYhaY-haK0udEm9nM3a0nRvk19-cFnjFL73YZtmFs8W0/s1600-h/images.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UqtgPfMh3USXtGP7OG0W2JhCC4ZBWQk-LB01efsrCfKxUfEYubEyjHfxREHF2nrxO9CksFCsjTYD5EjJd-Q8gKh9vYfSpmWZYhaY-haK0udEm9nM3a0nRvk19-cFnjFL73YZtmFs8W0/s200/images.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088853756763697810" /></a><blockquote>‘Man is the only animal that has bothered to work out half-a-dozen quite different ways of swimming, yet we are stillthe slowest of all swimming animals.’ <br>-Miles Kington.</blockquote><br />Two points from this great quote.<br /><br />1. It's no use being an all rounder if you are useless at everything.<br /><br />2. Don't reinvent stuff that has already been invented. Look around at your competitors, colleagues, friends and allies. If they've done it before, borrow it.Sam Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08421549166318810378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-31987308911352420782007-07-18T12:37:00.000+01:002007-07-18T13:18:38.147+01:00Harry Potter and the Death of Bookshops<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7yGQY5Dy2LNkXqwUh6P1w6KRFCn0stamRrnStbzEs68bQhpJqoGgfiRBcRjo1SQtMc6CX_CMCaVgmW3qJi5wjUgpPTOeMkANljNN2h2sQqtyZU_wBFoKiKFsLbvUyzeDTlZ1UVMAM_n8N/s1600-h/potter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7yGQY5Dy2LNkXqwUh6P1w6KRFCn0stamRrnStbzEs68bQhpJqoGgfiRBcRjo1SQtMc6CX_CMCaVgmW3qJi5wjUgpPTOeMkANljNN2h2sQqtyZU_wBFoKiKFsLbvUyzeDTlZ1UVMAM_n8N/s320/potter.jpg" alt="Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088510130264511074" border="1" /></a>It probably hasn't escaped your notice that the final Harry Potter book is out this weekend. Looking a bit harder at some of the reporting around this there's considerable grumbling that Harry Potter is the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6902031.stm">death of independent bookshops</a> and the <a href="http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/07/harry_potters_big_con_is_the_p.html">death of literature</a> and the <a href="http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/07/what_does_a_potterless_future.html">book industry</a>. I'm not going to argue with facts and figures presented by experts (largely because I can't be bothered) and I'm going to skim over the fact that Harry Potter has brought millions of pounds to it's publisher and all manner of bookshops and even managed to do wonders for film making in the UK. It's a fair point that independents can't compete on price with the bulk sellers like Waterstones and supermarkets that sell at a loss just to get people through the door. So they'll just have to compete on other fronts that big shops can't manage - quality, personal service.<br /><br />Here are my top 10 hints for getting the most out of Harry Potter (some of which are admittedly a bit late)<br /><ol><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Throw a Potter Party</span> - lots of the big shops are doing this, but local shops can make even more of it. Build a community who cares about you and they won't mind paying a little extra to buy from Rita or Chris vs. buying from faceless corporation.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Throw an anti-Potter Party</span> - if you really don't like the book, or don't think you're going to sell many otherwise, make a point of it. Throw a party celebrating other books. Maybe you have some Potter's available at full RRP for the desperate, you can take the high ground *and* take their cash if you advertise it with some humour.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Vouchers </span>- give away books of vouchers with the book for future discounts, you could even have date ranges on them to keep people coming in for the next few months. </li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Discounts </span>- give people a discount for buying other books, Borders are doing 20% off all books other than Harry Potter before midnight on Friday.<br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rely on your locality</span> - independents are saying they can't compete with supermarket prices. If you can't/won't take a hit on your profit margins rely on the fact that people might not want to trek to get a copy of the book and will pay a premium for convenience</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Deliver </span>- take your locality even further and jump on your bike. Take pre-orders and a promise to deliver the book to their doorstep.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reward Schemes</span> - For 3 months before the release of the book offer a stamp scheme, every time you buy a book you get a stamp which will give you a pound off the rrp Harry Potter when it comes out. If you have to give it away free do you really care if it means you've sold 18 books to someone?</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign people up</span> - if they're pre-ordering, make sure you make the most of having their contact details. Send newsletters, offers and information before and after the event.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reading groups</span> - just 'cos kids love Potter doesn't mean their parents do. Use Potter to start a reading group that kids can join while their parents browse for their own reading material, or have a coffee. Once you've finished reading the Harry Potter books, slip straight on to something else and keep going.<br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Potter Support Groups</span> - for the more grown up readers extend the life of the book, have a series of discussion meetings before the launch re-reading the old ones, then discussing the final book, then discussing other similar books.<br /></li></ol>Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-54590661194993630612007-07-17T11:43:00.001+01:002007-07-17T13:15:04.019+01:00How to teach<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNMJ_hshH9yQoEF1Zv9hZXlMiXuLNXLQYx1arKqlWEeXA-wA7J8eh3YDqG1wCWPy9dIq5ZhuKxoJwMVdTXzDeUdPaw_tq-vnRlHaMr8_C-gQTgwjYqLd5B-H95rBjQGPLG3P8ggHTqzW8/s1600-h/362622_blackboard.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNMJ_hshH9yQoEF1Zv9hZXlMiXuLNXLQYx1arKqlWEeXA-wA7J8eh3YDqG1wCWPy9dIq5ZhuKxoJwMVdTXzDeUdPaw_tq-vnRlHaMr8_C-gQTgwjYqLd5B-H95rBjQGPLG3P8ggHTqzW8/s200/362622_blackboard.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088138172262511234" /></a>Had a bit of a break, but now I'm back!<br /><br />I stumbled across a cool site today: <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2739645619975442087&postID=5459066119499363061">Amateur Astronomy</a>. Work your way through it, it'll only take you 5 minutes or so.<br /><br />It's nothing flashy, complicated or groundbreaking, but it is a very simple tutorial on a few key points. That exemplifies some <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">key</span> points in teaching.<br /><br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Minimise</span>: break it down into a very small number of simple points per lesson. Have multiple lessons if necessary.<br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Repeat</span>: keep going over the points you've already covered and recap frequently so that everything branches off from one point.<br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Practice</span>: make sure there's <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">something</span> for your pupils to do. The astronomy example is a good <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">webpage</span>, but if you're giving a presentation have multiple choices for people to show their hands at, or if it's with kids have them move about and vote with their feet or something.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cheat</span>: provide tricks and tips for how to remember things, anecdotes and jokes make for a more enjoyable lesson and that will trigger the memory. If you have to teach facts hunt for little mnemonics, I am truly awful at remembering formulae, after many many years studying physics pretty much the only formula I can remember is that for a pendulum - "The laws of nature quoth he, are truly a marvel to me, for each tick and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">tock</span>, of the grandfather clock is 2 pi root l over g"</li></ul>Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-23307957982866351412007-07-13T11:26:00.000+01:002007-07-13T11:30:33.764+01:00Ten Things to Learn This School YearI've been somewhat lax in posting recently, although not as slack as some of my supposed co-writers ;0) We're still working out if and how this thing is going to work, so things are pretty random for a bit.<br /><br />In proper news here's an interesting list of tips for <a href="http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/08/ten_things_to_l.html">how to move from college to workplace</a> with some interesting hints on how things are different. The survey at the top is a bit dull, but as a quick hint list this works pretty well.Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-87860408039241285432007-06-29T11:40:00.000+01:002007-06-29T14:05:50.137+01:00The Ninth Circle of Hell - Customer Service LinesI have just spent over an hour on the phone to BT trying to resolve a problem. It's taken me 5 phonecalls to find out that it's not their fault and there's nothing they can do. in that time they hung up on me once, navigated me into a dead end and connected me to a headset that no one was connected to leaving me shouting down the line until Miranda deigned to pick up her headset and start the script as if nothing had happened. The issue I was trying to resolve turns out to not be BTs fault (well, more actually, not their problem) but I don't care, because I have had to deal with a mess of automated menus and 4 rude staff who gave the disctinct impression I was interfering with their coffee break.<br /><br />I wrote the following a while ago as <a href="http://www.sulkyblue.co.uk/misc/hell9.php">part of a series</a>, but never have these words felt more true.<br /><br /><br /><p>The innermost circle of hell is a space assigned to those who have betrayed people are close to. The traitors are punished by being buried in a frozen lake, the depth varying according to the severity of the betrayal, with Satan living at the very centre. To this region I am condemning all those companies that betray those they should in fact be thinking of above all others, their customers. How better to exemplify that then by labelling customer service lines as the 9th circle of hell.</p> <p>No one calls a customer support line for the fun of it, you don't suddenly find yourself without a cd you fancy and desperately craving bad hold music. Generally speaking if you've got as far as digging out a phone number and dialling the thing, you've got good reason to do it. The chances are also pretty good that you're phoning to complain about something. It may be a sad indicator for our times but you very rarely have people ringing up just to tell someone how lovely they are.</p> <p>You're either phoning up because something you want to happen, has not happened; something you don't want to happen, has happened; or because you want to do something completely out of the ordinary, like move house. At this glorious time in your life when you're living out of boxes and discovering that your furniture doesn't fit through any doors, the last thing you really want to be doing is faffing about trying to persuade companies that you would prefer not to continue paying the bills for your old property which is now occupied by a family of 28 who are trying to heat the entire borough. But they inform you that your account is assigned by GPS co-ordinates, so you'll need to shut everything down and start a new account. And there will be just a small surcharge for that.</p> <p>Of course before you can get that far, you have to negotiate through the automated system. "For sales select 1" (Sales is always 1, they're not stupid), "to respond to our advert and spend money select 2, for account queries select..." at which point you hit the 3 button only to be dropped off the end of the exchange system because the message actually finished "...select 8#*4".</p> <p>Several systems I've used then ask you to enter your customer ID so that they can run a quick check to see how profitable and troublesome you usually are to them, allowing them to assign you to a queue of appropriate length. Of course they don't make a note of that anywhere, so you'll still have to give all your details to a real human being who can't type.</p> <p>Then the hold music starts. There are some standard choices here, Vivaldi or similar cheerful classical piece that doesn't quite make you want to kill yourself. More controversial choices can include songs the company has paid for to use in advertising and are trying to get their money's worth, or quirky tunes to imply your company is hip and happening. My favourite one was an internet service provider who used Copacabana; funny the first time, less funny the tenth.</p> <p>Whatever hold music they're using it will be interrupted every 15 seconds by someone informing you that your call is important and someone will answer any second. Why do they bother with that? Do people actually get scared by the hold music? "Oh no! London Electricity have accidentally connected me to Classic FM!" The only useful ones are those that tell you your place in the queue, it's worth paying attention to these as on occasion I've had them go backwards and a couple of times I've come to the conclusion that the queue isn't actually moving at all and that the single person assigned to pick up the line is in fact on holiday for two weeks.</p> <p>Just as you've taken a large bite of something chewy or started singing along to the music, you get to talk to a real person. Well, optimistically you do, a couple of times that I've been put through only to hear the distant sounds of the call centre but with no one on the end of my line. Then they have to identify you, this involves an account number, security number, pin and at least three stupid security questions. "What is your memorable place?" well, that would depend on when I set up the account really, "what is your memorable word?" where do you start with that one?! I realise mother's maiden name could cause confusion for some people, but come on!</p> <p>Call centre staff fall into two categories - Perky Pattie who is in possession of free will or Catatonic Cathy who is in possession of a script. If you're phoning because you want to get something done Perky is really your best chance, she will make you believe that it's her life's mission to update your insurance details and she won't rest until it's done. On the flip-side if you wanted to complain about something you're going to be out of luck, because you'll feel completely guilty about ranting at poor Pattie when she is so very understanding and obviously not responsible for all your woes.</p> <p>Catatonic Cathy is a perfect target for your rants and you can really take it out on her as she follows the script through until falling off the end. She will not however be much help if you want something slightly off plot as their scripts are always woefully inadequate when it comes to real life problems. You will inevitably find yourself stuck in a loop of "This should have happened", "Well it hasn't", "well it should have" repeated until the universe dies.</p> <p>The upshot is it doesn't really matter which one you talk to, you're unlikely to get anything out of it. Catatonic Cathy has told you there's nothing she can do to help and at least gets bonus points for telling the truth. Perky Pattie meanwhile has promised you she will phone you right back and then never does. At least these days you clinging to a mobile instead of standing in a freezing phone box waiting for someone to phone back explaining how BT have screwed up. She'll ring back in just a couple of minutes. Any minute now...</p>Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-28631503823884556072007-06-28T16:08:00.000+01:002007-06-28T16:26:58.841+01:00Google DaysFor a number of people working with the web, myself included, Google will be pretty high up the list of dream companies to work for.<br /><br />When you see <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/jobs/culture.html">descriptions of their company culture and offices</a> it all sounds too good to be true. Free food, no dress code, subsidised massages and a commitment to allowing people to spend 20% of their work time on 'personal' projects. Their <a href="http://crave.cnet.co.uk/0,39029477,49290286-1,00.htm">offices look gorgeous</a> and they have a very strong commitment to <a href="http://www.google.com/corporate/solarpanels/home">green issues.</a>. Forbes named them <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007/">Best Company to Work For this year</a>.<br /><br />I think there's a lot to learn from their attitudes. Of course not everybody has the available funds and scale that they do, but there are elements of their work culture that just about everybody can learn from.<br /><br />Of course, if you're a somewhat bitter competitor who's been losing current and potential employees to the offer of a free lunch, there's even more reason to try and do better. But apparently if you're Microsoft rather than try to improve yourselves, you just <a href="http://no2google.wordpress.com/2007/06/24/life-at-google-the-microsoftie-perspective/">try and criticise the competition</a>. When they're recruiting young graduates, do they really think that being able to say "our health insurance policy is better than Google's" is going to work? No, they're going to look at the pictures of the funky office, grinning staff members and exciting projects and be sold on them.<br /><br />Make changes to your ways of working, make your staff happy and then show the world. Criticising the competition is just... tacky.Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-14856474420013898642007-06-27T13:32:00.001+01:002007-06-27T13:48:53.847+01:00Branding biblesI'm in the process of developing and launching a new project and I've reached a point where I want to gather up all the resources we have and put together a brand bible - everything that you could possibly need to promote the brand. A subset of this bible will become the press pack to be sent to journalists. I have the following list, can anyone think of anything I've missed?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Design:</span><br /><ul><li>Logo - variety of sizes, file types (including vector), black and white and colour</li><li>Colour palette</li><li>Style guide (mostly based on the website <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">css</span>) including things like fonts and colours of headings<br /></li><li>Screenshots of website</li><li>Head shots of chief exec and other relevant people</li><li>Collection of smaller icons that are used on our website (bullet point images, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">favicons</span> etc)<br /></li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Text:</span><br /><ul><li><a href="http://management-by-amateurs.blogspot.com/2007/04/blurbs.html">Blurb</a> - variety of lengths from paragraph to page long</li><li>Mission statement/letter of introduction type thing from the project's leader/founder/visionary</li><li>List of keywords/buzzwords - describing what we do and how we do it</li><li>Biographies of key people</li><li>Inspirational quotes from founders and interested parties (to be added to as we go)<br /></li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Templates:</span><br /><ul><li>Letter head for word</li><li>PowerPoint</li><li>Email signature</li></ul><br />Obviously as the project continues we'll add more to this, maybe we'd create a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">separate</span> 'history' text and include press releases. Can you think of anything I should be getting for the project launch?Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-19243183614326345692007-06-26T12:16:00.000+01:002007-06-26T12:22:04.170+01:00Original Thinking<span style="font-style:italic;">"It is too constricting to say that you must always think outside the box; whether you are thinking inside or outside the box, you are still letting the box dictate your thoughts, are you not? What you are not acknowledging is the honest fact that 'the box' itself is figmentary, illusory. And as long as one continues to act in reaction to this perceived set of dictates, one cannot be truly original in thought."</span><br /><br />— Erica Amelia Smith, <br />An Address as to the Nature of the "Proper" Uses of TechnologySam Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08421549166318810378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-54206638217724849212007-06-21T10:26:00.000+01:002007-06-21T10:28:58.485+01:00The future is bright<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggx37yypQbY3ErjwONX11xnEoeS64cE1n-oGcKDf89MNmPo22GazwH8RUrQBWoe0nX98i3IZWEgQ13SBWvZ6ApzvKVcpve__iPIw36SnZqrhzeQxOzWuWbwsASF4yK9ntGZc0hcKxJacvo/s1600-h/orange.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggx37yypQbY3ErjwONX11xnEoeS64cE1n-oGcKDf89MNmPo22GazwH8RUrQBWoe0nX98i3IZWEgQ13SBWvZ6ApzvKVcpve__iPIw36SnZqrhzeQxOzWuWbwsASF4yK9ntGZc0hcKxJacvo/s320/orange.gif" border="0" alt="orange!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078446852042839122" /></a><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6765355.stm">BBC News</a> has an interesting article on branding without using your logo. The <a href="http://www.orange.co.uk/glastonbury/">Chill n' Charge tent at Glastonberry</a> this weekend will let people charge their mobiles for free, but doesn't have any logos from the company providing the service... although the colour might give it away.<br /><br /><i> "We want people to walk away from the festival feeling more positive about our brand than when they arrived, to think that we have done something for them," said Mat Sears, spokesman for, yep, Orange.</i><br /><br />Shoving your logo on the programme really doesn't have much of an impact on people. Even if you're a title sponsor, what does that actually get you? Is someone who goes to the Virgin V festival more likely to use their services? They're paying for the tickets anyway so the 'service' Virgin are providing is a little illusive.<br /><br />Instead what Orange are doing is providing a useful and imaginative service, that is relevent to their brand. <br /><br />The service itself is the brand. <br /><br />I just hope the orange doesn't all turn mud coloured.Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-87135897548064903092007-06-20T11:09:00.000+01:002007-06-20T11:21:33.892+01:00Using the buzz<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sulkyblue/164119119/in/set-72157594157697848/"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08RdpdAxuxVLkF8aRMIogoTZ2L7RLjfsPGgBPDqAeG1ifxuTfdIE1q-qkA1Pt6WuXRO38-BFEkpl_WzK6lGpvYC8rhCP_2V81HpekKyjLRhJQtk4DjIx0YSJqUyGhEmv_XKgWOtaJlRbI/s320/164119119_1668de402a.jpg" border="0" alt="buzz!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078089588073223234" /></a><a href="http://management-by-amateurs.blogspot.com/2007/06/over-analysing-my-enthusiasm.html">Yesterday's post</a> talked (or maybe rambled) about enthusiasm curves, the natural way enthusiasm waxes and wains for a project. But what do you do with the enthusiasm when you have it and how do you create it when you don't?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.messagingtimes.com/blog/?p=970">Messaging Times</a> talks about encouraging enthusiasm:<br /><i>"Enthusiasm can’t be faked. You can’t expect your team to create buzz about your new project, product or service simply because you held a staff meeting and told them that it is something that matters to you or the business. It has to matter to them."</i><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Spread the buzz</span><br />When you're enthusiastic, talk about it; when you're not, shut up. Talk to people early on, even if they are not going to be involved with the project until a distant point in the future, enthuse at them while you can. If you spread your excitement to people that aren't going to get caught up in the inevitable slump, you can use their enthusiasm as a sort of emergency stock-pile.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Make the most of it</span><br />When you're feeling positive about the project you will do a better job selling it to other people. So near the beginning of the project write everything down, any ideas you have, snippets of copy, concepts for advertising; they can all be looked at later. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Smooth the curve</span><br />While you're enthusiastic get some of the boring tasks out the way, any of the nitty gritty stuff that can be cleared early. This may well bring you down a bit, but hopefully it will make your slump either shorter or less slumpy. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Get on with it</span><br />If your project has moved into development, just get on with it. Create a todo list and tick things off, I can motivate myself to do boring tasks using the simple reward of crossing something off a list. Make sure you share the list with other people, maybe the task you're dreading is straight-forward to someone else. Try to avoid going backwards and rethinking your original ideas and decisions unless there's unassailable practical problems. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Go towards the light</span><br />At some point, your enthusiasm is going to lapse (unless you're some kind of chirpy, optimistic freak) but even in the darkest moments you should have something to look forward to. Keep your initial ideas visible, put up pictures of designs and targets. Reward yourself and your colleagues when mile-stones are reached, the light at the end of the tunnel may be an usherette with an ice-cream tray.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Know when to quit</span><br />If your enthusiasm is low and the light at the end of the tunnel turns out to be someone with a torch running away from you, it may be that you need to give up. There's no point in chasing him for ever until he eventually disappears leaving you in the dark (to stretch the metaphor to death). Talk to the people you initially shared your enthusiasm with and try to re-ignite it. Think hard about whether the project is salvageable by taking a step backwards and rethinking it, or whether it's just a bad lot altogether. <br /><br />(That photo is one of mine so... © All rights reserved)Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-18769796909302539392007-06-19T11:10:00.000+01:002007-06-19T11:27:29.657+01:00Over-analysing my enthusiasmI'm involved in a number of projects at the moment, both personal and professional. I've put some thought into looking at how my enthusiasm for a project varies over time, mostly I do this thinking when my enthusiasm for everything else is low. Once I've flattened out short term bumps (post caffeine high, queued at bank slump) there are 2 ways I approach projects, converging to a point and then each splitting depending on the success of the project. I apologise for this astonishingly poor graphic.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6H4pvGGSkU2RIniaGY0E6JywvHAJByrZr8NDGX0He7IskZEVvZXPbZ_6ZqV1j-TuYGwBR22iPKQBgSWHOjb1c8GxVKDFggFNL42kqlz3R5Wp8E6VGMzO9gKz8KxJ-FMW_V79_l35aFyj/s1600-h/graph.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6H4pvGGSkU2RIniaGY0E6JywvHAJByrZr8NDGX0He7IskZEVvZXPbZ_6ZqV1j-TuYGwBR22iPKQBgSWHOjb1c8GxVKDFggFNL42kqlz3R5Wp8E6VGMzO9gKz8KxJ-FMW_V79_l35aFyj/s320/graph.gif" border="0" alt="Enthusiasm against time"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5077719950302827554" /></a><br /><br />Starting with high enthusiasm we have the green and blue lines, for me these applies often to projects that have lots of other people involved. At the start there's lots of enthusiasm for the new idea, you share visions and concepts and discuss big picture stuff. Then your project moves in to development and you slump to a mid level, you're still excited about the end results and what you'll be able to do, but you seem to spend your life in meetings discussing nitty gritty. <br /><br />Then the lines diverge, the green line plummets as you realise that your amazing idea has been committee'd to death and your vision is now a lowest common denominator. Motivation goes through the floor and the project either dies or lingers around hoping for a version 2 release that will do all the amazing stuff you previously dreamed of.<br /><br />More optimistically your project finishes and you have a burst of enthusiasm (hopefully accompanied by a celebration of some sorts, be it a pay rise, a party or just a drink in the pub). Your enthusiasm probably decreases gradually over time, but it's a natural aging process which can be bumped up again by the smallest of things, a nice email from a user, or a throw-away remark about how well things went.<br /><br />The other style of curve is shown in the red and purple lines, I more commonly follow these tracks for personal projects. You start off with an inkling of an idea that matures slowly in your brain until you reach a peak, maybe you talk to someone else about it who enthuses, or you just kick yourself into giving it a shot. Your enthusiasm takes a big hit as you're forced to deal with details, often something to do with money, paperwork or permissions. <br /><br />Red is danger here, this is a project that crashes and burns. All your enthusiasm and plottings just sort of cave in around you, maybe you lose confidence in your abilities (rightly or wrongly), maybe you are let down by other people, maybe what you wanted to do just isn't possible. For whatever reason your project just never gets off the ground. You struggle along for a little while, but eventually give up and declare it dead, leaving your enthusiasm at an all time low, with no motivation for starting another project.<br /><br />Purple here though is positive, Eventually you force your way through the hastles and can actually get on with what you want to do. Enthusiasm rises and with a bit of luck and effort, continues to rise as you watch your vague idea develop into something wonderful. The great thing about a project that works like this is that even if it has an end point your enthusiasm afterwards can be even higher (a holiday for example when you can look at the photos). You're a lot more likely to repeat the process all over again with a little more experience and knowledge, making the slump less slumpy.<br /><br />Of course knowing what these curves look like doesn't really help you identify what colour your current project is, or even that you're not on another curve all together, maybe there's an option on the red curve that if you stick with the really depressing bit long enough it will pick up and go through the roof. But if you're bleeding money and energy into a project that seems to be going nowhere, there's not necessarily any comfort in looking that far ahead.<br /><br />The advice I'd give is that for whatever the outcome of your project it's valuable to look back and consider these curves. When you're in a slump, look back on previous successful projects and remember that you came out ahead in the end. If your project fails work out why it did and make a mental note to not fall into the same trap in the future. Learn your own personal signs for a failing project and react to either avoid the pit falls or get out faster before your future enthusiasm and confidence take a permanent hit.<br /><br />And if you work out how to actually do that, let me know ;0)Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-50111765478018400982007-06-14T16:22:00.000+01:002007-06-15T13:13:34.647+01:00The Long Tail<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKEeMfGnZh18nXruTz-2zsueNWaZqqHa8kp4k28IbBTBX6l1nkkYZG6dKVldDPKyeQUbCyzIRfZuhcsiLbjA8540ucDZFF0grjUe0QsnXznEqXp7vrep1fJhwxhkQaIUEcPF54oNcfoE2D/s1600-h/41dlFAs3YTL._AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKEeMfGnZh18nXruTz-2zsueNWaZqqHa8kp4k28IbBTBX6l1nkkYZG6dKVldDPKyeQUbCyzIRfZuhcsiLbjA8540ucDZFF0grjUe0QsnXznEqXp7vrep1fJhwxhkQaIUEcPF54oNcfoE2D/s320/41dlFAs3YTL._AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="The Long Tail"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5076259450968790018" /></a>I just finished <a href="http://www.longtail.com/">The Long Tail</a> by Chris Anderson (<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Long-Tail-Endless-Creating-Unlimited/dp/1844138518/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/026-7107490-3462808?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181834595&sr=8-2">Amazon</a>) and heartily recommend it to anyone with even the slightest interest in economics, the web, marketing or... well anything really.<br /><br />The core concept is that at the top of the chart (be it music, book sales, or search results) you have a small number of bestsellers, the big hits that everyone buys/sees/reads/whatevers. But as you move down the chart, things still sell if given the chance. If you do not have to be concerned about limited shelf space and can give your customers ways to easily find the unusual, niche items they want, you can really cash in.<br /><br />Chris Anderson is the editor of <a href="http://www.wired.com/">Wired Magazine</a> and has been investigating this phenomena for a few years, gathering examples, data and quotes from a variety of sources. He's got a very friendly, easy to read style and an interesting perspective on the subject, as both a professional editor and generic user. <br /><br />Some books based on a relatively simple concept can focus too much on explaining the idea over and over again, leaving you with a 3 page article that's extended into 200 pages of babble. This book avoids that very well, applying the concept to historical events, unexpected fields and looking at possibilities of where it might lead in the future. <br /><br />A fascinating concept beautifully told, read it as soon as possible before the examples go out of date.Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-20847583411962780362007-06-11T12:39:00.000+01:002007-06-11T12:40:42.895+01:00Nice ideas, shame about the implementation<a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Good-Boss">How to be a Good Boss</a><br />"You're the boss. But it's no fun (and very difficult) being a boss that is not respected, or even actively disliked. How do you get your staff to be the best thing that ever happened to you? By being the best boss that ever happened to them."<br /><br />The heart of this page is in the right place, all the concepts are good, but many of the practical examples are hilariously cheesy. My particular favourite I think is the suggestion for a Batman and Superman themed party which would cause record breaking amounts of eye rolling if anyone treated/threatened me with such a thing.Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-22767010060415207902007-06-08T15:18:00.000+01:002007-06-08T15:28:54.394+01:00Hmmm... doughnuts....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DATa0PdA5khF3oaBUOUbZ3yVqaOerWn3n_wUujUZgsRfSnomNPAEtK37agXUbP5O0fcM4kbPmywOk2uQ-MSFmF5BOVpu-4cfzTUTjwTpeGq81IKhZmPKuR5dnuVlHlAk8U3N0ZdAcF73/s1600-h/717471_37213007.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DATa0PdA5khF3oaBUOUbZ3yVqaOerWn3n_wUujUZgsRfSnomNPAEtK37agXUbP5O0fcM4kbPmywOk2uQ-MSFmF5BOVpu-4cfzTUTjwTpeGq81IKhZmPKuR5dnuVlHlAk8U3N0ZdAcF73/s320/717471_37213007.jpg" border="1" alt="doughnuts"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5073698804351816690" /></a>Round of teas: 50p<br />Doughnuts for the office: £4.50<br />An office full of people on a sugar high: priceless.Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-49936947695522164512007-06-07T13:43:00.001+01:002007-06-07T13:51:17.053+01:00Video Games at Work<a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/humanresources/managingemployees/article179274.html">From Entrepreneur.com</a><br /><br />"Forget the coffee. Companies are setting up break rooms with video games to create a fun office atmosphere and--believe it or not--increase productivity. "<br /><br />There are a load of great reasons to step away from the desk every now and then. I actually frequently step out of the office with the smokers, I stand up wind and get some fresh air, a break from staring at my monitor and gather the latest gossip. How cool would it be to just pop into the break-room and have a quick game of table football to recharge the batteries?<br /><br />Or maybe it's all just shaky justification for my desire to play pinball all day ;0)Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-86838202795053886302007-06-06T16:23:00.000+01:002007-06-06T16:26:14.861+01:00"Powerpoint - it will suck the life out of you"<a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1529637984">Life After Death by PowerPoint</a><br><embed src="http://lads.myspace.com/videos/vplayer.swf" flashvars="m=1529637984&type=video" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="430" height="346"></embed><br /><br /><a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=1529637984">Don McMillan on Myspace</a>Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-75178756091730387782007-06-05T10:06:00.000+01:002007-06-05T11:07:30.659+01:00Olympic Spirit off to a false start<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLkuVIcFtt2b3uJRoQ253iPACdOCvkjVqHe3lXciA7HWJqE_4AWGD-DEBBnt_y83fOjUm6rhjVfaB6j-6yuG5t2qIra7GgXC0Q-bXmo4GlYUeSypIhXg6aJJzvuwEiuGFk-c1kdcVvKY30/s1600-h/london2012.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLkuVIcFtt2b3uJRoQ253iPACdOCvkjVqHe3lXciA7HWJqE_4AWGD-DEBBnt_y83fOjUm6rhjVfaB6j-6yuG5t2qIra7GgXC0Q-bXmo4GlYUeSypIhXg6aJJzvuwEiuGFk-c1kdcVvKY30/s320/london2012.jpg" border="1" alt="London Olympics 2012"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5072505378969146338" /></a>The Olympics are coming to London in 2012 and as a life-long Londoner and Olympics fan I couldn't be more excited or prouder. The logo on the left says everything that I feel about the Olympics in London, it's vibrant, it's got the Olympic colours, it says London in letters and shapes. All the elements work together to say what's important - London and Olympics.<br /><br />Unfortunately, this is not the logo of the London Olympics, it's the logo they used for the bid process. Instead they spent a few hundred thousand pounds (I heard 400k, but I suspect it's a lot more than that) coming up with this.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCy48nkaNZ4lEt1aXDZT1JA2PKFCVcL2OgKz2s3KIZnzw_wJdSV4m6-WAdW_a0wne7p5jLAa3v_uSVVdq72h139I22YnBMq0T6Zq7M-cZhH_rrdOzT7Pj9vHINnmVQAB60EqZqZGMnfO0-/s1600-h/uklogo.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCy48nkaNZ4lEt1aXDZT1JA2PKFCVcL2OgKz2s3KIZnzw_wJdSV4m6-WAdW_a0wne7p5jLAa3v_uSVVdq72h139I22YnBMq0T6Zq7M-cZhH_rrdOzT7Pj9vHINnmVQAB60EqZqZGMnfO0-/s320/uklogo.gif" border="1" alt="London Olympics 2012"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5072504262277649362" /></a>The <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/6718243.stm">logo was launched</a> with all the pretentious marketing-ese that is to be expected. Seb Coe said "It will define the venues we build and the Games we hold and act as a reminder of our promise to use the Olympic spirit to inspire everyone and reach out to young people around the world". Tony Blair said "When people see the new brand, we want them to be inspired to make a positive change in their life". The People said "Blergh".<br /><br />Skipping all the pretentious 'what the brand reflects' stuff, it's just an ugly logo. The colours are non-specific 'bluey grey', 'reddy pink', 'greeny-turquoise' and, well, orange; all over an insipid yellow drop shadow. Even the <a href="http://main.london2012.com/en/news/archive/2007/June/2007-06-04-12-06.htm">official website</a> isn't using the colours. The shapes don't really look like anything and are just crying out for people to doodle over the logos and make new shapes. <br /><br />Drifting into marketing psychology, I wouldn't have automatically linked a jagged image with generating a feeling of inclusiveness. But then I'm not a disengaged teenager, which appears to be the principal target. By trying to appeal to a younger audience, they have managed to repulse everyone else. I haven't actually seen any comments on teenager response but grown-ups <a href="http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/06/04/londons_new_brand_of_bother.html">seem</a> to <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=459773&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490">really</a> <a href="http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/12539.html">hate it</a>. Even <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6719805.stm">marketing</a> <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/06/actually_its_ju.html">experts</a> are dubious. <br /><br />So why have they gone with such an unpopular choice? The only options seem to be that they either didn't do any research with 'normal' people, their test group didn't reflect popular opinion or they just ignored the feedback. All those options are a bit concerning. But the message they are sending is that they're targeting a very specific demographic (and is that really a demographic that is bought/lost by a logo?) and don't care what anyone else thinks. That's the Olympic Spirit!Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-55338975244085123702007-06-04T10:44:00.000+01:002007-06-04T10:45:38.670+01:00Quote on the nature of available time'The truth is that the demands of the world are infinite and your time is not. Things will always be left undone. Just make sure they're not the things that matter' <br />- Martha BeckSam Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08421549166318810378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-20505558706524506242007-05-30T14:23:00.000+01:002007-05-30T14:41:28.790+01:00Must Try Harder: Client Case Studies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4uJ6yNXOU1RG7zJd-ncfYqFCSBFojtMt3wHpQJf-6ZttEJHoP0qCkK-GpYQolzw0xmgSPFhr0KAGX2R5EaiEk_95K6d-ox-I3Q4IUMvOofkGvIp36fWO5JqRQaJUKPuzBdxeJmah-3QK3/s1600-h/tryharder.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4uJ6yNXOU1RG7zJd-ncfYqFCSBFojtMt3wHpQJf-6ZttEJHoP0qCkK-GpYQolzw0xmgSPFhr0KAGX2R5EaiEk_95K6d-ox-I3Q4IUMvOofkGvIp36fWO5JqRQaJUKPuzBdxeJmah-3QK3/s320/tryharder.jpg" border="1" alt="Must Try Harder"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070348293234444930" /></a>Testimonials and what-not on your site or in your brochures are good. Full stop end of sentence.<br /><br /><a href="http://othellotech.net/client_case_studies.htm">This is not</a><br /><br />I award thee MBA's first Must Try Harder Award (no cash prize, no terms and conditions, your house is not at any risk at all). <br /><br />I might award the second award to myself for making such a naff logo.Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-62663351050173650272007-05-30T10:53:00.000+01:002007-05-30T11:17:28.958+01:00Get more with a smile<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1RSXn4m7ouZEkOZujPladmtMOl59WRfUfg6f3KPHooQ7BVXr5j8q14DIVpUIK86-FwPkFFkCnzYIML2qBynkmzuP3lVjkyE9lHXp0fYBkH6lzJBw7fj2oNwntCrmIqInrFXlZBqXItOc/s1600-h/charm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1RSXn4m7ouZEkOZujPladmtMOl59WRfUfg6f3KPHooQ7BVXr5j8q14DIVpUIK86-FwPkFFkCnzYIML2qBynkmzuP3lVjkyE9lHXp0fYBkH6lzJBw7fj2oNwntCrmIqInrFXlZBqXItOc/s320/charm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070295344877619810" border="1" alt="charm, get it?" /></a>I was working at an event last night meeting and greeting people and was trying to come up with a post based on my experiences. Unfortunately it was a very late night and the coherence is not really flowing yet, to my rescue came WikiHow who coincidentally posted an article entitled '<a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Charming">how to be charming</a>'.<br /><br />I always find it easy to be charming and sociable with people that I'm not likely to have to meet again, harder with people when I know it's the first meeting in a potential longer relationship. For an event such as the one I was at, everyone was arriving looking a bit lost and unsure and I tried very hard to greet them with a smile, eye contact, a genuine interest in their question and a friendly goodbye as I sent them on their way to the bar. I used the same approach with the other staff that were working at the venue and on the event.<br /><br />In contrast one of the people I was with was very formal, had a rote like response to questions and a definite aura of "I'm trying to get through my evening's work as quietly as possible and you are interfering with that".<br /><br />My method meant I made a genuine, all be it very brief, connection with a number of famous and interesting people. Her method possibly got her to dinner 3 minutes early.Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739645619975442087.post-23550147082640036012007-05-24T11:16:00.000+01:002007-05-24T11:45:39.775+01:00Be more than you're paid for<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQZpZUpDAv-fai4Y_1T1Q_5DnqdHIJC4Rt7Vxe-4Ra7bNxFdkkvqPgXuwO4TRZ-UCgJuwaXzjgf1JnluQddHRdu0bY2eoVhfDx6m2XlW8aHZXJ19q41FdzlnuccwNXPyoVO69gYtM4Ee3/s320/card861.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQZpZUpDAv-fai4Y_1T1Q_5DnqdHIJC4Rt7Vxe-4Ra7bNxFdkkvqPgXuwO4TRZ-UCgJuwaXzjgf1JnluQddHRdu0bY2eoVhfDx6m2XlW8aHZXJ19q41FdzlnuccwNXPyoVO69gYtM4Ee3/s320/card861.JPG" alt="" border="0"></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://indexed.blogspot.com/2007/05/always-everyone-everywhere.html">From indexed</a><br /></div><br />I'm a big fan of multi-disciplinary-ism, my first job out of college was working for a very small technology start-up and they went out of their way to hire people with potential and allow them to diversify their skills. In the nearly three years I was there I worked in 3 different departments and had at least 4 different job titles. I went in as a monkey level coder and ended up involved in product management, usability, QA, marketing, public relations and advertising.<br /><br />If you encourage people to take an interest in other people's departments you end up with a team that can cover for each other's holidays and illnesses, help each other in busy times and potentially saves you hiring additional staff or temps to cover. Meanwhile your staff feel that they're actually progressing and learning new skills.Lorna Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07904953261645766617noreply@blogger.com0