On a train the other day, a man is talking on his mobile phone about a business partner. It's hard not to overhear the conversation, because the man is talking in that strange way that people have on a mobile phone, as if there is nobody else in the same county. He's discussing a business opportunity, and in particular one of the key individuals involved, by name.
My partner Lesley is one of the others on the train. She is sitting with a friend, and both are working on their laptops. As the overheard conversation continues, and starts to reveal some things that perhaps ought to be confidential, the friend twists his laptop screen around so that Lesley can see it. On screen is her friend's Outlook contact information for the person being discussed. Lesley has her 3G card, so is able to look up the person on LinkedIn at the same time.
The world isn't just small any more, you can actually fit quite a lot of it into a railway carriage.
Monday, 23 June 2008
Friday, 13 June 2008
Horizons
The annual Bollywood film awards in Thailand recently were visited by many more stars than previous ceremonies. It seems that they were keen to attract as much attention to Bollywood as possible, because audience numbers are down. Numbers are down, because of a new form of cricket that launched in India a month or so ago. The games are not just popular, they are actually affecting the size of film audiences.
Somewhere in the Bollywood marketing departments, people are asking 'how did that happen'? How did a new form of entertainment, apparently with no link at all to films and film audiences, come to affect them?
It's not enough to scan your horizons, you have to keep checking whether they are still the right ones to scan.
Somewhere in the Bollywood marketing departments, people are asking 'how did that happen'? How did a new form of entertainment, apparently with no link at all to films and film audiences, come to affect them?
It's not enough to scan your horizons, you have to keep checking whether they are still the right ones to scan.
Monday, 2 June 2008
Personal development is not an option
Why is training and personal development so often neglected at work? Everyone agrees it's a 'good thing', yet it's very often the last thing that gets done.
Computer programmers expect training and education to be part of their employment package. In all probability, you will not be able to hire a good programmer unless they can see that you have sound plans for their continued professional development.
I have often been asked to justify this 'extra' expenditure on training. It's not hard:
- they won't join without it
- they will stay longer and be more useful with it
- their world keeps changing, and they need to keep up to date
- they will tell a good story about you to their peers
- they are going to leave you anyway at some point, and there's a very good chance you will come across them again, maybe even as a client or prospect.
So which bit of this doesn't apply to your entire organisation?
Well, maybe the first bit's different. Good people may readily join you without a commitment to their continuing personal or professional development.
All the rest is the same though. And one day soon, you're going to find that the very best candidates will have learned from the programmers, that personal development is not an option, it's a requirement.
Computer programmers expect training and education to be part of their employment package. In all probability, you will not be able to hire a good programmer unless they can see that you have sound plans for their continued professional development.
I have often been asked to justify this 'extra' expenditure on training. It's not hard:
- they won't join without it
- they will stay longer and be more useful with it
- their world keeps changing, and they need to keep up to date
- they will tell a good story about you to their peers
- they are going to leave you anyway at some point, and there's a very good chance you will come across them again, maybe even as a client or prospect.
So which bit of this doesn't apply to your entire organisation?
Well, maybe the first bit's different. Good people may readily join you without a commitment to their continuing personal or professional development.
All the rest is the same though. And one day soon, you're going to find that the very best candidates will have learned from the programmers, that personal development is not an option, it's a requirement.
Thursday, 29 May 2008
Good news about (real) estate agents
Heard a heartening story today about (real) estate agents. Not the usual joke about them all losing their jobs, ha ha. This time about how one firm has handled the uncomfortable reality of a downturn.
A friend of ours has worked for an agency for four years, and has been made redundant in the latest response to the changes in the UK housing market. She was unhappy, and requested a meeting with the Managing Director.
Not only did the MD meet her, he showed her financial reports and statistics - in confidence - to explain the background for the decisions; then he showed her the numbers and selection criteria used for those who would lose their job. Last, he gave her a personal reference, and his cell/mobile phone number.
Good to hear that somebody is doing the right thing in a difficult situation. Hats off to the man.
A friend of ours has worked for an agency for four years, and has been made redundant in the latest response to the changes in the UK housing market. She was unhappy, and requested a meeting with the Managing Director.
Not only did the MD meet her, he showed her financial reports and statistics - in confidence - to explain the background for the decisions; then he showed her the numbers and selection criteria used for those who would lose their job. Last, he gave her a personal reference, and his cell/mobile phone number.
Good to hear that somebody is doing the right thing in a difficult situation. Hats off to the man.
"Oh no, you need Sales for that, we're Customer Services"
You probably guessed most of this from the title. Except it's about a UK insurance company with a fantastic reputation in a competitive and profitable niche ...
I call to change the starting date on an insurance policy. I talk to the Customer Services team (I'm skipping the part about how it took seven minutes for my call to be answered). I am told I will need to cancel the policy and start a new one - OK, not ideal, but no problem, until I learn that Customer Services can only do the cancellation part; "No, we can't set up a new policy for you, you have to talk to Sales for that".
Where to begin with this ... well:
1. You could at least have offered to put me through to the other department
2. You could have recognised that this was possibly a bit of a pain for me, and therefore it was a distinct possibility that I just might not do it
3. This is a competitive marketplace - why don't you behave as if you know that?
4. How come we are still dealing with companies organised around the needs of the operation, rather than the needs of the customer?
It's amazing, and pretty sad to witness a corporate mentality that seems not to recognise the link between service and sales
I call to change the starting date on an insurance policy. I talk to the Customer Services team (I'm skipping the part about how it took seven minutes for my call to be answered). I am told I will need to cancel the policy and start a new one - OK, not ideal, but no problem, until I learn that Customer Services can only do the cancellation part; "No, we can't set up a new policy for you, you have to talk to Sales for that".
Where to begin with this ... well:
1. You could at least have offered to put me through to the other department
2. You could have recognised that this was possibly a bit of a pain for me, and therefore it was a distinct possibility that I just might not do it
3. This is a competitive marketplace - why don't you behave as if you know that?
4. How come we are still dealing with companies organised around the needs of the operation, rather than the needs of the customer?
It's amazing, and pretty sad to witness a corporate mentality that seems not to recognise the link between service and sales
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Open mail
A large mailing pack arrived this morning from the RSPCA, and it’s asking for money. I'm not a member, I've never given them anything, and it’s not even addressed to me. So it has all the hallmarks of ‘junk mail’. Except …
On the back, in reassuringly large type, it has the following message:
"This letter has cost just 11p to print and send to you: not everyone
will respond to it, but it is one of the best ways we have of finding new animal-lovers to help us. Don’t throw this away – please support the RSPCA."
Please would every copywriter in the English language note the brilliant simplicity and importance of this message. Please would every client contemplating the use of unaddressed mail, take note, and incorporate similar concept in their own marketing.
Maybe there is hope after all for the idea of environmentally sustainable direct mail.
On the back, in reassuringly large type, it has the following message:
"This letter has cost just 11p to print and send to you: not everyone
will respond to it, but it is one of the best ways we have of finding new animal-lovers to help us. Don’t throw this away – please support the RSPCA."
Please would every copywriter in the English language note the brilliant simplicity and importance of this message. Please would every client contemplating the use of unaddressed mail, take note, and incorporate similar concept in their own marketing.
Maybe there is hope after all for the idea of environmentally sustainable direct mail.
Monday, 14 April 2008
Terminal thinking
How could a massive project go wrong so unexpectedly? One day, perhaps, we will understand why British Airways (BA) managed to make such a mess of the launch of Terminal 5 (T5). Until then, I have a theory …
Thousands of people worked on this project for years. The whole thing was tested, using members of the public, in advance of the launch. What did they miss?
And then I read a profile of the Chief Executive, Willie Walsh, in ‘The Economist’. It talked about how important T5 was to him, how often he referred to it, and how he knew, to the hour, how much time remained before launch.
Now I had my theory. Something in the culture of BA translated the CEO’s message about the critical importance of a project, into a corporate refusal to accept any bad news about it. I am certain that within BA, a lot of knowledgeable people knew very well that the launch was likely to fail; believing that failure was not an option, they had decided to keep quiet.
It’s a tough challenge for a leader. How do you show strong leadership across a massive organisation, whilst allowing time and space to hear clear messages coming back the other way?
Thousands of people worked on this project for years. The whole thing was tested, using members of the public, in advance of the launch. What did they miss?
And then I read a profile of the Chief Executive, Willie Walsh, in ‘The Economist’. It talked about how important T5 was to him, how often he referred to it, and how he knew, to the hour, how much time remained before launch.
Now I had my theory. Something in the culture of BA translated the CEO’s message about the critical importance of a project, into a corporate refusal to accept any bad news about it. I am certain that within BA, a lot of knowledgeable people knew very well that the launch was likely to fail; believing that failure was not an option, they had decided to keep quiet.
It’s a tough challenge for a leader. How do you show strong leadership across a massive organisation, whilst allowing time and space to hear clear messages coming back the other way?
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