Why your To Do list is a terrible master
Regardless of the system you use, a To Do list is an excellent productivity tool. However just like money and fire, a To Do list is a good servant but a terrible master.
Why ignoring social media is like smoking
Smoking is bad for you, in fact potentially fatal. It’s hard to change behavior. Traditional marketing could also be commercially fatal. So why wait?
Thank you, thank you, thank you
Most of us don’t say ‘thank you’ enough. We breeze through our days, letting people help us without taking the time to recognize those efforts or reward them. It’s almost as if there is a finite amount of gratitude and recognition we can give, and we want to eek it out over time. As if by thanking people liberally we demean its value.
Can you build willpower?
To achieve any goal requires willpower. But what is it? And where can we get more?
Six crisis lessons brands can learn from Wikileaks
It’s not just governments which face threats from whistle-blowing sites, like Wikileaks. Organizations, especially consumer-facing brands, can easily attract a negative online presence from a disgruntled customer or employee. We’ve all seen those Brand X Sucks sites. So what should you do?
How to ‘meet for coffee’
A popular request in Silicon Valley is to ‘meet for coffee’. This is often a euphemism for a short meeting with no fixed agenda, beyond getting to know one another. As far as it goes, this can be productive – business is social after all. Many strong business relationships – with clients, partners, investors and potential employees start with an informal intro. But how do you make the most of them?
Ten tasks which need a phone call, not an email
Amid the ever expanding choice of communications methods, the use of the humble telephone is in decline. Who responds to voicemails right? But here are ten task which need you to pick up the phone. Don’t hide behind email, take a deep breath and dial. It’s faster and more productive.
Own your failures
We all fail from time to time. Projects don’t turn out as planned; we make mistakes; circumstances conspire against us; and sometimes we’re just plain unlucky. It happens. We’ve all heard that it’s how we react to failure which defines our success. It’s one thing to cope with failure, and another to learn from it however.
Is an open plan office good for productivity?
We’re starting to research new office space, prior to moving in Summer 2011. During the five years we’ve been in our current location, working practices and expectations of staff/clients have changed. So is an open plan office still the best layout?
Moving from Typepad to WordPress
Since 2004, this blog has be hosted on SixApart’s Typepad platform. At that time Typepad was the easiest way to create and manage a personal or business blog. Over the last six years, it has fallen behind other platforms, most notably Wordpress with its large community of developers. Time to jump ship. In fact, long overdue.