Dairy workers receive “snow” bonus

I am catching up on my reading and on the Notepad page of People Management was a fabulous little piece about more than 3,500 workers at Robert Wiseman Dairies http://www.wiseman-dairies.co.uk/our-company/ receiving £100 each in recognition of their efforts in January in the face of the snow and bad weather.  I guess right now they may well be in the same position.

Started in  1947, when they delivered glass bottles of milk by horse and cart, to the present-day delivering over in 1 in 4 litres of milk in the UK.  Sounds like a fabulous company who treat their staff with respect and understanding.  Let’s hear of more stories like this from great brands.

I am really pleased to be a member of the CIPD which brings the magazine to my door and even prouder to become an Assoc CIPD in July. http://www.peoplemanagment.co.uk/news

The Special Place that is Cliveden

I went to an IOD event yesterday at Cliveden.  I knew something about the House due to Nancy Astor.  With coffee in the Library and then breakfast in the French Dining Room with views to die for it making networking extra special. Well done to Berkshire IOD for organising.

The history is immense and we had a  tour afterwards given by Amanda Irby, Business Development Manager, who is marvellous.  On a visit to Paris in 1897, William Waldorf Astor was shown the gilded paneling in Madame de Pompadour’s 18th century dining room at the Chateau d’Asnieres. Realising the proportions exactly matched those of the dining room at Cliveden he bought the paneling, table and chairs, then had the entire room reconstructed in his home.   It became the French Room and that is what you call style.

Before you say it was expensive, it wasn’t…a special place with special people and well worth the money.  See for yourself.

http://www.clivedenhouse.co.uk/

The Perfect Sales Pitch

The perfect sales pitch is always hard when you are the product as you are often too close to the coal face to see the wood for the trees. You need a special person who knows the sales process, the marketplace and can help you understand you.  To find such a person who can give you not one but three sales pitches is incredibly powerful and a thing of beauty.  His name is Jamie Hancox and he is the Man.  http://www.buyingtime.co.uk/

London Cabbies the best financial barometer

I do spend time talking to cab drivers in London as it tends to pass the time.  They are generally a very cheerful bunch.  I asked one yesterday about business as they can and do tell you straight.  It is better than expected for this time of the year and most importantly business folk are taking taxis to City Airport again.  A breakthrough piece of news.  He did, however, say that most people don’t talk in the taxi any more: as they spend their time on a phone call, texting or on the laptop.  Pressured, stressed, unsocial and uncommunicative.  But at least they are using the taxi in the first place.

After listening to the recession chatter this week and our weak recovery plus the employment statistics which will increase it was a welcome chat with Mr Cab Driver, so thank you.

What is Talent?

Natural qualities or talents or a person who possesses unusual innate ability in some field or activity.

 With this in mind. We want talent, we want to find it, hire it and manage it.

 Even today Pink Skills were seeking women who are talented to shout it out:

 1. What talent do you naturally have that makes you successful?

2. When did you first realise you had this talent and how do you use it every day

 Why do we want it?  Talent usually equates to “profits”. How?  Easy because where new and successful ideas come from is the place to be.  Creatives in advertising win awards and large corporates adore their work.  Sometimes those new ideas are so state of the art that only a few can see them for what they are: nuggets of gold.  And we are being asked to bring out our very scrappy gold to sell at parties.  What would they make of nuggets just shining brightly on the floor in front of them. WOW.

 

I agree with much of what Nigel had to say including the fact that it is a co-operative between Learning and development, business partners and the board to “manage” talent.  The main partner is the person with the talent.  Whatever it is and whichever direction this talent takes us we should prize it and nurture to allow it to flourish.

 

This will benefit everyone.  In our current climate talented people are easier to find and easier to recruit but they don’t hang around if they are not looked after properly.

 Sometimes that may be polishing a rough diamond or two or sometimes it is just creating the right environment for a creative to have their head.

 

Managing shows respect, reward and understanding.  Learning and development teams can be the maker and keeper of this talent by being aware and communicating between the business and the talent.

 

The way to do business Now….

There has been discussion around the important aspects of the way we do business.

The Personal Touch, hasn’t it always been thus.  Closing deals is improved if you can work “with” and “see” who is doing the job.  To know that the CEO/MD values you as a client.

Strategic partnerships has taken on a new and vibrant twist this year.  Who do you know who you want to work with, connect with and partner with?  These collaborations are springing up and doing very well.

Hire or work with well-connected talent.  There is no substitute for a man or woman who knows their product, their market and people.  They are a  talent in their own right and they are worth it.

Personal Branding

I went to a very interesting seminar on Tuesday organised by Bernie Mitchell of BoB club fame and the speaker was Ron Sloane.  It was all about Obama-ing your business.   Now I believe that Barack Obama is charismatic and inclusive and watching his inaugural speech in January he was sensational.   Ron explained the principles and the techniques which Obama used in a clear way.

This got me to thinking about branding and dreams.  Then I watched a U tube video which I hadn’t seen (I must be the only one!) of Susan Boyle’s first gig on Britain’s Got Talent.   Her dream was to sing to a big audience and be another Elaine Paige

What I decided was as Dr. Hubert Rampersad & Martha  Collins say:

. It’s what you define in your ambitious dream (hope) and in the way you pursue this dream. Remember  ‘Success doesn’t come to you …you go to it’. You must have a dream in life, follow your heart and love what you do, if you expect exceptional success. You will surely have it, since people who ask for it, wish it, dream it, hope it, fix it in their mind, visualize it, feel it, allow it, give your peak performance to it, respond to it with love, passion and integrity, attract success

I cried with and for Susan Boyle and also with and for Obama.   Dreams, Passion and Drive  make for an excellent personal branding platform.

Tasters to seminars to clients

Who then become friends. 

I love learning new things especially about myself and Charmian’s taster on voice workouts was a complete surprise to me as I really can hold my breath for a long time! I laugh heartily and often which mans I have a strong diaphragm which was huge news!

So Charmian is now running very successful seminars, master classes and city speakers lunches.  Good on you…Charmian Ingham of Omega Age Ltd,
m: +44 (0) 7736 180 155.

So from a taster I became a client via the lunches and most importantly a bearer for her message.

Well I feel I must do the same for Jason Cobine, Beyond Networking on 020 7100 2437 and Mykal Pinder of Matrix Memory Systems Ltd, W: www.nowdontforget.co.uk, M: 07-956-264-867

Both of whom do gret “free tasters” but are the real deal when it comes to product.  Both of them can change your life in different ways.  Jason’s master classes in the networking arena are a revelation and provide missing links for all.

Tasters – seminars – clients – the way forward.  And Mykal he can transform your reading ability and the way you think! Forever!

Let’s do it!

Beyond Networking…

When you meet someone who has intelligence, drive, ambition, skill and is a nice guy you are always delighted.

 

When that person has brilliant ideas and concepts which can be harnessed to make your life easier and profitable – then it is even more delightful.

 

I knew when I met Jason Cobine that I had the first statement and then last week I realised that the second statement was also true.

 

Jason is a very well connected business man who has developed a system around networking.  He calls it beyond networking and I call it the missing link.

 

He has a delivery style for his seminars which is both exciting, entertaining and informative.  One quote I read really sums up the experience

“Thank you for your networking course today which I thought was exceptional. I have no doubts that I will be able to generate significantly more business using the approach that you taught us. Stuart Hinds, Director of Business Services, Tenon Accountants – Advisers to Entrepreneurs.”

 

“Do you know and admire someone running a business or charity that would like to protect their income and reputation using their insurance policies?

 

Our business grows and our charges stay low because of introductions from customers so feel free to recommend us by forwarding our details.”

 

Jason cleverly interacts with the audience to explain and explore the materials and then the techniques are practised on a 1:2 basis.

 

Jason and his affiliates are running free taster sessions on the Three Keys of Networking which act as a precursor or scene setting for the seminars.  I highly recommend him, his system and the fact that it works!

 

When I met him earlier in the year he put me through his own tried and tested format which he shares with you on the seminars.

 

Beyond Networking call him on 020 7100 2437

 

GO FOR IT!

Gender Dynamics and Women in the City

This week I received a super magazine which is one for Women in the City (Gwen Rhys fame) http://www.citywomen.co.uk/.  On to Page 30 and 31 I read with interest Will Women Survive the City jungle? from Karina Robinson.  I was shocked and saddened to read many comments:

1. “Men are wielding the axe more than women…so they would make a female colleague redundant rather than a “mate””

2. “A female banker said the average male response is to kill and survive” and the worst

3. “All women I spoke to whether still in the city or having left, expressed disappointment at how quickly the message on gender diversity has broken down!”

Not in my book is Gender Diversity about Women.  Of course it is accepted that the minute you mention gender it is all to do with women, WRONG.  It is to do with all of us men and women.  Pauline Crawford of Gender Dynamics says it all http://www.genderdynamics.co.uk/.

“…shifts the dynamic of the workplace from one that is inherently masculine to one where there is a more balanced collaboration of the masculine and the feminine” .

I work with her company and know that to make business relationships work we all need to understand each other male or female.  I work in IT and it is predominantly a male environment.  I love working with people, men and women, whatever race, colour etc.  I treat people as I would like to be treated with respect, consideration, understanding and acknowledging their skills and unique abilities.

Gender has everything to do with Men and Women not only women, so if gender diversity has broken down in the city it has broken down for all of us, not just women.   Let’s help each other out in these difficult times.