Posts filed under 'Communicate better'
I have been sent this picture on a couple of occasions now in the
Just Sell
newsletter. The man in the helmet is a NASCAR pit mechanic, practising his wheel changing routine. Sam Parker from Just Sell snapped the picture on his cellphone:
This crew member was practicing his job – removing and installing lug nuts on the wheel of a race car — approaching the details with full commitment in a sport where less than a quarter of a second (less than the time lost to a dropped lug nut) can translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars in added winnings.
By practicing, I’m sure he tends to
perform better
.
What I find really interesting is not the practising in itself, but the sophistication of the rig the mechanic is working on, and the presence of a dedicated observer by his side. Clearly, he and his team are
serious
about performance improvement.
This picture really speaks to me in my periodic role as a trainer. Challenging exercises and accurate feedback are the keys to performance improvement.
September 13th, 2006
So says
James Governor
, who met up with
Johnnie Moore
,
Stormhoek
head honcho, Nick Dymoke Marr, and myself at this charming bodega in Spitalfields market. Basically, Bedales is a wine shop with a couple of large bench tables, some stools and a tiny deli counter for bread, cheese and olives. I am more wine buffoon than wine buff, but James recommended it and Nick liked his choice, and that’s good enough for me.
The last bottle was chosen by Bedales’ own Emily - L’Aventura, I think, a 2000 Syrah from California. “Unusual choice,” thought the wine buffs, but we all agreed it was lovely, velvety plush stuff, and tremendously priced, thanks to Bedales simple pricing policy. At Bedales, you pay the price of the bottle plus £5 corkage - far better value than the price of the wine multiplied by three, which Nick told us is the restaurant pricing rule of thumb.
Emily stopped by our end of the bench to see how we liked the wine and tipped us off to
Vinoteca
, another similar operation - with, apparently, an Italian leaning wine list - near Smithfields market. James called this “being more competitive by being less competitive,” but I don’t think that was in Emily’s mind. She was just being a good host. Such a generous recommendation will pay dividends in the long term - we plan to try Vinoteca next, but I expect to return to Bedales often.
Bedales
.
March 2nd, 2006
Jason Womack
(GTD Coach, triathlete and all round good guy) joined Donna and me for dinner last night and we had a great time. Among other things, we talked about an
improv principle that Johnnie Moore uses
a lot: “make the other person look good.” Jason liked the idea, but suggested that it need not be limited to improv.
In fact, Jason has
prepared
a thirty second “elevator pitch” for each of his loved ones and colleagues. So now, when Jason talks about or introduces his wife, for example, he does so with a succint, positive “pitch.” A brilliant, and very generous idea.
If you are unfamiliar with the concept, Collegegrad.com provides a
simple explanation of elevator pitching
and a nice
sample script
, and there is a frighteningly thorough
guide to personal elevator pitching
at wikiHow (via
Recruiting.com
). Those suggestions might seem a bit impersonal, especially for introducing a loved one, so be sure to play round with your pitch.
In
How to distinguish yourself in a crowded marketplace
, Michael Lovas advocates making elevator pitches relevant to the listener and introducing some kind of visual metaphor.
Probably best not to get too hung up on how - just prepare some good things to say about your nearest and dearest, then go out and make them look good.
Thanks, Jason. Have a good flight home.
January 28th, 2006
Wow, that was slick. I just upgraded from WordPress 1.5 to WordPress 2.0. The procedure goes like this:
- Back up your database (you do this regularly anyway, don’t you?)
- If you are especially cautious, like me, ensure you have an offline copy of all your WordPress 1.5 files
- Delete all WordPress files on the server, except those you have modified
- Meanwhile, edit the new wp-config.php file to show your database name and password
- Upload all WordPress 2.0 files, including the updated config file.
-
Navigate to yourdomain/
wp-admin/upgrade.php
- Click the “upgrade Wordpress” link
- You are done
I know that some people haven’t found it to be this smooth, so I was a bit worried before I started, but without cause. That was fantastic. A huge “Well done, and thank you” to the WP developers. This WYSIWIG interface is pretty zippy too, although I may stay with
Markdown and w.bloggar
, regardless.
The new instal of WordPress - as opposed to upgrading - is similarly slick.
You can
download WordPress 2.0 here
.
PS Yes, this is my first post in ages, but I am not going to say much more at this stage. Ideally, I will be posting again regularly in the next few days.
January 19th, 2006
Nick Usbourne’s
contest to write short lines that “protest the ridiculous jargon and cliches that permeate business language” has spawned some great entries. The winning entries have been applied to
mugs which you can buy at cafepress
. I think the price is a bit steep, but you have to like mugs which proclaim:
If my undivided attention is mission critical, we might have a problem
Shift my paradigm before I have had my morning coffee and I will core your competencies
and
Sorry I’m late, but my paradigm shifted over my integrated solution and I couldn’t gain traction
You can see
who submitted what catchphase
on Nick’s page. My favourites of the “also rans” come from Donald Carson:
I’m implementing a synergistic beverage action plan
Finally a concave interface for all my mission-critical caffeinated initiatives
and (how could this not have been a winner?), from Simon Young:
We appear to have begun an upstream shift while simultaneously experiencing a paddle deficiency
If you are ever tempted to write or speak like this,
try being ruthlessly specific instead
. In the words of contestant Mary Hughes:
If you still say ‘Think Outside the Box’ you don’t.
October 17th, 2005
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