shannonsays.com

Me Too!

I like Tom Peters. He’s an angry old man. “Mad as hell” if you ask him.

But like John Moore, I am struggling to read his latest offering Re-Imagine:

On Re-Imagine, Tom said he wanted to ‘re-invent” the business book. He wanted it to be an audacious, egocentric and in your face business book.

Well, chill out Tom, cause you succeeded. In fact, it is so in my face, I want it outta the way,I wanna piss it off back into my bookshelf and forget about it.

But I cant.

Its too loud, too noisy to ignore. Each page I look at bombards me with multiple type faces that refuse to stay stable within the same sentence, not to mention the italics, cap strings, colors, type sizes, sidebars, and the full colour background images. It drives me nuts!

But this is Tom Peters after all. In amonst all the noise, there is probably some really cool, thought provoking stuff on values, brands, markets, work, and people. In the words of John Moore, "I want to learn all that this book offers.... BUT HOW?"

Yeah, how?

Great to hear I am not alone in wondering, John. looking forward to the suggestions...

Lookin' sharp?

Regardless of how much we consider ourselves objective, fair-minded and above the shallow practice of judging people by how they appear, we all do it don't we! Most importantly, our customers do it! Psychologists term it the primacy effect - first impressions count.

That's why I have been talking to our senior people lately about the importance of personal image. The statements and impacts that are made by the way they present their own personal brand.

The way we present ourselves as a package - not just clothes, but grooming, speech and posture - speaks volumes about who we are and what we're capable of. I remember someone telling me once that "an ounce of image is worth a ton of performance.' So I am trying to pass that one to the guys at work.

It's a touchy subject though.

I am sure they think that I am just picking on them for the way they dress or for not shaving. I guess image cuts deep, and a persons dress and grooming habits are usually a reflection of how people perceive themselves. So you can see the problem here; criticise a persons image and you are basically criticising the person themselves.

But I don't want to criticise guys, just want to generate some awareness that will help your professional development....

HR = Competitive Advantage ?

Tony Goodson is having a great ol' time adjusting to life inside a large corporate.

He's working out just how big, dumb and clumsy they can be.

His post yesterday strikes an important point about competitive advantage, and how organisations often fail to realise what true competitive advantage actually is. Thus they find themselves frantically jostling to copy their competitors, without actually setting a real pace on their own:

Does a corporate think that anything that it comes up with can't be legitimately copied?

Yep they do Tony. Because they don't realise that the one thing that they have and that their competitors don't, is their people. If they bothered, they could actually turn their people into competitive advantage; their people are a resource that is valuable, rare, and can't be copied or substituted by a competitor. But instead they just want to introduce new customer service procedures... Only to be frustrated when their new found advantage is mimicked next week by the competition. Or worse, improved upon by the competition. It's not true competitive advantage if it can be easily copied.

So why don't they attempt to turn their human resources into competitive advantage? Well, Tony put's it rather well:

They have no bloody idea (how to)! All they do is bang out another advert into the newspapers and sit there waiting and hoping and praying that the right people respond and apply.

So you end up with Joe Blow who is assesed on his ability to follow the new customer service procedure, then hired, inducted and trained to follow it. But he offers little to the organisation in terms of actually helping them establish a unique point of difference. You'd think Big Corp. would understand that a inimatable and sustainable source of competitive advantage doesnt necessarily come from "Situations Vacant."

They could use their people, just like Tony, if only they provided an environment where they weren't continually "stunned into silence" Me thinks that there is real WOW to be had in using an organisations people (=human resources) to create a point of difference that would get the competition really guessing. If only Tony's work did too...

NOT the Anzac Day Long Weekend

I went to work today. Nothing startling or earth shattering 'bout that.

Except that the only reason I had to work today is because I am Victorian. Only Victorians and Tasmanians have to return to work on a Monday when Anzac Day falls on the weekend. Like this year.

But did I care? Was I jealous of other states? Was I cranky, just like Trades Hall Council hack Leigh Hubbard said I should be?

Nope.

But for all those ungrateful whingers and whiners out there, especially the Victorian Trades Hall Council who tried ever so hard to make today a public holiday, here's the rub: Anzac Day is about commemorating an important historic event. It is is memory of the contributions of those who have faced battle to help build the nation, the freedom and the democracy we now enjoy. It's not about a long weekend.

Your actions in trying to use the Industrial Relations Commission to have today pronounced a public holiday in Victoria, are completely against the spirit of which Anzac Day represents.

So, hang your heads in shame, and get on with it, you've got 11 other Public Holidays to enjoy.

Or move interstate.

Lest we forget

Anzac Day.

Great to hear on the news this morning that so many people turned up at various dawn services accross Australia this morning to remember more than 60,000 Australian and New Zealand troops who have died in war since the landing on Anzac Cove in Gallipoli in 1915.

The veterans who march are fewer each year, but the children and grandchildren who march with them, or in place of them, seem to increase each year. A magnificent symobol of what Anzac day means to all Australians, young and old.

For those of you who have no idea what Anzac Day is let me help. It's not Australia's official national day (we share it with New Zealand). But it is a special day all the same, and in some ways more "Australian" than "Australia Day" (Januray 26). Heres a passage from the Australian War Museum site that outlines what happened on this day in 1915:

When war broke out in 1914 Australia had been a federal commonwealth for only fourteen years. The new national government was eager to establish its reputation among the nations of the world. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula to open the way to the Black Sea for the allied navies. The plan was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of Germany. They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.

The idea that some sort of "blood sacrifice" was a necessary rite of passage or initiation ceremony in the birth of a nation was common in the late Victorian and Edwardian period. In attempting the daunting task of storming the Gallipoli peninsula the ANZACs created an event which, it was felt, would help to shape the new Australia

So today is a special day. We all remember deeds and contributions of the people who took part in the events that helped galvanise us as a nation, helped us recognise our own identity. Who helped create our "lucky country" that we live and work in, at peace.

Cheers!

Dieting with Ronald McDonald

McDonalds... they are everywhere aren't they...

I can't drive for more than about 10 minutes around suburbia without tripping over a set of Golden Arches or being greeted by that pasty white clown with an unruly red perm and too much lipstick. But for some reason, McDonalds has been more in my way this week than usual.

It all started last weekend, when I saw a TV commercial proclaiming that things are "changing" at McDonalds. Humph, big deal.

But then it made sense. Their big, US based boss died. So they appointed a new one. An Australian nonetheless. That's a pretty big and significant change I suppose. At this point I will avoid making reference to the irony of the McDonalds boss dying of a heart attack.... But I do pity the PR hacks that have been working hard to make us believe that McDonalds is turning over a new salad leaf, only to have their boss suddenly keel over with a heart attack.

But, then I saw the ad again, and it seemed to allude to some sort of McReinvention was about to occur. So I checked out their website, and peaked into the future. Apparently they "hear us" loud and clear, even! Ronald is working on ways to make his food the "best and healthiest it can be." We'll see.

This seems to mirror what is happening in the States, where the lastest attempt to woo health conciousl folk and distance itself from obesity issues is the Balanced Lifestyles Platform. This includes the Active Happy Meal, designed to promote the importance of food/energy balance, this Happy Meal for adults includes a salad, bottled water, and a Stepometer™ so consumers can track their daily steps. There will also be a brochure that promotes walking as an attainable—and effective—exercise goal. "

This doesn't appear to be consistent with the McDonalds brand does it? Doesn't it risk confusing consumers? It confuses me, and makes me more than a bit sceptical. Fast Company's Lucas Conley is just as confused:

Let's be honest. Health food under the golden arches is about as practical as a confession booth at a brothel.The truth is, like Kenny G and the tobacco industry, McDonald's sells products that are bad for people

Memo to the McMarketing People: Consumers position brands, not marketers.

Wonder if the new boss has heard of New Coke...

Stop! Thief!

So, it has been revealed that Opposition Leader Mark Latham gave a speech this week on the Australian character that had uncanny parallels’ to Big Billy Clinton's 1997 State of the Union address.

His disgraceful attempt at stealing someone else's ideas doesn’t really surprise me. I have never been sure about Mark Latham. He’s odd. I mean, he’s…. well odd. He pops up in the papers and on the telly endlessly spruiking populist, jingoistic and simplistic nonsense.

Another of his favorite past times is to knock all this US of A, after all that’s pretty popular round these parts to. He’s called George Bush a “dill”, John Howard an “arse-licker” for trying to foster closer links with the US, and wants to pull our support in Iraq.

But now we know better, don't we Mark? You don't think that everything seppo is bad do you? The recently negotiated FTA isn’t as bad as you first thought is it? Apparently there is a clause that allows us unprecedented use of Presidential speeches, their ideas and their language. He's a sample from last Tuesday night:

In 1997, Mr Clinton said: "Every eight-year-old must be able to read."

On Tuesday, Mr Latham said: "Every infant child must be the beneficiary of reading programs."

Clinton: "Every 12-year-old must be able to log on to the internet."

Latham: "Every 10-year-old must be able to log on to the internet and manage information."

Clinton: "Every 18-year-old must be able to go to college."

Latham: "Every 17-year-old must be ready to extend their education into post-secondary qualifications."

Clinton: "Every adult American must be able to keep on learning for a lifetime."

Latham: "We want every adult to keep on learning for the rest of their lives."

Another line from Clinton's address seems frightenly familiar too: "You must read with your children every night."

I think you're the dill Mark. Come up with something of substance will you. Something realistic. Something original, preferably not knicked from someone or soemwhere else...

Or stay off my telly. You're giving me a headache.

The state of the nation

Man, we are in serious trouble. Real serious.

Apparently our once buoyant film industry, the same one that has spawned great and hugely successful films such as Reckless Kelly, Lets Get Skase and Hotel de Love, is on the skids.

So much so we have had to call in some help from overseas to breath some life back into Aussie Film making. (Why do we always call in help from overseas?). And who better than professional party chick Paris Hilton!

I admit I was a bit sceptical at first and questioned the merit of placing the very survival of our film industry on Paris' delicate, fake tanned shoulders. So I thought I'd check out her filmography....

Why don't you try too? Go on, type "Paris Hilton Films" into Google.

Mmm, right... so she's made a couple of films then.... erm, exactly what kind of films are they making up there in Queenlsand?

Real trouble I tell you...

WIIFM

We are going through some significant changes at work at the moment, mostly changing our culture towards greater levels of customer service. You see the industry I am in isn't renown for great customer service... but we are working hard to change that. No, I don't sell insurance.... or for a bank!

That's why I liked this from Tom Asacker today:

"The golden rule for every business man is this: Put yourself in your customer's place."

Hmmm, that's exactly the question I have been using to challenge the ideas of people at my work almost adnausium; "We could do that, but what is in it for the customer?"

(Sadly?!) it has become a habit. Now I even analyse the practices of other businesses, and wonder what goes on in the "customer service hour" at some strategic meetings.

Had a classic today, that made me wonder.

My home insurance company is not too bad. Man, they even worked out that the idea of having a computer promptly answer the telephone after three rings annoys people. So they have a real person answer the phone. BUT, that person can't actually handle your query! Argh. They can put you on hold whilst someone who can help is available though. Cool huh.

So where does that leave me? On hold. But its OK, after all there is music to listen to, of course in between some reassuring messages about how important I am, and even a voice telling me "we are exceptionally busy at the moment" I hope so! It would be a shame just to have me on hold whilst you were all just sitting around tallying footy tipping results. Anyway after about 10 minutes, I get a chirpy little voice who makes me reiterate what I already told the last real voice all that time ago....

Anyway, back to my point, why have that first person answer the phone in the first place? Why have someone answer the phone if they can't help you? What's in that for me. Nuthin. It' just stupid.

Having that first person answer the phone is probably someones idea of "customer service". Which is probably an important organisational value. But the only service offered is a quick, clinical transfer to the hold music....

Anyway, gotta go. I have just been advised by a computer that I am second in the onhold que...

Too much?

How much is too much? I have copped a bit this week from close friends and family telling me that I try to do “too much”…

You see, my head works like the road system in the CBD. It is a logical matrix system, which is usually, busy, but efficient. Actions, thoughts and ideas motor their way through the intersections and occasional congestion of work, family and friends to get their correct destinations, at the correct time.

But last week was I experienced brain gridlock. Nothing was gonna get through the chaos. Everything was late. No creativity, shorter than usual attention span and disinterest in lots of things. Of course there was abuse, yelling and horn beeping, but nothing real that actually helped to stop the gridlock.

The rubberneckers (good ones, like friends and family) told me that I was doing "too much"

I guess we are all busy these days with increased working hours and other demands on our time. We move so fast that we end up stuck in these brain gridlocks and if you are like me, you just get grumpy until you see an exit sign somewhere. Thankfully for me that exist sign came in the shape of the weekend!

Fiona bought me a map, so hopefully I can avoid any more "too much" style accidents and subsequent brain gridlocks

And we all know how good men are at reading maps!