News that corporate giants and the organisers are still cracking down on local, independant, shops thta might want to put some coloured rings on display has got me thinking; are the games, like Voldemort, becoming the games that shall not be named? Continue reading
Category Archives: business life
London 2012; beware what you say! Could they be the games that shall not be named?
Filed under business life, fun stuff, random rants
what’s up with WordPress?
Over the last week or so when I click on a link from my dashboard to write a post or something I get a message to tell me that I can’t connect, the standard IE message.
There is nothing wrong with my connection and the message also comes up sometimes when I click on publish. It is only WP that is affected, but why? Anyone else out there having problems?
Filed under business life
going back to green commuting
It’s a quarter to seven in the morning. It’s cold, misty and dark where the street lights have been turned off to save money. I walk through to the main road and the oasis of light that is my local ‘bus stop. I’m early, but have erred on the safe side as I don’t do this often. I’m no stranger to this time of the morning; I’m often well on my way somewhere by now, but that is mostly in my car whereas today I am green commuting, heading off to start a new contract and making a journey that is going to become a regular one for me; the local bus to the town centre, walk to the railway station, catch a train and walk to the office. Continue reading
Filed under about me, business life, cars planes and trains
the joys of writing part two
Over the last month I have put together my first eBook, published yesterday. I’ve also written my regular column, a few other blogs, an article for a sports industry magazine and about another 10,000 words towards another project. An enforced inability to do what I normally fill my days with has allowed extra time for all this writing, but it has also heightened my respect for those who earn their living from the written word for, whilst I do earn an element of income from some of my writing, most of what I put on paper is not where I earn my crust. Continue reading
Filed under Books & Reading, business life, writing
The romance of the rails
Back in the 80 s I used to travel by train a lot on business. At that time it was frowned upon to take your own car and, at our firm, the company car was unheard of other than for a few right at the top.
As I got to travel so much I even had my own book of rail warrants so that I could just write one out when I needed to. And so I would head off, sometimes on a day trip, other times for up to a week, and let the rhythm of the rails waft me from place to place as I earned my crust.
When I was a small boy most of our travel involved the local ‘bus service, and so my early experience of the romance of travel was the bus station in maybe Maidenhead or Reading. There I might see a long distance coach service, and the sight of people going somewhere excited the curiosity of my youthful mind. Railway stations and airport terminals still have the same fascination.
Train travel came a little later into my world after yet another move of house. We lived beside the Tattenham Corner branch line, where I could see the Royal Train take the Queen and her Mum to see The Derby at Epsom, but our station was a one mile walk away. From there we would catch a Southern green electric train up to Croydon to shop, or now and again to the terminus at Victoria on an outing to London.
At Victoria I could see one of the most romantic of trains; the Golden Arrow (Flèche d’Or) with its wonderful chocolate and cream Pullman cars taking people to or from the Continent. But my first solo train journeys were less glamorous; daily commuting into the City via Fenchurch and Liverpool Streets for example.
In the 1980s my job started to take me around the UK by train, and I rode the East and West coast main lines and got deep into Wales amongst other places. I met many fascinating people both in those places and en-route. Then I became entitled to first class where the peace and quiet could be double edged sword: On the one hand it was nicer to work on the train but, when you didn’t need to work there were less people to strike up a conversation with.
There was one great joy to the posh end though, and that was the dining car. A colleague and I used to book, at our own expense, a pair of seats on the up Red Dragon and spend the hour between Swindon and Paddington having breakfast. What a civilised start to the day!
Over the years I have also travelled by train in Denmark, Germany, France and the USA, each of which has brought new pleasures and, at times, a reality check. Once, travelling from Hamburg to Hannover our train slowed, presumably for a section of track maintenance. Some disused and overgrown sidings slid by with what appeared to be an old military camp away beyond the trees. Then we passed a small sign that said Celle. It took the mental Rolodex a few seconds to click round and Belsen came up. Travel does broaden the mind; there I was sat in first class luxury with my cup of coffee observing the site of such horrors that were perpetrated 50 years since, and trying to reconcile that with the German people of today that I worked with, respected and liked.
After a time I gained a company car and that put an end to travelling by train to a large degree. It was frowned on to incur the expense when you had company wheels at your disposal. But by then the trains were being refurbished to, in my mind, a lower standard than they had been built to with old comforts being replaced by small, hard seats and less leg room. And corporate vandalism didn’t stop there; the Network Southeast livery has to be the greatest travesty ever inflicted on a railway in their history.
No, I’m very glad that I was able to enjoy rail travel at a time when it was a pleasure to travel by train.
Filed under business life, cars planes and trains
why are publishers so reluctant to pay up for content?
I’m in the process of having to take strong action against one publishing house and am actively chasing another for payment for articles that I have written for them and, in the former case, for several photos to accompany the article. Both articles have been published against agreed terms, so what is the problem with coughing up what is owed?
One problem is that it is taking me longer to chase them than it did to write the darn things in the first place, but I am going to keep going even if I end up taking them down the small claims route.
It is a shame as it takes away both the pleasure of having something published and any feeling of support for that publication, but such is life. There are a lot of shysters out there.
Filed under business life, random rants, serious stuff, writing
No more RingGo at Swindon! FGW you are wrong
I hear that First Great Western and APCOA are ceasing the RingGo service at Swindon (and other) station car parks any day now.
This is a stupid move and I am supporting the campaign to have the decision reversed. If you are with me click on this link to make your protest heard.
Car park machines are a nightmare at somewhere like a railway station. You either need a mountain of change or, if they have a credit card operated one, the patience of a saint as they rarely work. RingGo makes life easy with a simple phone call and, when its a business trip, I can log on later and get a VAT receipt.
All stress free and one of the main reasons why I have started to use the train much more over the last year or so. I want my RingGo back!
Filed under business life, random rants, serious stuff
end of another week
Where does the time go? I’m so busy at the moment that the weeks are just flying by. Life seems like an hour glass; as you get into the second half the sands seem to run through more quickly maybe?
Years of learning, often the hard way, to manage my time well pays off in trying to make my days effective and I do try to make time for quality things, whether that is people time or me time. These are the things that make it all work out and help me through the things that I’d rather not have to do.
Making each day a mixture means that I can always finish off with the thoughts that I’ve had some fun and learned something along the way.
They may be quick days but, in general, they’re happy ones.
Filed under about me, business life
Networlding Masterclass: 7 Steps that successful networkers know and you need to find out
When and Where
Thursday 10 March 2011
0900 to 1700
Village Hotel Swindon
Shaw Ridge Leisure Park
Whitehill Way,
SN5 7DW Swindon
United Kingdom
Why you should attend
You will discover why:
- attracting followers is a fallacy that leads to your time being wasted and your productivity suffering
- your true network, when you discover it, improves your net worth
- you will never need to go to a boring, valueless networking function ever again
You will learn how you can:
- stand out from 3 billion people who will trade/be active on the internet by 2020
- cut your marketing and sales costs by as much as 50%
- harness the true power of social networking most people will never discover
Who should attend?
If you are an adviser, accountant, board member, SME business owner, consultant, educator, entrepreneur, executive, intrapreneur, lawyer, leaders, manager, not-for-profit leaders, practice leader, politician, though leader, social entrepreneur, speaker, team leader or trainer – you will gain massively from being part of a networlding group.
Click on the link below for more details and to book your place. Early booking discounts are available.
For SME business owners, non-profit organisations, the WHO is always the final challenge when it comes to finding key influencers and customer groups (or fund givers for non-profits). Limited marketing budget is the reason many SMEs choose to attending networking events in the hope of chancing on a sale. Why rely on chance? As a community of Networlders, we create a Thoughtful Social Networking experience, both in person and online, to help you to build:
- better business faster (business growth or a thriving non-profit organisation)
- better collaboration for innovative ventures (better, faster, stronger)
- better career faster (career growth)
- better personal lives faster (personal growth)
Networlding helps you to cultivate advocates for your brand
- Create great content
- Get talked about
- Build a tribe
- Become a trusted resource for your customers
- Make it easy for people to find, try and buy from you
- Make your brand understood, relevant, credible and remarkable
- Make meaning and create an insanely great customer experience
Networlding is a proven methodology that helps you to grow your network relationships and identify connections and key influencers that matter.
Assuming you are clear about the WHAT, WHY, WHEN and HOW of your goals … you should have a list of WHO’S WHO that you feel can help you (your primary connections). We are not talking about who you would pay to help you. We are talking about advocates that will tell others how remarkable you are.
What they say about Networlding
“I have always found myself frustrated with business networking over the years and never really sure why. I have give of myself and done my best. Often coming away with massive numbers of contacts, but this has rarely turned into solid business. Today I think I found out why. With Networlding you learn from the ground up how to present yourself according to your values and most importantly how to find and keep hold of those precious contacts that suit those values; the ones who will bring you real and valuable future relationships. The ones who care about you not just crash and burn business. In short how to find the other ones like you! What a revelation. Kwai certainly know his stuff and can demonstrate this with personal success too.
And it was obvious I was not alone when the revelation came. Every single person in that room was not only convinced but was by the end of a single day passionate about making each other’s lives better. I have never seen that in any networking group of any kind and I have done them all. So if you are frustrated with the vapidity of the 50 people in one room but need more than meeting the same six to twenty people over and over again. Can I suggest you consider changing your approach entirely. Don’t be a networker, be a networlder. Take the training day, like I did and work out just where you might have been wrong all these years!” – Jeremy Cobb, Owner of want2change and hypnoslim
“Like all other sectors, charities can benefit from thoughtful social networking. Kwai’s networlding masterclass is a lovely way of beginning to get your head around the potential for your charity and how you might move forward in good company. I am thinking through how best we can develop from it. Thank you.” – Dr Rhetta Moran, Matron, RAPAR
“Superb day! Much of it very different to what I do now. I see it will enable me to reach so many more people. Many thanks.” – Roger Jackson. Business For Breakfast Knutsford.
“A must do. Very thought-provoking.” – Ken Lee. BusinessLink Northwest Skills Advisor
“Very interesting and well presented event which promoted great exchanges.” – Eileen Coldrick. Owner at http://www.worksmartvpa.com
Filed under business life
The Voice of the Bloke at the Back 