What’s so hard about branding?
I think it’s the little things that are hard sometimes. Well, at least it seems to me the little things can be the easiest to get wrong.
Archive for category The Operations Dept
Go fetch, Google!
Oct 11
For so many of us, Google has become an integral part of our online experience, reliably guiding us through the vastness of the web. Now Google brings its mighty search power to your computer.
About Google Desktop
Google Desktop is a simple yet powerful tool that enables you to search your computer for files in the same way you use Google to search the web. Sorry Maccers, but currently it’s only offered to those with Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
Available as a free download, Google Desktop Search sits – you’ve guessed it – on your desktop ready for when you need to find a file. Punch in the search term and it will then scour the following areas:
- emails (included deleted messages)
- files, namely Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, pictures, MP3 files and so on
- web pages viewed online, or any HTML files on your computer
- AOL instant messages
The results are displayed in reverse date order, but you can rearrange them by the above categories. Each result is linked, so you click to open the email in Outlook, the document in Word, etc. It will also tell you which folder the item is in, handy for those with haphazard filing systems.
The verdict
Like Google itself, the Desktop tool returns results very quickly and is incredibly easy to use. There’s no doubt it’s a million miles better than Microsoft’s hopeless search facility.
For the first week, I used Google Desktop exhaustively.
But then I realised something. Basically, the tool dispenses with the need to have any sort of filing system. As a consequence, it rapidly becomes an excuse for bad filing. Why bother putting stuff in the right place if your faithful hound will find it for you while you slob out on the couch?
I found that pretty soon, the short cut became corner cutting as I started to let my normally well ordered filing system go, safe in the knowledge that Google Desktop would find files for me.
The tool was teetering on the brink of becoming indispensable when I made the deliberate decision to stop using it as much. I told myself the virtue of locating a well positioned file ought to be its own reward. Before long I got things back in order and nowadays I only use Google Desktop to find long deleted files.
Want to give it a go? Download it from here.
***ATTENTION /NOTICE*** Please read the entire article before drawing any conclusions or posting any reply. This article uses extremes to make a point in a thought-provoking manner. Absolutely no malice is intended.
Hitler was a great leader. Through his guidance, dedication and sense of what was right, he changed and influenced the lives of millions of people. So did another great leader. Jesus. Hitler and Jesus. Both great leaders of our past. Both possessed classic leadership qualities and characteristics. Each had a strong belief in what he was doing. Each, possessed the quality of selflessness, an absolute devotion to his cause. And both, had the outstanding ability to influence and motivate people and events to facilitate their cause. You see, these men were really no different from one another … Hitler and Jesus. Except for the fact, that Hitler was sick, deranged and twisted! While Jesus was virtuous, pure-hearted and immaculate.
In my mind, it is unjustifiable to describe both men with the same words. Words like great and leader. There has to be a way to distinguish between a leader of people who brings death and destruction, like Hitler. And a leader who spreads hope and salvation, like Jesus. A way to distinguish between the evil that lurks in one leaders heart, like Hitler. And the good that dwells in another leader’s heart like Jesus. There is a way.
In his book, “The Essentials Of Leadershipâ€, Herman H. Horne describes the philosophy of greatness. In chapter three he writes, “To be great involves only 3 things: to have extended influence, recognition and QUANTITY of influence. But, to be truly great, is to have QUALITY of influence.†Where Hitler had quantity of influence and was a great leader. Jesus had quality of influence and was a truly great leader.
Now, a question comes to my mind. How do leaders like Hitler get into leadership positions and garner such power? How does that happen? It happens, because people just like you and I let it happen. People, just like us, sitting around waiting for someone else to take responsibility for minding the store. FOLLOWERS, who drop the ball. Followers who don’t know an issue from a snowshoe … who won’t state a position … let alone defend one. One reason? A lack of knowledge. Folks, you have to get involved to assure yourself quality leadership. Knowledge is the key to that involvement. Knowledge of the issues, of leadership and of history.
Knowledge of the issues gives you a stand you can defend intelligently. But how can knowledge of leadership and history help assure quality leadership? I’ll tell you.
The study of leadership yields a better understanding of what leadership is and what a leader’s responsibilities are. That way, you’ll know when leaders are abusing their power. The study of history sheds lights on how terrible leaders got to power in the past, the mistakes they made and how they affected people. This knowledge allows you to foresee and prevent history from repeating itself. Knowledge, is the key to ensuring a quality future.
But you have to become involved now! Because the future isn’t a year from now. It’s … 2 seconds from now. Now it’s the present. Now it’s the past. Become involved and knowledgeable now.
Leadership is a responsibility. To be able to lead in a way and direction that only serves to benefit and give value to the lives of every man, woman and child your actions affect. To be wise, merciful and benign. To achieve good, like Jesus. A TRULY GREAT leader. Not to spread grief and despair like Hitler — a great leader who was virulent, poisonous and demented!
Followership is a responsibility too. To follow with knowledge. And instead of being led blindly like a herd of sheep over a cliff …. having the intestinal fortitude and the knowledge to say, “Hey! Wait a minute! Something is wrong here†or “I have an idea that might work better.â€
I have used two extremes, Hitler and Jesus, to formulate a quality continuum if you will. With evil on the left and good on the right. Great on the left … Truly Great, on the right.
Where on this continuum do you sit? What kind of leaders do you want for your government, for your country … for the world. What kind of leader do you want to be? What kind of follower? Great … or TRULY GREAT?
Ask soloists which web browser they use and most of them will answer “Whatever’s preloaded onto my PC.†Typically, this is either Internet Explorer (IE) for Windows users or Safari for those with Macs.
Knowledge of alternative browsers was thin on the ground until late 2004, when Mozilla’s Firefox muscled its way onto the scene. Soon it was obvious this new player was a breath of fresh air for users…and a chill wind for its competitors.
Firefox is ‘open source’ which basically means it’s been developed by users, for users. Its slogan is ‘taking back the web’ and with 64 million downloads since its launch in November 2004, it seems to be doing just that.
Curious as to what all the fuss was about, I made the free download a week ago. I can honestly say after about a day of surfing, I was completely won over. As at the start of every romance, I’m discovering new reasons to love Firefox every day.
So what’s so great about it? Let me count the ways.
1. Tabbed browsing
This enables you to have multiple URLs open in the same browser. You navigate by ‘tabbing’ from one screen to another. Once you use this you realise how annoying managing multiple windows in other browsers is.
2. Bookmark Toolbar
Particularly handy for fans of bookmarking, this toolbar allows you to display your ‘favourites’ horizontally under the title bar. This means you can keep bookmarks on display without having to sacrifice a fifth (or so) of your browser window. While Safari users will be familiar with this tool, it’s not available in IE.
3. Integrated search bar
This lives in the top right of the browser and while it’s defaulted to Google, you can also search other popular sites by choosing from a drop down list which you can customise. My list includes IMDB, eBay, Dictionary.com and Amazon.
4. Security
Firefox is more secure than its competitors and ensures no Spyware headaches. Smarter than the average browser, it alerts you every time you head into a secure environment (i.e. one requiring usernames and passwords) by turning the title bar’s background yellow.
5. Live bookmarks or RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
I’d heard a lot about RSS but, ironically, didn’t understand it. Thanks to Firefox, I now get what it’s about. Basically it’s a way of viewing fresh content from your favourite website without having to navigate through its homepage. When Firefox detects a site with RSS an orange logo appears in the URL bar. Have a play and soon you’ll understand RSS too.
6. Find
Ctrl F for what must be the world’s most intuitive ‘search within a page’ facility.
Having blown sunshine at Firefox it’s necessary to highlight the one downside – some sites won’t load because they have been designed with just IE in mind. However, with millions now choosing Firefox for their default browser, site owners will have no choice but to address this disparity.
I wholeheartedly agree with Forbes magazine’s assessment that “Firefox is better than Explorer by leaps and bounds. I don’t miss Explorer one iota. Give Firefox a day’s worth of Web surfing, and you won’t either.â€
So take my advice and download today!
Try selling a business as an asset after twenty years of operation only to find it had no value, buyers come and look but fail to put in any reasonable bid.
Your years of blood sweat and tears turn sour, your ‘nest egg’ lookslike it is failing to live up to what you wanted. So what happened? The business is still trading okay and the staff seem willing to keep it going without you at the helm. So why no buyers?
Simple, the buyers have no real way of knowing exactly how your business works. What they need is an effective way of being sure they are getting a viable business where they can get reproducible results when you are not there.
The problem can be overcome by recording many of the things you take for granted. The suppliers, the marketing strategies, how things operate (machinery) etc. This way they can walk in and know they can do it too because the ‘instructions’ are there. Simple isn’t it.
What if?
For others the systems and procedures they develop are useful to ensure the business can still run if a staff member is out of action for an extended period. The fill in person can turn to the ‘instruction manual’ for guidance when things are difficult or they need more clarification.
I suggest that these types of procedure and system development devices be kept as simple as possible, as there is nothing worse than creating a procedures manual that is never used, or worse still is out of date. The simplicity is vital so that any person that needs to know how to do something can find the information easy to follow.
The Seasons of Business
Sep 10
Just as there are the seasons of nature, there are also seasons of business. Many will surely attest to this when they read the information, and may not have thought of business in these terms before. In time it can become very useful to view business from this stand point so that you can keep a simplistic view of what is taking place rather than getting bogged down in details.
Spring
A great time of new growth, the winter thaw clears and the buds begin to bloom, the fields are prepared and before long seeds are sown to begin the fresh crops for the season. For some the bulbs were planted in autumn and these will now grow in the warm spring sunlight, rejoicing the end of winter. Spring can be a special time, however if you are not careful the weeds can take over before you know it.
In business this can be a great time, when hard work starts to pay off and early seeds sown begin to show promise. If you are new to business this can be the initial phase if your planning is right. For some the spring is a fleeting time lasting only long enough for the few seeds sown to germinate and give a quick crop. The farmer knows that you have to keep some of the crop for seeds to plant in the next season. And if the weeds come up, what method will you use to keep them at bay? Remember that weeds take over when no maintenance is done in the garden.
Weeds in a business can be many things, it can be staffing problems, people wanting payment for the ‘seeds’ earlier than expected or those pesky customers who never seem to be happy!
Summer
Harvest time, the seeds have grown and the plants reach maturity, before ling the results of the harvest will either delight or annoy. At this point there is no turning back you can not plant more seeds until the next spring.
Just as in business when your stocks are ready for the Christmas rush, you only get one chance at it. You hope that the euphoria surrounding the hustle and bustle of this time of year is enough to spur great sales to the customers, and that your marketing for the post Christmas sales does the trick. In time the seasoned business person knows the seasons and plans accordingly.
By mid summer, if you have a problem with weeds either your methods to solve the problems have worked or the weeds have grown and are choking you out.
Autumn
A time to clear the last of the summer heat and the days begin to cool, before long the bulbs that have to be put into the soil for springs arrival.
The astute business person reaps the harvests rewards and puts some into investments to build a passive income base. Autumn is the time to do just that. During this time the business person is readying the business for the long winter period, where growth virtually stops and planning to improve systems is in full swing.
Winter
Cold days and rainy nights, ice and snow. Food is hard to come by for the animals, they either hibernate or work harder to forage for a feed.
Without hesitation the business person is ready to work their way through the winter, the summer harvest hopefully was good enough to sustain them through this quiet time when little activity takes place. The wise person ensures that their funds have been budgeted effectively and will last the distance.
Planning begins and before long the business has a renewed direction for getting things going for the next round of seasons. The plan explores options, involves contingency plans and allows for growth in some way.
An inspiration
E James Rohn the great American business speaker and writer, expresses thoughts about business and life in these terms and has experienced great success using this method. After all, nature is a great survivor in all the turmoil of the world, it adapts and works with the situation to even things out.
James Rohn built a life of abundance from a meagre beginning. He follows the seasons and recognises the changes. Before long he knew when lean times were ahead and when to plan ahead. I trust that you can also profit from the experience and watch your business grow.
For some of us the seasons will come and go in quick succession throughout the year, sometimes happening much faster that the seasons of nature. Some have also told me they can see seasons come and go each week.
May the seasons treat you well as you move forward to achieve your goals.
