I hated every minute of training, but I said, "Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion." – Muhammad Ali
As Nicholas Bate said this week – for phenomenal success you need persistence. Always be improving yourself and your chances of success in whatever you choose, can only grow.
What keeps you fighting?
I confess, I do not believe in time. – Vladimir Nabokov
I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that time management is a myth – task management is where we should be focused. Validating the task, planning the task and executing the task – if it’s righteous, then it doesn’t matter how long it takes.
Focus on whether the task is the right thing to do – not how long it will take.
Once again – its a number of very small touches that make great customer service. I recently upgraded from Sky to Sky HD – the experience was completely pain-free, but really enhanced by a number of very small touches along the way:
I booked the service by phone and got queued for getting an appointment – when it was my time, Sky emailed and texted me to let me know I could book online, I even got one month free for using the online channel.
The engineer was booked for Sunday between 12-5, but the day before he phoned to confirm and narrowed the time down to between 12 and 2 – meaning I could plan activities for later in the day – he arrived at 12.45.
The engineer was polite, quick and even offered to wear overshoes as it was raining outside, but the icing on the cake was when he left a small card with his cellphone number for 30 day DIRECT support with him rather than going back through a call center.
All installed in 5 days from first call to fully working, great quality product backed by decent service. Would I recommend Sky HD? Damn right I would.
What other great customer services have you had?
The genius marketers at Ikea have put together an amazing campaign to advertise a new store opening in Malmo.
They created a Facebook account in the name of the store manager, uploaded 12 showroom photographs, and ran a competition for ‘friends’, to tag themselves on a photograph and win the item they tagged.
Its a great idea that spread like wild fire – you can watch a full explanation on video here:
Found via Phil Gerbyshak
What are you doing to advertise your business differently?
I’m not really sure what it was, the best moment. You always hope it’s to come. – Bryan Ferry
Head up, chin up, keep looking forward – sound advice when times are tough – and incidentally, always wear a stunning jacket, that will help too.
Sunday morning – time to kick back, relax and reflect on the week completed. I like to do this by thinking about the things that inspire me. As ever, we have some inspiring music to accompany our short journey. Fire up that tune, then check out some of my biggest inspirations this week.
Our musical choice – Charlie Rich and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, a great childhood memory and a wonderful Sunday morning song.
What gives you inspiration this Sunday morning?
“You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.” Johnny Cash
One of the most important pieces of coaching I had was about choosing your responses, the realisation that I could step above the reptilian response and actually choose what happened next was a turning point.
Now I just need to coach myself to do that every time.
The third in my occasional series of recommendations for building your music library – not the new shiny releases in the press, but the older stuff that you need to get a good rounded collection on the go. If you are just buying your MP3 player, these are the artists you need to look into for a great selection of tuneage!
Don’t take my word for it, click the links and see what downloads are available on Amazon.
What other artists would you include in your perfect music collection?
Sundays inspiration post had a track called Fitzcarraldo as the accompaniment – a song inspired by a Werner Herzog film of the same name. A story about a man who decides that the only way to fulfil his dream is to drag a steamboat over a mountain so that he can set up business in the Amazon, farming rubber.
It is a truly odd film, starring Klaus Kinski and about a zillion Peruvian tribesman, but the underlying theme is one of determination – the amazing quality that some people have for persistence. His dream is eventually fulfilled, despite some setbacks along the way, the scene of Fitzcarraldo smoking his cigar is one of my favourite film moments.
I’m always fascinated by people with the relentless desire to improve and achieve – sportsmen that press on become champions, business leaders that continue when all else seems lost and people that drag boats over mountains in order to chase their dreams.
Next time the going gets tough, or all else fails – it might be worth remembering that persistence begins with the decision to continue – a small step, but the next one you MUST take if you are going to achieve.
What are you doing to achieve your dreams?
It’s that horrible becalmed time when record companies don’t release much so they can clear the decks for the Christmas rush – all diverting their marketing dollars to the x-factor and novelty nonsense – so new releases are a struggle. Never fear though, I’m here, sifting through the releases and making sure you get the best new tunes for your music collection. Don’t take my word for it though – hit up the links and have listen before spending your hard earned cash.
What new music are you listening to at the moment?
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