This is where this exercise gets really exciting.
You probably have quite a short list. There really aren't that many uses for paperclip, are there? Unless you are one of nature's genuine creative types, you may have thought up ten or so ideas, and you're probably wondering what on earth I am on about ...
Step two:
Make another list. This time, list everything that you cannot use a paperclip for.
Go for it. You may need to set a time limit for this part of the exercise. Maybe 10 minutes.
Is this list longer than the one you made yesterday? I bet it is.
Now the power step - Step three:
Look carefully at everything on your new list and ask the question, "If I really wanted to, could I use a paperclip for that?" Turn the answers in your list around and discover the possibilities.
You now have a list of amazing, creative uses for paperclips that you probably never dreamed of. Okay, so some may be impractical, some might involve giant paperclips that haven't been invented yet, some might just be completely bizarre.
That said, your mind's creativity has been unlocked.
Next time you are faced with a "how can I do something" problem, try the "list all the ways I can't do it" and turn them around ...
And remember the only limits to the paperclip are the one's your mind imposed :)
Tuesday 22 February 2011
Sunday 20 February 2011
The paperclip creativity exercise - part one
Have you ever needed to think up creative ideas and been stuck? Maybe you are looking for topics for a blog, or just need to come up with some new ideas to solve a problem at work? Maybe you're a writer and you face that "I have a beautiful blank sheet of paper with so much potential, yet I have nothing to say" moment?
I want to share a simple exercise I learnt many years ago which I guarantee will create some ideas for you.
It involves the simple paperclip.
Step one:
Write down everything you can think of that you can use a paperclip for
Simple, isn't it?
Please don't be disillusioned if you only end up with a short list. In part two you will unleash the true potential of this exercise.
Come back tomorrow ...
I want to share a simple exercise I learnt many years ago which I guarantee will create some ideas for you.
It involves the simple paperclip.
Step one:
Write down everything you can think of that you can use a paperclip for
Simple, isn't it?
Please don't be disillusioned if you only end up with a short list. In part two you will unleash the true potential of this exercise.
Come back tomorrow ...
Wednesday 16 February 2011
Stepping out ...
I'm not good at making choices. Sometimes in my life there has only been one thing on a menu, only one suitable place, only one unmissable movie. Now as I work through my year of living differently, I find choices abound - and it can be tough to make a decision.
Take tonight for instance. It's a long weekend. No work tomorrow. And I've decided to meet up with a friend and go out. But where should we go? Do we want to go to Neos on the sixty somethingth floor, of perhaps something a bit closer to the ground, should we go somewhere by the beach, or somewhere that has dancing ...?
Too many choices. Stepping out is hard. But I'm going. We've got as far as arranging where to meet and at what time. The adventure begins. Where to next ... I'll keep you posted. Maybe ;)
Take tonight for instance. It's a long weekend. No work tomorrow. And I've decided to meet up with a friend and go out. But where should we go? Do we want to go to Neos on the sixty somethingth floor, of perhaps something a bit closer to the ground, should we go somewhere by the beach, or somewhere that has dancing ...?
Too many choices. Stepping out is hard. But I'm going. We've got as far as arranging where to meet and at what time. The adventure begins. Where to next ... I'll keep you posted. Maybe ;)
Predictive Text Analysis - WTF?
It's all about prediction, but this post isn't about horoscopes. I want to rant a little about an analytical technique used by organisations - predictive text analysis. An odd subject you might think. But I'm fired up to write about it because I've just seen it used so, so badly, by the bank I use - Mashreq.
Mashreq recently 'enhanced' their online banking system - and it was, of course, all for the customers. Or so they say ...
So I visited the new portal and found that if I wanted to pay a bill or transfer money to anyone in my existing beneficiary list I had to reactivate the beneficiary. Problem is, I have to do this one by one and each involves at least four steps involving security questions, mobile phones and codes.
I sent them an email suggesting that this was not ideal and this is where things became very strange. The response I received from them:
Mashreq`s response to your Feedback REF-xxxxxx is as follows:
We sincerely thank you for taking out time and writing to us. You are one of our esteemed customers and it is a privilege to be of service to you. We would like to take this opportunity to assure you that your feedback is of prime importance to us as it provides us with an opportunity to not only assess, but to also improve our service standards. We value your relationship with the bank immensely and assure you that we will make every effort to give you the best banking experience. Please to advise you that for the security of the customer accounts and credit cards the feature for adding the beneficiary on Mashreq online has been introduced. For any further assistance, please feel free to email us or contact our 24 hrs. Direct Banking Centre on 04-4244444 to speak to a Personal Banking Advisor.
If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to write back.
Thank you for banking with Mashreq.
Regards,
Mashreq
http://www.mashreqbank.com/
Please note this is a system generated email do not reply to this message.
(The emphasis is mine.)
The beneficiary process has been there for years - I've been using it for years. And I appreciate it. What I don't appreciate is Mashreq not addressing my issue - which is that the process to reactivate them is cumbersome and that it has to be done one at a time.
And what I really don't appreciate is being reassured about my value as a customer when they can't even be bothered to read complaint emails and rely on inadequate implementation of predictive text analysis, and then tell me it's a system generated email and not to respond.
Way to go Mashreq ... I took time out to write. If you're not going to take time out to read at least make sure you predictive text analysis system is good enough!
Mashreq recently 'enhanced' their online banking system - and it was, of course, all for the customers. Or so they say ...
So I visited the new portal and found that if I wanted to pay a bill or transfer money to anyone in my existing beneficiary list I had to reactivate the beneficiary. Problem is, I have to do this one by one and each involves at least four steps involving security questions, mobile phones and codes.
I sent them an email suggesting that this was not ideal and this is where things became very strange. The response I received from them:
Mashreq`s response to your Feedback REF-xxxxxx is as follows:
We sincerely thank you for taking out time and writing to us. You are one of our esteemed customers and it is a privilege to be of service to you. We would like to take this opportunity to assure you that your feedback is of prime importance to us as it provides us with an opportunity to not only assess, but to also improve our service standards. We value your relationship with the bank immensely and assure you that we will make every effort to give you the best banking experience. Please to advise you that for the security of the customer accounts and credit cards the feature for adding the beneficiary on Mashreq online has been introduced. For any further assistance, please feel free to email us or contact our 24 hrs. Direct Banking Centre on 04-4244444 to speak to a Personal Banking Advisor.
If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to write back.
Thank you for banking with Mashreq.
Regards,
Mashreq
http://www.mashreqbank.com/
Please note this is a system generated email do not reply to this message.
(The emphasis is mine.)
The beneficiary process has been there for years - I've been using it for years. And I appreciate it. What I don't appreciate is Mashreq not addressing my issue - which is that the process to reactivate them is cumbersome and that it has to be done one at a time.
And what I really don't appreciate is being reassured about my value as a customer when they can't even be bothered to read complaint emails and rely on inadequate implementation of predictive text analysis, and then tell me it's a system generated email and not to respond.
Way to go Mashreq ... I took time out to write. If you're not going to take time out to read at least make sure you predictive text analysis system is good enough!
Tuesday 15 February 2011
My year of living differently - progress report
This year I decided I would live differently.
Many people seem to engage with their lives. But there are those amongst us who don't know how to do that, who have found it an ongoing struggle to face our fears.
Now I want to surprise myself. Often. I want to embrace courage, and much else besides. In recent months I have thought about the things I've never done and the things that I had stopped doing and wanted to do again, and the things that had never even crossed my mind. Even small steps are incredibly liberating. Savour the moment when you say to yourself, "I was amazing. Can you believe I did that?"
I decided to live and to live the Nike slogan - Just do it.
If you're facing fears and wondering if you can change, give it a go. Turn away from the idea that people are judging you. It could be that they are, but do they matter? Does their opinion matter enough to stop you from stepping up to life?
A friend recently told me that age 46 is when things turn around - the point when we make the shift from trying to please too many to a point where we realise that we are strong, beautiful people no matter what others think. It's the time when we are free of trying to impress others and just want to make sure that we wring each valuable molecule of living from the sponges around us.
Just do it.
Let me know how it goes ...
Many people seem to engage with their lives. But there are those amongst us who don't know how to do that, who have found it an ongoing struggle to face our fears.
Now I want to surprise myself. Often. I want to embrace courage, and much else besides. In recent months I have thought about the things I've never done and the things that I had stopped doing and wanted to do again, and the things that had never even crossed my mind. Even small steps are incredibly liberating. Savour the moment when you say to yourself, "I was amazing. Can you believe I did that?"
I decided to live and to live the Nike slogan - Just do it.
If you're facing fears and wondering if you can change, give it a go. Turn away from the idea that people are judging you. It could be that they are, but do they matter? Does their opinion matter enough to stop you from stepping up to life?
A friend recently told me that age 46 is when things turn around - the point when we make the shift from trying to please too many to a point where we realise that we are strong, beautiful people no matter what others think. It's the time when we are free of trying to impress others and just want to make sure that we wring each valuable molecule of living from the sponges around us.
Just do it.
Let me know how it goes ...
Monday 14 February 2011
Just listen ...
This morning I was watching a webcast about selling stuff on the internet (stuff being the technical term for anything that people want to sell, from content to services to tangible processes). One sentence resonated, staying with me throughout the day.
"When was the last time you spoke to a customer without trying to sell them something?"
Every week I receive one or two sales calls - in Dubai these are usually from banks or financial advisers. More often than not they launch into a prepared script about their product. They haven't asked me what I need, let alone taken the time to establish that I need anything at all. They pitch their product or service as though whatever they are offering is something everyone will want, regardless of their individual differences. My credit card requirements as a single woman of a certain age will be the same as those of a 20-seomthing who's just left home. Or so they seem to think.
They deliver their pitch in such a way that you know the clock is ticking. You can almost hear the voices in their heads:
- Should I give up now?
- Was that a flicker of interest?
- Maybe she's worth another 30 seconds before I decide to hang up and try the next call.
Yet, when someone does stop and listen to us, when someone asks what we want or need and then waits for the answer, and listens to it, most of us feel far happier about spending the time talking to them, and are probably more open to buying whatever they have to sell.
If you're in sales, give it a try. Ask one good question (a nice open ended question designed to give them scope to talk) and then listen. If you must make a noise, make sure you're encouraging them to keep speaking. About what they want, about what they need.
Give it a go. I'm sure you'll discover that you understand their needs more deeply - and when that happens, then you can think about maybe selling. Get used to this process, use it a few times, build up a relationship with your prospect. When you make the investment you will reap the financial rewards.
"When was the last time you spoke to a customer without trying to sell them something?"
Every week I receive one or two sales calls - in Dubai these are usually from banks or financial advisers. More often than not they launch into a prepared script about their product. They haven't asked me what I need, let alone taken the time to establish that I need anything at all. They pitch their product or service as though whatever they are offering is something everyone will want, regardless of their individual differences. My credit card requirements as a single woman of a certain age will be the same as those of a 20-seomthing who's just left home. Or so they seem to think.
They deliver their pitch in such a way that you know the clock is ticking. You can almost hear the voices in their heads:
- Should I give up now?
- Was that a flicker of interest?
- Maybe she's worth another 30 seconds before I decide to hang up and try the next call.
Yet, when someone does stop and listen to us, when someone asks what we want or need and then waits for the answer, and listens to it, most of us feel far happier about spending the time talking to them, and are probably more open to buying whatever they have to sell.
If you're in sales, give it a try. Ask one good question (a nice open ended question designed to give them scope to talk) and then listen. If you must make a noise, make sure you're encouraging them to keep speaking. About what they want, about what they need.
Give it a go. I'm sure you'll discover that you understand their needs more deeply - and when that happens, then you can think about maybe selling. Get used to this process, use it a few times, build up a relationship with your prospect. When you make the investment you will reap the financial rewards.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)