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 ...
Sunday, 20 February 2011
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.
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Messing about - Borlotti beans
Saute and soften 1/2 finely chopped onion in oil, then add 1 finely chopped clove of garlic. Add 1 tin tomatoes (squashed up) and 1/2 cup red wine. Also paprika, salt, ground cumin and ground coriander to taste (not too much of the last two). Simmer until reduced (maybe 30 - 40 minutes). Add one tin drained, rinsed borlotti beans. Stir through and keep on heat for a couple of minutes.
Enjoy!
Note: If you like, you can pile this on toasted Italian bread brushed with some EVOO and rubbed with a clove of garlic.
Enjoy!
Note: If you like, you can pile this on toasted Italian bread brushed with some EVOO and rubbed with a clove of garlic.
Saturday, 25 December 2010
Home
After spending a too short two weeks in Australia I find myself thinking about what home means - and how many homes can a person have?
I live in Dubai and have lived there for over ten years. I have good friends, friends I want to see regularly and often, in Dubai, the UK, Switzerland, Canada, Macedonia, Poland ... These are all people I have met since I moved to Dubai - they are the friends of my midlife and I love them dearly.
That said, I have friends in Australia who I have known for way longer and who I wish I could see more often. Two or three weeks a year visiting the country of my birth doesn't allow me to spend the time with them that I would wish to spend.
Then of course there is family. Love them or hate them, we can't live without them. They made us who we are. They shaped our lives, supporting us in times of trouble and grief, cheering us in times of triumph, and they are just there during the plodding days of ordinary life. And that's the important thing. They are there. Always. No matter what family ties tie. I have found that even remote cousins can sometimes seem at least as close as good friends because of our shared background; the family ties we have in common making up for any lack of shared experience.
So when it comes to ideas of home, and where I will spend the rest of my life, I confess I am torn. Sure I live in Dubai, but that's more because it's convenient than through any sense of belonging there. And Australia as the country of my birth, the home of my family, the place with which I am most familiar, well, it's home.
At this stage I find it impossible to say where I will end up - but I have a strong feeling that no matter where I keep my belongings, airport lounges will remain familiar places.
I live in Dubai and have lived there for over ten years. I have good friends, friends I want to see regularly and often, in Dubai, the UK, Switzerland, Canada, Macedonia, Poland ... These are all people I have met since I moved to Dubai - they are the friends of my midlife and I love them dearly.
That said, I have friends in Australia who I have known for way longer and who I wish I could see more often. Two or three weeks a year visiting the country of my birth doesn't allow me to spend the time with them that I would wish to spend.
Then of course there is family. Love them or hate them, we can't live without them. They made us who we are. They shaped our lives, supporting us in times of trouble and grief, cheering us in times of triumph, and they are just there during the plodding days of ordinary life. And that's the important thing. They are there. Always. No matter what family ties tie. I have found that even remote cousins can sometimes seem at least as close as good friends because of our shared background; the family ties we have in common making up for any lack of shared experience.
So when it comes to ideas of home, and where I will spend the rest of my life, I confess I am torn. Sure I live in Dubai, but that's more because it's convenient than through any sense of belonging there. And Australia as the country of my birth, the home of my family, the place with which I am most familiar, well, it's home.
At this stage I find it impossible to say where I will end up - but I have a strong feeling that no matter where I keep my belongings, airport lounges will remain familiar places.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)