A number of people have been asking why we have listed the Isle of Man in the UK on the Work Connexions site. The reason for this is simple. If we would put it into its own country category, say for example the British Isles, the listing of information and the search functions would not show up any material when a user selects the UK. This would significantly reduce the exposure of Manx Business’s on the web site, as most people would select the UK. I am open to suggestions though…
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The unread e-mail
One of the common difficulties that individuals or companies will have to face is e-mail. E-mail is a wonderful tool that allows us to communicate cheaply, easily and across all barriers. But there is a downside.
How many companies have an info@companyetc.com? Most of the businesses that I have come across do. Why do they have it? Because they want to be reachable and able to do business. Only 10 years ago one company that I worked for in Holland use to record every letter that came and went out by snail post. This way the company could ensure that if somebody sent a letter to them that they would get a response. With modern communication that fine art of reply has shifted. But it is still as valuable now as it was then.
I send a lot of e-mails in sales and I can divide each one into categories of interest and how the company is organised. This does not count for every e-mail but certainly for the important ones where a receipt is asked for:
Receipt received; the e-mail has been read: The company or individual is interested.
No receipt for e-mail: They have read the e-mail
E-mail was deleted without being read: The company or individual has not read the e-mail
What can one do with this information. There are no hard and fast rules. Obviously if they send a yes receipt they are interested and so forth. Recently a couple of companies sent a very dignified reply before I had even called them. Saying yes, we are interested but not now. This last group of companies will in my opinion be the most successful. Why is that? Because they have a process to deal with e-mails. They were able to answer a simple email and to express their opinion. For me it meant that I did not waste time pursuing it, they did not waste time in realising that what their current situation is. Result, everybody is happy. In the last situation, although I have not got the business from the company yet, I will recommend them to anybody that asks because if they can answer an e-mail that is addressed to info@companyetc.com. In today’s environment then they are way above the average the company.
Working with Companies you Dislike
At the centre of many of the world’s religions is forgiveness. Not only is this considered a necessity to become a better person it has proven healing qualities. It is quite easy to forgive people, some people struggle with this. What happens though if it is not a case of forgiveness but that is just the way the person or company is. Of course there are things out there that we just do not like. I am sure for each person this is different. It is really only of interest if we want to do business with that company or person. One can stand firm on their ground of principles and lose the business. Or they can gain the business grow, their company and make a contribution to their principles or ethics in another way.
People can change….. it’s just not very likely to happen.
I personally keep the door slightly ajar never rule out an opportunity.
Premium accounts turned on & Rss Feeds on Work Connexions
We have turned on the premium accounts for all users. Also we have added RSS feeds so you can stream the information to your desktop.
What are Feeds?
News feeds allow you to see when websites have added new content. You can get the latest headlines and video in one place, as soon as its published, without having to visit the websites you have taken the feed from.
Feeds are also known as RSS. There is some discussion as to what RSS stands for, but most people plump for ‘Really Simple Syndication’. In essence, the feeds themselves are just web pages, designed to be read by computers rather than people.
How do I start using feeds?
In general, the first thing you need is something called a news reader. This is a piece of software that checks the feeds and lets you read any new articles that have been added. There are many different versions, some of which are accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable applications.
Browser-based news readers let you catch up with your RSS feed subscriptions from any computer, whereas downloadable applications let you store them on your main computer, in the same way that you either download your e-mail using Outlook, or keep it on a web-based service like Hotmail.
Once you have chosen a news reader, all you have to do is to decide what content you want it to receive. For example, if you would like the latest BBC News Entertainment stories, simply visit the Entertainment section and you will notice an orange button on the left hand side.
Grey areas need Procedures
A grey area could be described as something you’re not quite sure about..… Where should you be stepping? Grey areas appear in everyday life in all the work that we do. Obviously it is important they are kept to a minimum. Because of their very nature we are sometimes never sure when we are hitting one, even more important what can one do about them? Well one method I tried was to ignore it and hope that is goes away, that turned out to be useless. A slightly more successful method was sitting down andfinding a solution that happened in this case to involve people and writing a procedure. But the principle is same. Making a procedure is a back up plan. And that is good for grey areas.
Press release
PRESS RELEASE
News release: 26-03-07
A new online community, Work Connexions has been launched in the Isle of Man. Leo Cussons and Nathan Pledger have been working the past six months on developing a platform that combines the principles of the blogosphere, the Yellow Pages, eBay and ManxForums.
What makes Work Connexions different is the Requests and Offer sections. In Requests, you can post your recruitment adverts, requests for proposals and other invitations. In Offers you can post an advert of your own…maintenance services, hair dressers and travel agents all feature. Then once you’ve used the services or worked for a new customer, you can write a review on how it went. So if I hire a mechanic to fix my car, he knows I’m going to let the world know what value I got.
To download the PDF version of this please visit the Work Connexions download section or online here
Website address: www.workconnexions.com
For further information please +44 01212 889051
Life Changes and Develops
Often in life, and more than people would like to admit it, relationships change.
People disagree and things that once blossomed, wither and die, and other things develop. Sometimes it is possible to revive these things and sometimes it is not. It is a part of lifes cycles.
We can make things easier for ourselves or we can make them difficult. How simple it all is and yet how difficult we make it.
An acquaintance once told me that the secret to running a business is insuring that you make more right decisions then wrong ones.