Category Archives: Uncategorized

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Internet Advertising Going Up

So to see this week, we have experienced a big local shift, what has already been common knowledge for sometime that internet advertising is growing. The local markets are all moving up a gear on the internet. The waters are still unclear on what is the best way to get your money’s worth online and making your website pay for its self.

Funnily enough there are no great surprises in how this work. While print media advertising has been very successful in the past. It is still basically one way business. The advertisers talking or demonstrating their wares. There is no business that can be one way towards their customers. Feedback is key to developing and launching a new product. Web 2.0 is about that, two way business. Work Connexions offers that community.

The internet will not replace relationships. Despite the success of social networking sites. A quality product produces quality results. If you can build up on line profile overnight than you may have to ask your self how much is that profile worth? I believe it is possible on Facebook to becoming Tony Blair’s friend. While that might make a good dinner party story. Can one take it seriously?

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Challenge Your Brain for Productivity – 5 MITA Steps

Chris Brown asked, “How do you get more productive with your creativity or stay productive and creative?”

My immediate answer’s quite simple… Challenge your brain because the brain leaps to the adventure of unraveling puzzles and problems.

When folks mine rich resources of their brain to solve problems they’ll be more productive! How so? They use more gifts and talents at work. Why then, doesn’t that happen more?

Interestingly, one barrier is bosses or CEO’s who see themselves as boosting productivity, while in reality they stifle job satisfaction. Misplaced efforts to improve worker morale tend to lessen productivity according to research at University of Michigan. The secret is to empower peoples’ gifts and talents.

Amazingly, MITA strategies worked to increase my personal productivity in ways that changed who I am. Here’s a brief overview with links to provide deeper insights for the five MITA steps that jumpstarted my brain and led to productivity in career and more satisfaction in personal life as well…

Question… Ask questions that connect you personally to problems. That process guides your brain to solutions or new opportunities. Such questions might begin “What if I…” “How might I change…” “What would happen if I tried…” You get the picture.

Target… Make a plan that initiates solutions or strategies for the outcome you have in sight. I began to work smarter and not harder by using short term benchmarks and jotting them in my weekly calendar so I kept progressing toward the overall target.

Expect… What do you expect anyway? Your expectations must be clear and not foggy or nothing gets done. I wrote down exact descriptions for best end results. Do you seek excellence as I do?

Move… What personal resources contribute to the target you have in mind? Most people automatically dip into one or two intelligences used on the job. Some leaders compartmentalize gifts and talents used at work. For instance they use verbal and logical intelligences to tackle tasks day in and day out, so they miss seeing a project through bodily-kinesthetic or interpersonal lenses. To look at your job differently is often to draw on new talents. When you tap into new intelligences to tackle old projects, watch for rejuvenated results!

Reflect…Reflection leads to growth and change that steps you back to see what’s working and what isn’t. That leads to adjustment opportunities along the way. Without reflection, each new flight you take traverses the same path and engages the same components. Ellen Weber, who created the MITA model, claims if reflection is left out, stagnation results. How does reflection guide your productivity?

Many folks want research evidence to know that MITA strategies work. Recently, PhD University lecturers in Ireland, began using MITA strategies as they taught and assessed university students in medical settings. Research conducted in 2006 showed that professors using MITA strategies had 5% increase in student motivation and achievement. Similar results hold true in business settings.

Whether blogging, writing articles, having fun with grandchildren, or keynoting to university faculty, I discovered MITA strategies bring productivity in all facets of my life.

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Work Connexions signs up with Google

Work Connexions is pleased to announce that they have just signed up for a marketing campaign with Google AdWords. We believe this increases registered company’s exposure to potential clients. Along with our radio campaign due to launch May the 7 this consolidates our excellent website presence. Just by registering on Work Connexions, a company can increase its profile considerable as people will be able to find the business through our quality W3C website portal. Work Connexions combines the principles of the blogosphere, the Yellow Pages, eBay and Forums.

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IOD 60 Year Anniversary

The Institute of Directors is celebrating its 60 year anniversary this month. For any organisation to be making a valid contribution for that amount time is no mean feat. Of course the institute has been playing a very important role in business over the last 60 years. Many people dream of having their own business and being independent.

 

In the Isle of Man the success rate is very high. (eight out of every ten businesses is judged to be a success by the DTI. In comparison with the UK where it is the reverse of these figures. Of course setting up ones business always works on two levels . It is easy enough to have your trade or skill that you are good at. A very different matter when it comes to selling your business and taking a risk. It is not surprising a lot of people struggle with making that transition. The IOD can provide training knowledge and support in these matters, not just for big businesses but for all people that manage the risk of business. Take a look at the website: http://www.iod.com

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ISO as good as your word

Without doubt keeping your word is primary to business. But ensuring that is often a complicated process. As no man is an island no sole responsibility can be placed on one person. When a client gets your word, one will do everything to ensure that it is kept. Organisations with good communication, infrastructure and accountability will more than likely succeed at this. It is important when building your business to ensure that safe guards are in place. One can implement quality standards themselves or they can hire experts to come in and do this for them. Of course Management have to support the idea. This is one reason why ISO quality standards has achieved so much success. Imagine an airline part that does not fit correctly, that simple mistake discovered at the time of installation will cost tenfold, than if it was discovered at the manufacturing plant. Of course there is the loss of face too, a much more serious consequence.

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It's a great place to try things out and get business done.

Work Connexions has always been proud to publish different sorts of Articles, News, Marketing material – and we want that tradition to continue with our website. Only now we don’t just want your written contributions – we want your emails, pictures, audio files and videos too! Our website was designed with web 2.0 reader interaction at its heart. Many of our blogs will have the ability for you to add your comments at the bottom. Simply type your name and comments, hit ‘send’, and your contribution will be published instantly.

You will need to register to do this. If you have not yet registered, it only takes a minute to join

http://www.workconnexions.com/Register.aspx

It’s easier than ever to post your thoughts and pictures by using the tools in the profile center. If you want to send a comment directly to the Work Connexions team or the editor then please use the contact form.

http://www.workconnexions.com/ContactUs.aspx

“We are a one stop shop for all your business development needs”. Advertising, PR, Web, Recruitment and Blogging. Online and offline.

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Blogs That Sell – 5 Great Business Blogs

In this business and indirect monetization blogging series I have been talking about how you can use blogs to gain attention and generate sales leads. Now we should really take a look at some examples. Here are five great blogs that sell.

english cut: bespoke savile row tailors

Just take a look at this quote.

Because the diary was so full we didn’t get to meet as many new customers as normal. I did think that we wouldn’t take as many orders because of this. However my existing clients kept re-ordering. Thankfully in the end I was busy as ever. I’m very fortunate to now have brilliant people working for me, which makes my average part in the process seem highly skilled. As I’ve said before, you can cut the best suit in the world but if your tailors are poor, then you’ve got no chance.

Read it over again and just be aware of your thoughts as you process what he has written there. In one paragraph he has informed you that

  • His service is in demand
  • But he is humble and real
  • There is scarcity of availability so you had better get your order placed
  • Customers are so happy they come back and back
  • He has some excellent people working with him

That’s just one snippet from one post. Imagine if you had subscribed and read 7 articles, 20, or more.Would you feel nervous ordering a bespoke suit from this guy? If I ever need to wear a suit again I know what suit I would like it to be!

The Dip by Seth Godin

No “great blogs” list is complete without an appearance from The Godin himself so let’s get his entry out of the way early on. Again, see how you can say so much without any hard sell at all …

It’s a Catch-22 of course (you can’t be a hit until you’re a hit). If you’re in an industry with no bestseller list, do your best to create one. The Dip just hit #1 on the CEO READ daily bestseller list, by the way

Let me translate; “Here’s a useful tip and, oh, by the way buy my book cuz it’s dashizzle”.

Jeffrey Zeldman

Most web designers will have heard of Jeffrey Zeldman, or at least “A List Apart”. In terms of designing with web standards this man is a hero. Therefore while he doesn’t explicitly sell, all that authority has got to work wonders for his design outfit, Happy Cog …

Jeffrey is the founder and executive creative director of Happy Cog™, a web design agency with offices in New York City and Philadelphia. Clients include Advertising Age, AIGA, and Amnesty International USA. Happy Cog publishes A List Apart for people who make websites; a book series is in the works.

If your boss wanted some kick ass standards based design, and you were one goof away from being fired, I think you would be very confident recommending this agency.

Guy Kawasaki

Guys blog is an example of what to do when your product is you.

If you read more of my blog, you’ll discover that I love mantras (as opposed to mission statements). My mantra is: Empower entrepreneurs I try to do this three or four times a week with my blog, one hundred times a year with my speeches, two to three times a year with Garage’s checkbook, and once every three years or so by writing a book.

His wisdom, experience and expertise oozes out of every bit and byte. He sells just by, well, being. There is a saying; “Lions don’t need to roar”.

Woot

It’s all well and good showing you blogs that sell intangibles, what about someone who makes money selling real stuff? Ever heard of Woot?

Woot.com is an online store and community that focuses on selling cool stuff cheap. It started as an employee-store slash market-testing type of place for an electronics distributor, but it’s taken on a life of its own. We anticipate profitability by 2043 – by then we should be retired; someone smarter might take over and jack up the prices. Until then, we’re still the lovable scamps we’ve always been.

People sign up to the RSS, they see interesting product, they stampede to buy before the offer goes away. Every day. The copy is irreverent, casual and chatty not aggressive, the design is elegant and fun, the community is buzzing, and the products are interesting. Woot was launched July 12, 2004 and sold its 1,000,000th item, a 4GB micro hard drive, on February 5, 2007.

Over to you

That’s the end of this series for now, though of course I will still be covering these topics every day in one way or another. I want to hear from you. Do you have comments, suggestions, questions, example blogs I have missed, do you disagree, agree, like, dislike, or… well, just let me know in the comments ok?

chrisgarret