Cognac

The meaning of life...

We had a great VizThink London event last night with Dave Gray of Xplane sharing his thoughts on Visual Thinking and one of the exercises was to draw the meaning of life.  Great brief!

It reminded me of an amazing Japanese Garden I saw in Tully, Ireland.  It hit me really hard - in a good way!

It reminds me of how we are all convinced we discovered love for the first time.  Or parenthood.

The design is thousands of years old - but the fundamental pattern, the rhythm is still the same.

The journey starts at the Gate of Oblivion where the soul strives to inhabit a body. Birth is symbolised by a rock cave, followed by a path through a dark tunnel signifying the ignorance and incomprehension of the infant.

The growing child may ascend the Hill of Learning, after which he will follow a winding stream where a three-way parting of roads offers a choice between a straight path, indicating bachelorhood, a path lined with cherry trees, indicating a life of self indulgence, or a middle path leading to the Island of Joy and Wonder with marriage as its reward.

The steep Hill of Ambition is climbed and eventually, after a number of blind paths, both married partners enter the Garden of Peace and Contentment with its level lawn, shady trees and wide, slow-moving stream. The Gateway of Eternity brings the pilgrimage to a close.

And not a Blackberry, Knife or Xbox in sight...

How to Twitter!

I didn't get Twitter.  I really don't need ANOTHER place to update - I use facebook!  But now thanks to TP, I think I do:

Twitter allows:
- Updating multiple places at the same time (Inc facebook, twitter, your website, ecademy etc - but not yet your ecademy status.  I think)
- Updating all of those using a text message from your mobile

Twittering allows:
(Twittering is the name for sending status updates - which are also called "tweets"!!  I think of them as micro Christmas letters to friends - rather than two pages a year, you get a sentence every few days)
- Sharing random thoughts "Tom is drinking coffee"
- Blatant REQUESTS for help "Tom wants you to give him tips on writing a business plan"
But also:
- Sharing what you're doing so people can OFFER to help "Tom is battling writing a business plan"

(For clarity: I'm not doing any of those things!)

Setting up Twitter & Facebook & a box you can stick on other sites:
- Sign up with Twitter (Easy)
- Go to "devices" and set it up with your mobile (That number is the number you text updates to!)
- Add 2 Facebook Apps: "fb2twit" and "twittersync" (Not "twitter" or you get "is twittering" in front!)
- In Facebook app "twittersync" set your "prepend verb" to "is" for it to work like I've described below
- As Thomas suggests, create a "badge" using this hidden link and add that code to your ecademy profile / website etc etc
- In your blog either add that "badge" code - or typepad has a "widget" to do it

Then send a text (minus the "tom is" bit) to the twitter number and it appears everywhere!  You can still update manually via facebook or twitter and it seems to work.

So if you send "having coffee"
- On Facebook it says "Tom Ball is having coffee"
- Elsewhere is says "having coffee"

Hope that's useful - not easy, is it!
T

<li><a href="http://www.cognac.co.uk/">Cognac: Communicate anything in ten minutes:</a>

Has the future just arrived?

You may well know all of this - but I'll share it anyway as it could save you hours if you haven't!

There are loads of new internet based "widgets" which are free, simple, easy - and make work / communication / remote working much easier.  Because they are internet based, they are independent of the computer you are using.  I work from home, from the office, on the road, a library, an internet cafe... and everything I need is wherever I am.

Here are just a few to get you started - but please do add your favourites if they're not here:

• www.google.co.uk/ig - A customisable home page

It doesn't sound that exciting - but it allows you to add links, widgets etc to your home page - which you can then access from any computer.  My home page includes:

1. A search bar for Wikipedia (As well as Google above)
2. A list of current documents on Google Docs (Like Recent Documents in windows)
3. My favourite links - links to edit my blog, to key sites I use etc
4. The latest headlines from a few blogs I keep up with - which means I can instantly see what's been said without having to go to that site...

And all of these are constantly updated and available on any computer...  The geek term is "RSS", but basically it means you have data where you want it - not just on the website it came from...

• docs.google.com - An online spreadsheet & online

Imagine Microsoft Word and Excel - except in a web-browser, simpler (Fewer features) - and accessible by multiple people from multiple locations.  E.g. Write a business plan online and let ten people all login and always have the latest version

• www.mindmeister.com - Online mindmapping

The same as Google Docs - but for mindmapping
(You may need an invite, email me and I'll send you one)

Good luck, just maybe the future we've been promised has already arrived?

Can you be unracist?

Is campaigning against racism, by nature, promoting racism?

I'm not saying we should not campaign against racism - I'm just not sure how to do it without making the problem worse.

This all started when I read about P'Diddy commenting on "his people" - and the thought occurred to me that until "his people" means everyone, it is inherently racist.

Effectively, any targeted campaign against discrimination risks seperating the world into two groups: the minority and the majority: Men and women, Black and white, Christian and Muslim - which risks reinforcing the very distinction of "them" and "us" that we seek to remove.

This leaves a true yet hard to convey "tolerance and diversity" message, devoid of any examples (Or again, we must choose sides).

In this context, you can see power of words.  The need to avoid, not just change, labels - for examples avoiding racist, sexist remarks - perhaps on the day there are no labels, there can be no discrimination?

Creating a Tipping Point...

Hi,

We have just published our article about how to apply "the tipping point".  When I started talking about the idea, I realised that it varies for different people.  There are therefore three slightly different versions: for Consultants to become thought leaders, for change managers to communicate internally - and this, a more general one:

Suggestions for future articles very welcome!

http://www.cognac.co.uk/files/newsletter/Tipping_general.pdf

Creating a Tipping Point as a Consultant

Article just out about selling more consulting:
http://www.cognac.co.uk/files/newsletter/Tipping_consultant.pdf

Creating a Tipping Point in Change Management

Article just out on Change Management and Internal Communication: http://www.cognac.co.uk/files/newsletter/Tipping_change.pdf

Loud Silence

I find it hard to do nothing - yet I know we all need time to clear our minds...

One thing that works for me is "loud silence" - something loud enough to block out the "noise" in my head yet invisible enough to give me clear space:

• Music I know really, really well - I use "chillout"
• Climbing hills - especially ones with a great view
• Skiing is still the best for me, but harder in short doses!

Any other suggestions welcome...

Cool "Out of office" replies...

Most out of office replies are of the "I'm in meetings from X until Y - please contact Z with any questions" - which is very functional, but not neccessarily on brand - why not have some fun?

I've had two wonderful out of office replies recently (Now there's a phrase you don't hear every day!) - both from very senior people - both being themselves and for me at least improving my feelings towards them & their companies ... see what you think:

Thank you for your email - I am out for the next week in Asia but working - I may take a little longer to keep up with responses due to meetings.

Should you need me urgently please feel free to call Nicki Kropp - she is far more capable than I am.

Or try my mobile 07777 444 444 If I can, I will always answer,
Best wishes have a great day/ week, we are....
(Name removed ;o)

 

And:

I am out of the office on a Penguin identifying mission, and will not be back until I can tell the difference between a Rockhopper and a Macaroni, which will probably be the 19th February 2007.  I am a slow learner.  Please refer everything to my PA, Wendy Bowman, who will make sure it is dealt with.

Keep healthy and sane.

Do less, better

We have just got back from our annual strategy retreat refreshed and ready to distill everything to make the world more effective.  We are (theoretically!) all aligned, focussed and on the same page.

Our theme this quarter "Doing less, better" struck a chord with quite a few people I mentioned it to.  It has taken me years to figure out that a strategy is basically about setting priorities - and therefore about choosing the few things that will make a difference (to you and to your clients) - not some jedi technique to squeeze more things in to your ever expanding to do list!

Verne Harnish often talks about the importance of "not doing lists".  That you cannot continually add more priorities, more things to do without choosing what you won't do.

Ironically it means that we walk out of our strategy sessions with 95 ideas we wanted to do, not going to happen (yet, at least) - but all agreed on the 5 that will.  Like getting married (Choosing one person is easy - it's un-choosing the other 6 billion that's hard!) there is some loss at saying no to so many great ideas, it feels great to have a single page to-do list again - filled with things I know will happen - and happen well.  And unlike getting married, you're allowed new priorities next quarter ;o)