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A revolutionary answer to email stress

According to the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday One in three workers suffers from ’email stress’.

Having just returned to 150 ‘proper’ emails (i.e. not spam or quickly deleted cc’d messages) after a few days out of the office I can empathise.

The researchers conclusions are backed up by my anecdotal evidence of  most of my fellow commuters and numerous overheard conversations on trains and buses.

The general consensus is that this is an inevitable downside of using email to communicate at work.

However not all would agree and Timothy Ferriss, for one, outlines a revolutionary solution to this modern day curse.  In typical American bravado his manifesto on the ChangeThis website is titled, The Low-Information Diet: How to Eliminate E-Mail Overload & Triple Productivity in 24 Hours.

However for anyone brave enough to follow it through (and I have to confess I am not yet) I think it could be an effective answer.

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The not so simple paper clip

It is surprising where the topic of inventions and patents can pop up. This evening on BBC 2’s topical comedy show Mock the Week, one of the panellists mentioned the humble paper clip and how it had never been patented.

As I soon discovered this could not have been further from the truth as can be seen at EarlyOfficeMuseum.com

Paperclip

However the iconic version of the this ubiquitous product shown above and produced by Gem Manufacturing an English company prior to 1899 was first patented by Johan Vaaler a Norwegian. However it appears that Vaaler did not make any money out of ‘his’ invention. Which just goes to show.

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3,000 into 100 will go (won’t it?)

The UK government has a very ambitious target of reducing the number of business support schemes in England from around 3,000, to no more than 100 by 2010.

Admittedly the current set-up is overly complicated, and in my experience people starting up in business are often confused about where to go for help and support.

The aim is for Business Link to become the primary route and the Government is seeking views on how they can be developed to play this role. The closing date for suggestions is 14 September, and the worryingly long email address to send them to is SimplifyingBusinessSupport@dti.gov.uk

http://www.dti.gov.uk/consultations/page40113.html 

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Kiva.org – small investments that make a big difference

Here is another great example of how the Internet can really make a positive difference in people’s lives by connecting those who need small investments with those who can afford to invest.

“Kiva.org lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you’ve sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.”

What is great about the site is that you can choose from hundreds of entrepreneurs and projects and then follow their success (or failure) on-line.

According to Andrew who is one of the lenders:
I loan because: We so make so much money in the western world compared to people in developing countries. I’ve met families in Indonesia, Samoa, Cambodia and elsewhere whose monthly budget is about what I make in an hour. Thank you, Kiva, for making it so easy for those of us with some extra money and an understanding of the huge role that small loans can play in the lives of people around the world to help out a little.

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Social = Enterprise

Tim Smit founder of the Eden Project has a very expansive view of Social Enterprise. He thinks all entrepreneurial activities should be social:

“The only distinction I can see between social entrepreneurship and ordinary entrepreneurship is the ultimate disposal of the surpluses or profits that come from that organisation, and the philosophies behind the protocols of the management. But if you had a business that was ethically sourcing its’ products, that was making as light a footprint as it reasonably could, that was treating its’ people well, and was trying to create products of social benefit or joy. After it achieved all those things I don’t really care what it does with its’ surpluses or profits because it would in my view be a social enterprise.”

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Management as Monkey Business

Once again Peter Day’s In Business has come up with a fascinating show, interviewing Tim Smit the man behind the Eden Project.

He explains what he calls his “monkey business” rules, which include all interview candidates having to ‘entertain’ their interview panel for ten minutes. It can be music, dance, juggling, storytelling or whatever you like. Other ones include trying not to take important decisions in the daytime, and to read at least two books each year which are outside your normal range of interests.

They all sound a bit wacky in print, but when you listen to Tim they sound more like common sense.

Despite initially sounding like a bit of a hippy it turns out Tim is ruthless when it comes to negativity. He just won’t tolerate negative people within his organisation.

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The future is bright, the future is a Big Lemon

One of the best things about my job is watching entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs (the fastest growing sector), as their business develop and grow.

One example is Tom Druitt, who by sheer coincidence hails from the village I grew up in – Forest Row. He had the remarkably brave idea of starting a social enterprise bus company. It is actually a Community Interest Company called the The Big Lemon CIC, which Tom set up in January to deliver good quality, affordable, ‘green’ transport in and around Brighton.

After many months of planning, licence applications, networking and fundraising he is now close to starting their first bus service on 1 September between Brighton’s two universities and the main railway station. You can read more about this exciting new venture on their Friends of The Big Lemon Facebook page.

Big Yello

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Too big to listen to your customers?

According to Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte, on the latest Windows Weekly show, Dell (in the form of returned CEO Michael Dell) have decided to listen to their customers after many years of thinking they knew best.

In order to do this they are adopting a Web 2.0 approach using salesforce.com powered IdeaStorm. According to the site the Dell Community has contributed 6,329 ideas which have been promoted 447,194 times with 30,364 comments.

Dell don’t say just how many of the ideas they have implemented but they introduced Linux software as an alternative to Windows. They are also moving away from only providing drab grey laptops.

dell_ideastorm_logo

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The Dilbert test for companies

Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) was the closing keynote speaker at the recent SLA Annual Conference in Denver. As well as being a very entertaining speaker he came up with an intriguing test for us as discerning employees.

When you have your tour of the premises of your potential new work home, take a note of the number of Dilbert cartoons you see posted up in the office. If there are none to be seen, then steer well clear, as it is the kind of regime which brutally crushes all attempts at office humour.

If there are lots on show then you still need to be concerned that the staff need to communicate to their bosses in this (un)subtle way.

The best place to work is where you find a light smattering of Dilberts, indicating a sense of both fun and a reasonably high esprit de corps.

How does yours fare?

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The ultimate customer experience?

Although there are still some question marks about the usability of the shiny new iPhone everyone in the U.S. is currently talking about, there is no question about Apple’s focus on their customers.

On a recent GeekBrief TV show Cali Lewis films her purchase of two iPhones. To see the staff in her store line up and applaud everyone coming into the store and again on the way out was quite astonishing.

Although this kind of intense customer appreciation might be a bit too much for British customers to handle it certainly impressed me.