DaChispa

I couldn’t wait to see Moon on DVD – and I wasn’t disappointed. For me, the highlight was Kevin Spacey as Gertie, the machine in several parts with emoticons emulate facial expressions. The director didn’t even try to make the machine look human – it was a machine with a screen that used yellow smiley faces (or frowning or puzzled yellow smiley faces) to support its words. It also acted in an inexplicably irrational way. The best part was that they never tried to explain why Gertie made the choices it made, it always looked like a machine and yet there was an impression of personality and free will. Very satisfying film. Sci fi thriller with some philosophy thrown in.

Saw a great ‘persuade you to visit our stand in 60 seconds’ exhibitor pitch approach at a conference. The seconds counted down on the screen behind and the audience applauded each pitch when time was up. It worked really well. What I learnt from it was that you really can’t use jargon if you only have 60 seconds – it wastes time and you won’t get people to visit you because they have no idea what you are talking about.

Was buying an upgrade to my train ticket this morning and was quoted £6.50. Then realised I needed a return…£4.50…
At one time the ticket seller would have advised me that it was cheaper to get a return when I first asked – what happened to good customer information?

I realised today that a GP has many ways to get good treatment for their patients – and one of them is their use of words. Twice now, I have realised that in letters to other medical professionals the GP has used particular words to differentiate my mother from others. The latest was ‘indomitable’ – and it obviously made an impression because he told us what had been written. The result is that a respect is established in advance which I am sure helps to get better treatment. The fact that my mother lives up to her press doesn’t do any harm either.

I got a real demonstration of ‘the knowledge’ today. By that I mean a cab driver giving me the benefit of his expertise. As he was careful to explain, it isn’t about the ‘shortest’ route, but about the ‘quickest’ route and he then gave me a masterclass in expert decision making and how effective application of knowledge can save time and money. The obvious point was that he knows when there are road works or other delays and avoids them. Sometimes that means going in the opposite direction to save time. He also watches traffic ahead and around to foresee hold ups. I questioned him on a decision to take one road over another and he said ‘didn’t you see the lorry on the corner?’. I had, but I hadn’t realised the knock on effect that it had.
He told me it is a nightmare when you first start driving for a living because you spend all your time sitting in traffic. The first thing you learn is the main routes – and then you learn how to avoid them if necessary. Sounds like the template for any job induction to me.

I admit it – I am a Strictly Come Dancing fan. It’s not just the dancing, it’s watching the way people develop a competence from scratch. Great lesson from Nathalie Cassidy this Saturday about how to approach an overwhelming task. Set yourself realistic goals that you stand a chance of reaching but that aren’t a shoo in. She had one overarching goal – to stay in long enough to dance the Jive in the competition (which she did last night). Then she set herself a goal for that specific dance – to break the ’30′ mark barrier. She also achieved that and was as ecstatic as if she had got the perfect 40 (which for her, at this stage, this is). So she motivated herself both to meet the goal and by meeting the goal has motivated herself for the next week.

Another, harsher lesson for Phil Tufnell who, I think, is beginning to realise that charm and natural talent (which I understand took him through his cricketing career) is not going to be enough for this challenge. I await with some interest to see which way he will go next week – will his competitiveness kick in.. or will he decide it isn’t worth the effort?

Two clear lessons to take back to the workplace:
- break down seemingly overwhelming tasks into smaller chunks so that you get a sense of achievement when you complete them that drives you forward
- hard work usually pays off in the end