DaChispa

I was given a really good tip by a former trainer today as I struggled to get rid of permanent marker pen writing on a white board. If you write over the permanent marker with the correct type of pen (i.e whiteboard non permanent marker), and then wipe it off as normal, it will miraculously disappear.

A tiny but perfectly formed example of knowledge in the right format, at the right time to be useful – made my day!

Here is an interesting presentation about google searches. In addition to being quite informative, it demonstrates a slightly different approach to presenting as epitomised in the Prezi software it uses.

I get the concept, but find it quite difficult to change my linear approach – Powerpoint has a lot to answer for!

Just read an article about improving your pension by shopping round for annuities. One of the suggestions it made was to check whether you could get a better deal if you were a smoker or had a health condition (eg cholestorol, high blood pressure etc) as, if you had a shorter life expectancy, companies might pay you more if they thought it would be for less time.

I had to smile, first time that having high blood pressure might have a positive result!

I’ve broken a bone in my foot and have found it a real eye opener – some obvious realisations, and some not so apparent. First of all – pain and over compensating for part of the body that doesn’t work properly is really, really tiring. Secondly having a visible injury means everyone you know stops and talks to you – which from a KM point of view, is a goldmine! Finally – mobility scooters are really dangerous. I am in the ideal house for someone who can’t walk well – a stairlift (really slow), walking sticks and 2 mobility scooters. I’ve used the scooters to get into town and you really have to think about what you are doing. Cars don’t see you and pedestrians think you are faster than you are. I can understand why elderly people get into difficulties with them. I won’t use it unless I have to.

Easter Sunday 2010, Pissouri, Cyprus

It was great to be in Cyprus for the Greek Orthodox Easter celebrations, particularly because we had the chance to be a small part of the local village traditions. I have no idea whether there was a deeper meaning to the traditionally dressed women and men seated at tables in the village square, who showed off their dancing skills, but it strongly reminded me of Irish village festivals. The same sense of a close knit community consolidating their identity through a shared event. I guess villages are similar, no matter where they are in the world, the sharing is the same – it’s just the tradition that varies.

From the point of view of customer service, this has been an unbelievable trip to Cyprus. Here is why:
-the taxi turned up early and made record time to the airport
-the waiter at the airport saw that I had a baked potato with a large black area and whisked it away to replace the whole meal – without me saying a word of complaint!
-the taxi at Paphos was ready and waiting with a printed sign with my name and destination on
-I booked an excursion – due to leave at 7:30am, they phoned later to tell me that it would leave 15 minutes later. It makes a difference at that time of the morning.
-I tried to book a massage – there were no slots available, but the hairdresser offered me a head and neck massage (very effective) + blow dry for 2/3 of the price. PLUS really good advice on events in the surrounding area
-and finally .. I am speechless .. they have upgraded me from bed and breakfast to half board. It came as a bit of a shock when I tried to pay for my meal!

It really makes a difference when things work – I used to laugh when people talked about ‘delighting’ the customer, it sounded so cliched, but I am a delighted customer and can testify to how great it makes me feel.

Very weird moment this morning. I was reading a fictional book – a modern thriller – and there was a paragraph describing the work that one of the protagonists was doing. She is portrayed as a high flier, closing a deal. When she gets back to the office she (to paraphrase) writes up the deal and posts it on the global network so that the information is immediately available to colleagues across the world.

That sounds very much like a good practice KM example – it just threw me slightly that it surfaced in the middle of my light reading. Does this mean that KM is now embedded in the business world to the extent that it is used as a bit of scene setting for a good story? Seems so…

I admit it, I am a Babylon 5 addict – I think it was a brilliant conceived and executed sci fi saga that still holds up a good 20 years later. I’m gradually re-watching it at the moment and noticed a really prescient re-cycling moment. Two of the characters met at the ‘newstand’ where they put in their papers, dialled up what they wanted, and it came back to them with the day’s news. It was particularly interesting because the paper paradigm remained, they didn’t go as far an e-paper. With the advent of e-book readers, I wonder whether there will finally be a paradigm shift. I like the feel of paper, but if I can get 100s of books on a small reader – on which I can change the text size as my eyesight gets worse – I might make the change myself.

You really see how the world is changing when you notice the flexibility people now have in how they manage their social and working lives. I sat on the train a few nights ago and heard a group of early teens discuss arrangements. It was quickly evident that they were plugged into a much wider virtual network, not only by text, but also via Facebook (which they were checking on their phones). Plans could be made or changed on the fly and easily communicated. It did make me wonder whether this might lead to a death of patience. If everything is so quick – rapidly changing plans, sound byte entertainment, fast access to information – is there a danger that just stopping and thinking might become a disappearing skill?

..the question was ‘how will you make use of this in your job?’ The answer? ‘Quickly’.