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Some time back we reported that a Galway Man was bottling air and marketing it worldwide.
Well it appears he has competition from another lateral thinker!
Li Jie the Chinese entrepreneur who tried to sell land on the moon is now selling bags of World Cup stadium air to the Chinese football fans.
The self proclaimed “chief executive of the Lunar Embassy to China” is selling the bags of stadium air for 50 Yuan ($6.25) each.
The air is packed before the matches when the grass is being cut so the air smells of it.
Li suggested to the football fans who can not make it to the matches, to watch the matches on TV while smelling the green plastic bag hanging around their neck!
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 11:37 AM
What have football and Job loss in common?
Increased possibility of heart attack.
Research published in the British Medical Journal shows that during the England matches, the rate of hospital admissions for heart attacks risks going up by a quarter in people of working age and the threat is likely to last over three days.
Football is life afterall as Bill Shankly argued!
Meanwhile new U.S. research conducted by Yale University finds that job loss doubles the risk of heart attack or stroke for workers in their 50s and 60s.
"For many individuals, late career job loss is an exceptionally stressful experience with the potential for provoking numerous undesirable outcomes, including [heart attacks and stroke]," the Yale University team wrote in the June 21 online issue of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 01:07 PM
Imagine working in an organisation that would allow you to follow your bliss.
Imagine working in an organisation that would allow you to work in the department that suited your interests and abilities.
Imagine an organisation whose mission statements mirrored your goals and dreams.
These are the true organisations of the future.
And finally, we are in the process of changing the home page to accomodate a "podcaster" so don't worry if anything looks "different" all of a sudden! It is not your mind playing tricks on you nor is it a matter of perception!
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 05:44 PM
Know thyself - the ultimate goal!
Closer to home know thy customer!
Dunkin Donuts obviously know something about theres. Last year, they paid many of their loyal customers €100 a week to buy their coffee at Starbucks instead. Simultaneously they paid Starbucks customers a similar amount to make the switch to them.
Both of the focus groups decided to remain loyal to their origional choice.
Interesting challenge - would you be confident enough to send your customers off to the competition?
If you are providing an excellent service/package, this shouldn't cause you too many sleepless nights.
If on the other hand, the thought strikes fear in your heart, you need to go back to your current selling proposition and start adding real value. Focus on converting your customer into friends. Go outside the traditional box thinking to exceed their expectations.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 09:13 AM
On life:
"One may not reach the dawn save by the path of the night."
On "competition":
"The envious praises me unknowingly."
On dreams:
"Trust in dreams, for in them is the hidden gate to eternity. "
On parenting:
"Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you."
On focusing on the positives:
"Strange that we all defend our wrongs with more vigor than we do our rights."
Kahlil Gibran
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 11:43 AM
"Above all else, entrepreneurship is: doing it.”
Bill Lynch, the newly crowned World Entrepreneur of the Year
Too many people, he says, hesitate for too long and miss opportunities because they are afraid of actually committing themselves.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 09:20 AM
Enjoy - please share with others and send me your feedback on kevin@kevinkellyunlimited.com
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 02:19 PM
In an unpublished paper called "Is Man Doomed to Progress?" Claudia Senik, professor of economics at the Sorbonne examined the impact of anticipating future gains on a person's current level of well-being.
Her intriguing finding argue that in simple language, the chase is as rewarding as the catch.
Researchers have noted that, for example, given the opportunity to schedule a fancy meal, many people tend to postpone the feast -- in order to savor the anticipation of it. In fact, Senik found that when people aspire to a better quality of life within the next 12 months, the attempt to reach that goal alone -- the anticipation independent of the outcome -- seems to bestow happiness in the present.
"For the basic person there is pleasure in progress," Senik said. "We are proud to aim at something -- to earn a degree, buy a house. So when I work to reach a higher position or earn a higher income, I'm already happy today."
Senik compares it somewhat humorously to getting an invitation to a fabulous party: "Once you get there, maybe you enjoy the party or maybe you don't -- but that doesn't matter because you've already spent the last few days looking forward to it."
Mmmmmmmmmmm!!!
Dare to dream, but consciously enjoy the journey would be my advice. Oftentimes we get so caught up looking at the finishing line that we dont enjoy the little victories and lots of adventure along the way.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 08:48 AM
Just read a very interesting story about the famous Harvard lecturer B F Skinner. Some time after been taught about conditioned responses, the students successfully tried out their new insights on the lecturer. When B F would go to the left of the stage they would look down and project a disinterested demanoeur - when on the other hand he spoke from the right hand side of the theatre their body language would be very positive and engaging.
What happened over time - the lecturer nearly fell off the right side of the stage - true story.
Recently, I got a phone call from a client who told me that everytime he hears Louis Armstrong's "What a wonderful world" it brings him back to his time at the seminar which for him was very uplifting and positive. During my presentations, I play the song on a number of occassions creating this anchored effect. Indeed, any time I feel off form - on with the CD for an injection of inspiration/motivation. it never fails to lift my spirits.
Have you a song, movie, word or picture that immediately evokes positive feelings?
Motivation on demand - start using it and enjoy the benefits,
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 08:32 AM
Just recently, my friend and her fiancee dined out at a very nice restaurant.
One of the meals were of the usual high standard, but the other one fell short on many criteria. At the checkout, the manager enquired in a preprogrammed, emotionless delivery "was the meal ok for you" to which my colleague responded in a polite way," well no not really," and proceeded to explain the source of her dissapointment.
"Sorry about that, we will try harder the next time," the manager replied.
Problem solved - I dont think so!
As mentioned before on this blog, complaints are like a timebomb - and each business should strive to detonate as quickly as possible. The minute the customer goes out that door, they are closer to telling many, many people about their negative experience.
If my memory serves me right, I believe that a negative experience is communicated to a minimum of ten people, a positive will get to three. So if you don't deal with a complaint effectively you have not only damaged the relationship with the client , you may potentially lose eleven people's business at minimum.
Good customer service management means that you break down your service into what Jan Carlson described as "moments of truth" - each moment represents an interface between the client and the customer. The idea is to manage each of these moments and set standards for each:
For example:
The phone will be answered within three rings.
A brochure will be despatched no later than one day after the enquiry.
A complaint will be dealt with within....and so on.
Complaints handling is so poor at this moment in many organisations that customers feel you exceed their expectations when the issues are dealt with quickly and professionally.
When you exceed a persons expectations, you bring them closer to ideal situation - where your customer is your friend.
Remember customers leave - friends don't.
I gently mentioned to a supplier recently that his prices were much higher than the competition. His reply - "Cry me a river!" Believe it or not!
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 09:21 AM
"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
"Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light. "
Helen Keller
"Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking."
Kahlil Gibran
"To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible."
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274
"The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today; Let us move forward with strong and active faith."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 09:54 AM