Video Clips
Cool ad for Nokia…..
Aug 3rd
I used to think I was good at table football :-(
Love how clever advertising is getting these days! 
Attitude is everything….
Jun 26th
When I first started in sales the catchphrase that was drilled into me was PMA, positive mental attitude. If you wanted to be successful in sales PMA was vital. If you expected to be successful you would be.
Equally if you expected to fail it would become a self fulfilling prophecy, as you would start looking for reasons as to why you wouldn’t be successful.
I’ve seen many examples during my career in management, sales and coaching where an individuals attitude and beliefs have dictated outcomes and progress towards goals. However, I don’t think I’ve seen PMA have such a dramatic effect as in the video below:
I’m always lost in admiration for people who can overcome obstacles like this. A lesson to us all I think.
Producing excellence in team performance.
Jun 5th
Gladiator Josep Guardiola inspires epic win in Rome
HIDDEN in the “home” dressing-room at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico as of last Tuesday afternoon was a giant television set. It was the one on which Barcelona’s footballers usually watch DVDs of previous games and future opponents. Their head coach, Josep “Pep” Guardiola, was insistent when he took his first senior job as a coach, in charge of Barcelona, that he could call on state-of-the-art hardware for the supplementary aspects of his job. He had the set flown to Rome in case the facilities there were not up to standard.
Guardiola got together with a friend who works in television to script and produce a seven-minute film with which he would surprise, and, he hoped, motivate his players immediately before kick-off. It was a carefully paced combination of sequences from the Oscar-winning movie Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe, and images from Barcelona’s season: the craggy features of Crowe, the defiant Roman warrior, would cut to the delicate Andres Iniesta, volleying the late goal that hauled Barça from imminent defeat against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final to a place in the final.
Hollywood interpretations of ancient Rome would merge into pictures of Samuel Eto’o scoring one of his 35 goals this season or Victor Valdes making spectacular saves. There was schmaltz, too. The film featured images of absent teammates such as Gabriel Milito, the centre-half who has been injured all season: the message was that those who could play had a responsibility to others who could not.
The players, expecting nothing like this when they were told by their fitness coach to return to the dressing-room from their warm-ups, sat in the dark to watch the film. Each one had a few frames devoted to him personally. Naturally, a prominent spot was given over to last month’s 6-2 win over Real Madrid. Then came footage taken from a promotional video made by Barcelona’s kit sponsor, Nike, over which the voice of Guardiola spoke of “strikers who defend, defenders who attack, we are speed, we are strength, we are effort, we are precision, we are as one”. The climax featured Puccini’s rousing Nessun Dorma, sung by Luciano Pavarotti.
As the lights came on in the dressing-room, some players were said to have wiped away tears. Soon they were shouting, motivating one another. Guardiola, apparently, said nothing but motioned his players to the door and to the tunnel, ready to step out into the arena.
Do you know how good you really are?
Apr 12th
On saturday Britain’s Got Talent started again. One of the contestants was Susan Boyle, a 47 year old from Scotland. She arrived with the intention of “rocking the audience”. Watch the video below and look at the reaction of the judges and the audience before she starts singing.
Her appearance and demanour (and perhaps her age?) have already convinced them that she will be hopeless. Watch what happens when she starts to sing….. (double click to view)
What is interesting is Susan’s reaction after she finishes, as she immediately goes to leave the stage. When she is bought back she appears to be genuinely shocked to hear how much the judges liked her performance, and can’t believe she gets a yes from all 3 judges.
Whilst she acted fairly confident in the interview before starting to perform, deep down she doesn’t really believe in herself. You can tell that from her body language, some of the language she used and the surprise she exhibits when Simon Cowell et al tell her how good she is.
Her ambition is to become a professional singer. She is 47, why hasn’t she achieved it already? It certainly isn’t because of her voice!
The only thing that appears to have held her back is her own belief in her ability. Self doubt holds so many of us back from achieving what we want in life.
Hopefully it won’t be too late for Susan.
One quotation we should all remember:
“Reach for the moon, because if you don’t make it you’ll land among the stars.”
Making your service memorable….
Mar 25th
There are some basic elements of the service we provide to a client, e.g. the financial warnings a call centre operative goes through when completing an insurance sale, that we need to go through and can often be dull and repetitive. Here’s one way to liven it up and help the customer enjoy the service experience!
What could you do to make your service more enjoyable and memorable?
(Great advertising for Southwest Airlines isn’t it? )
