The work free smoke place.

Why are people still allowed to smoke at work?

Walking around the centre of Adelaide, I am still amazed at the number of people standing outside their office building having a cigarette and a chat – and a coffee in some cases.

In a previous life, I worked in the city for a large financial institution.  There were people on the same floor that went for a cigarette in the car park below up to 4 times a day – some people took two cigarettes at a time.

We timed them.

Get up from desk.  Wait for smoking buddy to finish what they are doing at their desk.  Go to kitchen and make a coffee.  Wait for lift.  Travel in lift stopping at various floors.  Smoke, chat and drink coffee in car park for 15 – 20 minutes.  Wait for lift.  Travel in lift stopping at various floors.  Go back to kitchen to rinse coffee mug and finish discussion.  Return to desk.  Stink-out entire office.

All things considered, we calculated these people were only working about 4 days a week.

I’m addicted to reading.  There was a large park across from our building.  Sometimes when I felt the need, I just wanted to lay in the sun and read, instead of working.

SuperTemp to the rescue.

SuperTemp to the rescue.

Need help but want more bang for your buck?

Invest in outcomes, not just advice.

Are traditional recruitment methods not keeping pace with change?

The future is flexible.

Never heard of an Interim Manager?

I guarantee at some stage you’ve wished for one.

It should be an exciting time for small and medium business in Australia.  So why are many struggling to add value to their business?

Market culture and stakeholder attitudes are changing quickly for small and medium business.

Survival means responding to new opportunities in real time.  This requires a constant supply of fresh thinking.

Introducing the Interim Manager – your ‘SuperTemp’ of the future.

Interim Management is a cost-effective way of obtaining short-term skills when they are needed most, with lasting benefits for your business.  These skills are instrumental in changing your company’s outlook, improving your potential for future growth and re-developing your long-term sustainability.

It enables you to:

     -          Hire a manager

     -          To work in your business

     -          For as long as you need them

     -          Only when you want them.

Engaging an Interim Manager does require an upfront investment, at a time when additional spending might be unwelcome.  However, the benefits far outweigh the cost and interim management is now the fastest growing area of human resourcing worldwide.

Research also shows that many businesses start by looking for a consultant and end up engaging the services of an interim manager.

For many small and medium businesses in Australia, interim management has become an established resourcing strategy.  The lag-time and (repeated) cost of finding and retaining talent has made traditional recruitment methods obsolete for these organisations.

So whether you have a staff shortage, a skills shortage, a sudden problem or a need to take time off, a ‘supertemp’ may be just the thing you need and is worth considering over other forms of help.

Can you help us with some market research?

Can you help us with some market research about Australia's Asian Food Bowl Strategy?

SOS has been engaged by one of Australia's oldest and largest food companies.   Awesome news for us.

So, we are on the hunt for information relating to the Australia-Asia Food Bowl concept / initiative from the following market segments:

- Government (white papers, strategic plans) 

- Industry (e.g. research, strategic plans, response to Government) 

- Media (e.g. how is media reporting the Asian Century / Asian Food Bowl) 

- Peoples' Opinion (e.g. blogs, opinion pieces, editorials, comments) 

- Bucking the Trend (food export success stories) 

We just know that someone in our network may have a gem of information that we don't know about.


 

Pop quiz: what is the longest running marketing campaign in history?

The longest-running marketing campaign in history is still going strong after tens of thousands of years.

Can you guess what it is?

Answer: Religion.

Religion has understood the fundamentals of brand development since time immemorial.  It successfully uses all the building blocks to create emotional and intellectual bonds with people, such as:

          - Symbols and sounds.

          - Constant call to action.

          - Differentiated environment.

          - Belief system.

          - Fear of the alternative.

Ever purchased a product you just couldn’t do without?  Ever wondered how some products just seem to click with everyone?  The inspiration for these products actually came from us in the first place.

Companies achieve this by obtaining our buy-in to what we already believe we need.  They know what we value; what we care about and sell it back to us at a premium.

Religion was savvy enough to work this out a long time ago.  There is no product that has lasted as long as religion.

Well, perhaps prostitution – but that’s for another blog! (maybe)

If your company is looking to create a divergence; a movement; a legion of followers - then a look at the success of religion could provide the inspiration you need.

Alternatively, you could do nothing and hope that divine intervention saves your business anyway.

Hotworthy Upworthy.

Here are my hottest picks from Upworthy for the month of May 2013.

This idea simply blew me away.  If you are thinking of starting a business, a new product or service, or entering a new market, spend some time analysing the PostSecret concept and why it is so engaging to people.  It has all the answers you need to create an awesome business model.

This is very cool.  Watch closely.  Talk about reaching your target market.  Every time a child is born, the world has another chance to get it right.  If we want to save the future of the planet, then we should be protecting children as ferociously as we want to protect from environmental vandalism or corporate greed.

This great video caught my attention because I am a big believer in using the pay-it-forward philosophy to be successful in life and in business.  Whether you are networking, developing new products and services, or engaging a new market, if you view your external world through the eyes of pay-it-forward, you will be successful.

Why did I pick these?

So many stunning ideas are created by those focused on helping others.  Take away the pressure to make money and the creative process flows brilliantly.  Money makes us think about ourselves and we take comfort in coming up with our own idea, not a solution for someone else.  A business needs to have this same culture if it wants to be successful.  Yes of course, we need to keep a healthy respect for the bottom line.  But there is no denying that some of the most inspiring products and services ever invented, where born from someone’s hell-bent determination to help others. Success in business is about creating movements, not products.  To have fans, not customers.

BTW - haven't yet cracked what LinkedIn is actually all about?  Hint - the best networkers pay it forward.