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Some years ago, I was cutting logs at my cottage, and it felt as if I had a wood chip in my right eye. I blinked and flushed and probed my eye. I looked in the mirror and couldn't see anything. So I went to see my eye doctor the next day and it turned out that I had a detached
Read MoreWe are in the process of running a series of webinars across the Baltic States and Scandinavia; this is part of our Look West program where we assist companies get a foothold or expand in North America. We are often asked if we know anyone in a particular industry. For example, do we know anyone in the marine industry? Have we got any connections w...
Read MoreIt's amazing how often I see people in leadership positions doing one when the other would have been more appropriate. These 2 words are often used interchangeably, and you could say that to use one word rather than the other is a matter of semantics. But, for the moment, let's just entertain the notion that they are quite different and being ab...
Read MoreI was once told that the only advice you should give is: 'never give advice unless it is asked for'. And that was by a person who seemed to have no end of unwanted advice to proffer. But at least that was one bit of valuable advice. As consultants, part of our role IS to advise, although we usually do wait for at least some sort of tacit request...
Read MoreIn my first job as a Key Account Manager in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods industry, I was trying to sell a couple of pallets of Carpaccio to my client in Riga. The client kept ignoring my calls and I was starting to feel very frustrated. I had only been on the job for about a month and was starting to feel that I would never succeed at this. I cal...
Read MoreA few weeks ago, I tried to connect with the national sales manager of a North American appliance manufacturer. I went through a fairly torturous auto-attendant reception tree to try and find the individual. I eventually spoke to a live person who offered to transfer me – and I was put on hold, indefinitely. I dialed back in and then went throug...
Read MoreOnce I heard about someone who made an Excel Spreadsheet to determine if his girlfriend would be a good life partner. There was a set of criteria with various values and a total sum to drive a go-no-go decision. Now, that is perhaps a not-so-common practice in a relationship setting.
Read MoreJelena asked me to provide a picture of myself, in a suit, to update my LinkedIn profile. It occurred to me that I haven’t worn a suit in at least a year. Working from home and meeting people from the waist up sort of negates the whole suit idea. This “going to work” is an interesting concept that has become normal over the last year. That physica...
Read MoreEye contact is a crucial form of body language during communication (just as long as you don't stare :-) When you look a person in the eyes it shows that you are paying attention and actually listening to what a person has to say. Having spent many, many hours on Zoom over the last year or so, I think we have all found that maintaining eye contac...
Read MoreSherlock used powers of observation to understand causation. Here's how to apply that power of observation to determine what causes people to buy. If you can identify that 'inflection point' you can be there at the right time with the right messages. Homeostasis is a biological system's ability to maintain an internal equilibrium in response to ch...
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