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Business Briefing

2010

Getting back onto the front foot
How are you coping in the current business climate? More >>

The Little Book of Big Influence
Success in the modern business world involves influencing people. More >>

This is where the magic happens
We were running a ‘campaign room’ event last week when someone used the phrase “so this is where the magic happens”. He meant it in a positive way. More >>

Making meetings matter
Meetings are a big part of life in business. But why do people so often find them unsatisfactory? Why do they dread them or want to have fewer of them? More >>

2009

Season's Greetings from the idenk team
We have really enjoyed 2009 and hope you have too (and see below for more on preparing for 2010).

We have just re-launched the idenk website.
Do take a look and let us have your feedback.We hope you’ll find lots of useful things there, including articles, business briefings, resources and online assessments.We have also started sharing our ideas in short form more regularly through the idenk Ideas Digest. You can receive this by clicking on this link. If you register, you will get 5-6 short observations or thoughts (each is about 100-200 words) every two weeks.

Fit for purpose?
Why do business people do so little training? I don’t mean training to get fit physically but to help get better at the sort of work we do? Some people may go on the occasional course, others will do a few development days here and there. But many of us will go through an entire year without doing any formal training at all. It’s the same in both the commercial and public sectors.
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Asking the right questions
“How am I to get in?” asked Alice again, in a louder tone. “Are you to get in at all?” said the Footman, “That’s the first question, you know.”
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Getting better all the time?
Meeting for coffee with one of our clients last week, she talked me through how a sharp drop in sales as a result of the downturn had meant they had had to make cost cuts. That's not an unfamiliar story at the moment.
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Get things in perspective — take the long view
We’ve been delighted with the feedback on our last couple of briefings with their focus on hope, happiness and the front foot organization. The encouragement to be positive has resonated strongly with a lot of people for whom the news seems bleak.
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''H' is for Happiness'
Whilst we often help clients examine what is holding their organisations or intentions back, helping them then to acquire the habits necessary for a breakthrough on a particular problem or question, what really excites those we work with most is a focus on potential!
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New Year 2009
One of us received this picture on a Christmas card about ten years ago. Do you have a favourite image from a seasonal card you got this year? Have you something to share — maybe graphic that made you laugh, think, cry, cringe...
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2008

Seasons Greetings 2008
This message comes with seasons greetings — and a chance for some guided reflection — from all of us at idenk.
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Getting you onto the front foot
As much as Springtime, we find the early weeks of Autumn a great time to think again about our objectives. To reflect on the year past and to think ahead. Maybe it's living in a university town like Cambridge (or the fact that we still have kids at school) that encourages this focus on academic years.
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Regulatory lessons ring home
As much as Springtime, we find the early weeks of Autumn a great time to think again about our objectives. To reflect on the year past and to think ahead. Maybe it's living in a university town like Cambridge (or the fact that we still have kids at school) that encourages this focus on academic years.
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Are they being served?
How well are your customers being served? Can you be sure that everyone who uses your product or service, or who comes into contact with your organisation gets the best possible experience they can?
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Climate change - does it leave you hot or cold?
–at home, at work, at play. We see this in a trivial yet powerful way every time we run an event: people take a seat and then return to this same chair again and again – even if the meeting runs for 24 hours!
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A head full of heart?
How much of your thinking is logical and rational? How much of it is influenced by emotion and swayed by the way you feel?
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Did you look at the trees this morning on the way to work?
Despite some hard frosts and earthquakes, most of them are budding. The early bulbs are also flowering and if you look closely lots of plants are showing signs of renewed growth. Hopefully without sounding sentimental, there is something about this time of year which seems to give a sense of potential and possibility.
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Apple, Bovril or Cadbury's chocolate: better to be hated than ignored?
How critical is your brand to your success? Every organisation has one, even though they don’t think they do or don’t believe in them. Whether you are a global enterprise, public body, small business or freelancer, your customers, suppliers, partners all have a view about what it is that you offer them, what it’s like to work with you or buy from you and what you stand for.
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2007

Happy Christmas
We think it's important not to forget what has happened – good or otherwise. To celebrate, to reflect and to learn.
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Irrational Business?
We have been trading and investing since mid 2006. We love the work we do supporting Thinking Business. As we read, talk, travel and meet many interesting people, various things strike us or come up in conversation. We have decided to share more of these.
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