The rationale? To explore the patter and to give us all with some options for what to do.

There was a wide range of styles, largely varying in regard to 7 factors:

- any greeting at start
- any named sign off at end
- statement of which days they are not around
- whether they will be checking in the interim (does the BB rule ?)
- explanation of why not able to answer
- whether any contact person is given
- the number of ways to contact them.

Here are some examples. Which do you like and which do you loathe?  What do others need from these messages? What does your personality favour?

The fully factual: no pre-amble, no grateful ending (though all use please !)

This is the dominant style – guided by the default wording in Outlook. It would be great to know the Myers Briggs type of these folk.  We guess I (not E)

I am currently out of the office with limited access to my e-mails. I will be back on Tuesday, July 15, 2010. In my absence, please contact….

I am away from 11th August to 6th September. For anything important please contact…

I will be out of the office starting 11/08/2010 and will not return until 13/08/2010.   I have no access to my emails and will reply to your message on my return. For urgent assistance please call one of my colleagues on …

I will be back in the office on Tuesday 12 Aug to deal with your enquiry.  Please call xxx for urgent enquiries.

I am now out of the office on annual leave until Tuesday 31 August 2010.  If your email is urgent, please contact …

The getting-grateful: no pre-amble, bit of appreciation in the ending

I will be out of the office starting  12/08/2010 and will not return until 13/08/2010.If this is urgent, please contact my PA… Thank you.

I am currently on holiday and will return to the office on Monday 23 August. If your message is urgent, please contact … I will reply to you as soon as I can.  This message has not been forwarded. Kind regards

FYI. I am now out of the office until Wed so will be in touch then. Many thanks!

The getting personal: the start of the name

I am now away from the office until Monday 9 August and will not be picking up e-mails. If your message is urgent, please contact …, otherwise I will respond when I return. Kind regards R

Thank you for your email.  I am currently on leave until Tuesday, 3rd August 2010. If your email is urgent, please contact ….  kind regards  E

 I will be out of the office starting  29/07/2010 and will not return until 30/07/2010.  If your enquiry is urgent please contact … for workforce information issues,  or alternatively I will respond on my return. Thanks J

The higher rapport: person based start and end, and with a bit of explanation

Hello.  I am on leave until 9 August – please contact … in the meantime.  With thanks P

The no-other-contact: no details of others

Thanks for your message. I am taking a break so only checking email intermittently. Best P

The third person

M is away until Monday 9th August 2010.  If your message is urgent please contact …. Thank you  For the latest news and commentary from … follow us on Twitter

The full: including names, numbers and emails

Thank you for your e-mail. I am out of the office  until Monday 2nd August and will not be able to access emails or phone messages. If you require an urgent response, please contact… Otherwise, I will respond to your query at the earliest opportunity.  Best wishes B

The wow!

I am away from 14th July to 7th August on fieldwork in East Greenland.  For anything important please contact xxx

In this photo (with a great headline from The Sun), we see one member of a team of two with total focus, flying low through a valley. Meanwhile, the other is (for that moment) able to relax.

Managing the pace of work is a key element of what it means to be part of a team that is on the front foot.

See this on getting the balance right here.

I see an old contact.

Maybe he could become a new client.

I think of approaching him.

Then he puts his feet on the seats, and starts moving in ways that disturb those around him.

And begins eating an unbelievably smelly item of food. 

I decide to leave it.

We all choose who we work with?  Do we choose well?  Are these valid reasons?

Being perceptive in seeing new things take shape - shifts in behaviour, changes in consumption, altering of attitudes – is a useful skill. And might make you more interesting at dinner parties. So it’s worth practicing.

Here’s a trend to get started on. Have you noticed that, for about a year, men in high-end fashion shoots have frequently had a hair parting and semi-slicked down hair?  More widely, however, male fashion still includes the long-standing slightly scruffed up look and, recently, use of a beard. 

Watch to see when (and if) the parting goes mainstream outside of the fashion shoot. You’ll see (in London) a few more younger men with the parted look.  Try counting… 

And see this for a bit on the theory of fashion.

A loud voice.

“You haven’t got enough on him.

He is crap.

Double his targets.

Make him get another job.

Gradually get him out.

You have been too nice for too long.

I will phone her to try and sort this out.

I won’t charge you.

I want something else.

I want your HR work.

I WANT YOUR HR WORK”

Laughter of disbelief throughout carriage.

He describes what he has seen in his political life as the necessary things a prince must do – in essence combining the guile of the fox with the force of the lion.

Subsequently, the use of his name has had very negative connotations. Most people would not relish being called “Machiavellian”. But his thinking has been very influential in shaping our history – and in many good ways. It helped stimulate liberal political philosophy to advocate positive change for the citizen, promoted the supremacy of civil rather than religious or monarchical power and stressed the ideals of honesty, hard work and people’s responsibility to their communities. Like Kafka and Freud, the adjective derived from his name paints just a narrow idea of what he had to say. So his reputation is rather ill-deserved.

While The Prince is not meant to be a moral guide for the day-to-day living of the average Joe Bloggs, it nonetheless has ideas in it which we can all learn from. So, for example, he tells us that Fortune is the force that can always crush you. “Extremima malignita” or pure misfortune can be just around the corner. The results of the current economic conditions might feel like that to some. What seemed certain is no longer so.

How can you defend yourself against what might happen? Machiavelli says that you should try to “master Fortune”. To paraphrase, as they might say in the US, you should try to “get lucky”. How do you do that? You have to take action: “It is better to have acted and regretted than not to have acted and regretted”. In doing so, “Fortes fortuna adiuvat” – fortune favours the brave (here he borrows from Levy the Roman historian).

Maybe now is the time to act. What steps can you take?

Which ones?

Nike and….?

And….?

Yup, Speedo.

What are the emblems for your organisation that capture what you do – and declare your promise?

We like these headlines too – showing the power of simplicity and playfulness in The Sun.

All of which takes time (and effort and skill).

We define a consultant as someone who provides guidance and advice, often at a strategic level – in contrast to trainers, researchers, lawyers, facilitators, accountants.

A few have mentioned this early article of ours from 2006.  In it, we share some lessons for a DIY approach to consulting. 

Enjoy!

Broadly, there are two sorts of creative people. 

You have the ‘Deep Creatives’: the artists, the ideas people, the inspirers. Often brilliant and counter-intuitive, these thinkers are helpful in reframing an issue or imagining a totally new product. They write, they talk. 

On the other hand, the ‘Process Creatives’ are those that help individuals and groups think more widely, clearly and imaginatively, drawing on methods such as the lateral thinking tools of Edward De Bono or techniques for facilitated meetings. 

Comparing the two, there is a critical insight: one’s own ideas are ‘owned ideas’. Without that ownership, you can’t overcome the subsequent challenge of putting innovation into practice, of getting from inspiration to implementation. 

Advice from the outside has its place. But the aim of this should be to involve all – and not just the few - in creative thinking that routinely and regularly makes a difference to what gets done.