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August 2009 Blog Archive
28 August 2009 Smell You Later…
I know you have all been dying to hear all about it!
Its not often you arrive at work and get greeted with the philosophical question ‘What’s your favourite smell” however this is what happened to me a couple of weeks ago and it got me thinking…
I always remember watching an episode of 90’s children’s TV favourite ‘How Do’ where they described how our sense of smell works from particles being released from the object in question going up our noses and therefore when we smell something we are actually tasting it. This always stuck with me as not the nicest thought. Anyway research has found that the smell of freshly cut grass is not only a national favourite but it also has healing properties. The chemical released makes people feel happy and relaxed and is said to aid metal awareness in old age.
The Australians have gone a bit far with this though and developed “Eau de mow”, a perfume which smells of grass to be sprayed before or during stressful situations and a snip at £4 a bottle – can’t wait for my next trip to the airport to find that one in duty free!
Incidentally my favourite smell is fish and chips, so if the theory is true and when I smell them I am tasting them as well, it's fine with me!
17 August 2009 The Rapport Summer Away Day
I know you have all been dying to hear all about it!
Another year has gone and another Rapport Away Day has successfully taken place. Last year we concentrated on our 'Core' this is the part of the company which should remain constant, in order to keep a strong identity. We decided that this was 'We build Rapport' this 'core' fits into all the different offerings we provide as Rapport, from our design, to the events we deliver, to the way we communicate with everyone affiliated with the company. Which ever new avenues open up to the company in the future, our core will always stay the same.
This year, we wanted to come up with a vision; something that would motivate us all; something in the words of Chris "to get us out of bed in the morning". The away day took place in a 'deluxe suite' at The Place Apartments in Manchester and friend of Rapport and illustrator Andrew, not only provided us with a visual representation of the topics we discussed, but also facilitated the day.
Through the 'sensory circuit training' session we decided what super power Rapport would have, what hair style best represents us, what meal we would be and why, amongst other things. After about a million cups of tea and some lovely danish pastries we decided that something which would always motivate us to do our best would be if we thought we would be admired for our work. So...
"To be the most admired in everything we do" is the Rapport Vision. We want people to want to work with us, work for us and look to us as a benchmark for excellent and creativity. We agreed our mindset and values would enable us to achieve this. To top it off in the process we hope to create a fully designed Rapport superhero for the office!
7 August 2009 Weathering the Storm
I am determined not to mention anything to do with summer/weather nor emigrating however you couldn't help but notice the thunder storms at the end of last week (conveniently timed at the precise time everyone was trying to get to work!) The amazing pictures of Beetham Tower being hit by lightning must have made Ian Simpson glad that lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice. However while looking through the contenders for the new 7 wonders of the world I came across a place where lightning strikes all the time...
I am writing this blog on Wednesday, however it won't be posted until Friday so things may get a tad confusing...It's the 'Rapport Summer Away Day' tomorrow, (Thursday, so yesterday to you!) avid Rapport enthusiasts may remember our 2008 Away Day in Liverpool where we were lucky enough to have the 'Liquid Thinker' Damian Hughes facilitating and Andrew Park illustrating the discussions and ideas raised. This year Andrew is back and we’ve been told to expect a lot of 'interactivity' and to 'come with an open mind'; should I be worried that it’s all taking place in The Place Apartments?! Log on next week to find out how we got on.
P.s Happy birthday to my mum, who is celebrating a 'big' birthday this weekend, she is still in denial about reaching this landmark age so I won't reveal it, lets just say its half a century.
