Call 0161 236 0770 to find out how we can help you build rapport with your target audience.
November 2008 Blog Archive
28 November 2008 Chris's Book Club
Having recently spent two weeks on the wonderful island of Koh Yao in Thailand I’ve had time to reflect on what a year it’s been. As I flicked through my digital camera I was surprised to find it took me on a nostalgic trip from Budapest, to Bangkok, to Houston and to the wonderful venues of Stirling Castle in Scotland and London's fabulous Lincolns Inn and the Imperial War museum.
As I reflected on what a year it's been and all the places I’ve been it made me realise what a team effort Rapport and in particular, all of our events are. When we set the company up we made a decision to treat all our suppliers as valued partners and how they’ve proven to be… for that reason we annually hold a Rapport Thanksgiving event, the 2nd of which takes place tonight, Friday the 28th November.
Thanksgiving, for those who aren’t familiar with the holiday, is an American tradition celebrating the harvest where friends and/or family gather together to say thanks and offer each other best wishes. We wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who's helped us make our 2nd year such a success and we’re all excited about spending this evening with around 80 valued partners, colleagues and friends.
Whilst on holiday I also had time to catch up on some reading. I’m very interested in continual improvement and I’m fascinated by successful leaders as a result (and surprisingly for a City fan) I read “This is the one”, an account of Alex Ferguson's recent seasons in which he led United back to the top against all odds. This was written by a friend of a friend Daniel Taylor (sports correspondent for the Guardian). I also read Sir Clive Woodward's ‘Winning’ which is a great account of how he changed the RFU (Rugby Football Union) into an elite organisation, ultimately resulting in England winning the 2003 World Cup.
Most interestingly, I read Andy Bounds fantastic book ‘The Jelly Effect'. Andy is a friend of Rapport’s and a fantastic speaker. We worked with him in 2008 and his book is a must read for anyone interested in improving their communication skills.
And talking about friends of Rapport, Damian Hughes has just returned from helping the England Rugby League team to the semi final of the World Cup finals in Australia. We’ve worked with Damian in his management consultancy remit several times this year and his work is fascinating.
On the lighter side, I also read Niall Quinn's autobiography (as a Man City and Ireland fan I was interested to find out more about the man who donated £1m from his testimonial to two kids hospitals in Sunderland and Dublin) and Michael Moore's 2008 Election guide (which correctly predicted the outcome of the Obama vs. McCain presidential campaign in his typical comical manner).
All in all, it was a fantastic 2 weeks and now that I’m refreshed and raring to go again, I’d better get on with some work!
Happy Thanksgiving from Rapport.
21 November 2008 The Congestion charge; to ‘B’ or not to ‘B’?
With Chris back from his holiday in Thailand this week, my thoughts seem to have turned to the teachings of the orient...
A lot of people I have spoken to this week, seem to be moving; whether it moving offices or moving house and it is also a hot issue at Rapport HQ. The main reason for any sort of move is that one or more factors are not right, be it size or location, but how important is ‘vibe’ or ‘atmosphere’ to the happiness or successfulness of a house or office?
I have taken the liberty of looking into how Feng Shui can help or hider your environment and how you could improve your ‘Chi energy’ in the work place. I believe that these principles can work and do employ a couple in my everyday life and even if you are a skeptic, apparently Donald Trump has employed Feng Shui principles in all of his corporations (and he's worth more than £1billion)!
- Never sit with your back to the door (a general rule in life really, it’s nice to know who is coming into the room!)
- Try to balance out your ying with your yang. For example a computer screen is Yang as it has sharp edges (although it could be argued that the glass is ying), so conter-balance this by having a more curved desk. Good energy also flows better around round edges.
- Water symbolizes money, so a water feature (water coolers may count!) is ideal in the office. Also green plants promote personal and business growth. Artificial plants will work but never have dried or dying plants inside as they produce negative Chi.
- Keep air flowing and allow as much sunlight as possible, and remember “a cluttered desk = a cluttered mind”.
Happy moving everyone!
I was upset to read that everyone’s favourite piece of dangerous contemporary art “The B of the Bang” is finally coming to the end of its troubled life. It was never going to induce much public confidence when a spike fell off before it had even been properly unveiled. But they went with it anyway and I must admit even though I really like the structure, I do tend to bend down slightly and run when I have to walk under it on my way to ASDA, weighing in at 150 tonnes and just 3ft shorter in height than Nelson’s column you don’t want that falling on your head!
It’s the topic that looks to divide a region; the impending Manchester congestion charge. It seems that everyone has something to say.
Unlike London the congestion charge in Manchester will not be implemented all the time, but only at peak times when the traffic is busiest and only on weekdays.
There will be two ‘rings’ of charging points; the outer ring will be the M60 motorway, the inner ring is the one up for public consultation. I live, work and go out in the city centre so this does not affect me unless I decide to venture out of the Northern Quarter, which, to be honest does not happen very often!
However we have two opposing camps right here in the Rapport office. Chris argues that it will be bad for businesses based in the centre, that the vibrancy and life of Manchester’s City Centre will be lost as businesses relocate to the suburbs in a bid to save capital. While Abi puts forward that this has been a long time coming, that this is the natural progression of any major city and anything that improves the public transport in and around the city has got to be a good thing. Feel free to send us your thoughts!...
14 November 2008 Change is in the Air… but Hopefully not for Long!
The event last night proved to be a resounding success and, despite arriving half an hour before the show direct from Carol Vorderman’s Countdown leaving party, our compère Gyles Brandreth once again, did a fantastic job. Verging on the “risqué” is always the sign of a good compère in Rapport’s book.
Crew food at the MICC involves us calling out for Pizza which has forced me to quickly address an issue which I know has puzzled and appalled the nation (not Laura White’s eviction from X factor) but the re-brand of Pizza Hut to Pasta Hut. Thank god, it turns out this is only a temporary name-change happening in 30 branches across the country, after which a public opinion poll will be taken. A word of advice; people don’t like change – just look what happened to Opal Fruits.
A fact to wow your friends though; “Pizza Hut uses 8,500 tonnes of cheese per year” (www.dailymail.co.uk 06/10/2008).
It always interests me when something that seemingly should only happen in the historic depths of a cobbled Victorian street or medieval castle crops up in amongst our 21st century world, examples that come to mind are; police officers on horses and pirates. It still baffles me that Pirates are still found, sailing around and hijacking ships in order to loot their wares! 239 incidents were reported to the IMB (International Maritime Bureau) during 2006!
Although no longer recognizable by their eye patch and Jolly Rodger, last week the Royal Navy shot dead 2 suspected Somali Pirates in the Red sea. It seems one of the most prominent duties of the Royal Navy has, since the 13 century, been to protect the “seven seas” from the threat of Jack Sparrow and it continues to do so even to this day.
I couldn’t go without saying happy 60th birthday to Prince Charles, who was born at Buckingham Palace on the 14th November 1948. A man who gets a hard time but, in my opinion is brilliant and I cant wait for him to be king!
7 November 2008 Congrats to Obama…
Politics suddenly became a lot more glamorous this week as much more aesthetically pleasing American politicians (apologies Boris) took over our media. Not to be outdone, the tanned one himself, Simon Cowell made the announcement we have all been waiting for; the obvious next stage in his career, Politics! Cowell has coined the inspiration for the presidential debate of the future, an X Factor-style competition, where viewers vote for potential PM’s on a prime–time TV show. That’s one way to get the young vote.
It’s the little things in life that cause the most joy and this can certainly apply to the daily inspirational quote and witty anecdote provided by my complimentary “Octopus Office Products” calendar. However a haphazardly placed “fact” almost ruined one of the most glorious English traditions for me on Tuesday when, according to said calendar, Bonfire night should actually be celebrated on the 4th Nov! After a few tense moments and a Wikipedia search it turns out the calendar was wrong and life could carry on as normal. The Wikipedia search, however, brought up some interesting facts about some long-lost, and some dying out traditions of this night. This was cemented by a shocking number of Rapport employees not knowing what Parkin was and many events taking place around the country skipping a bonfire, in favour of just a firework display. But the worst in my book was the symbolic burning effigy of Guy Fawkes being replaced by ones of Russ and Ross due to the recent “russgate” scandal, not sure the two crimes can really compare!
It’s a big week for Rapport as we will be producing the NW Dealmakers awards at Manchester Central on Thursday, with some impressive lighting concepts imported in from the Far East there will definitely be some photos to follow next week…