Sweet spot

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24 February 2010 00:05

It takes two to tango

Why two heads are better than one.

JOHANNESBURG -

Two is the magic number

Do you have a best friend at work? This question, strange as it may sound is part of an internationally renowned study by Gallup, which investigates the correlation between employee attitudes and company profitability. Over the course of nearly ten years they have whittled their findings down to 12 questions, (The Gallup Q12) which have proved to be key indicators of increased business performance.

This question has always intrigued me. Aren't we looking at the corporate world rather than the primary school playground? Did the Gallup people run out of ideas? Does Q12 just sound better than Q11?

Apparently none of the above. The serious souls at Gallup appear to be on to something. In a new book (The ...

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20 January 2010 00:55

Some thoughts about a Brand You year

Why the need to be different is vital.

JOHANNESBURG - The coffee we buy. The cars we drive. Our laptops. Cell phones. Wristwatches. Shoes. Bags. We are driving, talkin' sleepin' walkin' living brands.

Brands (consciously or unconsciously) are powerful decision-guiders, choice-makers and even self image-crafters. And yet as savvy as we are as brand consumers, we all too often shed our brand "nous" or intuition when it comes to ourselves as individuals. Ironically, we stand in our own brand "blind spot".

What defines the Brand called You?

A few years ago Tom Peters proclaimed "The Brand Called You" or the age of personal branding as the next frontier in branding. So the thinking has been around for a while but are we doing anything constructive abo...

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26 November 2009 00:30

Life’s a Beach… and then you land up on one!

Why we need our rest.

JOHANNESBURG - It's the time of year for getting merry (so they say) rather than heavy. Judging by the sighing, fraught, exhausted shadows of our former (January) selves that we seem to have become, it has indeed been a hard year and there's an almost desperate "can't waitness" in the air.

What exactly is it that we "can't wait" for: the traditional family gathering? The madness of Christmas shopping (particularly the 24^th, late afternoon)? Unlikely! I think what we really can't wait for is to stop doing what we HAVE to do and do what we WANT to do (yes, the last time I checked that's called a holiday). What's great about December in Joburg is that most people are actually on holiday at the same time. Not great if you are heading for a crowded coastal resort. Fa...

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