Plan for tomorrow - the value chain of your time.

When you see a few days slotted out, months in advance for events in your personal calender, I think that is a good way to establish the value of your time. Is meeting that person/attending that event worth your time? plan for tomorrow and you will begin to see that you can focus and get much more done in your day.

In order to increase productivity figure out what you value, what's hot and trending (will it be big in the next 12/24/48months), and the sort of people you need to meet. Then search for some events in that area of interest, and attend! I guarantee you will meet someone of interest.

Along the way the negative people will despise in their hearts, but whilst they have been busy with creating that animosity, things change in the slightest for yourself - you become stronger and mature to a whole new level, What is maturity? well I think it's the time you realise and notice those negative people, but you don't say anything 'bad' back to them, because you know it will have a worse affect on their lives, so in your heart you wish for something better for them.

Most importantly, do it in a relaxed fashion, be natural keep time for yourself to read, ponder and discover the purpose of life...your life.

Creating a sense of URGEncy

It has taken me a while to realise, learn and appreciate the value of time. There are two contradicting factors to appreciate about time;

• There is a time for everything, there are moments in life where you have been working extremely hard towards something, maybe that promotion or multi-million £££ idea, and for some reason or another the magic moment is just not happening. Wait, slow down, take your time, there is no rush. The moments to learn, experience, discover and then unlearn, contemplate, reflect and pondering all have their own individual roles to play - when the time is right, that moment will happen, is waiting to happen.  Wait, slow down, take your time, there is no rush. Let the science of information play catch up...

• A bit of a philosophical conundrum; Which moments count more? All the small moments which add up to make that big moment that has that big impact on life, or the big moment(s) that change your life? I personally go for the small moments, but those small moments take time, planning and a bit of good 'fortune' (i.e being at the right place at the right time, with the right people [we won't dwell into calculating the statistical probability of that!]). This undoubtedly can become a tedious, soul defying and most certainly a lonesome journey where most give up on their big ideas, goals and dreams in life. In a previous post, on creating and influencing change the first point that was mentioned was creating a sense of urgency, that thing which gives you a shot of adrenalin rush and tingles your senses to create action, when it is most needed in those low times.

I hear some of you say (or most probably my imagination) - how do you create that moment of injection of urgency? In brief:

1. Find your purpose in life

Whether it's to get into heaven, solve cancer or build a death star to land on one of Saturn's moon - have a direction/goal and make sure it's big, bold and extraordinary.

     2. Experience your purpose

Learn that language to understand a 'holy scripture', or visit the poverty stricken land you want to help, or walk through Van Gogh's life to understand how he created his art. When working away on the big goal, there will undoubtedly be emotionally challenging periods. The only way of lifting yourself up is by not only reminding oneself of why you are working towards a goal, but to 're-live' that experience in it's entirety, ie. creaing feelings that ignite all the 5 senses.

     3. Create a strong visual image

When you have had that experience, log it in stone, and cement that stone at the back and front areas of your mind. Take time out to connect that defining experience to your senses.

     4. Define your value system

This is really a tool to measure and value priorities and make those crucial decisions, sometimes the outcomes can take you in an undesired direction. Family vs Idea? Idea vs Friends? Money vs Friends? Religion vs Family vs Friends vs Money vs Education vs Re-location vs Impact?

     5. Create your road-map

How do you want to be remembered when you die? Where do you want to be in 50 years, where you need to be in 40 years to get to achieve that goal in 50 years? Where do you need to be in 30, 20, 10, 5, 2 years...the next 6 months. Does it all pan out? (maybe a tad depressing but has to be said) what if there is only 12 months before expiry? 

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Hopefully that may give some things to think and ignite a (re)small spark... thoughts will be most warmly appreciated :) 

'Cross-roads - different people, different thoughts with different goals...what differentiates people, what are they busying their lives with?' Wimbledon Town Centre 

[Business Ideas to go] Billboard 2.0

The Social Billboard - Beta Billboard v2.0

Marketing teams spend an awful amount of money advertising across their different channels, however we are seeing budgets shifting to digital, mobile and social. The challenge is to get organisations using traditional tools (bollboards, magazines etc.) but with the 'social eye' in mind! 

Companies have already invested in creating their social presence, but the question is how do you tie your advertisement to your social platforms; be it in a magazine, on a cereal box, a tv commercial or a even a billboard (whatever the marketing terms is for is - channel marketing?), to your social feeds where customers are maybe engaging and chit-chatting about your brand?  

In a previous post, I mentioned how measuring ROI (return on investment) for marketing should really be about the conversations that are created about a brand, as it measures engagement and hence increasing the chance of a sale. 

So here is an idea to tickle your mind;

So I hear some of you thinking out loud, 'oh Thamimus - but they already have stuff like this, I've seen it at Victoria Station!', sorry - but you missed the point. This idea is about putting the customer at the heart of the campaign, rather than the product. So this means pushing how and what customers are saying about products, as opposed to organisations merely (and usually very annoyingly) pushing product content to potential customers. 

Let me talk you through an example;

1) I go to Sainsbury's everyday to buy something delicious from their bakery. (Sainsbury's actually have an awesome Sustainability Plan integrated at the core of their business plan)

 

2) On my way down the escalator I have nibbled and tweeteed/facebooked/instagrammed about how scrumptious my chocolate,caramel bites are! (notice the digital board by the train times)
Whilst coming down the and tweeting, Sainsbury's have tracked my comments across their social media (for the past month). And using geo-location tools know that I am at Victoria Station. 

3) BOOM! as soon as I have come down the escalator, I am directed by Sainsbury's to check the billboard. 

Now wouldn't that be a nice surprise for a loyal customer? 

Now not only would I rant on about my lifetimes supply forever, but also attract potentially new customers who may subconsciously like the idea of having a short moment of fame :) which as a result may change their buying habits.

So that's a pretty bold new concept, which I am sure we will be beginning to see in the coming 18 months. So show some love and let me know what you think!