The Octopus Can Read – Book Review
August 23rd, 2010
We just got done reading the book The Power of Focus by Canfield, Hansen & Hewitt. It was an eye opening book that sequenced a series of tasks that guided us to achieve business and personal goals.
This is the first book we have commented about in our Blog and thought it worthy enough to mention to our readers. If you are looking to make steps to achieve a higher level of success, understand yourself better and actually execute, then this book is for you.
We followed all the steps in the book and it opened new doors and relationships for us in ways that we thought were not possible. This book led to us forming a board of advisors with specific people to help guide our decisions and business. The book also had us truly understand what goals had priorities over others and how to narrow down. We have seen improvement in our performance and employee morale.
We would highly recommend this easy read, but challenging to do, to anyone interested in doing work to achieve a higher level of success and enjoyment.
Mission Possible Today…Click to Launch
August 23rd, 2010
Today at Octopus HQ we are planning to help several dozen Chiropractors…The only challenge is that they, “the Chiro’s”, do not know it yet! We have worked with 4 small to large size healthcare offices in the past several months and have achieved significant ROI for our clients. The Chiropractic profession is a large industry with a ton of potential, but many chiropractors do not have much business training.
Because Chiropractors, Medical Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants, Dentists and other professional services providers do not have business training, many of them rely on consultants or the school of hard knocks to help them. We help these types of businesses. Many of our current professional services clients want to grow their practices and have come as far as they can on their own and now need some assistance. We work with many of these companies to push them past the glass ceiling and increase the level of production and design a management systems for them to grow.
If you are a professional service provider and would like to speak to us about our services or how we can help get you to the next level of growth, please Click Here.
Do You Want to Stand Out in a Crowd?
July 23rd, 2010
Ever wonder how great marketing ideas break through all the chaos that is going on around us? Think of watching TV or driving to the mall; we are hit with thousands of marketing and advertising images, messages, colors, tactics, etc. It is no wonder we live in a society full of people who can’t pay attention, there is just so much crap going on around us.
So out of all the signs, commercials, bright lights and 20% OFF Discounts, how do we as business owners and marketers BREAK THROUGH THE CRAP?
It is very difficult. You have to either be super creative with an idea that no one has ever done or thought of…or take so much risk that you walk the fine line between jail/fines/unethical and borderline acceptable. Regardless the idea needs to stand out in a crowd of advertising crap just like in Times Square with a Naked Cowboy playing a guitar….Now there is a Naked Cowgirl
So with your marketing be bold, crazy, different, risky, inappropriate, and sometimes stupid. Risk vs Reward!
Day Two – Our YMCA Mission…If We Choose To Accept It
June 23rd, 2010
We Accept!
The CEO of our Maine YMCA client has built a solid and successful foundation for the YMCA to undertake larger growth strategies. We were hired to help fulfill her impressive vision.
On the project, one of the first standards we will be implementing is the rule of: Write It Down.
In many of our previous blogs we talked about how to deliver orders, assignments or tasks to staff by delivering them in written format. When you issue tasks to your staff, colleagues, or anyone; it is more effective if they come in written format with “By When’s”.
When tasks and assignments are delivered in a written format it leaves very little to misunderstanding. It helps to create accountability because there is a paper or electronic trail of the assignments. So when an employee comes to you claiming that they didn’t know, you can show them the proof of what they agreed to.
Just as important as writing things down is getting the “By When’s” for everyone issued a task. When ever we issue assignments with clients, staff or among ourselves we always get “By When’s”. By When…Will you have this done? What date? What time?
Be Specific! Get very specific with the EXACT time you want things returned or completed and include that in the written communications. This will help create accountability and time-lines to be able to manage. The By-When is a question to the person you are assigning the task. You are not telling them when you want it, you are asking them when they can deliver it! Major difference because they create their own time-line based on their schedule and capabilities.
Communications break downs are one of the most common issues with YMCA’s and other organizations we work with, so take the first step in preventing that by putting all assignment, tasks and orders in writing.
Iron Man 2 & My Audi
April 23rd, 2010
We have talked about product placement before and it is becoming more and more apparent in the movies we watch. Many of the movies coming out are going the extra obnoxious mile to make the products they are placing in the movies really stand out and it takes away from the quality of the film.
But Iron Man 2 decided to use “my next car” in their film. The New Audi R8 makes it debut in the blockbuster film.
Many car companies use their vehicles in Hollywood films. The most prolific would have to be James Bond! He is always driving BMW’s, Aston Martin’s, or other high end cars. How effective is the use of cars in Hollywood?
Films that promote cars:
- Transformers – GM
- 007-James Bond
- Ronin – Audi
- Gone in 60 Seconds
- The Italian Job – Aston Martin
- The Fast and the Furious
- Cars
What other movies promote new cars?
Same Old Picks for the Sweet Sixteen
March 23rd, 2010
Ever wonder why you pick the same types of teams to go to the final four? Statistics I hope! Statistics give us the information needed to make the best decisions possible. The same can be said for your business. Sometimes the statistics work in your favor and you make the right decisions that had the highest probability of success.
Sometimes the decisions you make by using statistics lead you in the wrong direction. We can only use the information we have at hand to make decisions and as long as the stats are long term benchmarks then you will have a few dips but trend over the long term in an upward direction.
We know times will change and the numbers will trend that way and unless you have “insider information” then you will have to use the numbers to best make decisions on what teams will win. The same holds true in running a company. Find out what your key indicators are and use them as a way of predicting how things will unfold.
Who would have thought Kansas would have got knocked out so early?