Take 2009 by the horns.....

Interesting but true.

A recent health study determined that there are 3 primary reasons people can't cope in life:

•They have a low self-esteem

•They live in the past

•They don't laugh enough

In fact, the same study concluded that we need a minimum of 12 laughs a day just to stay healthy!

A little touch of Varaždin magic - Čarobna Škrinja

Creative. Inspiring. Mystical. Quite simply, a little touch of Varaždin magic from the Luminus Gold team.

Front pages

It's all in a word....

An interesting set of images which reflect the most common words used by both of the main Presidential candidates. Taken from one of the 3 debates running up to the election, we can identify a lot from the words which were repeated and used in context on many occasions.

Obama's word list is below while the words spoken from McCain are above.

10 Things you Can Do to Lose your Best Employees

1. Hire them promising an appealing job that has nothing to do with what they will do in the reality

2. Think that they will be motivated just by their salary

3. Never explain them the companies overall strategy.

4. Don't be transparent.

5. Never pay attention to their suggestions or ideas

6. Enhance competitiveness among team members

7. Avoid they have any control or responsibility over the work they are doing

8. Never tell them how good they are

9. Control them

10. Support yes-man and isolate people with a critical sense
Adapted from innovation think.

What leads to success?

This talk will take 3 minutes of your time - but give you something to think about for a lot longer....

Here's something for the office....

EepyBird's Sticky Note experiment from Eepybird on Vimeo.

Look around your desk. Look for your post-it notes. found them? good....now take a long hard look at them...then check this out! This should brighten your day if nothing else does! Enjoy.

Why do you spend your money?

Why do we buy things? What exactly motivates us to part with our money? Geoff Ayling’s book "Rapid Response Advertising" provides an excellent list of 51 reasons why people buy. I've included a few below....some may be behind your reasons?....

1. To make more money

2. To save money – this is the most important reason to 14% of the population

3. To attract praise

4. To increase enjoyment

5. To possess things of beauty

6. To avoid criticism

7. To make their work easier

8. To speed up their work

9. To keep up with the Joneses

10. To feel special

11. To look younger

12. To become more efficient

13. To buy friendship

14. To avoid effort

15. To escape or avoid pain

16. To communicate better

17. To be in style

18. To avoid trouble

19. To protect their family

20. To express love

Why do you buy?

Loyalty at work?

click to enlarge
click to enlarge

Germans on their knees as Croatia erupts!

For Croatia's second game, the toughest challenge so far, Peter travels to Klagenfurt to be amoung 90,000 Croats outnumbering the 35,000 from Germany. A historic victory winning 2-1 putting the Germans in the shade ready for the next challenge against Poland on Monday! So many 'Varazdinci' and again nice to have met Libris clients in the Fanzone!

Spot the Englishman, the Austrian and the Croat. (Peter's sister-in-law Martina, with her husband Hanse from Klagenfurt and the gentleman in the Croatian shirt, well....on je taj Englez!)

Paul Arden - The world's a duller place without Paul.

Last summer, while I was managing a summer language program in the beautiful city of Cambridge, I happened to come across a small, white-covered book that I found whilst wandering through a second-hand store. The title grabbed my attention: 'It's not how good you are, but how good you want to be'

I paid about a pound for it, returned home and began to read. A short piece of reading material (30 minutes) but somehow Paul Arden, the author manages to inspire and refresh the reader with his thoughts and ideas. A fabulous book which I would suggest you read, even if to inject a well-awaited dose of motivation!

I was saddened to hear that only a few weeks ago, Paul Arden, at the age of 67 passed away. Paul Arden spent 14 years as the Executive Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi. He was responsible for some of the UK's most successful advertising campaigns – British Airways, Silk Cut, Anchor Butter, InterCity and Fuji. In 1993 he set up the film production company Arden Sutherland-Dodd. His first book sold over half a million copies. The three most recent books are featured here.

David Hilliyard wrote:"I had the great pleasure/fear working under Paul at Saatchis for 6 years.

He was inspirational.

He was terrifying.

He was sutbborn.

He was passionate.

He was an account mans nightmare.

He was a creatives dream.

He was a pain in the arse.

He was a great tutor.

He was brilliant.

Most of all, he was a good bloke.

The world’s a duller place without Paul."

Worker's Plea

Simple, but oh so true! Five straightforward statements that every employee, manager, supervisor - and come to think of it, anybody working for someone should remember. This also to managers, directors and anyone involved in leading a team in order to be aware of what your team needs. Please, pass it on to anyone you think might like it!

Marketing made easy

Seth Godin, a household name witin the marketing world tells us his thoughts and ideas at the TED conference. An annual conference which brings global 'thinkers' and 'doers' to the podium spreading their thoughts, ideas and insight with the world.

This extract lasts for almost 19 minutes but will certainly give you food for thought if not an outside-the-box viewpoint towards your marketing approach.

Check out the 'recommended sites' link where you will be able to find the TED website. An inspiring site that provides details on past and future speakers in addition to all the conferences.

55 Simple Pleasures

Time for something completely different!

Whatever we do in life, our professional lives – family lives – social networks – we somehow all need and value those, somewhat simple pleasures. Yes, the small things that are for free or come close to very little.

A little trick I like to use to make my days much more pleasant is to find little, simple pleasures and sprinkle them throughout my day. Below is a list of 55 that in their own way contribute to brightening your day. Obviously, we all have our own 'delights' so let us know yours!!!!

1. Walking barefoot in grass.

2. Listening to good music in the car.

3. Taking a long, relaxing shower.

4. Coffee.

5. A good novel.

6. Popcorn and an old movie on DVD.

7. The smell of fresh-cut grass.

8. Watching the sunrise.

9. Walking on the beach.

10. A gentle morning run.

11. Yoga or stretching or meditation. .

12. Watching the sunset.

13. Hugging your child tightly.

14. Good wine. .

15. Dancing like you’re crazy.

16. Telling jokes till your sides ache.

17. A long conversation with a good friend.

18. Kissing in the rain.

19. Being lazy on a Sunday.

20. Waking to a clean house.

21. Fries and a chocolate milkshake.

22. Singing in the shower, loudly.

23. Dancing in the rain and stomping in puddles.

24. Watching your child play.

25. Fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.

26. Helping someone in need.

27. Making someone smile.

28. A nature hike.

29. Laying back and watching the stars.

30. Making a sandcastle.

31. Floating in the water.

32. Taking an afternoon nap.

33. Serving your spouse a surprise breakfast in bed.

34. Watching your children on Christmas morning.

35. Laying back and looking up at clouds.

36. Watching the ocean.

37. Getting a massage.

38. Starbuck's Frappuccino

39. Acting crazy in public.

40. Seeing your savings account grow.

41. Seeing your debt shrink.

42. Taking a hot bath.

43. Blowing bubbles.

44. A gentle breeze.

45. The feeling after a good workout.

46. Checking something off your to-do list.

47. Writing on good paper with a good pen.

48. A clear desk.

49. Fresh popped popcorn.

50. Homemade strawberry shortcake.

51. Watching animals in nature.

52. An empty email inbox.

53. Staying up all night talking.

54. Having a picnic.

55. Swimming at night.

20 leadership ingredients

What would you regard as important ingredients to becoming an effective team leader?

Strict? Approachable? Sympathetic? Well, after discussing and debating with a selection of clients and friends, I've come up with a list of the characteristics that I feel would make an effective team leader. Would you say the same?

1. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!
2. Make decisions with input from others
3. Give the team members the information to do their job
4. Act consistently
5. Be open, honest and fair = inspires trust
6. Keep focused through follow-up
7. Display tolerance and flexibility
8. Demonstrate assertiveness
9. Show a willingness to make positive changes
10.Accept ownership for team decisions
11.Know how to motivate team members
12.Treat team members with respect
13.Develop plans
14.Have wide visibility and have a vision
15.Create an atmosphere of growth, set high standards
16.Give praise and recognition - reward team success
17.Set SMART goals and emphasize them
18.Make themselves available and accessible
19.Criticize constructively and address problems
20. Have a sense of humour

Make great business goals in 2008

I recently found an article regarding business goals for 2008 which I'd like to share with you - perhaps it will give you a few ideas to work on? Feel free to leave us any comments you may have about the article or even some of your business goals for 2008 so we can see what kind of an inspiring 2008 you'll be having....

Make Great Goals in 2008 by Mike Smith

Have you been worried about the new year coming and how many goals you need to create in order to be SUPER PRODUCTIVE in 2008? Yeah, so have I. I’ve even taken it a little further with a huge goal list to complete BEFORE the new year.

I’ve come to realize though through talking to a very dear friend of mine that taking everything one step at a time should be the main focus for 2008. You have to admit that 2007 was a hectic and very busy year so in 2008, we should all be focusing on keeping up the pace, but not taking too many tasks on at one time.I know that my task lists get out of hand quickly, so I want to be a little slower in trying to accomplish 200 things a day and maybe stop and smell the roses every once in a while.

Another way to make goals for yourself in 2008 is to sit back and examine all of the things you’ve done RIGHT this year! It will not only help you gain confidence in yourself and your work but it will also point out the things you’ve done well and will generate a bigger focus on repeating these things over again in 2008. I like to create a list of all the big accomplishments I’ve had in the past year and stare at it for a while.

Regardless of how you do it, try to focus on the great accomplishments you’ve had over the past 12 months in business, in your personal life, in your family life and so on, and try to figure out ways to replicate that in 2008, but build on it and make it better.

Another way to generate some great goals in 2008 is to build on your past success. You can figure out something you’ve done this year, or even recently, and think of ways to build on it and grow it..

Another great way to find a great goal for 2008 is to step back and look at your health. I know that everyone at one point or another has made the “weight loss” goal for the new year but try to really find ways to build on these things and stick to it. Leo from Zen Habits.com has some awesome articles on health hacks and becoming healthier.

I hope this has given you something to set your mind in motion!