By Clemens Rettich, on December 23rd, 2011 
Comet Lovejoy – Lester Barnes
Prima Facie
Mistaken or not, how easy to see that over 2000 years ago 3 royal scholars/astrologers/scientists would have been compelled to see what such a vision pointed to.
In a world of an imploding America, and Arab Spring that still cracks hearts and sidewalks, and a Europe at the edge of its biggest challenge since the second world war, how does one not seek a guiding star?
Verso
The great unifying visions of the human race have lead to so much suffering. Having found our star, or our interpretation of that star’s . . . → Read More: We Could Use an Orient Star
By Clemens Rettich, on December 20th, 2011 
Lend me your ears
When Shakespeare penned the words “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears…” in Julius Caesar he did his share to perpetuate the tradition that confuses great oratory with great communication. That tradition has done more to damage our understanding of good communication than almost anything else.
Check out Google. Enter the search term “communication”, and click on the “Images” search tab. Count the number of ears that are featured as opposed to mouths, megaphones, speakers, etc. We say “I’m all ears…” but you wouldn’t know it from the walk we walk. It’s all talk! It . . . → Read More: The Ears Have It
By Clemens Rettich, on November 15th, 2011 
What are you selling?
If nothing, then you are not in business. If only commodities, then you won’t be in business for long.
“But wait,” you say “I am a service provider. I don’t sell commodities. So I guess I’m safe.”
Sorry. A service alone is still a commodity. In the brave new world of social business, anything is a commodity to the extent to which it is a) a transaction that consists only of the exchange of a good or service for money, and b) reproducible in every important way.
So a service which is repeated over . . . → Read More: The Social Market: Relationships, Stories, and Desire
By Clemens Rettich, on November 1st, 2011 
We all procrastinate. But most of us are not procrastinators.
When was the last time you put off eating that ice cream because it was too much bother? How about finding all kinds of excuses not to cash in that cheque for 10K.
No?
How many of us pack the car in a flurry to hit the road and get to that fishing or camping spot before everyone else? Gardeners getting lost for hours in their gardens? Those of us who love to cook, unwinding in our kitchens, cooking 4-course meals?
Where are the procrastinators?
Every time I work . . . → Read More: There are No Procrastinators
By Clemens Rettich, on October 26th, 2011 
The Goods
Xobni is add-on software for Microsoft Outlook (and other platforms). After installing Xobni, connecting it with your various social accounts, and letting it do its data-gathering thing, it sits to the side of your Outlook window.
Xobni can store all of your data in the cloud where you have syncing capability with almost every device and platform you use (Pro version). It puts any other form of contact data syncing to shame.
When you click on an email in your inbox, in a sidebar Xobni shows you:
The social media accounts that person has (including their most . . . → Read More: My Favourite Social Tool: Xobni
By Clemens Rettich, on October 11th, 2011 
This morning, (October 11, 2011) IBM (TSX: IBM:US) released a valuable study into the pressures, stresses, and some successes of corporate Chief Marketing Officers trying to come to terms with the rapidly shifting ground-rules in their worlds.
IBM conducted face to face interviews with more than 1,700 chief marketing officers from 64 countries and 19 industries. This study, entitled From Stretched to Strengthened is part of an ongoing work called the C-Suite research program, interviewing 15,000 CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, CHROs and CSCOs.
Over the next few days I will be exploring different facets of the CMO study; it has . . . → Read More: 2011 IBM Study: What Keeps Your CMO Awake At Night?
By Clemens Rettich, on October 10th, 2011 
Whether you are Canadian or American, it is not the exact date of Thanksgiving that matters as much as the commitment we make to express our gratitude for what we have been given.
My Thanksgiving list this year is long, but I’ll focus on four things I am grateful for:
That I have the opportunity to do only what I love every day. Two weeks ago I attended an evening staff meeting at the production facility of a client. In the few moments before I took my place at the front of the room, my client and I were . . . → Read More: Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving – My Gratitude List
By Clemens Rettich, on October 6th, 2011 
It’s never what it seems…
We’ve all heard the stories so many times we’ve kind of come to expect them: the stories of celebrities who seem to have everything until the mask slips. Then they seem to have nothing.
Alcoholism, addictions, emptiness, abuse, loneliness, issues with debt, self-esteem, shattered families.
Yet even though we know all that, we still too often find ourselves in a new environment, surrounded by seemingly successful people, feeling a serious case of ‘imposter syndrome’ coming on. Why do we do that? Why do we understand the pains and struggles of our own journeys, and the repeated . . . → Read More: It’s Not What it Seems – Finding Your Confidence
By Clemens Rettich, on October 4th, 2011 
Engagement has become one of those nod your head buzzwords. We all suspect it’s a good thing, but most of us have no concrete understanding of what it means.
What engagement does means:
The feeling that we matter at work; that the unique skills and experience we bring to the team are valued, and would be missed if we weren’t there The deliberate act of engaging with employees to share their input and feedback to improve the organization. Done right, this leads back to #1!
The decades-long work by Marcus Buckingham and the Gallup organization have provided irrefutable evidence that the absence . . . → Read More: Tell Me I Matter & We Both Win
By Claudia Waitman, on September 21st, 2011 
A guest post by Claudia Waitman of Junction International
The world is shrinking. Meanwhile, companies are growing and expanding. However, no matter the size of your business, you’ll likely cross paths with a customer from another culture. To be competitive and one step ahead of the competition, true business professionals need to be culturally savvy.
Not only is it important to be culturally aware when competing for new business and attracting new customers, but it’s also critical within internal business culture at companies – especially when the business is growing into new markets.
A perfect example is India, where people . . . → Read More: Kisses & Bows: Cross-Cultural Consulting
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