I was put onto Zeald by a friend this week and enjoyed reading their courtesy system [scroll].
Here they are:
“At Zeald.com, we have eight rules of courtesy that we follow. They are as follows:
- Speak very politely using a person’s name – ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ as a minimum.
- When you talk about a person who is not present, speak as if they are listening to your conversation. Use the person’s name in each sentence in which you refer to them.
- If you have a problem with someone, talk about the problem only with him or her and in private.
- Apologise and make restitution if someone is upset by your actions.
- Greet and farewell everyone by name and with eye contact.
- Blame a system not a person.
- Tell the truth!
- Use positive conversation.”
It’s great to see a company writing these into their ethos and not just relying on ‘manners’ or ‘the done thing’ to make them happen.
The result;
“By following this system of courtesy, we have developed an incredible team environment at Zeald.com. We have an amazing team of unique individuals that get on well with each other despite their vast differences and backgrounds. Moreover, we have an environment that is largely free of complicated politics, backstabbing and the various other unpleasant things that are common practice in many organisations. We are determined that this is not lost as the organisation continues to develop and grow.”
When playing MAKEorBREAK? I’ve found it can be fun to add the odd ‘double-point score’ bonus from time to time.
Before I click on the next question I’ll simply call out “double-point score”.
There are conditions however…
If the player/team gets the question correct, then sure they have can MAKE 2 castles. But if they get it wrong they lose one castle. Simple!
The plan with MAKEorBREAK? is to keep it simple and flexible so you can have it your way!
I’ve been considering a few market opportunities in the last couple of weeks. It’s been great to recall some of the biggest lessons i’ve learnt, alot of which can be summed up in posts i’ve either read or written.
It can be so easy to slip into the emotion of an idea or a product and forget about the simple rules of business success. Now I make a conscious decision to remind myself of these fundamentals before committing to an opportunity.
- Marc Andreessen’s life changing (for me) post: Idea, Team, Market!
- Don’t waste time caring about idea theft, patents, etc.
- *Seth’s thoughts on protecting an idea
- Remember your filter
- Answer these 8 questions, I dare you!
- Marketing Blah!
- “If someone say’s ‘I’d pay for that’, then you are most probably onto something.” Business mentor
- e-book: What I learnt from web-failure
View the [awesomeness] of an email from a tradesman informing acquaintances he’s going out on his own (the full email is further below).
*Extra good bits bolded
“Subject: Need any building work done?
I am just emailing you to say that I am starting up my own building business on the 17th December.
So if you need building work done. I am the man you want to call.
At this stage I have a couple of days free before Christmas. So if you need anything done before then. Get back to me soon. First in first served.
In the new year I will still be around looking for work. So if you have a kitchen, bathroom, addition, new house or maintenance you want done. Call or Email me.
I can give you a fixed price quote on your building work. Or I can work “charge up”.”
Full email:
I am just emailing you to say that I am starting up my own building business on the 17th December.
So if you need building work done. I am the man you want to call.
At this stage I have a couple of days free before Christmas. So if you need anything done before then. Get back to me soon. First in first served.
In the new year I will still be around looking for work. So if you have a kitchen, bathroom, addition, new house or maintenance you want done. Call or Email me.
I can give you a fixed price quote on your building work. Or I can work “charge up”.
My rates are
$45 an hr plus GST.
But if you live in the Porirua basin or Tawa its $42 an hr plus GST.
Feel free to forward this on to anyone needing building work done.
Look forward to hearing from you.
XXXXXXX XXXXX
xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com
(04) xxx xxxx
027x xxx xxxx
Even though TradeMe has a very intuitive UI, there are scores of say… 50+/middle aged/elderly/pensioners etc. who can’t be bothered with the perceived rigmarole or fear of listing items.
If these people had, let’s say, a TradeYou ‘depot’ where they could talk to ‘an actual person’ (just like the old days) and get cash for dropping off their unwanted saleable possessions, they might just appreciate the opportunity help and give you some cash in return.
The depot in each town or city would estimate a market value on TradeMe, less a healthy margin. The non-TradeMe users could choose to take or leave the offer.
The plan of action:
- Contact one motivated person you can trust in every town across NZ.
- Tell them you are looking for business partners for e.g. TradeYou immediately.
- Each person hires a decent sized room with an internet connection (or uses their garage for a month)
- Print 5,000 flyers per town and target the 50+ demographic.
- At the depot, pay cash for the items you see value in.
- List them at a profit.
The format of this eBook is refreshing – one idea per page.
It’s inspired the format for a new book I’m co-writing this summer.
Brought back memories of the fun I had writing my eBook.
SkyTV has well and truly kooked it.
Not spotting a giant opportunity when they should have, they decided to shut down the ARC channel on YouTube. Has this signalled the beginning of the end for Sky’s rugby offering and the beginning of the new beginning for the ARC?
Watching a test without the ARC is like going back to visit your least favourite school teacher a few years after leaving.
Come on people, don’t lose this one to the Poms who (as it seems) know how to spot a good thing when it comes along.
Even the Aussies can get it right on this. Think… The Footy Show: Gould, Stirlo, Fatty, Andrew Johns, – legends of the game.
Who does Sky give us?
Ian (shorten words) Jones, the embarrassingly biased Grant Nisbett, sigh, the bitter Tony Johnstone… Mex is atleast colourful and keeps me [used to keep me] awake.
News on the ARC is here. Join the FB page. Updates abound.
In closing, here’s one of the goodies from the ARC:
It’s great to see Peoples Coffee telling their story.
I was privileged to be invited to their roastery [Newtown, Wellington] to chat to them about blogging. I enjoyed sharing my passion with them.
This video of Tom Peters and Seth Godin talking about blogging was a video I tried to describe. Better to just watch.
Thanks for having me guys.
My apologies for not posting in a while. The cliche; ‘I’ve been busy’ doesn’t work. It’s simply been 12 weeks of non-stop creating. Exciting.
There’s been more than one thing on the go: New job, new products and new club.
Progress aside, I’m ready to again regurlarly write about my experiences in Surfing, Learning and Business as my blog title declares.
Here’s a preview of my latest project:
Revision + Fun = Effectiveness OR Let’s make school less boring!
You’ll be hearing some more about DoThinkLearn in the near future.
Acronyms in education organisations are rife. Here’s a basic translation of the common ones in New Zealand education.
Assessment:
NCEA – National Certificate of Educational Achievement
AS – Achievement Standard
US – Unit Standard
Ministry of Education:
NZQA – New Zealand Qualifications Authority
DP – Deputy Principal
HOD – Head of Department
PRT – Provisionally Registered Teacher
LTR – Long Term Relief
Some subjects:
SOS – Social Studies
SCI – Science
ECO – Economics
BST – Business Studies
ENG – English
PHY – Physics
Miscellaneous:
PD – Professional Development
ESOL – English for Speakers of Other Languages
EOTC – Education Outside The Classroom
Hope these help in some way at some time in your life as a Parent, Student, Teacher, Taxpayer or other.
In conclusion, here’s a much longer list!
