Reading Time: < 1 min At the time of this writing, we’re looking to hire a new Web Support Manager at GreenMellen. We’re taking candidates through a fairly typical interview process, but speed is not a major factor in this. We certainly want to respond quickly to our clients, but if someone doesn’t have an answer to a question right […]
Business
Friendly versus ruthless rivalries
Reading Time: 2 min There are many kinds of rivalries in the world, from business to athletics to “yard of the month”, and they can be a good thing. In a recent episode of the WorkLife podcast, host Adam Grant gave the example of Ohio State and Michigan in football — when one succeeds, as Ohio State has been […]
How not to grow a business
Reading Time: 3 min I was talking to some new business owners yesterday that were working to get things off the ground, and they asked about failures that we’ve seen over the years. Successes can be great to study, but failures are often great learning opportunities. While things at GreenMellen have gone pretty well (we’ve made it nearly 12 […]
The customer is always right in matters of taste
Reading Time: 2 min The idea of “the customer is always right” goes back to the early 1900’s. Among others who coined the phrase was hotelier Cesar Ritz, who said “If a diner complains about a dish or the wine, immediately remove it and replace it, no questions asked.” It’s not necessarily a bad policy, but can have a […]
What do you think?
Reading Time: < 1 min I’ve had a bad habit over the years that my team has rightfully called me out on, and it’s one that I’m trying to break. I’ll find an interesting article and send it to one of them and simply ask them “thoughts?”. That’s not helpful. Richard Millington recently had a great post where he unpacked […]
Hotshots shouldn’t get bogged down on tasks
Reading Time: < 1 min In his new book, “A World Without Email“, author Cal Newport pushes people to consider how administrative work affects performance. In particular, he says: Why bother hiring a hotshot if the bulk of their time is spent doing administrative work? I don’t know if “hotshot” is the right word, but I completely agree with his […]
Don’t lie to get the project
Reading Time: < 1 min Seth Godin recently published a blog post that ended with two great mottos: “You’ll pay a lot, but you’ll get more than you paid for.” “Our secret is that we don’t lie to get the project.” I agree wholeheartedly with both of those, though the second one is a little tricky. Back in 2016, a […]
Shallow fun versus deep fun
Reading Time: < 1 min I was recently listening to a podcast with Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Grant, and they got into a great discussion about having “fun” in your work. They disagreed initially, but as they unpacked it they ended up on the same page. The key was separating “shallow fun” and “deep fun”. Daniel Coyle explained the difference […]
What is the expected value of that?
Reading Time: 2 min When making any kind of financial decision, it can be interesting to look at the “expected value” of whatever you’re looking to buy. This can work particularly well for things like raffles and your sales. Raffles With a raffle it’s pretty simple. If you have a 1/100 chance of winning a $500 prize, the expected […]
Follow-up is crucial
Reading Time: 3 min A few years ago, we were all working in our office when a local company stopped by with a box of bagels and coffee for us. We didn’t know them, but they were reaching out to local marketing companies to let people know they exist (they were photographers, so potentially a good partner). They seemed […]