The art of communication

All good things come to an end - Moving on

2011-03-03T19:51:00.002+03:00

Dear readers,

You might not even have noticed: for quite a while there has been no update nor a new article on this site.

The reason for this is that I have made "communication" my profession. With my company www.kommboutique.com, I attract people using magnetic words. How! By creating memorable moments through positive emotions.

Writing will still be part of my work and my life. To contribute even better to this huge topic "communication", I launched a new website. There, I write about how great leaders communicate. Additionally, there will be reading recommendations and some more ideas are yet cooking.

Why don't you visit www.gabyfeile.com and tell me how you like it? You can subscribe to updates there as well or just return to the page from time to time.

Thank you very much for joining me on this journey so far. It would be awesome if you remained a reader of my writing. Just now on www.gabyfeile.com

Take care,

Gaby Feile

The art of story telling

2010-08-18T15:51:00.001+03:00

Die deutsche Version gibt es hier.

By Gaby Feile

In a world in which we are overwhelmed by information, one needs to find new ways to reach out to readers, fans and eventually clients. Using new technologies is a both efficient and effective way. Yet only if your content is interesting enough, people will read it and, hopefully, share it with others.

So, when I launched the website of my company, I wanted to write a little story that is both informative and engaging. I created a professional e-mail campaign and sent it to my contacts.

If you haven't received the story, here it is. If you have received it, maybe you want to read it again?

Here we go:

May I tell you something new?

It was in March 2009 when I wrote down the idea black on white for the first time. The sun was shining and the outside temperature was 31 degrees Celsius. It was in Dubai.

Since living in Munich, I had been carrying around 1001 puzzle pieces in my mind. They were unsorted ideas and inspirations.

What I knew, however, was how the picture should look like in the end:

I would like to make hotels to places in which guests feel the motivation of the staff and appreciate their hospitality so much that they keep coming back.

Later, in the heat of the desert, I selected the parts of the puzzle that formed the frame.

My childhood, studying theory and practice, and professional experiences were some of the parts, as well as my passion for hotels and communications, and my intention to enthuse people.

I moved to Valencia, in passionate Spain. Step by step, Kommboutique was created with patience and concentration - and with the support of many people. They completed what I had missed, and I wish to thank all of you very much.

Now I am back in beautiful Germany and am still looking for the perfect place to live and work, somewhere near Munich.

Today, I am opening the door to Kommboutique and invite you to have a close look. Be curious, try things out, ask me questions and tell others and me what you like.

The puzzle, however, is not complete yet. Therefore, please join the game and complete the gaps with the available pieces!

Step into Kommboutique here and afterwards pick the role you would like to play.

You can read how I engaged readers by offering them various actions to pick here on the original post.

And if you prefer moving pictures and music, watch a self-produced 30-seconds spot here:

We love football! How Jogi Löw and the German National Team have impressed me

2010-07-13T17:17:00.001+03:00

Wer deutsch lesen will, klickt hier.

By Gaby Feile

The Football World-Cup in South Africa is over. Spain has won the title for the first time - and really deserves it. The country has been ecstatic, and the victory will replace the dominating topic “La Crisis“ - at least for a while. Their football has set new benchmarks. I wished we had seen more goals from them, though. Well, Germany took over this job!

I personally have only experienced the final week of the world-cup in Germany (the other three weeks I was in Spain). Yet I was infected by the fantastic mood in the country. 82 million people living in Germany cannot be wrong: the German team represents the country with beautiful football, a great performance and a multi-cultural team. The national colours black-red-gold were dominating everywhere, and radio stations played football songs all over. Every opportunity and technical possibilitiy were used to watch the German team playing, even during working-hours. And just like during the „summer fairy tale in 2006“, there was “Kaiser-weather“ (somehow linked to Beckenbauer, the country‘s most famous football player).

This time the “Us-Feeling“ in the German team and among the German population has inspired me even more than during the world-cup 2006 in Germany. Young and old, men and women, German ultra-conservatives and their international neighbours all have been proud of their country and had something to cheer about: Germany at last plays good football! And they are the third-best team in the world, according to numbers! Emotionally, they are “champions of the heart“.

How has the German coach, Jogi Löw, transmitted the spark? How has the team been able to encourage their huge fan club? How is it possible that even Brazil, Italy and England cheer for the Germans?

This is how my personal observations look like. They can be transferred to other areas of life, I think:

The vision:

Jogi Löw often talks about his vision. He has a clear picture in mind, how the team should play football. All his decisions are in line with this vision and everybody in the team knows, lives and breathes the vision.

The goal:

An achievable goal is important. The entire team knew the goal and wanted to reach it. They could explain the goal and share it as well as being part of it. Once you reach the goal (it was the semi-final for the German team), you can raise the bar. Of course, you need to consider that reaching the new goal might be more difficult. And if it is not achieved, one focuses on the future and gives one‘s best to leave a positive final impression. This is what the German team did with ending on 3rd place by beating Uruguay.

The team:

The coach and all players seem to have mentioned the team, the „Mannschaft“, the squad over and over again. Smart journalists who wanted to hear statements from and about individual players, had to accept to continuously hear praise and positive feedback for the collective performance.

The players play for each other not only with each other. Each single player does his job and all of them are important, even substitutes and the team behind the team. There are no chiefs, and a little captain‘s armband does not make a big difference either.

The selection of the players is done by considering talent and personality and not only short-term results. Character and the ability to carry the vision count just as much.

The personalities:

Not only was Jogi Löw voted best-dressed coach during the world-cup, he constantly is being described as meticulous worker and very talented football teacher. This comes in combination with his modesty and his pleasing way to treat people. He trusts them and they trust him.

The team around him complements him and contributes qualities that he might lack.

seSomething even Germany‘s president has mentioned more than once is, that the players of the new generation are also great “characters“ with the will to fight.

Differences can multiply chances to succeed, they complete each other disproportionately. And I am not talking about skin colours, birth places or foreign names.

The values:

Respect, politeness and integrity have played significant roles in the life and the career of Jogi Löw - and in his work with the national team. It is said that the players own emotional intelligence and communication talent. Bad talk does not exist - probably a novelty during a tournament like this.

The leadership style:

As a leader, Jogi bears the responsibility for all the decisions. He does, however, involve others to find solutions and values their ideas and suggestions. Here as well, the team counts more than the individual.

The decisions:

Let people talk! External comments from the press or so called experts do not influence the coach‘s decisions. As long as they do contribute to the realisation of the vision and the achievement of the goal, decisions are correct.

The challenges:

Obvious setbacks, bad news (such as the cancellation of the long-time captain), and defeats are being deplored adequately and worked on together. They are considered as challenges, and very often they become great opportunities. Well deserved winners deserve to be congratulated. This is much better than discussing past mistakes over and over again. And this is how the next victory will come for sure.

The focus:

“To focus“ along with “we“ was the most used word within the German team. And the concentration on just the coming game paid off. The coach even moved all thoughts about the prolongation of his contract to the time after the world-cup in order to fulfil his current duties.

The idols:

To measure oneself with the best is much more effective than to do so with the ones that fail. Using the Spanish system and their way to play football as benchmark, does work. Even when one gets beaten by exactly this system.

And what we can learn from Spain: Patience is very important, and if you believe in your style, do continue with it. The victories will come one day, and they are more beautiful - and well deserved.

What impressions have other teams left during the world-cup? What is the secret of the Spanish or the Dutch team? How come that Uruguay finished 4th best? And what were the reasons for France and Italy to leave the tournament that early?

Post your comments, suggestions and tips right here. I love reading all of them. Thank you!

Querida Valencia, Dear Valencia

2010-06-28T00:30:00.009+03:00

Querida Valencia, Dear Valencia,

Please apologise for writing in English. Although my Spanish skills have risen to a rather high level (or so people say), I want as many people as possible to understand what I write. I am sure you appreciate this.

When I left Dubai more than 6 months ago, which actually feels much longer, I wrote in my farewell letter that something was drawing me to Spain, something I did not know what it was. Secretly, I was hoping to meet that Spanish guy I had been talking about for so long. Or someone who would help me settling in and introducing me to the right people so that I could actually work and earn some money here. Or a Spaniard who would deliver both....

Well, I now know that this was not the reason to come here. In addition, I have learnt that life cannot be planned with brainstorming sheets and to-do lists. Some things we just need to face and then decide what to do. And we need to have faith!

When I arrived in grey and cold January, I only knew that I will do a 4-weeks Spanish class while I was staying with a Spanish lady who cooked for me and did the cleaning and the laundry. I had in mind to travel around the country afterwards, to stay in monasteries or hostels and to work on my business plan somehow. Also, I would have loved to do some voluntary work to put meaning to my life, or what I felt that was by then.

After two weeks in Valencia, however, I decided to stay here and to look for a room. There were plenty of rooms available, most of them in students flats which did not really attract me. With the help of the universe, I found a room in a flat that met my requirements. And only a couple of weeks later, I realised how many people have gone through the same: they had left their jobs and came to Valencia to learn Spanish and to find a simple work to pay the rent for their room in a shared flat. Only few have managed to do the "work" bit, by the way. "Estamos en crisis!“

And by now, half a year and many challenges later, I think I understand what it was that kept me here, in this beautiful city at the Mediterranean Sea.

It definitely was not the famous Spanish weather which, to be honest, has been close to a disaster this year with a cold and wet winter and a so far very rainy spring. The beach, of which there is a lot here, wasn‘t the reason either, since for the just mentioned reason, the occasions to enjoy it were rare.

Instead, I have lived in a place which still can be considered as a travellers‘ secret. Despite of being Spain‘s 3rd largest city, of being situated at the coast, of spending an awesome amount of money for culture, arts and celebrations (especially the latter), outside of Spain Valencia is only known for the Formula 1, the football and possibly the America‘s Cup.

Unlike Dubai, Valencia, hardly does any global marketing. In German book shops for instance, only two or three travel guides are available for this city. Books on Madrid or Barcelona (and the Spanish islands of course), however, fill entire shelves. People who come here, and I include myself, are hence surprised and overwhelmed by the things to see, do and experience and realise very quickly that a weekend is too short to do it all.

To me Valencia will always be the place where they combine

zest for life with organisation, culture with nature, commerce with celebrations,

crisis with free internet access, history with design, tradition with social media,

football with Catholicism, market with lady*, gin with Champaign**,

rice with rabbit meat***, work with pleasure, and success with connections.

Despite all those distractions, I have managed to work a lot and to create my own company that is ready to be opened soon. And I finally learned what it was that had drawn me here:

It was the inspiration that I needed to create something new, something different, something original. I got inspired by countless museums, galleries, exhibitions, churches, palaces, theatres, gardens, concerts, design shops, festivals, people and cool cafes like the Booktique Libreria where I spent hours browsing through design books, while listening to relaxing music and sitting on furniture made of carton. It felt great to be part of a designers gang, actually.

From this inspiration came creativity and came ideas. I gained a lot of self-confidence and was able to get over the robbery of my bag that contained literally everything I needed for life but my laptop. And I survived a 3-weeks involuntary break due to a bronchitis that in the end turned out to be a much needed rest for body and mind.

All this, by the way, I mostly did in jeans and t-shirt and very often without make-up. How I just loved this!

And, yes, I was able to loose the "Dubai stone“ - this useless weight I gained while I lived there. It actually was very easy: going almost everywhere by foot, skipping lifts and escalators, regular exercise, fresh air and the Mediterranean diet (well, my personal version of it).

There is a lot I am grateful for and I thank all the people I met along the way. All of you played a role in this story and I am glad you played it well.

Now I am leaving you, Valencia, to go back to Germany (after a short trip to Barcelona which I just could not resist) where a new life begins. Thanks a lot and I will be back - for sure!

Truly, there is one very important insight I gained in the last six months:

It does not matter where you live. It matters how you live!

Muchas gracias y hasta muy pronto.

Besos y un abrazo fuerte,

Gaby

Balance is everything

PS: I hope you do not mind that I have shared more photos and information about you!

*A well-known supermarket chain in Spain is based in Valencia and is called: Mercadonna

** Agua de Valencia: The most famous drink made from a base of Cava (Spanish Champaign), Gin and orange juice.

*** The famous Paella Valenciana comes with chicken and rabbit meat, and many other fantastic ingredients. Sometimes with escargots.

Let pictures speak 4: Out and About in Valencia

2010-06-05T15:44:00.004+03:00

by Gaby Feile

I have been living in Valencia for 5 months and actually will stay for only one more month. Time has been flying, and after a while, priorities shift and one does more feel like a resident than a tourist. Which is a positive thing in my view.

Anyway, I have kept going out to discover the city, since I enjoy this holiday feeling you get when you do tourist things. Yet many things I like, I do again and again (especially with the visitors I have had). Hence, there are not so many new photos.

Today, however, I share with you some outdoor photos from Valencia and its surroundings. Most of them have some shades of "green" in them, I noticed.

Here we go:

One could take millions of photos of this architectural master piece:

Se podría sacar miliones de fotos de esta obra maestra de la arquitectura:

Man könnte Millionen von Fotos von diesem architektonischen Meisterwerk machen:

La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias

The Bioparc is relatively new and it is beautifully designed with lots of space both for animals and visitors.

El Bioparc es bastante nuevo y su diseño es maravilloso con mucho espacio para animales como visitantes.

Der Bioparc ist noch recht neu, und er ist wunderschön angelegt mit viel Platz für Tiere und Besucher.

The animals live in natural environments.

Los animales viven en un ambiente natural.

Die Tiere leben in natürlicher Umgebung.

This rhino "worked" in a circus for many years and still goes around in circles all day.

Este rinoceronte "trabajaba" en un circo antes y todavía da vueltas todo el día.

Dieses Nashorn hat lange im Zirkus "gearbeitet" und geht immer noch den ganzen Tag im Kreis.

In the Royal Gardens the roses blossom.

En Los Jardines del Real floran las rosas.

In den Königlichen Gärten blühen die Rosen.

The beach of Valencia is much busier in summer than now.

La playa de Valencia esta más llena en verano que ahora.

Der Strand von Valencia ist im Sommer viel belebter als jetzt.

The street lamps are being cleaned before the tourists come...

Están limpiando las farolas antes de que los turistas lleguen...

Die Straßenlampen werden geputzt bevor die Touristen kommen...

The first signs of the Botanical Garden.

Las primeras señales del Jardin Botánico.

Die ersten Zeichen des Botanischen Gartens.

The entry of the Botanical Garden.

La entrada del Jardin Botánico.

Der Eingang des Botanischen Gartens.

A beautiful conservatory.

Un invernadero muy bonito.

Ein schönes Gewächshaus.

Even at the house walls there is nature.

La naturaleza existe incluso en los hormazos de las casas.

Und auch an den Häuserwänden gibt es Natur.

Nature pure in the National Park of Albufera, where they cultivate rice for the region.

Naturaleza pura en el Parque Nacional de la Albufera donde se cultiva arroz para la región.

Natur pur im Nationalpark Albufera, wo der Reis für die Region angebaut wird.

And this is how they eat the rice:

Y así se come el arroz:

Und so wird der Reis gegessen:

Paella Valenciana

And finally, some photos I always forgot to take. Yet thanks to my friend Monika, I got them:

Y finalmente, algunas fotos que yo nunca había sacado. Gracías a mi amiga Monika, ahora las tengo:

Und zum Schluß ein paar Fotos, die ich immer vergaß zu machen. Dank meiner Freundin Monika, habe ich sie nun:

The harbour of Valencia, where the Formula 1 race takes place.

El puerto de Valencia, el sitio donde se realiza la carrera de la Formula 1.

Der Hafen von Valencia, wo das Formel 1 Rennen stattfindet.

And the spectacular

Y la espectacular

Und die spektakuläre

Ciudad des las Artes y las Ciencias

Not seen enough pictures of Valencia? Here is more:

Let pictures speak 3

Let pictures speak 2

Let pictures speak 1

Let pictures speak 3: Valencia and (some of) its Fiestas

2010-04-18T22:57:00.003+03:00

By Gaby Feile

If there is one thing that the Valencianos are famous for (apart from the paella), it is their ability to celebrate. All year round there is various holidays, some of them religious others not. All have in common that they are very traditional and that they come with more than just a day or more off. I do like that, actually, as indeed in other European countries many traditions have become purely commercial or have been forgotten completely - which is a shame.

The most important fiesta in Valencia are "Las Fallas" that take place for 5 days in March every year, ending on the 19th of the month, which is Saint Jospeh's day and marks the end of the winter. The Fallas date back to the middle ages when carpenters put remains of wood and artefacts, which they collected during the winter, on the streets. During long winter nights, the carpenters used to work with candle light and put the candles on planks. Came spring, those were not needed anymore and hence were burned together with the rest to officially pay farewell to the winter. Over the years the tradition grew and both church and state involved themselves.

Nowadays, the Fallas (which is the name for both the "neighbourhood clubs" and the figures itself) are huge artworks and cost a lot of money. They are created and built by dedicated artists, basically it is a whole industry. There is nearly 400 Fallas in the city and they all have a Falla Mayor and a Falla Infantil, meaning they build two Fallas yearly, one of them for the children. The club members are called Falleros, and they elect a Fallera Mayor and a Fallera Infantil every year to represent their Falla. These positions come with a lot of prestige and work and do also exist for the city of Valencia itself. During the Fallas people hardly sleep, there is "Mascletas" every day and fireworks every night. And it would not be Spain, if there wasn't a competition. A lot of prizes are given away and winning is a huge thing. During the final night all Fallas are being burnt in the so called "Cremà". Only one piece ("ninot") of the winning Falla is being saved and kept in the Falla Museum.

If you want to know more about this well-known festival, check the Wikipedia entry and find many links there as well.

I took loads of pictures and have posted a few here for you. Enjoy!

The preparations:
Die Vorbereitungen:
Las preparaciones:

The illumination competition:

Der Lichterwettbewerb:

El concurso de la iluminación:

And here are some of The Fallas which are incredibly large and made with a lot of sense for details. To be fair: How large and artistic their Falla is, depends mainly on how much money the club has been able to raise.

Und hier sind einige der Fallas, die unglaublich groß sind und mit viel Liebe zum Detail gemacht. Um fair zu sein: es kommt hauptsächlich darauf an, wie viel Geld der Verein sammeln konnte, was direkt zusammenhängt mit der Größe und künstlerischen Qualität ihrer Falla:

Y aquí hay algunas de las Fallas que están muy grandes y hecho con mucho amor para detalles. Para ser justo: sobre todo la altitud y la calidad artistica dependen de la cantidad de dinero que tiene la Falla:

The fireworks which last on average 20 minutes every night between 1 and 2 am:

Die Feuerwerke, die im Durchschnitt 20 Minuten dauern und jede Nacht zwischen 1 und 2 Uhr stattfinden:

Los fuegos artificiales que duran 20 minutos de promedio, cada noche entre la 1 y las 2:

La Ofreta: The Fallas bring flowers to a huge statue of the Virgin Mary. This lasts 2 days and is strictly organized:

La Ofreta: Die Fallas bringen Blumen zu einer großen Statue der Jungfrau Maria. Dies dauert 2 Tage und ist streng durchgeplant:

La Ofreta: Las Fallas ponen flores en una estatua grande de la Virgen. Eso dura 2 dias y es organizado muy estrictamente:

Bull fighting is always part of important fiestas in many parts of Spain and is very popular:

Stierkämpfe sind immer Teil von wichtigen Fiestas in vielen Teilen Spaniens und ist sehr beliebt:

Corridas de torros por su puesto forman parte de las fiestas importantes en España:

La Cremà and what is left:

La Cremà und was übrig bleibt:

La Cremà y que queda:

If you want to know which Falla won this year, I recommend you the Valencia Blog. Here you can see great pictures, videos and back-grond info of the winning Falla. Also if you browse the blog, you can see many fantastic and professional photos and videos from the festival of the Fallas including other Falla figures.

Wer wissen möchte, welche Falla dieses Jahr gewonnen hat, dem empfehle ich den Valencia Blog. Hier gibt es tolle Fotos, Videos und Hintergrundinformationen der Sieger-Falla (in englisch). Wer den Blog durchstöbert kann außerdem andere sehr professionelle Fotos und Videos der Fallas sehen inklusive anderer Falla-Figuren.

Si quieres saber que Falla ganó este año, te recomendo el Valencia Blog. Aquí hay muchas fotos, videos y información sobre el ganador (en inglés). Si estás en el blog, también puedes encontrar fotos y videos muy profesionales de las Fallas en general.

Semana Santa, 2 weeks later

Being a catholic country, religious festivals are very important in Spain. Andalusia in the south is especially known for its incredible festivities during the Semana Santa, the week before Easter. Yet also Valencia does have some processions and I saw some. Here is a look:

In einem katholischen Land wie Spanien spielen religiöse Feste eine große Rolle. Andalusien im Süden ist bekannt für seine außergewöhnlichen Festivitäten während der Semana Santa, der Karwoche. Doch auch Valencia hat Prozessionen, und ich habe welche gesehen. Hier ist ein Auszug:

En un país catolico como España, fiestas religiosas son muy importantes. Andalucia en el sur es muy conocido para sus fiestas impresionantes durante la Semana Santa. También Valencia tiene algunas procesiones, y las he visto. Mira aquí:

It really is unbelievable how important celebrations are in Spain. Not even the crisis has changed this!

Es ist wirklich unglaublich wie wichtig Feiern in Spanien sind. Nicht einmal die Krise hat daran etwas geändert!

Es increíble que importancia tienen las fiestas en España. Ni siquiera la crisis lo ha cambiado!

100 things to do on a Sunday

2010-03-14T21:27:00.036+03:00

By Gaby Feile

Lately, I have heard from several people of different age groups that they do not like Sundays. They are boring since you cannot do anything - because everything is closed. With „everything“, I guess, they mean the shops which are closed in most European countries on Sundays.

Well, I have to say, I thought so, too, when I was younger. Yet not anymore. I enjoy Sundays and their special atmosphere of tranquility paired with a festive feeling. Especially Sunday mornings in spring or summer are my favourites to go out while most people are still sleeping.

To inspire others I have decided to share the things I have done during the last couple of Sundays, or any Sunday before, or would like to do soon:

Have brunch in your kitchen and eat (and drink) just the things that are in the fridge or the cupboard.
Read a newspaper for a change, or if you do that regularly, pick a new one.
Take a bath with olive oil or cream and feel like Cleopatra.
Do listen to your CDs with your stereo (no earphones, no iPod etc.). Pick music you normally do not listen to.
Review what you learned during the week (be it at work, school, your language class or simply from life).
Walk to the city centre and order a cappuccino with cream (or do not order it but accept it when they give it to you).
Go to a wine de-gustation in the morning and eat crisps and nuts in between. Take with you the wine glass that is included and carry it around.
Spend the afternoon at the police station to report that your bag (with the wine glass) was stolen. Live on a friend for the next couple of hours to get to your house, call to cancel your credit cards and find a way to get into your flat. (This one is actually not recommended, yet it can happen, can it?)
Carry an apple and eat it while sitting on a bench.
Visit an exhibition or a museum in which you are not really interested in. You might be surprised that you like it (and mostly they are free of charge on Sundays).
Do window-shopping for bathrooms, kitchens, or sofas.
Feel inspired by and grateful for the little things around you.
Go to an antique book fair and spend money (unplanned) on books you might never read but love to place on your shelves (the titles and the covers really are impressive).
Be a tourist in your city and take a tour with a guide (by foot, by bus, by bike whatever)
Buy cheap and comfy shoes in a shop that IS open, despite being Sunday.
Take photos of people doing normal things (sitting around, smoking, cooking etc.)
Listen to a classical concert in a public place and do get close to tears when they play the local anthem and people stand up and sing along, even though you have no idea what the words are about.
Sit in a park and read a book in the sun.
Sit in a park and watch people passing by on their bikes, inline skates, walking.
Go to a park, talk to kids, play with dogs, sleep, daydream,...
Let yourself get wet near a fountain. It is worth it to see the rainbow!
Do listen to the musicians that play on the street. Give them applause and, if you like, money. You will make them happy.
Go swimming or sunbathing.
Enter a hotel you always wanted to see and ask for a show-around. They might do it.
Leave your camera at home and look at the world with your eyes, listen to the sounds, touch trees, statues or walls. Trust your senses and save these experiences on your „inner disk“ for later.

You are right, these are never 100 things to do on a Sunday. I know! And I want you to complete the list. Inspire me by telling me what you do on Sundays (or Fridays if your week has a different rhythm). Tell others what they miss if they do not go out on Sundays.

Have you noticed that none of these activities include housework, a computer or internet? This has a purpose, as it would be to easy otherwise, wouldn‘t it?

I am really looking forward to reading your comments.

And this is what we can learn from it:

Shopping is not the only entertaining thing to do.

Happiness and inspiration are not measured with money.

Hier ist der Artikel in deutsch.

More photos from Valencia: Here and Here

Update on 5th April 2010

Here are some more ideas from which I nearly all tried myself:

A picknick with friends is a lot of fun. Everybody brings along something, and you can meet in a park, your garden, a meadow, the forest, the beach - whatever is close to you. Do not forget to buy everything on the Saturday before if you live in a country where shops close on Sundays.
Why not go to church and attend mass once - wherever you are. Even in foreign countries, the rituals are the same and one does not feel so much like a stranger.
Take a towel or a blanket and lie in the sun with a book, a magazine or music. Do not forget sun protection! Even better: look into the sky, listen to the birds and smell the flowers.
Walks into new neighbourhoods deliver new impressions and maybe you even meet new people.
Cook something really great.
Write postcards to friends and family. Not always is an e-mail the best way to communicate.
Drink freshly squeezed orange juice.
Take paper and pencil and simply start drawing or writing - anything.
Solve crosswords or Sudoku.
Try out a new café.

And thanks to my creative readers (mainly from my German blog), there are some more tips I would like to share:

Write a letter.
Bake a cake and bring it to your friends' house as a gift.
Looking at my daughter and being happy that she is there.
Go through any clutter in your house (cupboards, drawers, etc.).
Write job applications just for fun (alright, there is need for a computer here).
Browse through photo albums.
Clear the yard from snow (alternatively from greenery) with ease.
Read children's books or granny magazines.
Drink a tea that you have kept for a special moment.
Just look out of the window.
Lie on the sofa with the balcony door open and listen to the sounds that come into the room (people talking, children laughing, the blowing of the wind in the trees, passing cars, the rings of bikes, birds singing...). Dose while the wind lets the curtain dance...
Empty the drawer/box where you keep postcards, tickets, clippings etc. (we all do have that don't we?) and look at the things while thinking about the people and situations you link to them.
Write a love letter with special paper and a fountainhead. (To write a love letter you need to start without knowing what you want to say and ending without knowing what you said - Jean Jacques Rousseau). It does not matter for whom the love letter is or if or not it will be sent, by the way.
Go to a church and just sit there for half an hour while you are once with the situation.
A classical thing to do: write a to-do list for the coming week with one item that you want to do, 3 items that you would like to do and 5 items that you have to do. This normally gives you a relaxing feeling and you will be able to handle all the things on the list.
Print out photos or have them developed and put them into a nice album. Alternatively, create an online album and send it to friends.
Finally read Gaby's blog in English to learn a little bit...
Taking a walk through the city centre is great on Sundays as you have more time and chances for close looks without the many people who are normally there on shopping days.
Sit in a café and while having your favourite hot drink just watch the world passing by.
Walk through the park eating an ice-cream, and then another one
Take a DVD or video and a LARGE piece of cake to a friend and watch the film together while eating the cake. Friend makes coffee (that's for a rainy Sunday)
Get together to read out loud to each other
Re-pot all the plants which need it
Clean out a cupboard or wardrobe
Sort out clothes for the second-hand shop
Invent a recipe and invite the people you want to try it out on
Do nothing! Absolutely nothing! Difficult and wonderfully rewarding!
When it gets dark, light candles instead of putting the light on
Visit some Facebook friends you haven't heard from in a while - find out how they are!
Go to a concert in the evening.
Just sit and look out of the window while a perfumed candle is burning and be happy with yourself and the world.

And this is the view I had last Sunday from my blanket:

Who says Sundays are boring? They are the best days of the week.

I would love to read more tips and list them here. Write me!

Let pictures speak 2: Valencia

2010-02-28T15:30:00.006+03:00

Buenos Dias, Good Day & Guten Tag.

Here are some more impressions from Valencia, a city that is overwhelming....

The Silk Bourse

Die Seidenbörse

La Lonja de la Seda

The Metro Station "Alameda". I love the mosaics.

Die U-Bahn Station "Alameda". Mir gefallen die Mosaike.

La estación de metro "Alameda". Los mosaicos me gustan.

In the Royal Gardens.

In den königlichen Gärten

En los Jardines Real.

The building of Bancaja where I saw a great exhibition of Sorolla.

Das Gebäude der Bancaja, wo ich eine tolle Sorolla-Ausstellung gesehen habe.

El edificio de Bancaja, donde ví una exposición maravillosa de Sorolla.

Visit of the Oceanográfico!

Besuch des Oceanográfico!

Visita del Oceanográfico!

Serrano Towers/ Türme, Los Torres de Serrano

The National Ceramic Museum - originally a palace what one can see outside and inside.

Das Nationale Keramik Museum - ursprünglich ein Palast, was man innen und außen sieht.

Museo Nacional de Cerámica - Palacio del Marqués de Dos Aguas

Only the palm trees tell that the German School is not in Germany.

Nur die Palmen zeigen, dass die Deutsche Schule nicht in Deutschland ist.

Sólo las palmeras mostran que el Colegio Alemán no está en Alemania.

In the / Im / En el Centro del Carmen

The church in Carmen

Die Kirche in Carmen

Iglesia del Carmen

See you soon. Bis bald. Hasta Pronto.

You might like: Let pictures speak 1: Valencia

No Secret: How to talk to the Universe

2010-02-10T17:09:00.005+03:00

By Gaby Feile

“The Secret“ somehow is no secret anymore, since the so-named book shares it openly around the globe. For everybody who does not know it: it is about the law of attraction, which basically means that anything we imagine will happen. Many people know this from a negative ankle, for instance when they say: “Every time I wear a white shirt, there is tomato sauce for lunch, and for sure I will get a stain!“ And most of the time, it happens exactly like this. Well, if it works negatively, why not positively? Without agreeing to the book completely, I am using this knowledge regularly - and successfully.

For example when looking for a place to live in Valencia. In the beginning I was undecided and unmotivated, especially since my actions to find accommodation and/or a job in Spain out of Dubai were fruitless. Today, I know why: I did not have a clear picture, nor had I communicated it somehow. After arriving here in Valencia, it was clear very quickly that I am going to stay here as I just love the city. This meant: looking for a place. At any price I wanted to avoid looking at countless flats, but wanted to see a maximum of 3 to compare them. Fortunately, there are many rooms available right now, since people are looking for ways to increase their income in order to pay the mortgage.

Due to my jobless state and the plans I have, there were some conditions for the flat. Hence, I wrote a list and I am sharing this list with everybody today, including the result.

What am I looking for in Spain?

1. I want to live in such a way that I do not have to commit to a long-term contract nor to have long-term costs.

Well, I have rented a room in a shared flat and have paid a deposit. The only thing I signed is an agreement with the main tenant, and he did not even want a copy of the 1-pager with my signature. He copied my passport, though. My minimum stay is 3 months, and I can cancel the contract by giving 1 month notice. The agreement runs until end of June this year only.

2. I do not want to bear too much responsibility.

Since I do not appear in the official tenancy contract and I can pay the rent in cash each month, I am very flexible and only can be blamed for other things that do not work. For instance when I use all the hot water when showering (it is being heated with electricity and there is only a limited amount „in one go“), or when I use the wrong programme of the washing machine. The responsibility I carry apart from this is for the compliance with the cleaning routine. That‘s it.

3. I need time and space for me and my business plan.

The flat measures 140 sqm with 4 bed rooms, 2 bath rooms, 1 kitchen, 1 dining/living room, balcony, gallery to the court yard (for the laundry etc.) and a long corridor. One can avoid seeing others, if necessary. And since my responsibility is limited, I can plan my day the way I like in order to fulfil my business and private objectives.

4. Tranquility and Internet access are a must!

Even though the building is rather big and is situated in a vivid, traditional Spanish quarter, it is relatively quiet here, at least during the day. Our street is short and there is hardly any traffic, yet the main road is only a few steps away. This is how I like it, since I can use the mornings to concentrate on my work, while my flat-mates are out working or studying. There is wireless internet for all which is rather fast, except maybe on Sunday evenings when everybody is online. The fees are being shared, just as the cable TV.

5. My Spanish needs to get better.

How should it not get better by living with 2 Spanish girls and 1 Spanish guy? They all once learned English, yet do not want to speak it. Which is great for me, even though I am struggling quite often to be able to use the vocabulary of every day‘s life. I am helping myself with post-its that I stick on the items in my room, in order to memorise the words. We will see if I can do the same with the things in the common rooms....

6. I would like to be able to travel and to decide if I stay somewhere.

If I like, I can travel for a while. The only thing that needs to be adjusted is the cleaning plan. The question is, if I want to travel.

7. The budget needs to stay on a low level.

Since I do not have any income, I cannot use unlimited funds. After checking the market a bit, my limit was EUR 250 per month including utilities. This is more or less what I pay, except electricity is charged separately which is why I try to limit my usage.

8. I need inspiration, culture, nature.

My quarter is called Benimaclet (a word that is derived from Arabic, by the way) and can be described as traditionally Spanish. The people spend a lot of time on the streets and in cafés and bars, so that there is inspiration all the time. Within a few minutes walking, I am in the „Jardines Real“ (the Royal gardens), a perfect place to relax. And culture is everywhere in Valencia. I am in the city centre within 10 minutes walking and can alternatively use the underground or the tram. Maybe I buy a bike since they have bike lanes all over the city.

After some days in the flat, I do realise that I should have added more points to my list, such as a door to my room without a window out of frosted glass or walls that are insulated better in order to keep out the cold. All in all, the room and the flat deliver absolutely what I need, and I am moving on greatly with my tasks. Neither do I feel stressed, nor does construction noise keep me from sleeping. You see, it works, the law of attraction! Just try it next time you are looking for a parking slot.

How the Universe works together with Destiny: The main tenant is hotelier! Right now he is teaching hotel management at the Polytechnic University, and at the weekends he works as banquet manager in various hotels. He used to work for several hotel chains, even in London. And before that he was: a banker!*

And this is what we can learn from it:

The more concretely we formulate our wishes, the better the universe can understand them.

One can wish for anything yet needs to expect that the wishes come true.

Donald Duck in the "Royal Gardens"

Hier ist der Artikel in deutsch.

To see more photos of Valencia click here.

*In case you do not know: I am also originally a banker and joined the hotel industry only later.

Let pictures speak 1: Valencia

2010-01-23T17:14:00.003+03:00

by Gaby Feile

In case you do not know, I have left Dubai in December and am now in Valencia, Spain. Here, I am taking some months off from working and am practising my Spanish as well as preparing for opening my own business later this year (in Germany). I promised to keep people updated and after lots of thinking and some lamenting, I have decided that the best way to do so is through posts on my blogs.

I know, the blogs are about communication, and this is why I will find a relation to communication and still keep you updated about what is happening, mainly with photos. Because a picture sais more than a thousand words. The text will be limited which is why I will write the posts in three languages: English, German & Spanish (well some at least)!

This means for all subscribers or readers of my German blog that they should visit the English blog regularly as here is where I will post the updates. To make it easier for all subscribers, they will receive a little post with the link just as usual.

And by the way, whenever if I feel like it, I will for sure write about my favourite topic- communications- as well.

Now, come with me to Spain with some photos and comments from Valencia:

Finally, I arrived in Spain!

Endlich in Spanien!

Finalmente, estoy en España!

This is where I am living right now, with a lady named Teresa.

Hier lebe ich im Moment mit einer älteren Frau namens Teresa.

Aquí estoy viviendo con una señora que se llama Teresa.

In this building is the language school, Don Quijote.

In diesem Gebäude befindet sich die Sprachschule, Don Quijote.

En este edificio está la escuela de español, Don Quijote.

The campus of the university of Valencia, where I am now "studying".

Der Campus der Universität von Valencia, wo ich jetzt "studiere".

El campus de la Universidad de Valencia donde estoy "estudiando".

Valencia is the city of oranges, and there are orange trees everywhere.

Valencia ist die Stadt der Orangen, es gibt überall Orangenbäume.

Valencia es la ciudad de las naranjas, hay arboles de naranjas en toda la ciudad.

This is behind the Music Palace: some lovely water fountains.

Hinter dem Musikpalast gibt es schöne Wasserspiele.

Detrás del Palau de la Música hay fuentes bonitos.

And in the Music Palace you can see and listen to the most famous orchesters and musicians. What a selection!

Im Musikpalast kann man die bekanntesten Musiker und Orchester sehen und hören. Welche Auswahl.

Dentro del Palau de la Música se puede ver y escuchar a los más famosos orchestras y tocadores de musica. Qué seleción es!

The bridge: Puente del Mar

Die Brücke: Puente del Mar

El puente del mar

The city hall and its square.

Das Rathaus samt Rathausplatz.

El Ayuntamiento y su plaza.

This is how the main post office looks here.

So schaut hier die Hauptpost aus.

Correos.

And this is what you can see when you are in the post office!

Das sieht man wenn man in der Post ist!

Eso es que se puede ver cuando está dentro del correos!

The central market.

Der Hauptmarkt

Mercado central.

And inside the central market.

Und im Innern des Hauptmarktes

Y dentro del mercado central.

At the Plaza de la Reina (Queen's Square).

An der Plaza de la Reina (Königinnenplatz).

En la Plaza de la Reina.

The Cathedral of Valencia whis is built on the grounds of a mosque.

Die Katedrale von Valencia, die auf den Grundmauern einer Moschee gebaut wurde.

La Catedral de Valencia.

This is how banks look here: The Bank of Valencia.

So schauen hier Banken aus: Die Bank von Valencia.

Así es como se parecen los bancos aqui: El Banco de Valencia.

The beaches are empty in January.

Die Strände sind leer im Januar.

Las playas están vacías en Enero.

The bull fighting ring in the evening.

Die Stierkampfarena am Abend.

La plaza de toros por la tarde.

The Northern Station right next door.

Der Nordbahnhof gleich nebenan.

La Estación del Norte al lado.

Porta del Mar

I hope you enjoyed the short trip today. See you soon.

Hoffentlich war die kurze Reise schön. Bis bald.

Espero que les guste el viaje corte. Hasta pronto.

Dear Dubai

2009-12-15T10:28:00.004+03:00

Dear Dubai,

You might have heard people talking. And I am telling you now: Yes, it is true. I am leaving you! And please believe me, it is not you, it is me! Also, it has nothing to do with the things I heard about you recently.

I was contemplating a lot yet have at last taken the decision that I am not the right person to live with you. More than two years in the desert are a long time for somebody who loves trees, meadows and flowers (and the smell of them all) as much as walking, riding a bike and drinking Cappuccino in an open air café in the pedestrian zone.

So, I have (almost) packed my bags, done the paper work and booked my flight back to Europe right on time to spend Christmas with the family. The new year will bring new challenges and since I do believe one should speak the language of the country one lives in (something I have truly regretted here), I have booked a Spanish course in Spain where I will spend the next couple of months enjoying a break from work and preparing for my next, independent, job. Something is drawing me there, I do not yet know what it is, yet I have to go.

Still, the last two years have been like an adventure trip which I will never forget. Only few things worked as planned, many situations made me very emotional (not only in a good way), and the priorities have shifted extremely and constantly. I will take with me the experience that everything is possible (in both directions), a lot of sand in my shoes as well as dust in my lungs and two handful of empty batteries and printer cartridges for recycling in Germany.

Bureaucracy has still not become a friend of mine nor have ever-growing traffic, road constructions, noise, heat and humidity. It will be interesting to see if I can sleep at night without the constant noise of the generator below my window, the slamming doors of my neighbours or the flush of their toilets, the „bing“ of the elevators and the traffic noise from Sheikh Zayed Road which I only heard when the construction workers stopped hammering.

I ask myself, will I be missing all those people who helped me avoiding any physical movement that could have been too much? The most important ones were the girls that did my manicure and pedicure. They have become family somehow and know more about me than the hairdresser (mainly because I never found a suitable one here). Just as important were the Spa therapists that gave me regular bliss. I also think of the people that packed my bags in the supermarket and even carried them to my car (they even got used to my environmentally friendly bags that I brought with me). Then there were the guys that filled my car with petrol and offered to clean the car window which I always declined since I had a daily car cleaning service in my home car park. These guys, by the way, had a properly working accounting and customer service system without computers - amazing. My flat was cleaned by another person every week - spotlessly despite the limited equipment I offered.

Will I miss the taxi drivers that regularly ignored me on Thursday evenings or around 6 pm in general when they finished their shift? Or will I miss the same drivers that blew their horn at me on Fridays as a “friendly“ offer for a ride when I had decided to walk a little bit for a change?

Speaking of walking, I more than once escaped a serious accident when I crossed the road to walk to The Greens where some cafés and a supermarket were my regular spots to go. Even when I used the pedestrian crossings, people in cars did not seem to see me, not to mention to notice me. This was very scary very often, especially when I carried some heavy shopping bags and could not run as fast as the drivers would expect me to. This, in turn, made them blow their horn just as the taxi drivers.

There is only one species more extreme than the car drivers, and these are the bus drivers that overtake you on Sheikh Zayed Road with a full and ancient bus while you are driving 110! Still, I do not want to forget the drivers that let me pass, cut into their lane or that stopped for me to let me cross the street. Thank you for being so unselfish, you stood out of the crowd.

Not to be forgotten are all those people working in Dubai‘s call centres and shops. I have gone through both funny and frustrating episodes that inspired me to start my blog. So, somehow I have to thank you, people.

Yet again, I have met the exceptions as well: shop assistants or managers that went out of their way to treat me as what I was: a client, the reason for them to be there. Unfortunately, people do not talk enough about you, the good ones, you are taken for granted. So, on behalf of all of you I name the Apple specialist at a shop in Burjuman who installed and tested the mouse I bought on a Mac right there in the shop. To let you know: it works perfectly. Thank you!

It is also time to thank all those un-named people who have built this city. Many of you have not seen their families for years. You might have become friends with your room mates or the guy who sits next to you in the bus. Yet, I am sure that you do miss your home and your loved ones and the only thing you can give them is the money you send every month. Thank you and all the other assiduous people who are there to ensure that people like me have all they need and more – away from home.

All those hard working people will not be part of my live anymore, and I will have to handle most things on my own. This is, if I can afford a car or a flat at all. The positive thing about this is that I will have to move more. I will have to walk (at least to the metro station), I will have to bring back the shopping cart and clean my place myself. And all this and other things will have one consequence: I will lose the “Dubai Stone“ that has become my constant company and seemed to have liked the middle of my body specifically.

Apart from this heavy thing, I am leaving other things with you, dear Dubai: Numerous loyalty cards of which I only made use of a few, a NOL card for the metro with still a couple of dirhams value, hundreds of used plastic bottles that I did not know how to recycle, my mobile phone number with at least 500 different companies, and my personal mark, hopefully not only in the sand but also with the amazing people I have met.

These people have influenced how I felt and made me move on every day. I have worked in the most beautiful environment ever with such a multicultural team that made travelling around the world almost useless. Lunch breaks were spent with people from India, Switzerland, Philippines, Iran, Germany, Malaysia, France, Bangladesh, Wales, Australia, Kenya, Syria, China, Austria, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan to name but a few. We shared childhood memories, talked about spiritual experiences, discussed political opinions, compared religious customs and taught each other cultural and historical backgrounds from our countries. And we found out, despite some heated conversations, that we are not that different from each other. On the contrary: we all want to live in a peaceful world that offers our families and ourselves and the generations to come a healthy environment in which to live means happiness, freedom and respect for each other.

I feel very happy to got the chance to meet the other face of Dubai as well. People that make a difference by helping others, dedicating their time for good causes and living their dreams. There was one date that helped me realising how many of those people live in Dubai: 10/10/09 - the day I attended a life changing conference. Five days later, I resigned from my job and started living my own dream. Thank you to everybody who since then has enriched my days with e-mails, tweets, invitations to great events, discussions, conversations and especially encouragement. It is partly your fault that I am going and still - I so wish I had met you earlier....

Dear Dubai, thank you very much for hosting and entertaining me in the last two years and for letting me be part of your history. I wish you the best of luck and ongoing excitement for yet many years to come. Please do let me come back if I feel like visiting you. This is my wish, and now I finish.

Yours,

Gaby

PS: I do not enjoy farewells very much, yet only with a farewell, something new can begin. And new things, well, I enjoy a lot.

Web 2.0 for non-geeks

2009-10-31T19:43:00.006+03:00

By Gaby Feile

Geek: A person who is interested in technology, especially computing and new media. Geeks are adept with computers, and use the term hacker in a positive way, though not all are hackers themselves. (source: Wikipedia).

I am not a geek and I am not so sure if I will ever be one. I am also not a wannabe geek who owns all the latest gadgets just because they are in fashion and look good.

I am a responsible, enthusiastic, fascinated end-user of hardware and applications that make my life easier and of new media that make my life more exciting and connect me with interesting people - and geeks. Maybe you would call a person like me a geek follower, geek sympathiser or geek whisperer. I enjoy talking to geeks, learning from them and consulting them when I am about to purchase a gadget or when I am helpless with my existing machines. Luckily, my helpless states have gone down to nearly “never“ since I have bought my MacBook Pro - one of the few gadgets I own and really love.

Anyway, lately I have felt the urgent need to consult my geek friends, their friends and friends of them. Being active on all those social networks, keeping up with my e-mails, blogging, and on top of it being responsible for the social media activities of my employer, I am somehow running out of time. Don‘t get me wrong, I totally enjoy every minute of it and am totally into this new way of communicating. I can even see some withdrawal symptoms when I am off-line. However, the other side of my personality misses personal interactions, joint activities and old-fashioned staff like reading a newspaper (especially during breakfast at the weekends).

So, I am officially consulting all you geeks out there to help me (and maybe millions of “co-sufferers“) out.

As I believe this is how you work, I am giving you a project specification:

Current situation:

I have three private and one business e-mail addresses
So far, I have “protected“ myself from 24/7 availability and hence do neither have a Blackberry nor an iPhone
I own one mobile phone which I only use for phone calls and SMS (for private and business), though I have three sim cards for two different countries
I write in two languages on two blogs and each blog has approx. 10 extra gadgets to administer, promote and monitor them
I am owning 2 domains which have not been activated yet
I have profiles on XING, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, xinterconti, German Emirates Club, TEDx Dubai, Wordpress, Amazon, Google (and whatever belongs to them), some private forums, my local consulate, and various loyalty programs
My music comes from iTunes, my photos are on iPhoto, Picasa and Facebook
I have online banking facilities with two banks (on- and offshore)
I am a subscriber of god knows how many newsletters and blogs
I am handling the profiles of my employer on Facebook, Twitter, youtube, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, Google, you name it
In my job I am using a variety of programs and applications
Some contingency needs to be added to this since for sure there are more places where my personal data is saved

Current challenges:

I need to keep track of all the different user names, and even more difficult, the passwords. Of course, I am trying to use the same log-ins on all sites. Yet they wouldn‘t always allow this, as you know. The requirements to create passwords come with the same variety as the kids of Angelina and Brad.
Two thirds of the e-mails in my inbox come from “do-not-reply“-addresses and request me to confirm a new contact, inform me that somebody has confirmed my contact request or is following me, let me know that I have received a message (and not always is this message included), tell me that somebody has reacted to one of my posts, has joined a group or given me a present, it is somebody‘s birthday, or that there is new posts in the forums where I am active.
If I want to keep up with all those news or even want to react or reply, I need to log-in to the various platforms. And here we are at challenge 1 again plus it costs a lot of time and might cause some more of those messages.
When some of my personal data changes (or I got a better photo I want to use), I need to update all of those sites manually.
I have no overview of all the statements I have ever posted and which are visible to the public or at least all the users of the specific sites.

The requested solution:

Is a platform that links to all my profiles with only ONE log-in
Is a one-stop solution that updates data and status on all or selected profiles
Has a dashboard that shows me all that is going on at this very moment or even at past periods including a history of my posts
Collects all those updates and prioritises them for me to decide which of them I need to react on or read
Gives alerts for urgent or extremely interesting things
Just as a Personal Assistant, deletes the things I do not need to know or takes action on my behalf
Sends me a regular summary of all activities including my blog and website stats (as specified by me)
Makes my life easier while still keeping up the excitement
Saves me time and so enables me to do my work, engage in projects, read the newspaper or a book, and meet up with others in real life

And this is what I want to know from you:

How do you personally handle the information overflow?
Do you agree that an application like this has a huge demand?
Or do you think I am crazy, insane or over-reacting?
Does something like this exist?
Any idea if something is in the pipelines of Apple, Google or Microsoft?
Is anyone of you maybe personally working on something similar?
If so, do you want to hire me as a test user?
And would you mind if I enthusiastically helped you promoting your gadget on all my sites?

I am really looking forward to the reactions from geeks and non-geeks on this. Posting them here, by the way, is possible without creating an account, and I will not send you an e-mail.

This could be another interested test user (out of this world, though):

http://evolutionspace.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/god_inbox_mac.jpg

German version of this article

Some talented bastards

2009-10-16T18:10:00.008+03:00

By Gaby Feile

When Brad Pitt stars in a movie, I definitely and always watch it. This is something I probably share with most female movie fans. So there is no discussion about watching „Inglourious Basterds“. At the same time, the marketing, the fabulous critics, awarded actors and personal recommendations make me watch it.

I do so in Munich (Germany) some days ago, and since it is a movie from the US, I watch the original English version with subtitles. This is what I think, at least.

Let‘s start at the beginning: The movie title is irritating only first due to the purposely wrong spelling. Quickly, one understands that this could be a hint on the plot. Or maybe not. Quentin Tarantino, the director, when asked, regularly comments on this very vaguely.

In the cinema, there is French people sitting on my right, Americans in the row behind me and the guy on my left looks English. Some Germans are also present.

The movie begins and is based, as commonly known, in “Nazi occupied France“. The first scene is situated within a beautiful landscape; language: French with English subtitles. Just as the atmosphere changes more than once, the actors change the language they talk in including accent.

An outstanding Christoph Waltz as Austrian Oberst Hans Landa speaks French and English fluently, depending on who is listening, friend or enemy. Later, one will hear him talking German with an Austrian colouring (his mother tongue actually).

It is a real pleasure to the ears to listen, and reading the subtitles can easily be forgotten, since despite being out of practice, I even understand the French. And what the story is about is obvious anyway in a movie that is set during World War 2.

The second plot starts in America, and finally Brad Pitt, including moustache, appears. As Lt. Aldo Raine he is doing a speech in front of the “Basterds“ with an extreme southern accent, and now I wish there were English subtitles. However, this is another reason to watch the movie in English, because how would they interpret this in the dubbed German version? And Tarantino was not Tarantino if all this was not important for the story.

I am not going to tell you the tale in detail, as I assume that some of you still want to watch the movie. I may say, however, that both main characters have different goals.

In between, there is scenes in the Führer‘s head quarter where, of course, they speak German, with English subtitles. The same applies for the American side where some people, such as the “German Brad Pitt“ Til Schweiger, speak German.

The various language skills of the involved are being used with no shame in order to irritate or bewitch the enemy. Throughout the movie there are repeating hints on language issues such as a (wrong or missing) accent, the permanent talking in German to French citizens or the insulting of German soldiers in their mother tongue. The author not even stops from making his fellow citizens look silly. This starts with the question from Diane Kruger: “I know this is a silly question before I ask it, but can you Americans speak any other language than English?“

The European language with the most beautiful sound, Italian, must not be missed of course, even if it is spoken with various strange accents. By the way, it would be interesting to know if there are Italians present in the cinema.

In several scenes, missing or wrong language skills cost people‘s life. Even gestures are not being mistaken. It would be a delight to watch and use the movie as an authentic language course, if, well, if there wasn‘t the war, which can only be won if the enemy loses. Hence, there is fights, blood and many casuals.

Tarantino‘s movie is a masterpiece and very worth watching! It is entertaining, funny, full of hints, and, as mentioned, a lingual trip through Europe.

In order to top this experience, I am going to watch the movie again here in Dubai - with Arabic subtitles!

And this is what we can learn from it:

In emergencies, language skills can safe your life.

Foreign gestures also need to be studied if one wants to be authentic.

Inglourious Basterds Website

Some more language experiences:

Thank you for the music

Language Trip

German version of this article

A dream named TEDx

2009-10-11T20:33:00.010+03:00

By Gaby Feile

One day after the first TEDx event in Dubai on the wisely picked date 10/10/09, I feel as if my brain has „digested“ the majority of the impressions I got yesterday. I do hope, though, that the inspiration and the inner smile will not go away for yet a long time.

I have been thinking why this event has touched so many people and why they cannot stop talking, writing, or micro-blogging about it. This has not been the case with any other event in Dubai - at least not that I know of. Not even the opening party of this huge hotel on that artificial tree made the same headlines.

So I mentally compared the average other event in this town with TEDx Dubai and this is what my results are:

The Marketing:

Usually events in Dubai are being announced well in advance, often with a vague date that is still somehow flexible. Press releases are being prepared and press invitations sent. VIP lists are being updated and sometimes there is advertisements. The detailed invitation, however, goes out very often very last-minute.

TEDx has a website that contains mainly links to all additional media they use, which is the whole range of social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. The page is neither glamourous nor fancy, yet is informative and lively. You only knew about the event and the website if you came across somebody who had been infected already or if you spend a lot of your time with checking out those social networks where the infected ones talked. Oh, and there was a little bit of press coverage ahead of the event.

The Invitations:

If you are on the press or VIP list, you are likely to be invited to all those must-be events in Dubai. It also helps if you are famous or a CEO/Chairman or work for the Government. The third option is, you know somebody who has an invitation and cannot or does not want to go. So you get his/her invitation and kind of impersonate them in order to stick with the exclusivity.

TEDx gave everybody the chance to attend, as long as you registered and wrote a valid reason that the committee liked because it reflected the TED philosophy and spirit.

The RSVP:

There is always an RSVP deadline on those invitations. Most people ignore this and wait until somebody calls them to follow-up. Only then they might confirm, yet this does not mean that they actually come. The no-show number in Dubai is pretty high.

TEDx announced the accepted delegates on all their sites, but only a bunch of 30 at a time. Seeing their own name on the video made people jump around the office ecstatically (well, at least this is what I did). And there was no question of not showing up to the event! The confirmation e-mail contained enough information - maybe too much for some. Because the no-phones policy seemed to be a huge no-go for many. I actually liked it since I did not want to be part of TEDx in order to tweet or send texts. I wanted to embrace the atmosphere and concentrate on the talks.

The Cost:

To be fair, we have to say that most so called events in Dubai are free and you even get bubbly and food. To go to a full day conference with high-calibre speakers, however, costs you a bunch of thousand dirhams.

TEDx Dubai was free for all delegates including coffee and lunch breaks AND 20 fantastic speakers.

The Dresscode:

Even if there is no mentioning, Dubai people will show-up in luxury corporate style or in luxury party style - there is not much in between.

There was nothing mentioned anywhere on TEDx‘s sites, so everybody came as they felt. It was somehow refreshing to see hardly anyone in high heels or with this season‘s it-bag. Apart from the Security Guards, nobody was wearing a tie either.

The Venue:

Japanese restaurants, 5-star hotels, or Japanese restaurants in 5-star hotels belong to the hottest venues right now. Any sort of lounge, rooftop bar or designer shop would do as well.

TEDx happened in the Palladium in Media City, a modern building with a large auditorium and enough room to spread, which was actually perfect.

The Delegates:

At comparable conferences, you would see, depending on the focus, the corporate crowd of Dubai including representatives of the press. At parties you would meet the corporate crowd, the girls in different clothes and freshly blow dried, though. Plus the photographers form Ahlan, Hello and the likes.

At TEDx it was a fusion of people that were not here to be seen but to listen and be part of something great. It seemed a rather intellectual crowd with a share of spiritual people. As the person sitting next to me said “It seems that all intellectuals are either bald or have long hair“. No paparazzi were spotted, though.

The Speakers:

Large congress organisers often fly in people from distant places and pay them huge amounts of money to appear. Very often these speakers are famous or work for famous companies (or for the sponsors). They give presentations they have given in numerous other cities and will mostly leave the venue right after they are done.

TEDx announced the speakers one by one and I wonder if they also jumped around ecstatically after the confirmation... . The mixture was great, even though the females were the minority. Many of them created their presentation just for TEDx and more than one admitted that they were nervous. They stayed in the room and listened to the other speakers because I guess they wanted to.

The Talks:

In conferences I have often wondered if there is a website where people can download powerpoint presentations. Very often speakers use the same layouts, the same buzz words and the same research material. They just seem to replace the logo.

TEDx Dubai presentations were different - at least most of them. Bullet points were hardly used and what impressed me most were the speakers that did not have a powerpoint presentation at all. I learned a lot, not only by listening to the presentations but by watching the speakers move and gesture. I particularly liked the fact that there were quite a number of local or regional speakers that have great story telling skills.

The Quality:

Of course there is a few very good speakers on every conference, the famous ones or the charismatic ones. People will remember them and also what they talked about. However, it is very likely that they never go to the website and download the presentation or ever look at the brochures in the goodie bags again.

And of course at TEDx Dubai there were a few extremely good speakers, many good ones and a few that surely will do better next time. However, they will all be remembered for their unique stories and the way they talked. For sure, the delegates will watch the videos on the website and will share them with others. This is what TED is about. And TED would not be TED if they had not started an international translation program for their talks. This means, that everybody in the world has free access to the talks and can even watch them with subtitles in more and more languages. All done by volunteer translators, by the way.

The Emotions:

At both business conferences and social events, most people talk about the location, the food, the drinks and the other people that were there. It is about checking the yellow press afterwards if the picture one posed for has been published and if they wrote the name correctly.

At and after TEDx Dubai, the delegates talked about the talks, the ideas, the way how they were presented, the way they could have been presented better, and how to realise one‘s own ideas. People commented on the music (they played loud classic rock music most of the time during the breaks, which was pushing the spirit up literally). There were only few speakers who did not talk about Facebook or Twitter as their form of networking or information sharing. Most speakers spoke about the human side of their work and the word that came up most is: Passion!

My Conclusion:

Usually I go home from events a bit tipsy or with loads of information but limited inspiration.

From TEDx I left with the positive feeling that my idea worth spreading that I put into the registration form some weeks ago perfectly goes with the TED philosophy. I wrote: „Do it your way, not the way others tell you.“

Today with the mail, I received an invitation to the shop opening of a French luxury leather goods producer including VIP pass. I gave it away - am not interested in this kind of events (anymore).

And this is what we can learn from it:

Passion is an emotion, and emotions make the difference.

Every idea can be worth spreading: Dream/Do/Be.

Visit the TEDx Dubai Website to watch the talks that will be uploaded soon.

Watch international talks on the global TED Website

Complaints welcome or When women buy shoes

2009-09-21T17:56:00.026+03:00

By Gaby Feile

Dubai aka „Do Buy“ is globally known as a shopping hotspot. Tourists and residents alike spread out to the numerous malls and souks, also because there is not so much else to do. Apart from having your nails done, maybe. My final hours before heading towards the airport to catch a flight to Europe were filled with exactly this: I have my nails done in Ibn Battuta (Mall) and once the polish is dry, I drive to Festival Centre (Mall) to have my shoes expanded that I had bought one week earlier (and to do some shopping of course). The shoes are red and very comfortable (since flat), however, they are a little tight at the toe-caps. When I bought them, the shop assistant recommended to walk around in them and, should they not widen, to come back so they can expand them with their machine.

Fair enough, I think, let‘s do this. I enter the shop with the shoes still in the original box and with the original receipt. The shop assistant even recognises me and asks if the other pair I bought was all right (which it was). I take the chance and remind her of her offer to expand the shoes. She regrets that they cannot do it here in this shop but her colleague, she waves towards a young man, will accompany me to their partner shop where they will do the expanding. The guy takes the box that also contains the receipt and we walk from one end of the mall to almost the other end and one level down. While doing small talk I learn that the young man was from Uzbekistan. Reaching the shop I am told that it will not take more than 15 minutes and am offered a seat. I screen the shelves just to be sure not to miss out a better pair of shoes here. I also still have time to walk to the concierge to get some specific information which nobody in this shop could give me. After returning, the expanding is done, the shoes, however, are still too tight. Hence, the more senior shop assistant in this shop recommends trying on a larger size and see how it goes.

Off we go, back to the end of the mall and up one floor. The girls in the first shop are waiting and smiling until I tell them that the venture was not successful. They find the same model in a larger size in the store and I try them: too large and too loose, unfortunately. I really want those shoes but I had learned my lesson before and so I never buy shoes that do not fit just to put them in the closet and give them to charity one day. When I casually mention that I have no choice but to return them, both female assistants simultaneously say: “We do not return money.“ Well, did I ask for this? “You can pick some other shoes instead.“ Firstly, there was no other shoes that I wanted, and secondly, did I not have time to browse through the offer. Hello, I have to catch a plane later. The last bit I say loudly and at the same time offer generously that I am happy with a credit. The reply is: “We do not have vouchers here.“ Slowly but surely I become angry and I snap: “This is not my problem, I am sure you can arrange one from your partner shop.“ I can see on one girl‘s face (I reckon she is a supervisor) that she gets nervous which is confirmed when she picks up the phone and calls the manager.

While she is doing this, I turn to the Uzbek and tell him that the receipt is in the box as I knew that this would be their next question. He takes out the shoes and the wrapping paper yet does not find the receipt. Now, finally, I am fuming and I realise that he does not believe me which makes me even more mad. I am 100 % sure that the receipt was there when I put the box on that counter in the first place, hence, I insist that he calls the other shop as I assume the receipt fell out while they were expanding the shoes. Instead of showing compassion, the young man says: “You should not keep the receipt in the box but in your bag!" How dare he? I tell him off by saying: “And you should not tell me where I have to keep my receipts!“ His colleague meanwhile has hung up the phone and is trying to calm us down. She announces with a smile that the manager has approved a cash-back as an exception. In order to get my money, I have to give them small bills as they do not have change. I even do this and while we handle the transaction, a fax from the other shop is arriving showing my receipt. It is there! “You were right“, was the only thing the guy says, he is not even decent enough to apologise or to add a ma‘am. As the receipt contained a second pair of shoes, I request a copy which they did not quite understand why. No need to say anything else, one look in my face and the guy makes the copy. Murmuring a quick thank you, I am rushing out of the shop, relieved and pissed off at the same time.

I would go back to the shop if they had shown a little bit more talent to handle the situation that was not even a complaint in the beginning but became one through their incompetence. Blaming the employees might not be fair. Companies in Dubai have so far just not thought it was necessary to take care of complaints. For every upset client there used to be tens of others, mostly tourists that do not care of coming back anyway. But now, times have changed and shop owners should train their staff the basic rules of complaint handling, which are:

Take each complaint as a gift and be grateful that the client gives YOU feedback instead of talking to all his contacts or even tweeting it.
Show compassion to the client and understand his/her disappointment and the situation s/he is in.
Listen to what s/he has to say and react to it. Do not imply anything, and rather bite your tongue than criticise.
Watch the body language and also the tone of voice to understand the client's feelings.
Find out what the client expects. If it is not obvious, ask. There is, however, no need to go over the top. Any reward should be adequate to the cause of the complaint.
Offer one or more solutions and give the client a choice if possible.
Always have in mind that this is not about you, it is about a misunderstanding that you can help to clarify.
The aim always has to be to give the client a good feeling. Remember, you want to keep the client not lose him or her.
If you treat the complaint professionally, not only will you win back a once lost client. You will also get a lot of positive publicity when the client speaks about his experience with others.
Finish any complaint on a positive note so that the client always leaves with a pleasant memory.

And this is what we can learn from it:
Being a shopping hotspot does not automatically come with good service.

You will never win an argument with a client.

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Do you speak “machinish“?

Language trip

2009-09-06T18:15:00.019+03:00

By Gaby Feile

Let me start with a warning: For English native speakers the following might be surprising, confusing, useless, hopefully educating or at least entertaining.

Just recently I returned to Dubai from a language trip to Europe. Neither did I plan such a trip nor did I think it was necessary, especially as the language I was being taught was English. This is rather astonishing since I travelled to Germany, Switzerland and Italy. English is not the official language in none of those countries, that is a well-known fact.

Anyhow, I was overwhelmed, if not to say overstrained, with the use of the English language in public. In Germany (where I am from originally) it is meanwhile very common to enrich the beautiful national language with English words. OK, there is some terms that do not exist in German, especially if they come from areas such as IT or telecommunication. Or it is too complicated to say „elektronische Post“ (electronic mail) instead of email. In the last millennium one would have found a German term for everything and also used it. Today, nobody cares but uses terms like check-in, hardware and high end location without even noticing that this is a different language.

But this is not enough! No, people use words that sound English but that are completely unknown to English native speakers. One is the very popular „handy“ which is a mobile or cell phone. „Beamer“ is another one which, when I used it, gave me repeatedly blank looks until I had learned that it is a projector that transfers the pictures to the wall. And during a real language trip some years ago, I called a co-student „sunnyboy“ which caused the British who were present to roll their eyes and mumble something like „those Germans“. Of course, I asked what they meant and in return they wanted to know what a „sunnyboy“ is. I described it with the young Tom Cruise, and the Brits mentioned that it could be an Australian word, they themselves did not know it. If anybody has an idea where this word comes from, please let me know!

That the Swiss, both in their German and Italian part, as well as the Italians do the same thing with the same intensity was completely new to me. No question about it, as a foreigner it always helps you if there is an English sign. Even as a European you do not speak all languages that exist on the continent. English, on the other hand, is spoken by everybody - somehow. At least this is what English native speakers assume. I personally prefer multi-language translations such as one can find in public areas or in good museums.

A good example can be found at the train station of Lugano (Switzerland). Absolutely clear and in four languages:

Also at the St. Paul‘s Church in Frankfurt (Germany) the challenge has been solved very well:

And the advertisement of the department store Manor in Switzerland is also acceptable to me:

The following signs, however, have somewhat surprised me and brought the English language to me in a very new way:

In my home village in Southern Germany, I saw this van, and I am pretty sure that the 2,000 inhabitants do not enjoy business lunch nor have a catering for their event. You English speaking guys might wonder what the rest means and slowly understand what I am talking about here.

This image is from the next biggest town where I guess that this coffee bar is still not open. Maybe they should have included the country code to give a chance to foreign tenants.

Right opposite, this ad was fixed - at least it is partly translated.

The Restaurant International in Munich (Germany) sticks to its name and does not serve German meals or beverages but Lunch, Dinner and a Drink. Maybe in the Coffee Bar?

Tutanchamun would not have understood those hieroglyphics found in the Olympic Park in Munich (Germany).

And the department store Oberpollinger in Munich (Germany) even combined English and French when naming their beauty department.

At least the English sentence „The right shoes for your feet“ was printed in smaller font by this shoe shop, its name somewhat bigger.

The flatrate of this telephone provider in Switzerland hopefully keeps its promise.

And the Italian banks also want to have a word: Let‘s speak English!

Don‘t get me wrong: I like studying and talking languages a lot, but only one at a time. One thing I cannot stand at all is when people mix languages, not because they do not know a word but to aggrandise themselves. Others do it out of laziness and others because it is in fashion. In all industries I have worked, it was very common to „impress“ others with English terms. The challenge always came when corresponding with clients who did not know the term. Quickly, people would do a little survey among the colleagues to translate „no-show“ or „Key Performance Indicators“ correctly.

I find it very confusing that even journalists are not immune to this development. In well-known German papers, magazines or on online news sites people speak and write of mega-cities, homepages or forecasts. And these are still the relatively harmless terms. I ask myself what the generation of our parents and grandparents think, and more important understand, when they read their paper. Not all of them speak English, you know.

It will be very difficult to stop this development, I believe. Anyway, I personally pay a lot of attention to form entire sentences in one language only. Sie haben mein Wort!

And this is what we can learn from it:

English may be a world language, yet in Europe more people speak German.

The German language is not only beautiful but also enough comprehensive to express everything with it.

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Thank you for the music

Let there be light

Do you have good comebacks?

2009-07-21T20:40:00.004+03:00

Are you one of those people who find the suitable answer to a verbal attack usually hours later? Or are you sharp as a knife and leave others speechless when it comes to hefty exchanges? Whatever side you are, I am sure you will like the following:

An Australian radio station aired an ABC interview between a female broadcaster and General Cosgrove who was about to sponsor a Boy Scout Troop visiting his military headquarters. Read a portion of it:

FEMALE INTERVIEWER:

“So, General Cosgrove, what things are you going to teach these young boys when they visit your base?“

GENERAL COSGROVE:

“We're going to teach them climbing, canoeing, archery and shooting.“

FEMALE INTERVIEWER:

“Shooting! That's a bit irresponsible, isn't it?“

GENERAL COSGROVE:

“I don't see why, they'll be properly supervised on the rifle range.“

FEMALE INTERVIEWER:

“Don't you admit that this is a terribly dangerous activity to be teaching children?“

GENERAL COSGROVE:

“I don't see how. We will be teaching them proper rifle discipline before they even touch a firearm.“

FEMALE INTERVIEWER:

“But you're equipping them to become violent killers.“

GENERAL COSGROVE:

“Well, Ma'am, you're equipped to be a prostitute, but you aren't one, are you?“

The radio went silent and the interview ended.

Men normally laugh when reading this, women are upset and immediately think about a proper answer. Of course the lady has provoked this reply and her questioning technique lacked professionalism. The general reacted very superior, however, this hit far below the belt!

What could the interviewer have said to come out of this situation with dignity?

There is more than one option, however, each of them should have one goal: to regain our personal aplomb. It is not about revenge or returning the like by hurting the other person. It is about staying calm and react in a way which the opponent does not expect but also which makes him or her stop going on. The only acceptable reason to choose a hurtful reply is, when this is the only way to keep our integrity. Not only do we have the right but the duty to defend our dignity.

Here are some selected options that use different approaches:

To pretend to reply and change the subject:

“An important question indeed is how long exactly will the boys be staying in your camp?“

To reply logically:

“It is a fact that gunmen usually have early contact and access to weapons which makes it easy for them to commit a crime.“

To pause (most probably the most difficult reply):

“Mhmmm.“

To re-word what he had said:

“If by equipped you mean that I have an attractive feminine appearance, thank you very much.“

To use the plea as a fundament:

“This is exactly why I think we need to raise awareness.“

To ignore it and move on:

“How will you personally be engaged in the visit of this Boy Scout Group?“

To literally fire back with the same weapon (that is what we all want to do instinctively but hardly succeed in):

“You seem to know very well what it takes to be a prostitute. Why don‘t you share your personal experiences with the audience?“

Quick-wittedness is not inherited, we can actually practice it every day and so acquire and improve it. I grew up with an extended family full of very communicative people. One of them would always have a funny reply on everything. This helped me when I had my first job and my boss was teasing me and everybody else constantly - in a hilarious way. We all had fun in firing back and I never had a more entertaining work place than during these two years - it was fantastic.

So, find a person in your family or at work and agree on exchanging sharp words - for fun. This can become a real competition and will bring lots of fun into your days. Do not feel offended, however, if something seems to be unfair, take it with dignity. What does not kill you makes you stronger! Also, for the more serious situations, pick one or two of the mentioned options that you prefer and create some standard phrases in your mind which you can use in various situations. After a while it will come naturally and the attackers will lose interest.

I want to end with a joke for all women which is both funny and witty:

One morning the husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap. Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out. She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book. Along comes a game warden in his boat.

He pulls up alongside the woman and says,"Good morning Ma'am. What are you doing?"

"Reading a book," she replies, (thinking, "Isn't that obvious?")

"You're in a restricted fishing area," he informs her.
"I'm sorry officer, but I'm not fishing, I'm reading."
"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up."
"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the woman.
"But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden.
"That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment."
"Have a nice day ma'am," and he left.

And this is what we can learn from it:

Replying in an unexpected way is much more effective.

There is three things we can do to become more sharp: training, training and training.

Hearing it is not enough

2009-07-10T14:25:00.006+03:00

Recently, I found an article, published on www.e-hotelier.com, which I liked right from reading the headline. The author, Bryan K. Williams, an expert, consultant and speaker for service excellence, employee engagement, and organisational improvement, named his article Building a team of “Living it“ employees. And I started reading it the minute it entered my mailbox.

It begins like this: Every team has three types of employees...those who are hearing it, believing it, and living it. "It" refers to the level of commitment that employees have in their role, team, and organisation. I am referring to how emotionally vested they are.

Then he explains the meaning of all three types:

Let's begin with the hearing it employees. They basically have an "it's just a job" mentality. They come to work, do what they are supposed to do, take their required break and go home. These hearing it employees are capable of performing this way for long periods of time, while not contributing anything more than the bare minimum.

Over time, and with the right supervisor, that hearing it employee may move up to believing it. These believing it employees have bought in to the company's culture and enjoy their jobs. They understand the "purpose" of their role, team, and organisation. They do their job duties, plus more. Take note, however, that while these believing it employees are reliable, steady workers, they are not "star" performers...yet.

These star performers are the living it employees. These employees consistently come to work early and leave late. They look for ways to contribute more. They have a burning desire to improve performance...not only for themselves, but for the entire team as well. They tend to be the informal leaders that others follow after the meetings have ended and the memos have been sent. These are the employees who actually create exceptional memories and foster customer loyalty through their exceptional service delivery. In fact, these living it employees can easily do the work equivalent to three or more hearing it/believing it team-mates. They are that good.

In his keynotes and workshops, Mr Williams regularly asks the audience, mostly managers, which group they should mainly focus on in order to reach the goal of developing a team of living it employees. What do you think is the most mentioned answer? Which group would you pick? Most people say hearing it, then a smaller number say believing it and the minority say living it.

This is what Mr Williams says: Well, one particular group will stimulate the greatest results in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of energy from the manager: the living it employees. This approach is often referred to as strength management or positive organisational scholarship. Essentially, it means that in order to get more of what is right, then you should focus on what is right. If you want excellent performance, then talk about excellent performance. If you want more employees to exceed customer expectations, then talk about exceeding customer expectations. One of the fastest ways to de-motivate your living it employees is to accept under-performance or mediocre performance from everyone else. These living it employees want to be empowered and they want you to ask for their opinions.

An interesting point, however, is that living it employees will often tell you that they don't need any extra recognition, they are self-motivated, and they don't require anything further from you. Don't believe them! It is not true. Read the following very carefully. Everyone who works hard craves appreciation and recognition. They want...no...they need to know that their hard work and dedication are being appreciated. If the living it employees do not feel appreciated, they will either quit and leave, or quit and stay. Neither option is desirable.

And here we are again - praise, recognition, appreciation - whatever you may call it. Let‘s do it and refer to my earlier article “Free wellness at work“ if you need some tips.

In our communication challenges, and this is what I am writing about here, we should use those living it employees to spread the message. They will be able to pass on the spark to their colleagues and, equally important, to the clients. Practically this means: when you need to bring across a message to your entire staff, it can be a good idea to introduce this to a group of living it employees first and give them the chance to present it to their colleagues, in a staff meeting for example. Some rough guidelines and creative freedom is all you need to provide. Once they are „in“, they feel responsible and do not want to fail.

The same thing you can do with product launches or promotions and campaigns. Include your front line living it people early enough (they will be happy to put in extra work) and they will sell your services and products automatically, especially if they were involved in the development. Since they are “living it“, they will talk about anything you and your company are introducing or offering with passion and honesty. And we all know that this sells best. Their colleagues will want to join and will pick it up from those stars, especially if they get rewarded.

Conclusion: In order to focus on your living it employees, talk to them, ask them for their opinion, listen to them, empower them and give them projects. And please, for heaven‘s sake, do not forget to appreciate them and their work and make sure that the other team members understand why they are recognised - for their outstanding engagement. By the way, the term „employee“ includes managers, since, unless we own the company, we are all employed and kind of have always somebody „above us“.

And this is what we can learn from it:

When people say they do not want anything back from what they give, do not believe them.

Living it employees must not be taken for granted. You are either lucky or a great leader if you can keep them.

Read the full article of Bryan K. Williams and some information on his work here.

Breaking News

2009-06-27T18:03:00.004+03:00

As a meanwhile established blogger, I think that I am supposed to comment as well on the most latest of all news: Michael Jackson, the king of pop, is dead. At the peak of his success I was a fan, especially the music videos thrilled me. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to see him live. Despite the shock which his death has caused, it completes the eventful life of the singer, who, this is what many assume, despaired of his never-lived childhood.

Totally out of my usual habits, on the morning when the news came out, I turned on the TV which was stilled tuned to a German channel. In the news report, Jackson‘s death was the main headline, and the presenter seemed very touched. The reports from Los Angeles and from other corners of the world were all filled with understandable grief and spread the necessary dramatic. Yet they also showed Michael as an idol who is joining the likes of Elvis Presley, James Dean, John Lennon and Lady Diana.

As most people, I was totally surprised and shocked about this message. To make it clear: I think that Michael Jackson died much too early and he would have deserved a longer life. However, he will live on in his music.

We will always remember where we were and what we did when we heard about his death. And thanks to modern communication we can share this with the entire world nowadays. I am fascinated by how this information „machinery“ works. Numerous celebrities, among them Celine Dion, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Britney Spears and even the American president Barak Obama share their feelings in various media. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and many more tweet on Twitter, how shocked they were by Michael‘s death. There is Facebook groups which acquire thousands of new members within a very short time. People like you and me express their feelings on their personal page and send e-mails and SMS. And, as mentioned before, many bloggers feel they need to comment on this issue.

The traditional media of course fulfil their duty and change their programmes, play Michael Jackson songs all day and quote everybody who has something to say. In a nutshell, the entire world is briefed within a few hours. With a likely coverage of 90 %, since there must be some primitive people who live without mobile phones and internet and who also do not receive freshly printed newspapers daily.

What a domino effect! I think we can take a leaf out of this book of communication mix and can learn a lot. It is not enough to send a message only on one frequency if we want it to reach a large audience. We have to pull out all the stops to address all target groups. And because new canteen opening hours or the request to stick to the house rules are not being spread automatically, we need to feed the different channels ourselves. Then we as well will reach a fantastic 90 % coverage.

And this is what we can learn from it:

Do not rely on a single medium if you would like to reach loads of people directly and quickly.

New media are being taken for granted nowadays. Let‘s use them!