After months of sacrifice and arduous training, the time has finally come with one week to go before the 2009 London Marathon. How am I feeling? Well in all honesty it hasn’t sunk in yet and I don’t think it will until the morning of the race itself.
Since the end of 2008, I have been on a strict training programme which has consistently seen me clear 26 miles a week, supported by a balanced diet and no alcohol.
I have passed the worst of the training with my largest run covering 21 miles and I am now happily in the process of tapering off with a couple 1-2hr runs left to do.
It has been an incredible experience which has involved long distance runs in beautiful surroundings such as Devon, Gloucestershire, Hampshire and London (Richmond and Battersea Park were my daily saviours). My last run saw me cover 20k of the undulating coastal path in south Devon … I have not encountered many hills training in London so it was a steep learning curve…
The distance was completed in 1 hour 45 minutes which gives me great confidence in reaching the sub 4 hour target I have set, however, a wise person recently said to me ‘as it is your first marathon you should be extremely pleased with finishing let alone reaching under 4 hours,’ which I am inclined to agree with.
One element I have failed to do is gain first hand experience of an official competition, however, this weekend sees the inaugural Newham Classic 10K and ENS has been hired to manage the press office. This is a new initiative devised by the Olympic Gold medallist, Tessa Sanderson, which is part of the Newham multi-cultural Fun Day in Stratford and the first competition to be held in the 2012 Olympic Park. The team and I will be down there helping raise awareness for the event and soaking up the race atmosphere. It is going to be a great event and for anyone interested in knowing more, please go to http://newhamclassic10k.com/.
My final preparations for the race will include
· Complete one last 3 mile run next Saturday to help relax and loosen any muscles
· Start eating high carbohydrate meals, not forgetting a balanced proportion of protein and fats
· Continue to drink lots of water to hydrate adequately
· Check my running gear and ensure I am happy with the final race attire and have my name emblazoned on my vest
· Buy copious amounts of Vaseline and tape to warn off any unwanted chaffing
· Stock up on Jelly baby supplies
· Book my essential sports massage for after the race
· Have money ready for a well earnt pint afterwards
To pledge your support for Sam, feel free to go to his online page www.justgiving.com/sambowman and wish him luck…
Friday, 17 April 2009
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
The glass isn’t anything like half empty
Doom; gloom; credit crunch; deep recession; economic melt-down. Clearly, if you read the papers or listen to the news, you’ll quite rightly conclude that we’re only minutes away from having to subsist on raw turnips and ditchwater for what’s left of our short, miserable lives.
Clearly this is just arrant nonsense, yet all around us we see companies laying off staff and cutting budgets left, right and centre in preparation for the what the media assure us is the end of the world.
Let’s suppose that all the doom-mongers are correct and that the economy is actually set to shrink by something like 3% in the next year. Instead of wailing and gnashing our teeth, why not concentrate on the remaining 97% (not an insignificant figure, I think you’ll agree)?
The worst you can reasonably say is that business is going to be harder to get in an economic downturn, but it is still there. Those companies who batten down the hatches and look inwards to save costs are reducing their ability to deliver to their existing customers and leaving the way open for others to benefit. Better yet, there is an interestingly surgical aspect to hard times: second-rate companies are more likely to fail than good ones, leaving more business for those of us who are determined not just to prevail, but to thrive.
“Do the math” as they say in America. You turn over a million quid, thanks to 20 customers each spending £50,000 with you. They all come to you and one day they’re halving their budgets, which gives you a shortfall of £500,000. To maintain your turnover and carry on, you need to find another 20 customers: tough, but not impossible. And here’s the best bit, you now have 40 customers (twice your original market share). How good is that going to be when the economy recovers? You now have a potential turnover of £2 million – twice the business you started with, that’s how good. Worth working for, if you ask me.
Basically, there are only two positions you can take in a downturn like this; a positive position, or the foetal position. I know which one we’re going to take.
Paul Rodger
Bull Rodger ltd
Clearly this is just arrant nonsense, yet all around us we see companies laying off staff and cutting budgets left, right and centre in preparation for the what the media assure us is the end of the world.
Let’s suppose that all the doom-mongers are correct and that the economy is actually set to shrink by something like 3% in the next year. Instead of wailing and gnashing our teeth, why not concentrate on the remaining 97% (not an insignificant figure, I think you’ll agree)?
The worst you can reasonably say is that business is going to be harder to get in an economic downturn, but it is still there. Those companies who batten down the hatches and look inwards to save costs are reducing their ability to deliver to their existing customers and leaving the way open for others to benefit. Better yet, there is an interestingly surgical aspect to hard times: second-rate companies are more likely to fail than good ones, leaving more business for those of us who are determined not just to prevail, but to thrive.
“Do the math” as they say in America. You turn over a million quid, thanks to 20 customers each spending £50,000 with you. They all come to you and one day they’re halving their budgets, which gives you a shortfall of £500,000. To maintain your turnover and carry on, you need to find another 20 customers: tough, but not impossible. And here’s the best bit, you now have 40 customers (twice your original market share). How good is that going to be when the economy recovers? You now have a potential turnover of £2 million – twice the business you started with, that’s how good. Worth working for, if you ask me.
Basically, there are only two positions you can take in a downturn like this; a positive position, or the foetal position. I know which one we’re going to take.
Paul Rodger
Bull Rodger ltd
Friday, 3 April 2009
Digital Marketing – A layman’s guide to the basics By Nathan Murphy at Alloyfish
SEO
This stands for Search Engine Optimisation and is the process of trying to manipulate Search Engines (Like Google or Yahoo) results to show your website higher than others. It requires good understanding of the modern methods Search Engines use to rate a website’s relevancy and importance. Search Engines are constantly changing how they rank websites to prevent this manipulation, and if caught doing optimisation badly you are likely to be penalised! - gone are the days of making thousands of links or articles where every second word is the key term you require!
PPC
Pay-Per-Click is paying for adverts to be shown beside search terms – see ‘sponsored links’ on Google search results. It costs the advertiser money every time you click on an advert and in competitive terms clicks are often in the region of £4 to £5 each!
Pay-Per-Click is great though, it means the person is specifically searching for the search terms you are paying to advertise on. Also you can advertise at certain times or locations to improve your targeting.
Good long-term optimisation and appropriate split testing is required, the page you send people to from the advert, and how well you convert will go in to determining where you appear in the sponsored links (top, or bottom) and your budget will determine how many times you are shown.
Beware of ‘Google Resellers’, often their offering is simply a con, there is always a catch (rubbish rarely searched keywords or slack guarantees usually)
Viral Marketing
This is a process of making something that is very interesting and releasing it on the internet. It works through people emailing it, or sending it to each other virally. Many great examples of this (Anyone see ‘will it blend’ – Google it if not). Viral adverts today are best as videos and for your wallet’s sake not too expensive.
Idea is everything here, if you have a bad idea then it doesn’t matter how well produced it is, it will fail. Get a decent set of creative minds to figure this one out!
Reputation Management
The process of ‘setting the record straight’ or giving ‘the other side of the story’. Good for burying bad press or helping make reviews sing a preferential song… be careful what you believe! This is a powerful way of boosting sales or balancing bad news.
PPM
Pay-Per-Mille – basically you pay for 1000 showings of your advert on a website. This is popular with site owners rather than search engines and can be great to get targeted visitors by subject. The quality of the campaign graphical elements will make a big difference to the campaigns effectiveness.
This stands for Search Engine Optimisation and is the process of trying to manipulate Search Engines (Like Google or Yahoo) results to show your website higher than others. It requires good understanding of the modern methods Search Engines use to rate a website’s relevancy and importance. Search Engines are constantly changing how they rank websites to prevent this manipulation, and if caught doing optimisation badly you are likely to be penalised! - gone are the days of making thousands of links or articles where every second word is the key term you require!
PPC
Pay-Per-Click is paying for adverts to be shown beside search terms – see ‘sponsored links’ on Google search results. It costs the advertiser money every time you click on an advert and in competitive terms clicks are often in the region of £4 to £5 each!
Pay-Per-Click is great though, it means the person is specifically searching for the search terms you are paying to advertise on. Also you can advertise at certain times or locations to improve your targeting.
Good long-term optimisation and appropriate split testing is required, the page you send people to from the advert, and how well you convert will go in to determining where you appear in the sponsored links (top, or bottom) and your budget will determine how many times you are shown.
Beware of ‘Google Resellers’, often their offering is simply a con, there is always a catch (rubbish rarely searched keywords or slack guarantees usually)
Viral Marketing
This is a process of making something that is very interesting and releasing it on the internet. It works through people emailing it, or sending it to each other virally. Many great examples of this (Anyone see ‘will it blend’ – Google it if not). Viral adverts today are best as videos and for your wallet’s sake not too expensive.
Idea is everything here, if you have a bad idea then it doesn’t matter how well produced it is, it will fail. Get a decent set of creative minds to figure this one out!
Reputation Management
The process of ‘setting the record straight’ or giving ‘the other side of the story’. Good for burying bad press or helping make reviews sing a preferential song… be careful what you believe! This is a powerful way of boosting sales or balancing bad news.
PPM
Pay-Per-Mille – basically you pay for 1000 showings of your advert on a website. This is popular with site owners rather than search engines and can be great to get targeted visitors by subject. The quality of the campaign graphical elements will make a big difference to the campaigns effectiveness.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
BBC Rugby Presenter, John Inverdale takes you back to the closing weekend of the 2009 6 Nations tournament...
As the days go by you tend to forget just what a fantastic occasion it was. As another traffic jam drives you into fits of rage and a succession of irritating and unnecessary emails have you pounding the keys in frustration, it's good to take a moment and just cast your mind back. For a start off, the weather was wonderful, so at seven o'clock I was up and out, going for a run round Sophia Gardens , scrunching my way through the crisp frosty dew. There were already dozens of Irish jerseys walking the streets - it was going to be a long day for them.
I then undid all the good the run might have done, by having a big fry-up at the hotel. There's something about baked beans at breakfast time. We then headed out to film the inside of a jet engine for the start of BBC TV's coverage. Don't ask me why.. We just did. It was utterly unconnected to the rugby but looked terrific, so that's all that matters.
By midday we were in the Cardiff Rugby Club clubhouse, with everyone asking the same questions. Would Ireland do it? Would Wales win by 13? Would England beat Scotland? (Actually I lied about that. No-one cared.)
We wathed Italy take a pounding from the French, who were aided by some inexplicably poor non-decision-making by the officials, did some interviews with the great and the good from yesteryear like Tom Kiernan and Gerald Davies, went into the stadium, and started to breathe in the atmosphere.
We have a TV monitor that was about six inches square and watched the England game on that - came on air by the pitch (always the best place to be) in time for the anthems which never cease to intoxicate,, and headed for the studio. Jonathan Davies all calm. Keith Wood pretending to be all calm.
Two hours later, I was thinking about a closing link to our Six Nations coverage about Irish eyes smiling and the usual cliches. Then Wales got awarded that penalty. Woody screamed 'oh no' so loudly and banged his knee so hard I thought the studio would collapse. Secretly I seethed. We'd prepared a closing montage to Stevie Wonder's 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' and now that would look a bit ridiculous if Stephen Jones slotted the penalty. As midnight struck, we were still in an indian restaurant in Cardiff. The day that had begun with bacon and beans ended with a curry and nan bread. What a bunch of athletes. But what a day. A great occasion and the greatest drama in the best rugby city of them all. When you remember, suddenly the traffic jams don't seem so bad.
I then undid all the good the run might have done, by having a big fry-up at the hotel. There's something about baked beans at breakfast time. We then headed out to film the inside of a jet engine for the start of BBC TV's coverage. Don't ask me why.. We just did. It was utterly unconnected to the rugby but looked terrific, so that's all that matters.
By midday we were in the Cardiff Rugby Club clubhouse, with everyone asking the same questions. Would Ireland do it? Would Wales win by 13? Would England beat Scotland? (Actually I lied about that. No-one cared.)
We wathed Italy take a pounding from the French, who were aided by some inexplicably poor non-decision-making by the officials, did some interviews with the great and the good from yesteryear like Tom Kiernan and Gerald Davies, went into the stadium, and started to breathe in the atmosphere.
We have a TV monitor that was about six inches square and watched the England game on that - came on air by the pitch (always the best place to be) in time for the anthems which never cease to intoxicate,, and headed for the studio. Jonathan Davies all calm. Keith Wood pretending to be all calm.
Two hours later, I was thinking about a closing link to our Six Nations coverage about Irish eyes smiling and the usual cliches. Then Wales got awarded that penalty. Woody screamed 'oh no' so loudly and banged his knee so hard I thought the studio would collapse. Secretly I seethed. We'd prepared a closing montage to Stevie Wonder's 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' and now that would look a bit ridiculous if Stephen Jones slotted the penalty. As midnight struck, we were still in an indian restaurant in Cardiff. The day that had begun with bacon and beans ended with a curry and nan bread. What a bunch of athletes. But what a day. A great occasion and the greatest drama in the best rugby city of them all. When you remember, suddenly the traffic jams don't seem so bad.
Friday, 20 March 2009
An insight into the 2009 Six Nations with Rugby World Cup Winner Ben Kay….
Another RBS Six Nations draws to a close with Englishmen up and down the country still not sure whether things are on the way up or down. The last weekend throws up some mouth-watering ties and possibilities. Firstly Ireland Vs Wales; Last year’s Grand Slam Heroes, beaten well by what seemed to be a resurgent French team, until they turned up (or should that read didn’t turn up) at Twickenham last weekend, taking on this year’s Grand Slam hopefuls. Will the Welsh surrender the honour of being the last team to realise such a momentous achievement on their own patch without a fight? The Irish fully deserving of the opportunity that awaits them at the Millennium Stadium, in a similar position as the last English side to win all 5 games (a very experienced but ageing side who had blown paths to greatness in previous years and were starting to worry about how many more chances they would get.) For that England side the last hurdle was Ireland at their beloved Lansdowne Road. In 2009, Ireland have to go to one of the noisiest and most passionate coliseums on earth and defeat a team with nearly everything still to play for. One thing’s for sure, It won’t be all about the Craic this weekend as the winner takes all the Championship’s spoils.
The French have to travel to Rome to face an ever improving Italian side who almost pulled off the biggest shock in six nations history last weekend by beating the Welsh. This on the back of their most embarrassing performance in living memory, humiliated by a English side written off as any sort of Force by many. But fear not ‘les gens de la France’; your team are renowned for the odd bout of self-combustion, but whereas us English after a loss tend to Wallow in our crushed confidence for an age, the French seem to put such a performance behind them with a typical Gallic shrug and a horsey blow of the lips! Beware the Italians everything should suggest a close game, which means the French will probably blow you away.
And finally the Auld enemy back at HQ… Last year the Jocks deployed one of their notorious ambushes which are saved only for the English invaders at Murrayfield’s Edinburgh gates. Whether or not Steve Borthwick’s recollection of Scottish gloating is 100% accurate, they were never going to let us quietly slip back over the border were they? And so to Calcutta Cup 2009, the Scots have never been much of an invading force. They last had a successful trip south of the border in 1983 before the likes of Armitage, Flood and Care were even born. But this is a different Scottish team, quietly gaining respect while the column inches have been filled with other Nations woes and triumphs. Surely after a such a barn storming performance last week the men in white won’t regress yet again and allow the unthinkable to happen, If England lose on Saturday no-one will remember one of their tries from last week and the English public won’t forgive them. A win however would leave us with a long period to enjoy back to back wins and with the danger of sounding like an over optimistic politician in these troubled times perhaps the first ‘green shoots’ of a recovery.
Friday, 6 March 2009
Failing To Prepare! A New Year guide on Business Continuity – Nigel Davey, Business Development Manager, Managed Networks
Most companies will have crisis communication strategies in place for clients but how many will have robust Business Continuity plans in place for themselves?
Most companies think about dramatic potential crises but the biggest problems which affect business continuity are in fact much simpler. Business’ today are totally reliant on their e-mail systems and the loss of an ADSL line for any period can have a serious knock on affect as well as cause a great deal of client frustration. Yet how many companies have a back up service or know that they don’t have a service guarantee in place? A second supplier or a service guarantee isn’t expensive and is a lot cheaper than entire company downtime! Equally, if for some reason you need to reinstall software or set up a new machine remotely – can put your hand on the relevant disc AND licence number AND all necessary passwords quickly?
Undoubtedly companies should be set up so if building access is an issue, employees can work remotely with full access to all files and e-mail. Using an off-site server usually offers full protection for most eventualities as well as meaning that all data is automatically backed up within the service agreement.
Look at what happened in February – over 65% of the UK’s workforce didn’t make it to work following the biggest snowfall in 18 years. Whilst pictures of snowmen and sledging shots looked fun, with today’s pressured economy days lost from work have a big impact on businesses – especially SME’s.
All too often, people think about massive disasters when they talk about business continuity but in truth, it is day to day factors – like bad weather– that can impact us most of all. It is a brutal fact that 70% of businesses without a business continuity plan fail. Even more surprising is that of the very few which have, 30% of them have never tested the system so there are no guarantees that what they have created is more than theory.
In truth, the more significant or unexpected the emergency, the more sympathetic clients or customers will be. Adverse weather probably buys you 1 or 2 days of sympathy but beyond that, people expect you to be able to trade. Company managers should plan for these sorts of circumstances and failing to do so can make a business look rather amateur.
There are many things a business can do to ensure that they are primed for the small but damaging things that go wrong and so I have created a checklist for how to prepare and deal with business continuity issues
Top Tips for Business Continuity in the Event of a Crisis
Have a plan! Consider all the things that could affect your business and plan for how you combat these. The most common causes of loss of business continuity are not the dramatic crises but simple problems like prevention of access to buildings or loss of broadband connection
Make sure you share the details. Planning is just half the work – ensuring that all team members know what to do and understand what is expected of them is equally important
Create a battle box which includes
all staff contact details
all client contact details
key supplier details
your business continuity plan
spare cheque book
bank details
insurance contacts
key passwords, URL’s and details of relevant software used
Keep your battle box off-site with copies of contents in at least two locations
Make provision for remote access to your server or consider having an external server (and ensure you back up your data daily as standard practice)
If you use an internal server, make provision to enable you to access backed up data on an alternative system
Consider a backup ADSL line to ensure uninterrupted connection or check that you have a satisfactory service guarantee
If you are unable to access your building, nominate an alternative meeting place which will accommodate all your staff or make sure you have a telephone conference option in place
Ensure you have made provision to access finances, often in a crisis you may need to use cash and access large amounts quickly
Nominate one person to co-ordinate everything should you need to put your continuity plan in place and then you can have an IT stress free new year.
Most companies think about dramatic potential crises but the biggest problems which affect business continuity are in fact much simpler. Business’ today are totally reliant on their e-mail systems and the loss of an ADSL line for any period can have a serious knock on affect as well as cause a great deal of client frustration. Yet how many companies have a back up service or know that they don’t have a service guarantee in place? A second supplier or a service guarantee isn’t expensive and is a lot cheaper than entire company downtime! Equally, if for some reason you need to reinstall software or set up a new machine remotely – can put your hand on the relevant disc AND licence number AND all necessary passwords quickly?
Undoubtedly companies should be set up so if building access is an issue, employees can work remotely with full access to all files and e-mail. Using an off-site server usually offers full protection for most eventualities as well as meaning that all data is automatically backed up within the service agreement.
Look at what happened in February – over 65% of the UK’s workforce didn’t make it to work following the biggest snowfall in 18 years. Whilst pictures of snowmen and sledging shots looked fun, with today’s pressured economy days lost from work have a big impact on businesses – especially SME’s.
All too often, people think about massive disasters when they talk about business continuity but in truth, it is day to day factors – like bad weather– that can impact us most of all. It is a brutal fact that 70% of businesses without a business continuity plan fail. Even more surprising is that of the very few which have, 30% of them have never tested the system so there are no guarantees that what they have created is more than theory.
In truth, the more significant or unexpected the emergency, the more sympathetic clients or customers will be. Adverse weather probably buys you 1 or 2 days of sympathy but beyond that, people expect you to be able to trade. Company managers should plan for these sorts of circumstances and failing to do so can make a business look rather amateur.
There are many things a business can do to ensure that they are primed for the small but damaging things that go wrong and so I have created a checklist for how to prepare and deal with business continuity issues
Top Tips for Business Continuity in the Event of a Crisis
Have a plan! Consider all the things that could affect your business and plan for how you combat these. The most common causes of loss of business continuity are not the dramatic crises but simple problems like prevention of access to buildings or loss of broadband connection
Make sure you share the details. Planning is just half the work – ensuring that all team members know what to do and understand what is expected of them is equally important
Create a battle box which includes
all staff contact details
all client contact details
key supplier details
your business continuity plan
spare cheque book
bank details
insurance contacts
key passwords, URL’s and details of relevant software used
Keep your battle box off-site with copies of contents in at least two locations
Make provision for remote access to your server or consider having an external server (and ensure you back up your data daily as standard practice)
If you use an internal server, make provision to enable you to access backed up data on an alternative system
Consider a backup ADSL line to ensure uninterrupted connection or check that you have a satisfactory service guarantee
If you are unable to access your building, nominate an alternative meeting place which will accommodate all your staff or make sure you have a telephone conference option in place
Ensure you have made provision to access finances, often in a crisis you may need to use cash and access large amounts quickly
Nominate one person to co-ordinate everything should you need to put your continuity plan in place and then you can have an IT stress free new year.
Monday, 29 December 2008
An early resolution
The joy of shutting the office between Christmas and New Year means that a) the goodwill generated is enormous and b) I can sneak in and get non-vital-but-needed jobs done in half the time and feel rather virtuous about. This blog is one such example.
We decided we needed a blog when I was working at the Beijing Olympics (so months ago) - and here it is. If a client had asked us to sort this out for them it would have been done in less than a week - just another example of why some downtime is no bad thing.
So why are we doing a blog? The truth is that ENS is a very small but an incredibly exciting and well connected business. In the last year alone we have been part of a grand slam winning team, seen someone we work with do impressively well on Strictly Come Dancing, done an interesting (and effective) job managing the crisis PR for an organization which had been implicated in a rather nasty situation, worked at the Beijing Olympics and launched the Rugby Business Awards.
Many of our clients and contacts are household names who do interesting things and hold strong opinions so it won't just be the ENS team who write here. Now I realize that this is a very big promise for a small blog - but it's New Year and it is amazing what you can do with a bit of resolve!
We decided we needed a blog when I was working at the Beijing Olympics (so months ago) - and here it is. If a client had asked us to sort this out for them it would have been done in less than a week - just another example of why some downtime is no bad thing.
So why are we doing a blog? The truth is that ENS is a very small but an incredibly exciting and well connected business. In the last year alone we have been part of a grand slam winning team, seen someone we work with do impressively well on Strictly Come Dancing, done an interesting (and effective) job managing the crisis PR for an organization which had been implicated in a rather nasty situation, worked at the Beijing Olympics and launched the Rugby Business Awards.
Many of our clients and contacts are household names who do interesting things and hold strong opinions so it won't just be the ENS team who write here. Now I realize that this is a very big promise for a small blog - but it's New Year and it is amazing what you can do with a bit of resolve!
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