grumpyf1

If you work in a team, you’ll no doubt have at least one person that everyone is slightly uncomfortable with. In a meeting, they’ll sit there quietly, whilst everyone else is enthusing about the latest super-whizzo idea that’s going to reduce costs/save the world/make a million (delete as applicable). Just as you’re all about to reach a frenzied crescendo of exhilarated back-slapping at the sheer, shared, greatness of it all, they’ll calmly point out the things that could go wrong and scupper your revolutionary plans. No-one wants to hear that – it’s nice and sunny in your happy little world, and that natural doom-merchant has just caused the clouds of failure to roll ominously in. It’s about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit. But, deep down, you know they’re right… damn them. Meet your natural cynic. They’re the glass-half-empty (and possibly cracked) ones. You could tell them they’ve won the lotto and their first reaction would be concern about whether they are capable of letting j

  Just posted another great “buy our stuff” thing to Twitter/Facebook?  Did it have a lovely, well-designed (and correctly-sized) graphic with it? Attention grabbing text? Incentive? Website link? Fantastic! NOBODY CARES. I spend a lot of my time boring my colleagues to death by reminding them that they need to think like their customers. I’m taking the sighs and eye-rolls as a positive sign that they’re listening. Think about it, though. When you’re on your favourite social media platform on your phone, you might occasionally read (or even click-through) a promotional post that really matches your needs. But I bet you scroll past the vast majority of them. Even if you work in a marketing department. You know how much time and effort has gone into getting just the right image, messing around with font sizes, agonising over getting your message across in the shortest and most effective way… but you still scroll past. You monster. OK, fair enough. We accept that, don’t we? Most of what w