If your boss practices mindfulness, your job satisfaction and performance will soar, says science

January 29, 2016

tumblr_nkic5eZ0MH1qggwnvo1_1280 Ebay, the online auction website has just reported zero growth in fourth-quarter revenue from the same period a year earlier and a 50% drop in net income.

At times like this, managers tend to draw up endless plans to boost their employees’ productivity, writes Bryce Arghiere. Some plans are externally-focused and others are internally-focused External tactics provide incentives or deterrents (carrot and stick).

These approaches are the most common and take shape in many ways: rewards and recognition for high performance, setting attainable goals, holding employees accountable.

Internal ones don’t coax or threaten—they teach. The change happens inside the employee and lasts – unlike rewards and requirements that work only if they are constantly applied and adapted often.

An internal approach is obviously preferable. With limited hours available for training, what do you leave out and what do you teach? Software or soft skills?

Lately, a stronger and stronger case has been made to include mindfulness.

What makes mindfulness training so valuable is that it helps employees develop tools to do every specialized skill better.

But even if many employees are skeptical and the bosses are the only ones who opt for training, employees still benefit.

Another study found job satisfaction and performance soared among employees whose supervisors practiced mindfulness.

I’m interested in hearing more about a  mindfulness course.

 

 

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Infographics for beginners course outline

January 29, 2016

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Don’t miss out on this fantastic masterclass – book your place now and learn how to create infographics that really make an impact.

Content

  • How to construct an infographic for your target audience
  • The principles of data storytelling – data visualisation as five-act play
  • Advice on creating persuasive infographics that drive traffic to your website
  • The importance of relevance, timeliness, exclusivity and emotion within infographics
  • Sharing infographics on social media – how to maximise impact and engagement
  • Delivering on-brand infographics on the right platform at the right time
  • Content strategy for data visualisation – brand, content, platform, feedback Best practice case studies for static and dynamic infographics
  • Practical drawing exercises, with opportunity for feedback on work carried out in the classe247c7c0-caa7-4947-8aca-a9a805c4cb1d-2060x1236

Please note: Although this course will cover different data visualisation software options, this is not a software training course. Practical exercises are carried out on pen and paper. What to bring Please bring along any data that you’re working on. Pens and paper will be provided.

Your trainer

AndyPcropped

Andy Pemberton, is a content expert with international experience. He edited Q magazine in London, launched Blender magazine in New York, which won Ad Age’s Launch of The Year, and also edited Spin magazine.

He has written for the New York Times, GQ, Esquire, The Sunday Times, The National (Dubai), and the world’s largest newspaper, The Times of India. He trains social media, data visualization and content strategy. He is also a leading data visualization expert, and includes the United Nations, the World Food Programme, and Aviva among his clients. He is a judge at this year’s British Media Awards.

Posted in: Digital Training, Infographic of the day | Leave a Comment

Gulp! Japan has just adopted a negative interest rate for the first time ever

January 29, 2016

23012052325_e0fd2ec304_oJapan have adopted a negative interest rate.

The central bank voted to reduce the benchmark borrowing rate to -0.1%, in a fresh attempt to raise inflation.

As expected, the bank kept its quantitative easing target at 80 trillion yen ($677 billion) per year.

Meanwhile, following the interest rate hike in the US, growth seems to have already slowed sharply. Gulp!
I’m interested in a FREE content audit

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Ebay stranded as ex-partner PayPal hits the big time

January 28, 2016

A review of Ed Walker's portfolio

Ebay, the online auction website reported zero growth in fourth-quarter revenue from the same period a year earlier and a 50% drop in net income.

It also forecast a lower-than-expected income for the year ahead, sending its share price down by over 12%.

Meanwhile, its former unit PayPal beat expectations.

The online payments company increased its user base by almost a quarter in the final three months of last year, and reported a net income of $367 million, from $286 million for the same period in 2014.

I’m interested in a FREE content audit

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Facebook are making a TON of money out of us all

January 28, 2016

A review of Ed Walker's portfolio

Last week, I wrote a story called Welcome to 2016. Facebook just killed your website forever about how Facebook’s Instant Articles is killing website traffic. It became the best read story on ad industry bible Campaign’s website.

In the piece, I explained that by keeping readers of a websites posts on the social network site, Facebook were able to split any ad revenue with the content creator.

Well, that strategy is working. Facebook have just registered a record profit.

The social networking giant posted a $1.6 billion profit for the three months ending December, up from $701 million a year earlier.

That means Facebook has created a $13billion mobile-ad business in four years.

The company is also closing in on another mark: 1 billion users who check its flagship app everyday. At the rate it’s growing, about 25% each quarter year-over-year, it could pass the threshold as soon as this quarter.

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It reported 934 million daily active mobile users at the close of 2015.

I’m interested in a FREE content audit

 

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Active fund managers are useless, say investors

January 28, 2016

A review of Ed Walker's portfolio

Managed funds need to up their game. They aren’t doing enough to prove they are worth their excessive fees.

As these charts show, more investors are pulling their money out of actively managed funds (average expenses: about 0.8% of assets annually) in favour of ETFs and index funds (average expenses: about 0.2%) that keep costs down by simply mimicking the markets.

Meanwhile, a growing body of research suggests that very few of the pricier active funds outperform the indexers over the long term.

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Active fund managers have often argued that they’re particularly good at beating the broader market (or at least at losing less money than the broader market) when stocks are falling, as they are now.

And active funds did outperform index funds in 2016, losing 2.2% on average while the average indexer lost 2.7%, according to Morningstar.

But fewer customers are sticking around to see if the managers can keep that streak alive in 2016.

I’m interested in making beautiful and effective infographics with Furthr

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How to email millennials without making them hate you

January 27, 2016

A review of Ed Walker's portfolio

Millennials check email more than any other age group, and nearly half can’t even use the bathroom without checking it, according to a recent Adobe study.

98% of Millennials check their personal email at least every few hours at work, while almost 87% of Millennials check their work email outside of work.

It is also the channel where direct marketers get the highest ROI ($39 for every dollar spent, according to the Direct Marketing Association).

Here are four tips for optimizing your email newsletters for Millennials.

  1. Mobile is a must. Obviously.
  2. Timing is everything. Looking at opens and clicks won’t get you anywhere without analyzing the day of week and time of day those emails are opened and clicked. Example:  Millennials are more likely than any other age group to check email while in bed (45.2%).
  3. Pictures are worth a thousand words. Millennials are thinking and communicating in images, so marketers need to optimize emails for images and allow for quick feedback through emoji.
  4. Less is more. Many Millennials want to see fewer emails (39%) and fewer repetitive emails from brands (32%).

I’m interested in a FREE content audit

Posted in: Content strategy, Infographic by Furthr | Leave a Comment

The UN is blaming Coca-Cola for the world obesity epidemic – and they’re right

January 27, 2016

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The public health arm of the United Nations is recommending that countries consider taxing junk foods—especially sugary drinks—in an effort to curb the growth of childhood obesity worldwide.

That’s bad news for the soda industry, which has fought vigorously against such levies.

It’s not like Coca Cola and their ilk have been doing well lately.

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To make matters worse, Coke were recently caught out using underhand tricks to influence the sugar debate.

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The University of Colorado School of Medicine recently announced it was returning a $1 million gift from Coca-Cola after it was revealed that the money had been used to establish an advocacy group that played down the link between soft drinks and obesity.

And who can forget the public humiliation of the European head of Coke on UK TV?

 

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