Posts

The logic captchas are much more user-friendly.

I've often wondered whether some of the visual ones might infringe disability discrimination legislation.

Is there a similar bit of software to test compatiblity of added hard drive plse?

I've a PC that was "upgraded" by a friend (he added lots of pre-owned chips along with a new tower that only has 2 sides instead of the more conventional 4). I think the missing 2 sides and dust make the PC somewhat temperamental (I should do more vaccuuming!) but it would be interesting to know whether there's summat wrong with the thing's innards as well.

I only use the PC to drive the printer so this question's prompted by curiosity rather than anything else.

I've got really good at cutting off the cold calls quickly (and even politely!) but they can be real wind-ups and time-wasters.

If you're concentrating on writing a complex, lengthy careers guidance report, doing your best to make sure its reader won't be able to misinterpret a single sentence of it, being interrupted by a cold call lasting a minute or so can stop you working effectively for the next half hour. GRRR!

Anybody know how the paywall press (eg Times) are getting on, plse? If they're doing well, this scheme of persuading people to pay for the superior Spotify service may work.

... Bet Brooks and Murdoch NOW wish they'd followed your example Dreamraven!

I worked on various government-funded projects to do with improving training support for business and carried out a fair amount of self-initiated "market research" to guide how I approached them.

From memory, the statistics then said about 80% British companies employ 1 - 10 people (including the boss). When I did my "random sample" of regional businesses to visit, these stats held true for the area in which I worked. I don't think the percentages will have changed that much in the intervening period.

As you know, I'm mainly interested in career guidance, career development and workplace problem-solving (when the problems relate to the human-organisation interface). Some recent research that interested me said most small companies don't take on additional employees (ie government shouldn't throw money at the whole small business sector if its aim is to provide new jobs).

The small businesses that do grow and take on new staff are usually those which set up and use good management systems to measure all the key aspects of their business (profitability, sales growth, etc). There's a lesson for all of us here - if we want to be successful, we'd best adopt a professional approach to the way we manage our businesses!

Thanks Steve for the encouragement but corporate projects lasting longer than a few days can be such a struggle for me domestically that I limit what I go after! At least if you do things as a volunteer, no-one else has the right to impose expectations or conditions on you.

I enjoy sorting out work / career problems (the people aspects, the analytical part, the imaginative leaps to find a solution that works and the pats on the back when clients feel I've helped them). To that extent my present career suits me well.

Self-employment also means I can have other "goodies" in my life (eg freedom to try anything I think I can do well, control over my time and space, no "office politics" to worry about, a dog, etc).

What I rarely have and really miss is the excitement of dealing with crises (eg preparing a defence for a tribunal case, finding alternative non strike bound ports for a deepwater ship carrying desperately needed raw goods and finding a replacement specialist tutor for the one who goes sick while presenting a course).

I'd also love to continue with the occasional corporate trouble-shooting I've done - working out what's happening in an organisation and how to put it right. I've done this on a voluntary basis recently - working out and reporting why the local authority so wilfully refused to see the problems it was letting everyone in for with a major development project - but it's not the kind of service I can sell.

I think one of the benefits of small companies from the customers' point of view is the consistency of work and the relationship value they get from dealing with a known individual. Clients seem to like the fact you remember them from your past dealings with them, sometimes even being able to recognise them by voice.

It's wonderful what you learn via MLF! Am now feeling encouraged, at least Google likes my spelling! Just wish I was a bit faster in producing those blog items .....