• Business,  English,  Gânduri

    Story Telling. Friend or Foe?

    I LOVE Storytelling! Just wanted to make this clear statement from the start, as I guess I will be questioned in a couple of minutes, once you finish reading this small paragraph… Storytelling is great because it wraps data in digestible layers of meaning. It connects the dots, it concentrates our attention from vast arrays of numbers and charts to the take-away, to contexts and conclusions. Stories are memorable, they could be better recalled, they imprint in our memories. They are the music of numbers and facts. Imagine trying to learn by heart hundreds or thousands of musical notes. It would be quite a challenge for our brains. But as…

  • Business,  English,  Gânduri,  Sport vs. Business

    Sport vs Business (3) – 5 Learnings for entrepreneurs

    Are you eager to start your own business? Have you already decided and you’ve taken your first steps towards fulfiling your dream of independence, money and control of your life? I wish you good luck! At the same time, we must both agree that the road ahead is not an easy one. I will try to draft a bit of guidance by replicating experiences sport performers faced in their early stages. It takes time to succeed. It goes without saying that reaching some goals may take time. The higher the goal, the longer the required time to get there (in most instances). I want to play tennis like Federer, dribble…

  • Business,  English,  Gânduri

    Client or Agency?

    I’ll be friendly and give you a small advise: don’t scroll down to check the verdict! The main reason would be… the lack of such a thing. Disappointed? I hope not. I’ll add my perspectives in the end of this text. I realized I have spent about 10-11 years in the client’s shoes and relatively similar in agenies. It seems like a proper time to put this postures in the ring, facing each other for the ultimate match. Which is better? The answer is like trying to vote between rock or classical music. Between Dostoevsky or Kafka, between Forrest Gump or Star Wars. It surely differs from person to person.…

  • Business,  Gânduri

    Cei mai cei din lume; sau din Europa; sau măcar din Europa de est!

    Avem o pasiune sa fim cei mai într-un fel. Dacă se poate, din lume, că dă cel mai bine. Dar e cam greu… Avem câteva încercări ca cei mai cei din Europa, dar și aici scârțâie. În schimb, în Europa de Est, nu prea avem adversari. Atacăm cu aplomb răsăritul bătrânului continent, lovim în stânga și în dreapta, fără milă. Cine ne poate rezista??? E drept, unele dintre ”medalii” par bine-meritate, sunt rezultatele unor topuri verificabile. Altele sunt mai greu verificabile, iar altele nici nu mai contează, totul este să atragă clienți sau cititori… Mai jos o selecție rapidă, sa vorbim pe exemple (o fi cea mai completă listă de…

  • Business,  English,  Sport vs. Business

    Sport vs Business (2) – Time Out

    We need to finish this by the end of the week! oh, gosh, on Friday we also have to start the X project as we have a tight deadline. And we received a new request, we have to send the proposal tomorrow. If we get it, we might have to start the project next week as well. And so on, we keep things rolling. We get the money coming and business is good! Or is it? Are we on the right track? Are others doing something different, coming up with new ideas to solve same problems? Are new problems emerging? New expectations on the client/customer side? These kind of questions…

  • Business,  Gânduri

    In cautarea rezultatului perfect

    Text adresat perfectionistilor, cautatorilor de nod in papura si delasatorilor, deopotriva… Suntem implicati in realizarea unui proiect. Pentru simplitate, sa zicem ca avem o implicare end-to-end, din faza de proiectare pana totul se incheie. Putem vorbi de un proiect la job, de organizarea unui eveniment, a unei vacante sau de zugravitul apartamentului. Nu prea conteaza, spectrul este foarte larg. In ce masura finalizam totul perfect? Putem sau nu putem sa avem aceasta asteptare? Cum gestionam finalul, in conditiile in care perfectul nu este atins? Cum gestionam asteptarile pe parcurs, cum motivam sau sanctionam oamenii implicati? Nu cred ca este simplu si probabil fiecare are modul sau de a se raporta…

  • Business,  Gânduri

    Mission Vision Values 2.0

    Misiune, viziune, valori. Cuvinte utile pentru organizatorii de workshopuri si programe HR, consultanta organizationala, cuvinte bune de umplut peretii prin sucursale si HQ, prin lifturi sau in salile de sedinte. Adulate (e drept, cam demult) si criticate (parca tot mai intens in prezent…) M-am gandit de curand: au sau nu au sens? au sau nu substanta? Consider ca pot avea sens in anumite circumstante. Mai ales atunci cand…cei pentru care au sens, nu sunt genul care sa le puna pe pereti, ci sa le traiasca. Iar la cei care le posteaza lozincard peste tot pe unde gasesc un spatiu liber, sunt aproape inutile. Dar sa fiu mai explicit. O punere…

  • Business,  English,  Sport vs. Business

    Sport vs Business (1): Do you trust your fluffy PT?

    Quite a lot of people go to gyms. Many opt for having personal trainers to guide them through the maze of excercises and techniques. PTs are fit guys, men or women, aspirational for those they train. They convey trust through personal example, they impose expertise in what they teach. It’s the same with the ski instructor, with the tennis or football coaches, with the martial arts sensei…If I went to the gym and a round guy comes to me attepting to teach me what to do to lose weight, to improve my shapes, preaching how impotant being athletic is for the way we live and perceive ourselves, well… I would…

  • Business,  Gânduri

    Brandul Ion Popescu (branding John Doe)

    X: Draga Ion Popescu, ma bucur ca ai acceptat sa vorbim cateva minute despre tine Ion Popescu: Cu placere! X: Atunci, sa incepem! Ce ne poti spune despre tine? Cum te descrii? IP: [putin incurcat] Hmmm, nu stiu…Cum adica ? X: Asa, ca om ? Ce fel de om esti ? Cum crezi ca te vad prietenii tai? IP: Mmm. Nu stiu. Depinde…Sunt un om normal, nu stiu ce sa zic…M-ati luat asa, nu prea m-am, gandit… X: Da-mi voie sa te ajut eu putin. Am aici o lista cu cateva trasaturi. Ce zici, esti un tip corect ? IP: Da, bine-inteles. Intotdeauna imi place sa fiu corect X: Esti cinstit? IP: [rade usor]…