It’s been fifteen years. How do we finally realise the value of this beast we’ve created? 

Everyone would like to know what’s our exit plan, and what are we going to do with all the money?

This week, I can answer that.

It's time to push back against the HR joy-assassins this festive season.

As a boss in 2022, it’s your duty to let your people off the chain and turn a blind eye to Xmas-idiot behaviour, unless it’s infringing on the good times of your other staff. Because they have fucking earned it these last few years. And because having your people physically together is a blessing for your business.

If your people have had a few too many and they're all standing on a table with linked arms singing Horses, that is a great sign for the future of your business.

Elon's getting all the attention but lurking away from the spotlight in this deal are others with more useful lessons for you in your career. 

And not good lessons.

Turns out despite all the feel-good PR Twitter put out, its leaders and shareholders took ALL the massive cash windfall and gave their staff nothing.

And left them protectionless as Musk came in to fire most of them.

The same thing could happen to you, no matter how nice your immediate boss seems, or what CSR programs your business runs to be good corporate citizens.

Time to start your own business, or your only protection will be ... hoping nobody horrible takes over your employer.

Link:

Buy Undisruptable: Timeless Business Truths For Thriving In A World Of Nonstop Change

WHY THE FROG NOISES 🐸 ?

One of our staff has discovered that this show puts his 18-month old son to sleep in quick time. I love that! And I don't want him picking up a nasty swearing habit. So from now on, you'll hear a frog instead of other f-things. Got a sleepless infant at home? At last, a proven use for the blog!

I tested Jasper, the AI writing tool, by asking it to do its own version of some of my blog stories.

The results, as they say, will surprise you.

All this has direct relevance for your business, and for your career.  It doesn’t matter what you do, AI is coming to change your working life. Some of your precious skills are doomed and you can’t stop it happening.

You can be a fearful Luddite about change or you can do something about it.

It’s worth thinking about what non-doomed skills you have.

LINKS:

The blogs Jasper wrote

Even after $100 billion self-driving cars are going nowhere

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WHY THE FROG NOISES 🐸 ?

One of our staff has discovered that this show puts his 18-month old son to sleep in quick time. I love that! And I don't want him picking up a nasty swearing habit. So from now on, you'll hear a frog instead of other f-things. Got a sleepless infant at home? At last, a proven use for the blog!

Nobody sets out to create a boring, generic business, yet many achieve it. Wouldn’t you prefer a business where your customers love you? Where they’re delighted to refer you to others? This week, one way to do that.

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WHY THE FROG NOISES 🐸 ?

One of our staff has discovered that this show puts his 18-month old son to sleep in quick time. I love that! And I don't want him picking up a nasty swearing habit. So from now on, you'll hear a frog instead of other f-things. Got a sleepless infant at home? At last, a proven use for the blog!

My social feeds are packed with advice lists of what Navy SEALS do, delivered by office business nerds. Other elite warriors never get a look-in. For white collar guy inspo, it's Navy SEALS all the way.

Nothing against Navy SEALS, but my job doesn’t involve much amphibious warfare. No blowing up enemy infrastructure, dragging people back to a boat with a sack over their head, or frankly any danger beyond coffee spillage. Neither does yours.

So this week, analysis of a whole raft of hustle bullshit and why I'd rather see a daily routine post from working parents, rather than some no-friend tech hustler who will continue their 20s behaviour to the grave.

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WHY THE FROG NOISES 🐸 ?

One of our staff has discovered that this show puts his 18-month old son to sleep in quick time. I love that! And I don't want him picking up a nasty swearing habit. So from now on, you'll hear a frog instead of other f-things. Got a sleepless infant at home? At last, a proven use for the blog!

It’s a question to ask yourself. If you got taken out for a couple of months by a puppy-related nightmare injury, like my friend did, how would you redesign your business?

And would your staff rally around to save the day, or just shrug and get a job somewhere else?

None of us are that good that we can't be replaced. 

Here's how my friend replaced himself and his business took off.

Thoughts on the one of the most horrifying opening lines I've ever heard from an accountant:

"Today I consulted to two middle aged guys about to quit their jobs and try to open a night club.”

How not to be those guys.

Tyler Caskey's original LinkedIn post

Should you just change careers?  May 2020 podcast, it's from the depths of lockdown but all the main points remain relevant

A few weeks back we had a customer service experience so insanely stupid we wondered if we were being secretly filmed for a sitcom pilot.

This week we discuss what leads to this kind of madness. 

And how usiong automated customer service surveys mean your business can be in deep trouble and you don't even know.

Elon Musk got turbocharged exposure for Tesla's Cybertruck last week, Tweeting it could 'serve briefly as a boat'. 

People love to jump into their socials, correct things and make jokes about how  stupid Elon Musk is. 

Which turned the whole thing into a meme frenzy and Musk got exactly the exposure he wanted.

This week we look at how rejecting advice is an essential business skill, and an advantage for anyone in SME business.

Links referred to in the show:

How we started our own beer and cider brand purely as a promotional exercise.

That time we bought a private jet for the same reason.

The sensible business reasons why Cybertruck looks the way it does