Industry Gears Up For 2008 January Show
A must for the new year is the National Trade Only Show at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. Not only is it a great place for us to pick up new gift ideas, it also one where we can meet and talk with some of our suppliers, customers and colleagues from across the industry. For many this is the only time for a catch up.
Throughout the rest of the year we only really have time for phone calls or email. Oh how nice it would be to be able to say ‘I don’t do email’ as Ringo Starr did on the Jonathan Ross show last night. I recently read an article in Times Magazine on President Putin who also said that he did not do email but had a very good team of people around him who did.
Now, I am not one of these people who hates the stuff, but I kind of admire their approach because it means you have to pick up a phone or go and see someone - or at least be called for an audience. In the US, some of our colleagues have told us about the latest practice - no email Fridays - which forces everyone in the office to get face time with each other. Another practice I recently came across was to make oneself an ‘email bankrupt’. This is where you have so much email in your inbox unanswered that the only way to solve the problem is to close the email address and start with another one, which you only pass out to a select few. The internet is a fantastic vehicle for a company like Redbows but sometimes I do miss the early morning cuppa at a local cafe followed by a day actually visiting clients for a good natter, catch up and some quality time with them.
