Afternoon Espresso Hit

We recently received a phone call from avid espresso reader Richelle Swiney at MCM Entertainment with a suggestion of how we may improve the delivery of our newspaper. You've heard us say it before, we love it when people send us suggestions, ideas, tips and tools on how we can improve our newspaper to make it better for you and to help unlock your great ideas. Richelle's suggestion was to have the paper delivered later in the day when it's more appropriate for people to chill, have a cup of coffee, ponder and imagine. As was rightly pointed out, sometimes being delivered first thing in the morning you arrive with a bunch of work emails and The Espresso just gets swept up in a maze of things to do and you can't actually concentrate enough to make use of the cool ideas that we are sharing.

Not only did we think that this was a great idea but it reiterates the point that compartmentalising your day is a critical part of making time to get everything you want done, done. I remember reading a book by real estate guru John McGrath in which he talks about how he segments his day in order to get things done. He might check his emails twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon and spend an allocated time in the afternoon, maybe an hour or two, just returning phone calls. The rest of the time is spent in face to face meetings and having time to think. Other CEO's that I know schedule all their meetings for the morning when they're bright and full of energy and in the afternoons they tend to do more work where they can sit, concentrate and ponder. When and how you do things is entirely up to you, there is no one recipe fits all however this suggestion regarding our newspaper did point out to me how important it is to work out what you do well and when through the day and allocate your time around it. Unfortunately people tend to check emails 24/7, engage in social media all day long at every opportunity and bank meetings back to back for 8 to 9 hours a day and wonder why they don't get anything done. Compartmentalising is also something I spoke about in My Dad's Got Mojo - He's the Best Dad Ever to allow you to be with your children when you're with your chldren. Plan ahead, allocate your time and then be disciplined enough to stick with it. Work out what you do well, when and then do it. There's a time and a place for everything and the time for your weekly hit of innovation is now Wednesday afternoons!

Bowl of Chatter

We are interested to see how this one plays out. Recently a new urban furniture installation was opened in the pedestrian plaza in Times Square, New York. They are called Meeting Bowls and they are essentially semi-circular capsules that seat up to eight people. You'll see something not too dissimilar in children's playgrounds here in Australia. The creators believe that this is a project that is an experiment to facilitate spontaneous interactions and dialog. Naturally the setting is one of the most unique in the world with large television screens, a sea of people and the vibe of the New York city skyline surrounding you and the question is whether people will come together, talk and bring these bowls to life. The bowls rest on a base that gently rocks giving you the feeling of floating when sitting inside it. The jury is out on whether it will work or not but based on the trends we are seeing around the world based on 'community-ism', crowd sourcing and virtual communities and communication, it will be interesting whether the same principle of Facebook and the like work in a more traditional 'old school' fashion, ie. face to face and having a good old chat. 

The Kenyans Can Run

There is no doubt that Kenyans can run. In every long distance event for as long as we can remember the Kenyans have been winning. The question is can they run a company? A Floridian based economist, running enthusiast and social entrepreneur has created Kourage which is a running apparel brand designed, manufactured and managed by Kenyans in Kenya. There are now more than 200 Kenyans working in this factory, creating everything from high end fashion to police uniforms. Garments produced are then exported and sold in the developed world helping Kourage to invest revenue's back into the Kenyan economy, creating jobs and new skill sets for the Kenyans. Social consciousness is working it's way through the corporate world and to us as individuals. This is a classic case of solving many different issues  with the right creative thought.

Pedal Power

We have written recently about vending machines that pick up on your mood or state of mind through camera's and in return dispense food or drinks to meet your state of mind. When we came across this one we had to share it. Activate is a California-based beverage brand that has come up with a dispensing machine that rewards participants with a free bottle of their product if you are prepared to spend 30 seconds peddling on a bike. The bike is set up in front of a vending machine and if you do your time you receive a free drink all as a way of reinforcing the position of the brand around fitness and wellbeing. The installation has been put to the test in a Los Angles shopping centre and it's reported that  for every 30 seconds that you work you get the drink. Activ8 have also partnered with Nourish America to donate the retail value of all the drinks handed out to support nutrition in pregnant women. This a brand that putting it's money where its pedals are.