Today, 30 of the world’s best business schools will be in Nairobi. Sign up.
Yesterday was my brother’s birthday.
Today marks the 89th day of the year which means that we’re 24.384% of the way into 2009. Are you 24.384% of the way into reaching your goals this year?
Categories: Musings
I just got back from a meeting with my doctor (Dr. Somoya at the Nairobi Hospital Doctor’s Plaza). For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been having recurrent migraines for the past three or four months, and I didn’t really know what caused them until today.
She unpacked my life over the past three months and discovered (to my unbelief and astonishment) that I’m stressed. Actually, I’m more than stressed because it’s affecting my health and my relationships. My prescription was, and I quote, “Kangai- do what you like to do. Don’t do what you don’t like to do. Relax and stay in sleep more. Go to spa and have the massage. Go to place where you do the relax. Call your sweetest friend and tell them for coffee and talk. Do what you want to do…” (she’s a very cool Egyptian woman with a thick accent…)
I realized that there are quite a few triggers for my migraines, and top on the list is one combined group of idiots. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, idiots are the greatest cause my migraines. You know- those people who literally just decrease your own level of intelligence to the point where it rubs against the floor- causing migraines. Second on my list was the amount of work I have on my plate. She said I’m overworking myself. This is true, if you combine the fact that I’m in school 16 hours each week, I work 40 hours, and I run a business part-time. Which led to the third reason- I’m not spending enough time with my ’sweetest friend’, which tends to relax me quite a bit.
So, in the spirit of having a イースター休暇リラックス, I’ve decided to do what I want to do. Here’s my list of 10 things to do in April (after exams, of course), and if you don’t fall under trigger #1, you can join me.
And to help you relax too, here’s another stretch worth… well… stretching. (Plus it can be a really cool way to stretch and lay prostrate before the Lord…)
Place your lower body in a kneeling position. Slide your hands forward & draw your buttocks back to create a stretch in the upper torso. You can also perform this stretch standing with your hands against a wall.
Categories: Musings
Pick up your torches and pitchforks!!!
For the past two days, a company in Nairobi has been experiencing a strike put up by their employees. And the senior management does not care, or even bother to show up for that matter. (Do they even know?)
Funny thing is that this is a mirror image of how many small, medium and up-coming companies operating in Kenya are treating their staff. Like throwaway objects placed there to bring in profit for the boss. (I know how it feels because I worked in one for six months, and waited for 24 months to receive my pay. The big BOOGERS!) I advise these very cool people to state their demands and stand by them until the management apologises for their nasty behaviour, and gives them what they want. If this doesn’t work, they can call upon one of my friends who’ll slap them silly because that’s what he likes to do…
So in cases like these, I call upon one of four experts to help me (and possibly you) understand what in the world is going on! In this case, Seth just seems to be the ticket. In “Purple Cow”, which I’m re-reading again, Seth talks about “What it means to be a marketer today”. It touches a little bit on design, which I blogged about a few days ago. This is an excerpt from the book, with full credit going to Seth Godin. The emphases in bold italics are mine.
Categories: Marketing
Be an expert at being remarkable (and make it a verb)!
In “Purple Cow”, Seth said that organizations should stop trying to be perfect, and start being remarkable. Most people have no idea what that means. Well, my Macbook’s thesaurus says that a remarkable thing is extraordinary, exceptional, amazing, astonishing, astounding, marvelous, wonderful, sensational, stunning, incredible, unbelievable, phenomenal, outstanding, momentous, out of the ordinary, unusual, uncommon, surprising, fantastic, terrific, tremendous, stupendous, awesome and wondrous. (It’s a remarkable machine…)
The coolest thing is that it’s cheaper, faster, and more profitable to be remarkable, than to work so hard to be perfect. Why? Because perfect is ordinary. And attaining perfection is out of reach. And it’s expensive, especially for your R&D department. Why? Because perfection is subjective. I know what the perfect car for me is. But that’s not your perfect car. I know what my perfect hair product is. But that won’t work for you. So how many companies out there are being perfect? Offering perfect customer service? Perfectly chilled mango juice? Perfect… well, everything… that to them is perfect, but to you is just another product or service? Well, most of them. So there you go- you’ve got your strategy already!
Dump your company’s perfect product or service in the bin and dig out the remarkable one that was dumped in there last year. Or last month, or even last week. Implement that remarkable strategy that you’ve been hoarding. Share your Big Hairy Audacious Ideas with the world.
Need some inspiration? Wanna be remarkable? Start thinking like a designer. Click here.
Happy reading!
Categories: Marketing
I admit- it’s been a while since I promised that I would write. Early this year I mentioned that I would be faithful, writing numerous posts about marketing and makeup, or just simply musing by sharing my random ideas with the world.
Well, here I am. Once again. Writing… I never knew how ultimately difficult it is to remain disciplined enough to write on a regular basis. It’s hard. It’s hard to balance school (full-time), work (full-time), church (part-time), working out (hardly-any-of-the-time), relationships and family (all-the-time), traveling (most-of-the-time), blogging (some/[if-not-]none-of-the-time), and AOB’s (squeezed-into-my-time)…
So, when reality hits, what would you do? I don’t recommend doing what I did- retreating into my comfortable hole and just handling what I think I can safely handle. Do more. Be more. In this time of downsizing, retrenching and quitting, it’s time to DO MORE! Not less. Don’t scale back. Do what everyone else is afraid to do!
Stretch your tent curtains wide, as Isaiah faithfully reminds me. Spread out to the left, and to the right (preferably not physically). Get into different markets, teach yourself a new skill, learn a new language (Japanese is very cool, by the way)! Or just relax, lay on the floor and follow Kermit’s instructions.
Start by lying on your back, arms resting on the floor by your sides. Bend the knees & draw your feet toward your buttocks. Bring your arms to a position above your head where you feel a mild stretch in the upper torso. Arms still resting on the floor. Maintain this position whilst trying to relax the muscles that feel tight or tense. Breathe. Try to relax more on an outward breath. Allow yourself to move further into the stretch when you notice the tension has released. Try not to over arch the spine or to lift it from the floor. Allow the muscles to relax & the mind to become calm as the floor takes your weight. Aaaaaahhhh....
Categories: Musings
