Archive for October 2009
Conference calls: 5 years of saving the world in so many different ways
Posted by Powwownowteam in Opinions on 30th October 2009
Powwownow recently celebrated our 5th birthday, and, more importantly, we celebrated over 2 million conference calls for over 100,000 customers (101,597 to be exact), and over £21 million saved by picking up the phone instead of travelling to face to face meetings.
Now these are impressive stats on their own, but being Powwownow, we thought it would be interesting to look at them from another angle: what else could they represent (please note: all calculations are based on complete guesswork with no basis in fact at all)? What else have we saved?
Business innovation and the attack of the Harlequin ladybirds
Posted by Powwownowgreen in Opinions on 23rd October 2009
London is under attack.
As I speak, thousands of airborne invaders fill the capital’s air, buzzing around its parks, crawling into buildings, tangling in people’s hair and generally creating disruption. I speak, of course, about Harmonia Axyridis, aka the Harlequin ladybird – and the latest in a long line of immigrants to threaten our native British fauna and flora. Even Twitter is buzzing with it.
Eat that frog
Posted by Powwownowbizfish in Opinions on 15th October 2009
(image courtesy of g_covacs, Flickr)
Whilst it must get credit for being one of the most unusual titles you’ll find on a business bookshelf, Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy also has to be one of the most useful.
In essence, even though the book is 129 pages thick, it offers (in my humble opinion) just one really good piece of advice. It was recommended to me by business coach Katie Demain who described it as a classic – and I can confirm that it has certainly made a difference to me and many others I work with. And since we are in the business of helping people and businesses to use their time more productively, I thought I had to share it.
The Little Guy versus the Big Problem
Posted by Powwownowgreen in Opinions on 8th October 2009
Do you ever wonder, given the sheer scale of the climate change problem, what difference we can make as an individual?
I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that I do. But the constant efforts by little people and big people alike continue to encourage me. Seeing the semi-constant Twitter messaging and online buzz about Copenhagen, for example, tells me that we can achieve something big through lots of small efforts – because there is belief that change is possible.
Twitter, conference calling and the Jevons paradox
Posted by Powwownowbizfish in Opinions on 2nd October 2009
There are many fascinating blogs out there on the subject of business efficiency and I have to praise one of them – the nice people at the Dachis Group – by way of stealing their idea.
The blog explains the premise of Jevons paradox, named after William Stanley Jevons in the picture above. It states that, as we find more efficient ways of using a resource, we end up using more rather than less. The example quoted is coal: the more efficient steam engines became, the more people were impelled to mine coal from the ground to fire these increasingly desirable machines. Thus the amount of coal used went up, not down, despite the efficiency gains.
When Face to Face is the only option
Posted by Powwownowteam in Opinions on 1st October 2009
We’re reasonable people here at Powwownow, and even we accept that there are some occasions when a conference call just isn’t enough, and you need a face to face meeting. Still, if you’re going to meet up, why not do it in style? We’ve had a look around and come up with 10 great places to meet in London – feel free to add your own, as there are many many more!
1. The Institute of Directors
A beautiful building in the heart of London with everything you could possibly need for small or large meetings. You need to be a member, though.
2. Breakfast at the Hoxton Grill
THE place for a breakfast meeting in the East End. The Grill, based in the Hoxton Hotel is in the style of an American diner. There also private rooms for hire, if there are several attendees and you need that extra bit of privacy.
