This is a very good talk from Jesse Schell at DICE 2010 in Las Vegas. It’s rare that online videos are worth 30 minutes of your time, but this one is.

Issues covered:

• How gaming can be used in marketing.
• Why the iPad is rubbish.
• How valuable is Farmville on Facebook.
• Convergenace and divergence of trechnology.
• Why coffee loyalty cards don’t work.
• How to use games in rewards and incentives.
• And a lot more.

If the player above doesn’t show (for some reason Google Chrome doesn’t like it), follow this link.

I texted the number at the end of the TV advert for a catalogue. I got an immediate text back thanking me for my interest and saying they would contact me soon for address details. Five days later and I’ve still heard nothing.

I wonder how CPC Farnell measure the return on investment from their TV advertising? It may be by the increase in market share of their competitors…I’ve just got what I needed from Screwfix.

Keeping employees motivated and engaged is more important than ever during tough economic times. This white paper takes you through the dos and don’ts of incentivising on a budget – how to maintain morale and maximise the return on your investment.

During difficult economic conditions, the competition for custom intensifies; customers become far more discretionary in their spending and focus on getting the most out of their money. So it‘s essential that employees are motivated to provide the highest levels of service that will set the company apart.  Whilst it may be tempting for employers to make a quick saving by cutting the incentives budget, it’s also a false economy. It’s important to remember that organisations with effective incentive schemes and high employee engagement consistently and significantly outperform their competitors.

Unfortunately over two-thirds of employers report that low staff morale is currently an issue and almost three-quarters realise that they face the problem of re-engaging staff in the organisation.  Going forward, employers are recognising that employee commitment will be vital if a company’s performance is to be sustained. A recent survey found that 64% of employers intend to increase their focus on the motivational value of reward programmes over the next 2-3 years.

…read the rest of this white paper (no email/registration required).

Here are five lessons in employee engagement from the TV mini-series ‘Band of Brothers’:

Lesson 1: Having a great leader at the top is critical to achieving extraordinary results.

Lesson 2: Middle and line-managers (NCOs) drive results – as well as engagement.

Lesson 3: Every member of the team must believe and understand the company’s purpose.

Lesson 4: Poor leaders destroy morale and confidence.

Scary or what? That wonderful website Springwise (daily fixes of entrepreneurial ideas) reports the US business that provides you with a fake child.

Why? So that you can get the same perks as parents i.e having to leave work early on certain occasions. Neat idea but can it also, in the spirit of the fairness it seeks, deliver sleepless nights and the occasional stress of a real child? I doubt it. Read more at springwise.com

1. I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. Be prepared for my mood.

2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn’t have received anything at all.

3. Sorry to have missed you, but I am at the doctor’s having my brain removed so I can be promoted to our management team.

4. I will be unable to delete all the unread, worthless emails you send me until I return from holiday on 18 April. Please be patient, and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.

5. Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged £4.99 for the first 10 words and £0.99 for each additional word in your message.

6. The email server is unable to verify your server connection and is unable to deliver this message. Please restart your computer and try sending again. (The beauty of this is that when you return, you can see how many in-duh-viduals did this over and over.)

7. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.

8. Hi, I’m thinking about what you’ve just sent me. Please wait by your PC for my response.

9. I’ve run away to join a different circus.

10. I will be out of the office for the next 2 weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as ‘Loretta’ instead of ‘Scott’.

Please feel free to use the comment facility and tell me your favourite or to add your own ideas.

Are you focused on flogging stuff or building relationships? The difference is substantial but often misunderstood. 

Doug Levy has written an interesting article titled 5 principles of breakthrough success in the “Relationship Era”. Levy talks about the history and evolution of business through the following phases:

Product Era: The focus is solely on transactions.
Consumer Era: The focus is still on transactions, but the idea of trust enters the dialogue as a way to persuade people to transact more.
Relationship Era: Trust between a brand and consumer is mutual. Trust and transactions are seen as distinct, and both are important. 

I especially like his succinct principles for a relationship: 

Principle 1: Clarify purpose
Principle 2: Commit to sustainable relationships
Principle 3: Connect with authenticity
Principle 4: Treat customers as partners
Principle 5: Engage 

My thanks to Sarah Derry #sarahderry for telling me about this article. Read the complete article.