Just Add Water

Team Development: in the Line of Laughter

2012-02-13T16:47:00.002Z

Anyone who has ever attended a comedy gig knows that the professions of audience members provide endless material to comics. Comedians have traditionally picked on bankers, accountants and media types, for a range of reasons that I wouldn't dare repeat.

Currently - the world of team development is the one being gently mocked -- not by a counter cultural comedian in a basement club but by none other than Vodafone. Through a series of, admittedly quite funny, outdoor advertisements, team development gets a right ole slagging. The adverts feature forlorn colleagues in the midst of a dreaded Team Building event with the tagline:" There are better ways to build your business"

Note the despair

Again, dreadful!

The ads clearly tap into a perception, held by some, of team development as being a distraction from the day-to-day and well, all a little weird and uncomfortable!

Though I definitely laughed when I saw the ads, I did also consider that they do nothing to enhance the public image of people development, and this simply won't do...

And so, a clarification or two:

1. Just Add Water do not bring clients on obstacle courses of any description -- far too cold!

2. Just Add Water believe that people connect and engage best when they're working on issues that relate to their core business -- not flinging each other through hoops!

We're hiring!

2012-01-04T16:06:00.000Z

Great brands tell great stories. At Just Add Water we enable brands and their people to tell great stories through leadership development and employee engagement.

We are actively seeking a new senior team member with imagination and originality, who's hungry and foolish, passionate and courageous, open to change and who's looking for something different.

If this sounds like you, then come meet us for a chat in our West End office.

Please email claire@sojustaddwater.com for further information and a full job description.

The Sin of Omission: HR in the Financial Crisis

2011-12-13T18:58:00.002Z

Over the past number of years, a consistent cacophony of criticism has been fired at the leaders of the corporate world for their role in creating a global, and reticent, financial crisis.

While I've largely been alternating between nodding in saddened agreement and shaking my head in disgust - I've also been wondering what blame, if any, has been leveled at the HR directors who recruited; inculcated and developed these leaders.

The Time Magazine list of '25 people to blame for the Financial Crisis' is a who's who of (former) leaders of banks, ratings agencies and hedge funds alike -- the blame game been made personal. Unsurprisingly however, the HR Directors who oversaw the careers of these 'flawed leaders' are spared criticism. I'm left wondering, does HR deserve to get off the hook so easily?

If the corporate meltdowns we've witnessed from the likes of Lehman brothers and RBS are largely created by weak management, poor leadership and impulsive decision making - then HR surely has a case to answer.

Sir Fred Goodwin and Dick Fuld are two of the more maligned villains in the tale of financial Armageddon which has unfolded since 2008. In the analysis of what went wrong, Goodwin and Fuld, have both been characterized (to greater or lesser degrees) by former colleagues as highly aggressive characters who bulldozed their agendas and intimidated those around them during the decision making process -- to the detriment of the effective management of the institutions they led. These stories are eerily similar to those told of life at WorldCom, Enron and a litany of other failed corporations.

Speaking of meltdowns, the story of Icarus and his wax wings which melted when he flew too close the sun is quite a pertinent illustration of the dangers of hubris. In Icarus's case we know that he was issued warnings not to fly to close to the sun by his father (the then equivalent of a HR Director) - I would love to know, were architects of the financial meltdown as decisively advised of the perils of their attitudes by their HR Directors?

I believe a share of the mud being slung in this post-crisis phase should come in our direction -- to the world of people development. I welcome the mud slinging not only because I think it's deserved but because I believe that to be taken seriously, we need to acknowledge our role -- our sin of omission -- in the creation of the crisis.

No Mo-re

2011-12-01T11:00:00.001Z

Jeremy's mo is not long for this world. Tis the 1st of December and so his journey into a bygone fashion trend has come to an end.

Major congratulations to Jeremy for his bravery in the face of widespread slagging - all in the name of a great cause. If you'd like to sponsor him, here's how: http://uk.movember.com/mospace/2336848/

Movember Week 2!

2011-11-16T15:51:00.000Z

Really taking shape...

Phil & Kirstie on Location Location Location at the Olympic Park

2011-11-11T10:04:00.000Z

Simon and Kate on site in Stratford after a fashionating ... I mean fascinating... tour of the Olympic Park!

Week 1: Movember

2011-11-07T16:42:00.002Z

Just when you thought there was nothing fun between Halloween and Christmas, along comes Movember!

Jeremy is bravely taking part in Movember this year so keep track of his progress each week here on the JAW blog.

I'm sure he'd also appreciate hints and tips on mo-management from past participants, so please do share!

If you'd like to sponsor Jeremy, you can find his page here: http://uk.movember.com/mospace/2336848/

Overcoming our Yammer stammer

2011-10-26T12:13:00.007+01:00

While I was a fan of Yammer from the get-go, what with its familiar (Facebook) feel and up to the minute applications - I must admit, we at Just Add Water haven't been as active as we'd like with the tool.

Yesterday, in a bid to re-ignite my initial love for Yammer, I went along to a talk hosted by their founder and CEO, David Sacks. A few hours later, I emerged from the Intercontinental Park Lane a full on advocate, though sadly not the owner of the raffled iPad.

Here are a few of the reasons why Yammer impressed:

- The company has tripled its users in the past 9 months and now currently host 4m users, being adopted by the likes of Disney and Thomson Reuters.

- Sachs believes Yammer is invaluable for onboarding, crowd sourcing, M&A and cultural change programmes.

- Yammer is being integrated into all other enterprise software e.g. Sharepoint and Salesforce and was described as the social layer that sits above all such tools.

- Yammer's Risk Adjusted ROI is - 365%

- Yammer's Payback period is: 4.3 months

- Yammer reduces email by 1/3 and has become a proven tool for hosting town halls and Executive announcements

The customer panel, expertly hosted by Richard Coope of RY, drew out valuable insights from current Yammer users: Peter Kemper (Shell); Laurie Hibbs (Lexis Nexis) and Suzanne Masters (ACCA).

As it turned out, the main issue experienced by the panel and my fellow attendees transpired to be very similar to our own -- maintaining the momentum of use and taking conversations from email onto Yammer.

In an appropriate crowd sourcing style, solutions were provided in the room:

1. Get Executive buy-in and ensure that board members use Yammer as a tool for conversing with the body of the organisation e.g. in the style of a typical town hall

2. Use the stats provided by Yammer on the most 'liked' and 'most replies' to create healthy competition on amongst users

3. Post job opportunities exclusively on Yammer (this one got a hefty knowing laugh out of the audience)

4. Keep the tone conversational and light

Happy yamming (apparently that's the verb),

Kate

A love story, set in a bank?

2011-10-18T15:12:00.000+01:00

We spend a great deal of time working with organisations on their story - the one that gets told at all levels of the organisation. That story is intrinsically linked to the story told to customers through advertising and PR.

As practitioners of the dark art of storytelling, what we come up against most regularly in business is a fear of ditching the safety of facts and embracing story in their stead: context enriched by emotion. Great brands tell great stories - and to tell a great story, you need to target hearts, not minds.

First Direct banks has embraced storytelling with gusto by claiming to put heart and dare I say the least business like word of all, love - into their campaigns.

Do they have the customer service culture to support their claims? We certainly hope so.

Holding: tray first, then floor

2011-10-04T17:28:00.002+01:00

In my last post I spoke about delivering your message in an appropriate tone. When I spotted this burger bell in Covent Garden it reminded me of an even more pertinent piece of advice I once received from a colleague....."If you want to get people's attention - feed them first!"

Kate

Do your words ring true?

2011-09-28T11:28:00.005+01:00

As a cyclist in London, I very often have occasion to alert pedestrians to my impending arrival by ringing my bike bell. I like to think that I'm a polite person who is doing this for the mutual safety of myself and those in my path. Unfortunately, the tone of my bike bell mispresentents me. It's well - impolite. Shrill, sharp and loud - the tone of my bell is offensive.

The messages we want to get across (e.g. please move or we're both hitting the deck) and the tone in which we say them are so often eschewed. One of my favourite quotes, which gets to the heart of what happens when our tone is out of whack with our message proposes that:

“Long after people forget what you said to them, they will remember how you made them feel.” ― R. Fredig

If sharing your vision with your people - be excited -- show passion. You cannot fake passion -so be authentic, your tone will give it away if you're not.

I think I may invest in one of these bells. It's made of brass and comes all the way from Japan. Most importantly it's incredibly sweet sounding.

Kate

How digitized is your learning experience?

2011-09-23T13:58:00.003+01:00

I thought this visual summed up rather nicely how far we've come since the days of VHS training videos -- and the days when dominoes was a hit game.

September is a month long associated with education - specifically the purchase of new pencil cases. No better time then to take stock of your employees' learning experience and whether or not you've fully embraced the digital suite at your disposal.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of Podcast learning. In fact, if I listened to even half of the podcasts I'd downloaded I'd be quite the Spanish speaking psychologist/ historian.

The BBC have a great learning site, see here which is a great starting point if you're as yet unconverted.

Kate

Who sets the path?

2011-09-07T13:59:00.020+01:00

Are your people clear on the direction that's being set? I recently had a fascinating conversation with a friend who has found himself in total opposition to a fellow divisional leader. The result of their lack of agreement is that everyone involved in the initiative can't move - pushed and pulled in equal measure.

If direction is not clearly set by a united team at the top -- well, you aint flying anywhere!

Kate

The bright side of Autumn

2011-09-01T13:28:00.001+01:00

Sweet employee branding at Virgin Mobile

2011-08-24T17:40:00.006+01:00

What manner of stranger would you allow into your home?
This may seem like an odd question, but for any company that visit their customers' homes, it's probably one they should be considering. After all, one's home is typically the last place one wants to meet a stranger (particularly one in a ski mask).

Virgin Mobile have thought about the kind of strangers their customers will be happy to open their front doors to and are now marketing their repair team as, essentially, 'pleasant enough to give a biscuit to' and 'upright and honest'.

I believe this is further proof of the growing popularity of employee branding. In the age of the experience economy - products are less and less important - people are more and more so. And now, we're seeing big business push the quality of their people above the quality of their products, inline with that shift.

My question is, how is Virgin Mobile's lightly amusing 'brand promise' matched internally in terms of learning and development and indeed internal communications? Are Virgin Mobile's 'biscuit worthy' employees being trained to a higher standard than their 'not worth a crum' competitors? As this trend continues - I'm sure we'll find out.

Kate

Finland's Finest

2011-08-24T10:27:00.001+01:00

Big thanks to Simon D. who brought back this beautifully packaged Moomin game (complete with mini Moomin and sweets) from his weekend in Helsinki!

Kate

Enron's Values - Rhetoric and Reality

2011-08-19T12:04:00.001+01:00

The rhetoric:

Enron's Values

Respect: We treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. We do not tolerate abusive or disrespectful treatment. Ruthlessness, callousness and arrogance don't belong here.

Integrity: We work with customers and prospects openly, honestly and sincerely. When we say we will do something, we will do it; when we say we cannot or will not do something, then we won't do it.

Communication: We have an obligation to communicate. Here, we take the time to talk with one another…and to listen. We believe that information is meant to move and that information moves people.

Excellence: We are satisfied with nothing less than the very best in everything we do. We will continue to raise the bar for everyone. The great fun here will be for all of us to discover just how good we can really be.

The reality:

Enron's shareholders lost $74 billion in the four years before the company's bankruptcy - $40 to $45 billion was attributed to fraud.

Kate

Topography Tip from the Edinburgh Fringe

2011-08-18T15:50:00.005+01:00

I spent last week at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, performing improv, and soaking up as much comedy as was humanly and economically possible.
One show I particularly enjoyed was that of Conor O'Toole, whose deadpan dedication to the manual of style was both engaging and yes, a little bit - dare I say, thought provoking...
The show personifies the best known and 'most influential' fonts and what makes them, in O'Toole's estimation, visually appealing (Helvetica) or dull in the extreme (Arial) - all in a slightly off the wall and highly entertaining fashion.
O'Toole's hell-bent enthusiasm for typography reminded me that choosing an appropriate font for all internal communications is very important and something which is regularly overlooked in corporate communications I suspect. To prove that I'm practicing what I preach, this post is now penned in Helvetica.
If you're in anyway interested in all this - I recommend checking out Conor's show and the following sites:

http://www.typographyserved.com/
http://typies.blogspot.com/2006/11/15-tips-to-choose-good-text-type.html

Kate

Down with Dairy!

2011-08-16T11:56:00.001+01:00

As a Google image search for 'leadership' or 'employee engagement' will quickly reveal, highly cheesy images of 'engaged employees' huddled around spreadsheets and 'inspirational leaders' punching the air, abound online.

In the world of mainstream communications (i.e. non-internal) - such kitsch images have been consigned to history (think 1950's housewives holding soap) - so how have they survived in the corporate environment?

Contrived images of team huddles only serve to promote an unrealistic (and often comical) image of how employees and leaders should behave in the workplace. In an age when the tolerance of insincere platitudes from corporate bodies is at an all time low, is it not time for internal communications to go dairy free?

Kate

Who's your Goose?

2011-08-02T17:56:00.003+01:00

I snapped this photo on the platform at Leicester Square tube station last night. It caught my eye because essentially it's a (presumably costly) advert for a drinks company that focuses entirely on the character of just one employee.

The individual in question, named Goose, is a tour guide at their flagship distillery. Goose is not just any tour guide however, he is an expert, a connoisseur, a sharp character - and thanks to this campaign, Goose is now part of the lore of the brand. Goose, if that is his real name, has cleverly been shown to embody the very values of the brand he represents.

All organisations have people like Goose working for them. The people who know the history, the story of the company better than anyone else. The ones that teach newbies "how we do things around here". Do many organisations leverage that "employee brand", internally and externally? A big no!

Of course we can't all put our Geese (Simon Doman) on tube billboards - but we can acknowledge their tacit knowledge and consider deeply how we use those people to represent the employer brand as well as the consumer brand.

Kate

Do you know how you learn?

2011-08-02T17:14:00.002+01:00

In our work with teams and individuals, we regularly hear from clients about dysfunctional meetings where not everything that can be achieved, is. This can be on account of clashing conversational styles, a lack of preparation or indeed a lack of account being taken of the learning styles around the table.

Some leaders will look for robust off the cuff debate in their meetings, expecting decisions to be made in the moment. Other leaders will require their team members to come prepared with reflections and thoughts and work through the agenda in an orderly fashion - interestingly these opposing styles both have the capacity to alienate the people around the table.

A key part of understanding how you can make the most of the meetings you participate in is to discern what your learning type, and that of those around you, is. Honey and Mumford put forward, what I believe is, a simple and helpful model to think about your preferences:

◦Reflector - Prefers to learn from activities that allow them to watch, think, and review (time to think things over) what has happened. Likes to use journals and brainstorming. Lectures are helpful if they provide expert explanations and analysis.

◦Theorist - Prefer to think problems through in a step-by-step manner. Likes lectures, analogies, systems, case studies, models, and readings. Talking with experts is normally not helpful.

◦Pragmatist - Prefers to apply new learnings to actual practice to see if they work. Likes laboratories, field work, and observations. Likes feedback, coaching, and obvious links between the task-on-hand and a problem.

◦Activist - Prefers the challenges of new experiences, involvement with others, assimilation and role-playing. Likes anything new, problem solving, and small group discussions.

Having a clear idea of how you, and indeed your team, learn best, will help ensure that meetings have higher participation rates and less awkward silences. Or so goes my theory!

Kate

Next stop: Shanghai

2011-07-28T14:05:00.005+01:00

Today, Simon, Claire and Jeremy touch down in Shanghai as they continue preparations for an upcoming engagement with IHG.

One place I know they'd all like to check out if they had a spare hour, is the pictured, Museum of Glass. The museum opened mid May as part of Shanghai’s campaign to become a globally important cultural and creative centre by launching 100 museums in a decade and has already caused quite a stir.

If your curiosity's been tampered with - the museum website is well worth a peek: http://en.shmog.org/index.php

Kate

Stunning Singapore

2011-07-28T13:41:00.000+01:00

Simon, Claire and Jeremy sent through this rather lovely photo yesterday - taken from the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore. Continuing the great work with IHG undertaken in Atlanta, Chicago and London - the guys are now planning the next phase of activity in Asia which is all very exciting.

Funnily, if you squint just enough -- the scene pictured is almost the same as what one might see in Canary Wharf. And THAT is why - we back at base, are not one bit jealous :)

Kate

Storytelling with BNI

2011-07-25T13:43:00.016+01:00

Today, Jeremy, Simon and I had the pleasure of working with the lovely people at BNI in Bunratty Castle Hotel.

We were asked to work with the Area Director community to hone their storytelling skills and gain an understanding of how story can be effectively applied to the business world.

It was a great opportunity for us to work with a new group and for me to boast about how great Ireland is. I think the pints of Guinness pictured, most powerfully made my point.

Kate

How predictable are you?

2011-07-13T17:49:00.000+01:00

The month of July has thus far, been shockingly disappointing weather wise. We have all collectively been glued to the weather forecast, wishing and hoping for pixelated sunshine - the bigger, the better.

I reckon the main reason the weather forecast is such a staple piece of viewing in this country is because we all like to know in advance what we're facing into - simple - then we know if it's wellies or wedges.

The point being - reducing uncertainty is a natural human imperative. How does that relate to the world of employee engagement? Well, it leads me to a question that all managers need to ask themselves: "how predictable is your behaviour?". It's a question worth answering, I believe, because the degree to which you control your stormy, tornado behaviour - closely relates to the desire of your employees to work alongside you.

Clients, as well as family and friends quite often share stories of irratic bosses and colleagues and how their behaviour impacts on the whole office/organisation. Needless to say, the irratic behaviour is never hailed as a positive thing. Psychological safety is extremely important in the workplace and something which is so easily eroded by random outbursts of emotion.

Something to think about.

For something to laugh about, see below, a picture from my trip to sunny Brighton.

Chicago and all that Improv

2011-06-29T13:46:00.078+01:00

This week Claire, Jeremy and Simon are busy at work in Chicago, with the good people at IHG.

Chicago is a fantastic city - rich in history and story. Chicago holds a particularly special place in my heart, not only because I enjoy a deep pan pizza, sure - but for the simple reason that is the home of Second City - an improvised comedy mecca.

I wa lucky enough to study at Second City but some moderately better known students include the likes of Bill Murray, Tina Fey and Mike Myers - names that have gone on to feature in some of the highest grossing movies of all times. What's interesting about the school is that Second City is so often credited by its famous students for giving them their unique ability to create stories and think on their feet.

Improv is now widely used in organisational development by organisations like us, and many others besides.

The relevance of improv to business is clear: it encourages people to be spontanious and creative, to trust their instincts, to listen to others, to build on ideas and be comfortable adapting to any given situation.

If you'd like to practice a little improv, in the comfort of your own office/home - here's a game that they play on Day One in Second City -and every other improv school, to be fair:

Yes And!

1. Get the group into pairs
2. Pick a topic to talk about (something easy, like holidays - who doesn't like holidays?!)
3. Person A - start the conversation with a statement about holidays

4. Person B - reply with 'yes and' add a further detail about the topic

5. Person A - 'yes and' person B's statement - and so on and so forth

The point of the game is to show that conversations are far more meaningful (and lengthy) when we 'yes and' as opposed to 'no but'. By 'yes anding' we exhaust topics and avoid making assumption.

Why not use it in your next brainstorming meeting? Or indeed, when you're having difficulty drumming up conversation with a new member of the team.

Yes, and - thanks for reading.

Kate

A brief note on productivity..

2011-06-15T16:56:00.004+01:00

Would your people do this?

2011-06-13T10:49:00.004+01:00

This picture was taken from the shelter of a sardine vendor's tent at the Portugal Day celebrations in Kennington Park yesterday afternoon.

The weather was, as you can see, atrocious. Despite the rain however, hundreds upon hundreds of people with links to Portuguese culture turned out and stayed out, to celebrate it.

Seemingly, the joy created by being around a large group of people who share a culture, a common language and a common set of experiences was powerful enough to keep the revellers invested in the event well beyond the point where blow-ins like myself were checking TFL Journey Planner.

It got me wondering, as I munched on my portuguese sardines, how many brands have created a culture that engenders such a strong sense of loyalty amongst customers and employees? Google perhaps? Or Zappo? It's difficult to say definitively. What is safe to say, however, is that any company who isn't considering whether or not their employees and customers feel anything like the cultural connection shown in Kennington Park yesterday afternoon, is missing a trick.

Kate

Calling all Storytellers!

2011-06-07T11:40:00.001+01:00

Today is the final day to register as an official storyteller of the 2012 Games. BT is searching for people from all walks of life to volunteer as storytellers for the Games in the belief that storytelling will help to bring London 2012 meaningfully for all who will live through it. From one year out, through to the Games themselves in 2012, these storytellers will capture what London 2012 means to them, and the British public, in their own unique and creative way.

Storytellers will be asked to attend sporting and cultural events, and meet some of the people that are directly involved, from athletes to celebrities. BT will then be aiming to showcase some of the work submitted online and in the media.

It's genuinely great to see such a prominent brand advocating the power of storytelling and invest in such a high profile campaign in support of community based storytelling. If you think you can spin a decent yarn and want to get involved, check out the following link: http://www.btlondon2012.co.uk/About.html

Kate

The Case for Employee Engagement

2011-05-18T17:46:00.017+01:00

This week I came across a 2009 report to Government by David McLeod and Nita Clarke, entitled Engaging for Success: enhancing performance through employee engagement for the first time.

To me, the report was something of a revelation - right there in one place was an army of facts to support the importance of employee engagement, something we are all passionate about at Just Add Water. Here are some of the more eyebrow raising findings from the report:

Engaged employees in the UK take an average of 2.69 sick days per year; the disengaged take 6.19.
Seventy per cent of engaged employees indicate they have a good understanding of how to meet customer needs; only 17 per cent of nonengaged employees say the same.
Engaged employees are 87 per cent less likely to leave the organisation than the disengaged.
Engaged employees advocate their company or organisation – 67 per cent against only three per cent of the disengaged. Seventy-eight per cent would recommend their company’s products of services, against 13 per cent of the disengaged
Fifty-four per cent of the actively disengaged say that work stress caused them to behave poorly with friends or family members in the previous three months, against 17 per cent of the engaged.

As for the causes of disengagement, Towers Perrin shed some light on the subject. Their 2007 report shows that that only 29 per cent of UK employees believed their senior managers were sincerely interested in their well-being; only 31 per cent thought their senior managers communicated openly and honestly; only three per cent thought their managers treated them as key parts of the organisation and no fewer than 60 per cent felt their senior managers treated them as just another organisational asset to be managed - completely shocking.

I'll leave you with those nuggets but with 157 pages in the report and more genuinely astonishing findings to unveil, we could have a Lost-esque blog series on our hands.

The report cover page that wasn't..

Kate

Talk isn't that cheap after all...

2011-05-10T16:58:00.004+01:00

..For Microsoft at least that is, who today shelled out $8.5 billion for Skype Technologies. With 660 million+ registered users and more than 100 million average monthly users it's not hard to understand why Skype caught the eye of the technology giant - but what has made them so appealing?

Skype is bigger than Twitter and with it's unlimited free calling service has become a vital relationship tool for business and civilian society alike (particularly for those valiantly attempting to maintain long-distance relationships). What makes Skype so popular and hence so valuable, I believe, is that more so than any of it's social media cousins, Skype creates and helps to maintain close relationships, for free.

Twitter and Facebook (which has 500million users) create forums, maintain loose relationships and facilitate the sharing of information within social groups - and they're great at it. Most of us however speak to the people we care about most in person or over the phone. Skype allows us to do something in between those two preferences - with Skype we can video call.

What Skype has that other social media titans don't therefore is the ability to promote intimacy. When conversing on Skype, distance and time are obliterated and in their place come tone of voice and body language - two key components in the fostering of close relationships.

What does all this mean for organisational development? Nothing perhaps. Or perhaps it means we could all do with assessing the communication channels that dominate in our organisations and whether or not they adequately promote the types of conversations that foster strong relationships across the organisation.

At the very least the dominance of Skype goes to show that people seemingly place a high value on both building close relationships and storytelling - which is good news (at a stretch) for Just Add Water!

Kate

.... Now, where were we?!

2011-05-05T17:57:00.001+01:00

The Just Add Water team are all back in the office today after a relatively long period of separation. Those who were working and on Easter/Royal Wedding break in the US and France are looking decidedly more sun kissed than those of us who took ourselves to Ireland and Newcastle, but on the whole we've returned a well refreshed team - ready to face into a busy summer of work. Fingers crossed for a continuation of this unnervingly pleasant weather to keep the holiday glows in situ!

Wedding Fever?

2011-04-19T11:03:00.000+01:00

While the majority of the team are out working hard in Atlanta with IHG's Knight's Conference, those of us back in the UK are preparing ourselves for all things Easter and the UK May bank holiday.

This year, of course, we are being "treated" to an additional day's holiday thanks to the upcoming union between Wills and Kate. It only seems to have been this week that I've noticed much of any celebratory trappings on buildings and shops. Things in London have been quite low key so far, and so it goes across the rest of the UK, with much made in the press about the low number of street party applications!

Things are not the same it seems with our cousins across the pond! In the USA there appears to have been an endless news cycle devoted to the event for quite some time now. Speculation on dress design, bridesmaid hair, honeymoon location, corgi tributes, guest lists and floral arrangements are all across the airwaves.

The coverage here seems somewhat reserved, but maybe that's just the way us Brits do things, or maybe it's the influence of an over-riding perspective from British industry on just how many business days we are "losing" this Spring...

Regardless of your feelings, a forced break is always healthy. So our advice is not to resist it, to take the opportunity to step back and to think about what's important in your life. Hopefully you'll be able to return to "the madness of all the work that you needed to get done in April, but couldn't quite because everything was shut for two weeks" a better person for the break!

Meanwhile - to prepare you for the UK royal coverage, this is how it should be done: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-8mESIK98Q

Simon A.

Just Add Website

2011-04-16T17:29:00.001+01:00

Greetings from Atlanta, Georgia where Claire, Jeremy, Simon and I are beavering away on an exciting project with IHG ...and dodging tornadoes to boot.

Just a quick post to say many thanks to Advantage Design who've worked tirelessly to get our new website up and running in time for this project's commencement.

Hopefully the new site will serve us well and make getting to know Just Add Water a little bit easier.

Go Braves!?

Kate

Spring Awakening

2011-04-11T10:13:00.001+01:00

Well Spring has sprung in earnest this week, and it seems that London has been celebrating with some wonderful examples of creativity and eccentricity.

It was wonderful being in the city this weekend. London comes alive in the sun, and takes on a quality I've yet to experience in any other city. Maybe it's because we really value our good-weather days. We cannot really guarantee them the way other world cities can, so the mere hint of a balmy weekend sees the suits and boots traded for shorts and t-shirts in a nanosecond!

As the temperature topped 23 degrees (73F) at the end of last week, we saw troops of Charlie Chaplins (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23939466-proper-charlies-chaplin-a-likes-take-over-london.do) and be-tweeded cyclists (http://www.tweedrun.com) hitting town.

I missed the Charlies, but was lucky enough to be in Paternoster Square when the sea of Tweed arrived. It was a surreal mash-up of 1920s and 2010s fashion - on wheels! The event is in its third year and raises funds for Bikes4Africa. The clear joy present in the participants, simply by dressing-up and biking around town, reminded me how important it is to make sure we get that playtime in our lives - no matter our age. The act of changing your outward appearance to escape, laugh, and experience a simpler way of life, are all things we could use a little more of in turbulent times.

I plan to scout for a costume myself now, ready to step back in time with the Tweed Run next year!

The luck of the Irish?

2011-03-17T17:16:00.002Z

A very happy St. Patrick's Day from all at Just Add Water!

Ireland hasn't had the easiest time of it of late. A crumbling banking system, a bailout from the IMF and a losing streak on the rugby pitch all add up to a slightly less shiny national brand. That's why a day like today, when millions of people all around the world meet and celebrate what it is to be Irish, is so nice.

Perhaps more than any other national identity, 'Irishness' has been repackaged and adopted all around the globe. Ireland's a very interesting case study for anyone interested brand dissemination. Maybe it is just the luck of the Irish that we've gotten such a warm welcome globally, or more likely it has something to do with the very many Irish pubs across the world. In any case, this is no day for such serious ponderings.

And so, all that's left to say is Slainte!

Kate

Bring out the kid in everyone

2011-03-15T11:48:00.002Z

They say never meet your heroes (not sure who they are, but they say that a lot). Poppycock! This weekend I got to meet one of my heroes, and he didn’t disappoint.

John Earle is the founder and “CEO/Head Baker” of the unique clothing company Johnny Cupcakes. John’s story is the entertaining and inspiring tale of a man who turned a joke into a multi-million dollar business, all before he has reached his 30th birthday. The success of both the business and the brand is routed in its core values that stem from John himself, permeate through his organisation and employees, and make his customers fanatical advocates (and I include myself amongst them!)

I, like many others, first discovered Johnny Cupcakes whilst visiting Boston’s Newbury Street. I was in search of all things sweet and fatty. Intrigued by the wafting smell of baked goods and a sign that read: 0 calories, 0 carbs, and 0 fat, I was drawn into the shop to satisfy my hunger. Once there however, I discovered that the shop was not in fact a bakery, but instead a boutique selling limited edition t-shirt designs. I was hooked! The colourful, clever images and slogans grabbed me, and the store’s logo of a cupcake and crossed bones played to my love of all things slightly off centre. I left the store a couple of hundred dollars lighter!

The main reason I spent so much money on that visit, and in the three years since, is that one of Johnny Cupcakes’ selling points is that once a design has sold out, that’s it – it’s gone. I had bought straight into one of their brand drivers: everyone wants what no one else has!

This weekend John opened his fourth store, and the first outside of the US, just off Carnaby Street in London. Like all his others stores, the smell of baking abounds and the interior is laid out like a bakery, with clothing displayed in fridges and pastry counters. Baking goods line the walls, as do branded cake boxes. The staff are there in their aprons taking your order on a traditional diner order pad. The whole experience is an one of playful emersion, it is exciting and designed to make the customer feel like they are part of the Johnny Cupcakes brand itself.

John was there to shake our hands and talk about our experiences. The shop was full of “fans”, all wearing our Johnny Cupcakes designs from previous years and locations. We were part of the family and we know we’ll be going back for more exclusive designs as they are released. We were all there to share in another one of those brand values: “to bring out the kid in everyone.”

John spends a deal of his time on lecture tours around the world, talking about his brand and telling his story to entrepreneurs of all ages. His story and alternative attitude to how a business can grow are truly inspiring. Read the Johnny Cupcakes story and learn about his wonderful journey, hard work and determination, and the brand that keeps going from strength to strength: http://shop.johnnycupcakes.com/story/.

And if you feel like you’re in need of a smile, try and get to one of the stores to enjoy that feeling of being a “kid” again.

Simon A.

What a difference a stop makes

2011-03-03T18:05:00.002Z

For the many thousands of people who travel on London's tubes at morning rush hour, the experience is generally one that is best not dwelt upon. Given the dehumanising affect of being rammed up against one's fellow commuters, travelling the tube network between 8 and 10 am is an activity that's best blocked out by a combination of denial ("I'm not here") and the use of some form of electronic distraction (the ipod being the most space efficient).

In recent weeks, however, I have found myself being shaken from my deep internal retreat by the startling good cheer of an employee at Waterloo Station. I, along with hundreds of beleaguered Northern Line passengers are now given a few moments of good cheer by the announcer who in all actuality could just as easily be announcing a million pound boxing match - such is his enthusiasm and and use of exaggerated vowel sounds.

Where announcements are usually perfunctory and generally delivered with the severe formality, this gent has tailored his soundbites as follows:

1. "Helloooooooooooooooooo Ladies and Gentlemen - and welcome to the lovely Waterlooooooo"
2. "Please, lovely people, stand clear of the doors - cos this train is ..... reeeeeady to depart!!!"

Invariably, the train carriage is filled with smiling faces. Eye contact breaks out and for a moment, people are brought back to life.

The experience has gotten me thinking, why is humour such a taboo in organisational life? There is clearly a benefit to be accrued from allowing employees to go off-script, especially in customer facing environments and yet, so few customer centic organisations seem to encourage employees to create emotional connections with their customers. Retailers, take note - except you Zappo - gold star to you.

99 Ways to Tell a Story

2011-03-01T16:04:00.004Z

Being equipped to bring a single message to life in a variety of ways, depending on who's to receive it, is a crucial skill in everyday life. It is a skill most of us exercise naturally. Without much thought, we adopt the appropriate communication style depending on whether we're addressing our friends and family or our colleagues and clients. But what other styles are there at our disposal, beyond formal and informal?

A fantastic book by Matt Madden entitled '99 Ways to Tell a Story', sets out explore the very many illustrative styles which we can be used to communicate a singular message. Madden explores the notion of communication styles in a far more entertaining communication style than I can here – he uses comics.

Madden's Exercises in Style is a series of one-page comics that tell the same story in a variety of ways. The outcome is funny, clever and genuinely noteworthy for those interested in creating compelling internal communications.

Below are just of few of the styles explored by Madden:

The story template

Monologue storytelling

Ligne claire storytelling

Voyeur storytelling

Metaphorical storytelling

Kate

T.M.I - the unveiling of Coca Cola's secret formula

2011-02-18T13:40:00.002Z

This week the world's ears turned to a weekly radio show from the States called This American Life. The sudden surge in interest was caused by Ira Glass, the show's presenter, claiming to have discovered the closely guarded Coca Cola recipe.

Not only did Glass support his claim with detailed evidence of his discovery but he also unveiled the recipe in full on air and had a batch of the good stuff made up by group of soda experts. With a few minor modifications the cohorts managed to concoct a liquid which they claimed tastes almost identical to Coke original. Horray? Maybe not.

My instant reaction to this was one of disappointment. The fact of the matter is that as a lover of story and a believer in the power of story to engage with employees and consumers to create emotionally rich reactions to brands, this revelation is a truly disenchanting one.

Like finding out that Santa isn't (necessarily) real, being told the ending of a who-done-it film before you see it or witnessing a dignified gent lose his toupee to the wind - finding out the secret recipe for Coca Cola is simply disappointing.

Coca Cola is an iconic brand with a great story. The soft drink was first sold to the public at the soda fountain in Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta on May 8, 1886. In 1887, another Atlanta pharmacist and businessman, Asa Candler bought the formula for Coca Cola from inventor John Pemberton and by late 1890s, Coca Cola was one of America's most popular fountain drinks. With Asa Candler, at the helm, the Coca Cola Company increased syrup sales by over 4000% between 1890 and 1900.

Coca Cola bottle from 1899

The only official written copy of the Coca Cola recipe is supposedly held in a U.S bank vault and only two company employees at any one time are said to know the whole formula that gives the fizzy drink its distinctive flavour.

I love that story. I love the meteoric rise of the brand and I love the mystery of how that came about. I don't want to hear that the recipe is now available online and I don't want to see Canal Street style knock offs of Coke on the shelves of pound shops around the world and I wager that Coca Cola's employees feel the same way.

Stories, particularly ones shrowded in mystery, are the life blood of any close group or community - and this is no less the case in organisations. People want to buy from and work for organisations that they can be proud of - organisations with a compelling story. Has the unveiling of the secret formula for Coca Cola left an organisation of disenchanted employees?

Thoughts welcome!

Kate

Ambling along

2011-02-10T18:17:00.001Z

This week saw the launch of a new iphone app from Louis Vuitton called Amble, downloadable from your itunes account right now. Amble uses global positioning to work out where you are in the world before offering up a number of unique and interesting walks around your current location. Ambles currently available include ones created Christy Turlington, Rachel Weisz and Sofia Coppola.

The really good thing about the application is you can add you own 'Amble' to the list. Simply by activating the My Amble option the software will plot your route onto a virtual map as you take your stroll, whilst giving you the opportunity to add photos and movies to your amble before wrapping the entire experience up into a walk for others to download and share.

We'll be adding our Christmas Odyssey to the site next week to check out how well it works, so keep an eye out if you download the app for Just Add Water's Theatrical guide to St Giles in the Fields and Covent Garden.

Keep walking!

Simon

Mary Portas - We Love You

2011-02-09T20:10:00.003Z

As someone who is soon to be looking for a new home - I am extremely excited about tonight's episode of Mary Portas, Secret Shopper (Channel 4 - 9PM).

The process of finding a new flat in London is something I have come to dread, having heard nothing but anguish and torment from friends of mine who have been through it recently. In fact, horror stories relating to flat hunting in London are so plentiful that they nearly justify the creation of a bus tour - "to your left is where a young couple signed a 1 year lease only to find that that the kitchen was NOT included" - such a tour could rival the London Dungeons, by all accounts.

Tonight, Mary Portas, self appointed Queen of Shops, is to take on the mighty Estate Agents of London in a bid to get them providing top quality service to their clients. From previous episode we've seen that Ms. Portas has the required vision to turn around any business she gives her attention to - her biggest struggle has consistently been in convincing the retailers she meets of the need to change; of the need to recognise customer satisfaction as a valid metric.

Alas, before I suck all the entertainment out of the show with words such as 'metric', I'm off to watch it - if you have an interest in employee engagement then I highly recommend you do too.

Kate

Where are all the newsagents?

2011-02-03T17:05:00.001Z

My first job was working for WH Smith in the news department. I spent my Saturdays placing ‘colour’ supplements into tabloids and broadsheets before the shop opened, and then with blackened hands I spent the next few hours selling those papers along with a whole range of magazines. I loved it. So I find it slightly worrying that these days it seems to be getting harder and harder to find a really good newsagent with a brilliant range of publications and an atmosphere where its OK to pick up a magazine and flick through the pages without feeling like you’re committing an offence.

Yes we have Tesco and the like selling a rather anodyne range of Heat, Hello and Woman's Own but what if you want something different, something eye catching and something that tells a really unique story that’s not a part-work (check the link!).

I love spending a lunch hour looking for inspiration in the pages of whole range of publications – from the serious to the trivial, the creative to the well-informed, which in a kind of romantic way still feels so much more enlightening than surfing the net.

With this weeks launch of The Daily in the US everyone is talking about the death of print, with every publisher hoping to sustain their reputation by jumping on the digital bandwagon. I have an ipad, its great but it’s no substitute for the feel, the weight and the smell of a recently published magazine. I’ve downloaded the e-enabled copies of Wired and Vanity Fair but there just seems to be something missing from the experience.

For me it’s the anticipation and excitement of a new edition of your favourite magazine, the commitment you make when you head out to the newsagent in the sunshine, partake in some human interaction before dashing home to make a cup of tea, sitting down and turning the first page to see what’s inside. That’s the best bit. No amount of innovation is going to replace that for me, you can give me free downloads of all The Daily’s in the world but I won’t change my mind.

I have every copy of Monocle in a pile next to my desk - I often think that if the office was to burn down I’d be carrying each and everyone of those issues out the door with me over my ipad anyday. Monocle is a great example of how a publication can live both physically and virtually - always focused purely on ensuring the reader remains as informed as possible whether they choose to buy the magazine or follow the publication online.

So I’m off to my local independent newsagent, Charlotte Street News, to get this months copy to add to my collection. And who knows what else I might find, hopefully something without Jordan on the front cover but that might prove quite difficult!

Simon

"Do you want empathy with that?"

2011-02-01T17:49:00.010Z

The notion of 'good e-customer service' is usually discussed in the context of top online retailers such as Zappo and Amazon, both of whom have gained stellar reputations for putting the customer first. In this instance however, (following an embarrassing exchange) I'm espousing the virtues of empathetic-customer service.

I popped out for my lunch today and seeing as it was spitting rain here in London, I only went as far as our closest eatery - the fast food giant, Chipotle.

I negotiated the construction of my chicken burrito (no judgement please) with a series of cheery employees before finding myself at the end of the process map .... without a wallet. Oops. What now? Blush? Apologize? Think about ducking and rolling out of there? All of these things, in fact.

Much to my relief, what actually came next was a superb piece of customer service - the gentleman at the till, seeing my distress simply said, "lunch is on us today, don't worry". When I did the typically Irish thing of refusing human kindness and insisted that I'd go haggle some money back at the office, I was told in reassuring tones, "it's done already, enjoy!".

The mythical Free Lunch

Most fast-food chains drum up traffic by barraging consumers with mass-media ads, trumpeting their newest product or latest deal. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. plays by different rules. The Denver-based company eschews TV commercials and most other traditional advertising. In fact, it spends less in a year on advertising than McDonald's Corp. spends in 48 hours. "Advertising," according to M. Steven Ells, Chipotle's founder and chief executive, "is not believable."

Instead, Chipotle banks on customers to spread the word when they've had a positive experience with them. Just like I'm doing now. .. BusinessWeek call it Burrito Buzz - I call it great customer service...

Kate

Musings from New York City

2011-02-01T15:00:00.002Z

Having just returned from a short trip to New York, and being a slightly cynical Brit, I have read all of the poor press that Mayor Bloomberg and his besieged city workers received after the first snow dump of the season hit NYC on 26th December, digested the reports of a systematic slowdown by union and management to make Bloomberg appear weak, and of course made up my own story.

So when the snow hit last Wednesday evening with a vengeance, well, to a Londoner it looked mighty impressive - I was totally prepared for a complete white-out Thursday morning and a real struggle to my 9am meeting 22-blocks away.

William H Seward- What level of leadership would it take it get one of these today?!

Accused of being woefully unprepared and lacking leadership in December, on January 27th Bloomberg did the thing he was meant to do as a leader, and learnt. As nearly 20 inches of snow fell overnight, he declared a weather emergency, closed the schools and sent the emergency workers out to grit and clear streets and paths. As I wandered down 42nd street at 830am to take the subway downtown (on time and fully operational service – pay heed TfL!) there were few slippery points and plenty of people out and about. Coming out at 23rd & Broadway and looking up at the Empire State, it was pause for thought that even in the hardest of times strong leadership pays dividends – large or small.

Madison Park, under snow

Mayor Bloomberg is in his third term - he hasn’t solved the city's ever increasing budget deficit, and cannot make the Jets not fold when in sight of the Super Bowl, but he can learn and act when called upon to do so – something we should all bear in mind.

Jeremy

A digital life - where does the time go?

2011-01-27T15:54:00.002Z

Last Friday evening we gathered for wine, crisps and an informal networking session with our colleagues from The Council to learn all about 'Social Networking'. Eva Keogan and her trusty colleague Selena Chan from LBi gave an enlightening, informative and timely run through all we needed to know about hash tags, trending and swarm badging.

The patience and humour Eva and Selena demonstrated with the never ending list of questions ensured we all finished the night informed and motivated to get to grips with our social networking strategy.

One week on we've been putting words into action and the results have been quite impressive - but I can't quite believe just how many hours you can spend networking your way through cyberspace. It's quite a liberating experience, putting yourself out there - and it comes with the added benefit of not having your audience staring you in the eyes as you comment, digg and tweet.

Now all we need to do is get some random acts of kindness going, build up a social reward scheme and ensure our blogrool and our tag-clouds are in tip top shape for the coming months ahead.

Thinking about it perhaps that will be next weeks task! Thanks once again to Eva, Selena and The Council.

Learning from LEGO

2011-01-25T13:45:00.006Z

As 2010 drew to a close, Just Add Water put the festivities on hold for a few days and went into planning mode. After much debate, tea and reflection we agreed upon our 4 guiding themes for 2011: resilience; creativity and innovation; talent and brand. These themes are to be our focus for 2011.

Of course, such words amount to mere rhetoric without some context and so below we share the story of how toy manufacturer, LEGO, turned their fortunes around in recent years - a story that calls to mind all 4 themes.

The Danish company's problems began in the late 1990s, when LEGO's focus shifted from quality and consistency to design. The logic held by company executives was that in order to extend the brand into new markets LEGO needed to focus on new product development.

The exotically named Galidor line, launched in 2002, was the product of this new bold focus. These new action figures heralded a departure from LEGO's traditional block building business (a core focus for over 70 years) as they could barely be taken apart and reassembled.

More daring still, LEGO expanded into a whole new business for which it had little passion or knowledge. The company co-produced a kids' TV show called Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension. The story lines were meant to add context to LEGO's action figures, giving kids a reason to buy them. Sadly however, the underwhelming show sparked little interest.

Even within its core business, LEGO was losing its footing. LEGO managers gave product designers free rein to come up with ever more imaginative creations. Left to their own devices, designers conjured up increasingly stylised and complex models with the end result being that by 2004 the number of components had exploded, climbing from about 7,000 to 12,400 in just seven years. This was expansion without reason, a story without a punchline and kids just weren't buying it.

By 2005, LEGO had lost its way. According to Mads Nipperm LEGO's executive Vice President because, "with [their] arrogance, [they] thought being LEGO allowed [them] to do anything".

Just as design drew LEGO close to failure, it also helped bring the company back. However, instead of giving designers free rein, LEGO began to tie their hands. Instead of rubber-stamping nearly every request for a new component, LEGO put each one to a vote among designers, slashing the total number of components to about 7,000.

LEGO also changed their processes so that designers had to engage with the rest of the business. In this new era, marketing managers, who of course have detailed research on the types of products kids wanted, helped guide development. Then, manufacturing personnel gave their input on production costs before a prototype ever saw the light of day.

CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, in interview with Monocle Magazine in 2007 explained why LEGO had fumbled and what brought them back to their former glory:

"When I joined [...] the company's identity was unclear. If you asked me three years ago, "why does LEGO exist?", I wouldn't have had a clear answer [...] we have reset our focus on being entirely driven by those who love the brand."

When asked what he has been aiming towards for the previous three years, the answer is simple: "we have been trying to bring the company back to its essence - really come out with what is genuine Lego".

You can take any number of lessons from LEGO's story. In the context of our 4 themes for 2011, I took the following:

Resilience: in changing times, it's often most important to simply focus on doing what you do best, better. Being resilient in difficult times means focusing on the USP of your company and your people and prioritising their continued success.

Creativity and innovation: new doesn't always mean better- the end user must always be kept in mind. Also, as shown by LEGO, creativity and innovation applies just as aptly to decision making as it does to product design. At JAW we have noted that being creative with how firms produce rather than what firms produce is a key priority for 2011.

Brand: a company's brand and their organisational values are inextricably linked. Lose sight of your values and in time, your brand will suffer.

Talent: without direction, talented people can flounder. The wavering success of LEGO was not as a result of poor design but misguided design. Without a clear vision and strong leadership even the most talented members of an organisation will suffer failure.

Kate

Further information on LEGO's recovery can be found at:
1. Monocle http://www.monocle.com/sections/business/Web-Articles/QA-with-the-CEO-of-Lego/
2. BusinessWeek http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jul2010/id20100722_781838.htm

Inspiration in chaos

2011-01-21T10:38:00.001Z

If you find inspiration in chaos, and enjoy reflecting on the musings of others when it comes to challenging your day-to-day routine then you'll relish the book that arrived in the post for me today.

"You can find inspiration in everything, and if you can't, look again" is a rich mix of illustrations, photographs and storytelling from the world of Paul Smith. It's highly irreverent, off the wall and brilliantly executed - and combining a mix of media to tell a story like no other book I've seen in a long while.

It's taking every bit of will power to not explore the book in more detail, but come the weekend just try stopping me!

http://www.violetteeditions.com/books/previously_published/You_can_find_inspiration_paperback.html

Simon

You wouldn't cut someone's hair like that..

2011-01-19T20:03:00.004Z

I'm no hair stylist - I lack the dexterity and spacial relations for such a career, if I'm honest - but there are a few basic rules of hairdressing that I feel confident in deducing:

1. All haircuts should be preceded by a consultation with the customer

2. If the customer wants to chat, be friendly and engage them in conversation

3. Explain the purpose of any unorthodox looking tools you produce

4. Hold a mirror at the back of their heads so they can see everything you've done

5. If the customer is unhappy with your work, address their concerns

Haircuts are highly personal things. Their product will invariably impact our self image and sense of self worth. A haircut will leave us thinking one of two things, either: 'I'm feeling a lot more presentable' or 'thank goodness my coat has a hood'.

In order to increase the likelihood of a positive experience, any hairdresser or barber worth their salt will communicate with their customers throughout the cutting process.

Why is it then, that when it comes to the far more emotionally distressing affair of having one's job cut that so many employees find they receive nothing near the amount of consultation, reassurance, transparency and responsiveness that they can get at their local salon or barbers?

This may seem like a slightly odd analogy, but when so many people across the U.K are losing their jobs, facing real distress, you have to wonder:

1. Did the job cuts come out of a consultative process?

2. Did these employees feel they could talk openly about the cuts with management?

3. Were the nature and necessity of cuts explained fully to the workforce?

4. Was the process transparent?

5. Were employees' concerns and fears heard and addressed?

Kate

Think BIG! features in the Financial Times

2011-01-14T17:10:00.003Z

The warm embrace of fame enfolds TGB and Just Add Water today (possible exaggeration) as our hugely successful project hits the pages of the Financial Times.

The article by Tim Smedley, explores the latest hot trend in innovation and employee engagement - in-house talent competitions structured along the lines of The Apprentice and Dragon's Den.

The article tells how companies such as ASDA and Boots have adopted the competition format in order to stir up employee involvement and seek out new product ideas.

According to Smedley however, "both of these efforts [..] pale in comparison to TATA Global Beverages' Think BIG! scheme". He goes on to describe how the process covered 26 locations in 10 countries and culminated in a live final at Radio City Music Hall in New York late last year.

Think BIG! finalist in action

Before we break into 'tearful Oscar acceptance mode', we would just like to say that ThinkBIG! truly was an absolute joy to work on for Just Add Water so many thanks to all at TGB for having the imagination, commitment and playfulness to make it happen.

Kate

What if 'back to the office' meant this . . .?

2011-01-12T16:09:00.007Z

It's fair to say that we all struggle somewhat with the return to office life after the Christmas break. .

Having enjoyed a few weeks of eating grand meals, sitting by fires and catching up with friends and family- the prospect of returning to an austere cubicle and water cooler chat can understandably seem less than inviting.

Today we're looking at the question, what if 'back to the office' meant this? by showcasing some really creative office spaces from across the globe - all designed to increase employee engagement and innovation...

Bearstec - Paris

DTAC - Hong Kong

AZN Centre - Melbourne

Hurley - California

Vodafone - Porto

PostPanic - Amsterdam

Upper Kut - Montreal

Suffice to say - the companies above have all invested a fair deal more in the stimulation and comfort of their employees than the traditional...

So, how much does the environment in which we work impact on our engagement??

Are these bright and bold offices simply a distraction from the work at hand...or do they in fact set the tone for the entire organisation?

Are creative office spaces just for creative companies, or are they in fact most needed by employees who may feel creatively repressed in rigid roles?

Your thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated!

Kate

Happy New Year from Just Add Water!

2011-01-01T10:26:00.002Z

A big thank you to all our clients and friends who made it along to the Christmas event in the West End on the 17th of December.

The brave souls who took up our invitation to come along a little early for a surprise joined us firstly for a glass of mulled wine in our office on Flitcroft St. Then, led by Jeremy and Tania, the group set off on a custom designed tour of Theatreland!

The tour weaved all through Soho and Covent Garden with stops including the Phoenix Theatre, the Palace Theatre, the Actors Church and Drury Lane Theatre. Jeremy led the first group off and regaled (we hope!) them with stories of his time at the helm of Phantom of the Opera, Chess and Ms. Saigon.

Tania then set off and brought the tour to life with anecdotes for her many years working in television and live events all around Theatreland. In a nod to live storytelling, characters synonymous with the area were also acted out by Howard Pratt and our own Kate Feeney.

A huge thank you to Howard and also to Mark Fox from the Really Useful Group who generously gave of his time to provide a brilliant backstage tour of the Palace Theatre.

At Just Add Water we believe deeply in the power of storytelling, whether it's through theatre, television, film, corporate communications- or indeed a narrated stroll through a truly captivating part of London.

The rather serious business of learning was put aside once we arrived back to the warmth of the office where Claire, Simon and Richard had been working flat out to transform the space into a Dickensian Christmas scene. . The desks and all the trappings of a busy office had vanished and in their place a fireside scene, a beautiful light instillation and a mouth watering spread of food and drink had appeared!

We hope you all enjoyed the evening that followed and many thanks again for joining us.

We look forward to speaking with you all in the New Year!

Alternative Advent : 25th December

2010-12-25T09:00:00.000Z

Merry Christmas one and all....hope all yours are joyful!

Alternative Advent : 24th December

2010-12-24T13:21:00.000Z

Time to get the bus home and enjoy our Christmas break!

Alternative Advent : 23rd December

2010-12-23T10:05:00.001Z

One of our favourite houses in Covent Garden....

Alternative Advent : 22nd December

2010-12-22T13:17:00.000Z

Alternative Advent: 21st December

2010-12-21T12:08:00.000Z

At 21 Denmark Street is 'London's largest Saxophone' shop - sax.co.uk. Denmark Street was built back in 1680 and it's remarkable to think that eight of the original houses have survived to the present day. Across London only six streets remain with terraced houses of comparable date, status and number - and Denmark Street is the only one where houses have survived on both sides - quite an acheivement!

Alternative Advent: 20th December

2010-12-21T11:47:00.000Z

Our Christmas Odyssey on Friday afternoon took us to the Royal Opera House. Interesting fact we discovered on our walkabout - Darcey Bussell was just 20 years old when she became the youngest principal dancer in the history of the Royal Opera House. She first appeared in Covent Garden in Prince of the Pagodas back in 1989, and retired in 2007 ending an amazing 20 year career.

Alternative Advent: 19th December

2010-12-19T11:36:00.000Z

Walking around Covent Garden today I came across this sign displaying the original rules of the Market - it seems rule number 19 incurs the greatest fee - so we'd advise against any purloining.

Alternative Advent: 18th December

2010-12-18T15:00:00.000Z

It's the last Saturday before Christmas. We're all a little hungover from the office party and its snowing - so there is no way we're leaving home! So time for some Eggnog and time for wrapping presents and getting prepared for the holidays. If like us, you have lots of wrapping paper left, here are 18 ideas from Martha Stewart on what to do with those off-cuts:

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/leftover-gift-wrap-ideas

Alternative Advent : 17th December

2010-12-17T18:00:00.000Z

So its our Christmas Party today - so we're keeping things brief. Here's some festive 'pork pies' - all 17 of them ready for the taking!

Alternative Advent : 16th December

2010-12-16T17:09:00.000Z

Todays image comes care of Earlham Street in Covent Garden. As you can see the nights are getting longer, the rain is getting wetter and the stall holders have left their pitch early!

Alternative Advent: December 15th

2010-12-15T17:50:00.001Z

As Christmas is all about giving, we thought today we'd pay homage to Jamie Oliver's youth development project, Fifteen.

Fifteen is named after the first cohort of 15 young people who joined the London chef apprenticeship scheme in 2002. ..

Oliver now has 4 Fifteen restaurants, in London, Cornwall, Melbourne and Amsterdam that are all carrying on the good work of giving disadvantaged young people a start in the food industry....

Alternative Advent: December 14th

2010-12-14T16:12:00.001Z

Stanfords, at No. 14 Long Acre Street in Covent Garden is the oldest retailer of maps in the world ... and must also be housed in the fanciest building of any of its peers. ..

Its historic and architectural prowess aside, we at Just Add Water are quite fond of their motto -'explore, discover, inspire'

Alternative Advent: December 13th

2010-12-13T14:53:00.000Z

One of the many cute cards from Scribbler in Covent Garden...

Alternative Advent: December 12th

2010-12-12T14:28:00.001Z

The clock strikes 12 on the beautiful clock of St. Giles Church...

Alternative Advent: December 11th

2010-12-11T14:17:00.001Z

Alternative Advent: December 10th

2010-12-10T11:47:00.001Z

Number 10 comes courtesy of a poster on Old Compton Street, London.

Interestingly next to this rather loud and proud number 10 is a truly 'Alternative Advent Calendar'. Designed by lovecreative.com its made up of 25 QR codes - so anyone passing by can snap a code and access an insightful Christmas story.

Here's todays link http://advent.lovecreative.com/day10/ and here's the poster:

Alternative Advent: December 9th

2010-12-09T11:19:00.000Z

..The Christmas window of the famous Foyles booksellers on Charing Cross Road showcases 9 potential stocking fillers!

Alternative Advent: December 8th

2010-12-08T15:00:00.002Z

Number 8 on the Just Add Water advent calendar comes to us courtesy of Simon, who has made these beautiful Christmas frames from old lexicon cards.

Alternative Advent: December 7th

2010-12-07T15:57:00.004Z

These 7 window panes, visible from our office on Flitcroft Street, belong to the historical Elms Lester Painting Rooms. Purpose built in 1904 as a scenic painting studio, The Elms Lesters Painting Rooms are part of London's theatrical heritage and have provided artists from all walks of life with a creative space to work in Central London since its inception..

Located in the heart of London's Theatre Land, this building has played host to icons of film and theatre and music throughout it's history. Visitors as diverse as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and N*E*R*D have sought inspiration at the site..

Alternative Advent: December 6th

2010-12-06T09:36:00.000Z

Alternative Advent: December 5th

2010-12-05T09:23:00.001Z

Alternative Advent: December 4th

2010-12-04T09:18:00.002Z

A nod to Jean Simmons.... a great British actress who tread the boards in the West End as a budding star of stage and screen and who always gravitated back to the town where it all began...

Christmas wine tasting

2010-12-03T17:57:00.001Z

Just checking our wine archive is in tip top condition for the forthcoming festivities!

Alternative Advent: December 3rd

2010-12-03T14:58:00.000Z

Alternative Advent: December 2nd

2010-12-02T14:08:00.001Z

Free Tania!

2010-12-02T10:59:00.002Z

Day 1- pretty snowscape

Day 2 - ugh oh

Something wonderful this way comes.....

2010-12-01T17:34:00.000Z

JAW's alternative advent calendar

2010-12-01T11:31:00.002Z

We at Just Add Water are really beginning to get into the Christmas spirit this week... Simon has been applying his artistic flair to a greeting card for friends of the firm (more on this later) and we've even had a listen to the Christmas playlist on spotify.. although it wasn't long before we agreed that was a bit premature.

Given our growing cheer, we thought it would be nice to share the excitement that surrounds the build up to Christmas with visitors to our blog.

To our mind, nothing says Christmas is coming quite like two inches of snow on a turquoise fiat punto in South London. .And so, without further ado - I hereby reveal the first installment of Just Add Water's visual advent calendar!

Each day, from now until the 24th of December, we'll be uploading a picture from around London that will form part of our countdown to Christmas...So, if you see anything you think should feature(e.g. 8 maids a milking on Oxford St.), please do let us know!

iPad ... The great debate

2010-11-25T17:50:00.003Z

Jeremy has recently returned from a great two weeks of client work in New York and Los Angeles... shiney new ipad in hand!

After we passed the nacky little gadget about the office...ooh'd, ahh'd and fiddled with an app or two, a fierce debate sprang up: 'The iPad - is it acceptable to whip out in meetings yet or not?!'

Though all parties agreed that the iPad could, and should, be used for business learning, employee engagement and personal entertainment - the question remained, is it an appropriate to produce in a general business meeting?

Jeremy, ever the early adopter, argued that the practice of i-note taking was fully socially accepted, in the US at least.

In the opposing corner, Simon felt that in the U.K, arguably a more conservative culture, we just weren't there yet. . . and that those who engaged in the practice were ripe to receive harsh judgement!

I'm staying out of it but in the comments section please do pick your team!!

ThinkBig! Final

2010-10-22T17:49:00.000+01:00

After a week of creative immersion and lots of hard work from one and all - today the grand final of ThinkBig! got underway.

The location for the final was the incredible Radio City Music Hall, NYC. All 5 teams delivered fantastic presentations and Just Add Water's Jeremy Sturt facilitated the day's proceedings in equivalent style!

The event was a huge success with a very worthy group of winners taking the day!

The final heralds the end of an enormously successful engagement and innovation process that pulled together the skills and experience of hundreds of people across the globe.

Congratulations to all involved on a very memorable initiative!

Off to NY for ThinkBig! Final

2010-10-19T13:13:00.002+01:00

Over the past 6 months Just Add Water have been hard at work on a global innovation and employee engagement campaign for Tata Global Beverages.

We've been running the ThinkBig! campaign in a bid to generate innovative ideas to fuel future success for TGB and its employees. ThinkBig has generated 1345 fantastic ideas from employees across the globe and after three regional finals we are now down to the 5 final ideas. . . so.... it's off to NY for Boot Camp!

Boot Camp has been designed by Just Add Water to provide a highly impactful learning and cultural experience to all participants and will truly be a once off experience... We'll keep you posted!!

Back to the books

2010-09-01T11:53:00.003+01:00

September has rolled around and for those with youth on their side - that means that it's back to school time!

As a child, I recall dreading that disappearance of summer freedoms and the inevitable trip to the school uniform store.

Unlucky as we all felt back then, there was an obvious merit to our efforts - and indeed to the structured lives that all in education are forced to follow.

Organisational learning is often something that is more of an afterthought or 'nice to have' than a scheduled element of the yearly calendar, particularly in smaller organisations. Why not get in sync with the younger generation (are we on Gen Z yet??) and make September your month to address learning and development??

Brick throwing!

2010-08-01T11:20:00.000+01:00

The 2010 UK Mobile Phone Throwing Championships will be held on Sat 14th August at Battersea Park Athletics Track.

The event is billed as a chance to "vent your technological frustrations on the poor handset of choice" and is now in it's 6th year!

Mobile phones have come along way, both in terms of design/functionality and pervasiveness. It can sometimes seem nowadays that to catch attention you're competing with not only email, texts, calls and internet but flight simulators and itunes!

Perhaps it's time we take stock of how terminally distracted we are in conversations. We could even (for 1 day only) throw our Blackberrys aside for a few hours and give our colleagues and friends our undivided attention - you never know what you might hear (and you can tweet it later)!

Happy Canada Day

2010-07-01T10:46:00.002+01:00

July 1st marks Canada Day - a day of national celebration for our North American cousins!

As it happens, the Canadians have a lot to celebrate. A recent study from the Centre for the Study of Living Standards found that on a scale of one to five, the average level of happiness among Canadians aged 20 and over was 4.26 in 2007-08.

In 2009, 92.1 per cent of the population aged 12 and over were either satisfied or very satisfied with their lives, up slightly from 91.4 per cent in 2008.

The study also looked at factors influencing the happiness or life satisfaction of Canadians, and found that it's not all about money.

In fact, household income was found to carry less economic significance for happiness than other variables like mental health.

A sense of belonging to the local community was a key determinant of individual life satisfaction, while high stress levels were linked to lower life satisfaction.

So what can we learn from the Canadians?? Foster a sense of belonging and community in your organisation and your employees should experience higher work satisfaction.... easier said than done but well worth addressing...

Get on your bike!

2010-06-18T09:43:00.004+01:00

Today marks the beginning of British Bike Week.... this is a time when we Londoners ditch our oystercards and car keys in favour of the eco-friendly transport and hopefully - a chance at better lung capacity...

We've noticed a real increase in the number of cyclists on London streets over the past few years and with the Barclay Bike Scheme soon to come on stream, the popularity of pedalling is only set to grow.

What we at JAW really like about the rising bike culture - apart from the reduced use of car horns -is the sense of community that it engenders. . something that's very close to our hearts.

When we emerge from behind our car wheels (or strangers underarms on the tube) and get on our bikes we often find ourselves discovering new parts of the city... actually enjoying our journey.. and properly interacting with people along the way.

It is worth asking the question, are people in your organisation engaged and open to interaction or hiding behind their cubicle walls crying out for some light relief??

What's your angle?!?

2010-05-01T17:02:00.005+01:00

On this day in 1704 the Boston Newsletter published first newspaper ad.

Advertising is the very definition of a story on a slant. As a society, we are now all but immune to the advertising wand and are far harder to compel to purchase than the good people of Boston were in 1704, I would imagine.

We've seen it all - banners, blimps, once-offs, rip-offs, scratch-offs and the lowest of the low - spam.

That said, we all have a lot to learn from our friends in advertising. All storytellers need to have an objective - an end point in mind for their audiences. Advertisers are expert at storytelling - they have studied the art of storytelling, with a slant...So next time you're communicating, whether it's with colleagues or clients - remember your protractor!

Avoid April Fool's Day

2010-04-01T16:24:00.000+01:00

Today is a day when millions of people will attempt, through every medium available to them, to trick/humiliate their nearest and dearest! There'll be stories about lost cars, broken laptops and much worse besides..

What better time then to address the what Businessweek classify as the Top 5 mistakes businesses make in social media marketing...

1. Not Monitoring: Companies that do not first "listen" and observe how their evangelists and detractors talk about their brand risk jumping into a cyclone of unanticipated activity. Constant monitoring is a must.

2. "Down-sourcing" to interns: The fresh, young digital natives at your company embody a crucial resource in helping to navigate the emerging media waters. In some cases, however, their lack of business experience could imperil your brand's "social voice."

3. Fast Beats Perfect: In the digital world, content can spread like wildfire. Immediate, authentic, and humble acknowledgements of your brand's social media kerfuffles are not only necessary but also expected. Taking the time to craft a perfect corporate response with layers of bureaucratic approvals will only cause more damage to your brand's social reputation.

4. Faking It: If you've failed to foster and energize a legitimate set of brand evangelists, don't attempt to disguise false engagement by having employees pretend to be customers (known as "astroturfing"). It will most certainly be found out..

5. Having an "Off" Switch: Your brand's involvement in social media should never have an end date, since at its core, that involvement is about nurturing customer relationships. While campaigns that have a social media extension may come and go, you must maintain an "always on" approach and outlook.

Saints, Scholars and Snakes

2010-03-01T14:56:00.004Z

Each month calls to mind legends, triumphs and miracles that relate to that time of the year...Events that we have taken to our hearts across centuries and agreed to celebrate!

In March - for the Irish, and millions of others worldwide, that date is the 17th - St. Patrick's Day.

The holiday is so celebrated because, legend has it, St. Patrick's triumphed in ridding the Emerald Isle of snakes.

True, or (in this case, more than likely) not - stories bind people together in a truly unique way and are at the core of all cultural celebrations.

A question that's always worth asking is, does our organisation tell a story that binds our people together??

Yes And!

2010-02-01T14:08:00.000Z

Life is a lot like improvised comedy... or is that the other way around?!

Both involve high degrees of uncertainty. In 'improv' actors are called to play a character that tells a compelling story. Improvisers do this without a script or set -they hold just a few rules to keep the show going. Everyday conversations are really no different - no script, minimal props and just a few social norms to control the whole show!

When we enter into a conversation with a friend/client/colleague or onto the improv stage, the conversation could go in any number of directions. Or, it could of course stop dead. One technique improvisers use to ensure that their shows don't stop dead (bomb) is they simply use the phrase: 'yes, and'....

By saying 'yes and..' you build detail and colour in your conversations. You also vastly improve the likelihood of sharing a meaningful conversation with whomever you're with....

New Year, New Story

2010-01-01T11:19:00.004Z

The New Year is often a time when we are jerked into action. It is a time when, after much relaxation and merriment, we feel ready to take on new challenges and change our stories for the better!

New Year's resolutions are like our own personal plot revisions- though sadly for us, like a camel in the Arctic, they are notoriously hard to keep.

Change is just as important and challenging for organisations as it is for all of us as individuals. Here, we're taking a look the top ten New Years Resolutions and giving our view on what they mean in the business context...

1. Spend more time with family and friends

- Take time out as a team to get to know each other

2. Fit in fitness

- Prioritise work life balance

3. Tame the bulge

- Be mindful of waste e.g. time in meeting, printing, electricity

4. Enjoy Life More

- Take time out to celebrate successes

5. Quit Smoking

-Reduce our carbon footprint

6. Quit drinking

- Improve decision making

7. Get out of debt

- Make sensible and achievable budgets for the year ahead

8. Learn something new

- Ensure that the organisation has a learning strategy

9. Help others

- Address our place in the community as an organisation

10. Get organised

- Get organised!!!

Z is for Zest!

2009-12-28T10:22:00.001Z

The attitude to adopt when telling your stories. “I liked it so much I bought the company” is the spirit of persuasion you need in your story. If you don’t look like you’re buying it, why on earth should they?

Y is for Yarn

2009-12-21T10:23:00.002Z

A good one is what’s required! A great yarn will take us to a different place - somewhere comfortingly familiar or exotically unfamiliar. It will have a twist as crucial to our senses as a slice of lime (or a giraffe) in a G&T.

X is for X-Factor

2009-12-14T12:05:00.000Z

A special, and most importantly intangible ingredient. Emotion is the X factor most likely to raise the emotional temperature in a room. Also consider quotations and interesting statistics nested within your story to draw people in and create memorable moments.

http://www.great-quotes.com/inspirational_quotes.htm

W is for Waffle

2009-12-07T09:50:00.002Z

Eat these with syrup - avoid it when telling stories. Waffle is not colourful detail, it's the stuff that descends like fog and obscures the point you are trying to make. Business people have special radar from birth to detect waffle in others but not in themselves.

V is for Value

2009-11-30T14:23:00.002Z

V is for Value – are you adding value through the story you tell? Firstly, is the story of intrinsic value to the other person, and secondly, what is it about you and your experience that further validates the story in your telling of it?

The Society for Storytelling

2009-11-25T14:33:00.002Z

The stories we read, listen to and see are often the result of an invidual action rather than a collective activity. Storytelling began as an oral tradition many thousands of years ago - stories were kept alive by being told again and again, changing and adapting with each rendition.

Now in the 21st century one organisation is bringing like minded people together to enjoy, discuss and practice the art of storytelling. The 30th January 2010 marks the beginning of National Storytelling week with a programem of actvity planned to highlight the art of storytelling. To find out more and get involved, take a look at http://www.sfs.org.uk/

U is for Understanding

2009-11-23T10:46:00.002Z

You of your audience and them of you. Possibly the most crucial element – why are you telling this story to them in particular? If the message doesn’t speak to them, or they doubt your credibility as the source, you may notice the emergence of a glazed expression on their face. Acronyms and jargon don’t help.

T is for Timing

2009-11-16T15:05:00.003Z

Short or long stories make a difference – know what difference you want to make. Keep it concise, but not so stripped down that essential ingredients of nuance and meaning are lost. Good stories are like fine wine and they need a little time and room to breathe.