On Wednesday 18 November 2009 I’m delivering a 1-day workshop as part of the Queen’s University Continuing Professional Development (CPD)  Short Coruse Programme…for the second time.  It’s name?  Radical Time Management!

Here’s the rundown.

“Notes and checklists, calendars and appointment books, project timetables and reminder systems – should managing time require so much… time? And once the training session is over, how many of these tools do we actually employ to effect in our working lives?  Statistics tell a grim tale: most Time Management training is ineffective and therefore literally (and ironically) a waste of time. So this workshop will take a radically different track. We will focus on two proven techniques that yield maximum results for time-poor managers and business people. The first is the revolutionary ‘80/20 Principle’; the second is the ‘Quadrant 2′ system developed by Stephen Covey. Between them, these ideas will radically alter how you view and use time – from a quantity to a quality perspective, from spending time to investing time.”

This was a popular course first time round with great feedback.  I felt compelled to design it after reading about and personally experimenting with a host of time management techniques myself which I found overly complex or (more usually) overly simplistic.  For instance, I remember reading a whole book by some time management guru whose basic big idea was the cunning use  of suspension files and file dividers!  As Dawn would say, pur-leese!

I’ve built this course around what I personally have found the most useful, and therefore what I’m keen to share with others.  This is a cut-the-crap, back-to-basics sort of course that sets time management in the larger framework of where you’re going with your life and how best to get there.

If you’ve time, see you there.  If you haven’t, definitely see you there!

To book a place, contact Marc Forte at the School of Education (Short Courses Programmes) on 028 9097 5260 or email cpd@qub.ac.uk.

Image credit: Orange42.

It seems that a certain English airport is bucking the trend. East Midlands Airport recorded its busiest year on record in 2008, despite the tough economic climate (Airport has ‘busiest year ever’).  This is against a backdrop of a weak pound, an economic downturn, and a growing distaste of air travel among the political elite (except when it comes to themselves).  So did they achieve this feat?

The words of the airport manger are instructive.  She said that despite the decline, East Midlands Airport remained “committed to improving the customer experience and our facilities.”  The increase in customer figures is a sure sign that “the efforts we have made to improve the East Midlands Airport experience for our customers have been successful.”

I went to their website to see if this language was a blip or part of their instinct and thought-pattern.  Here’s what they say as the first point in their Company Values: ‘We believe that your journey through our airport should be a uniquely positive experience; smooth, efficient and hassle-free. We value our people and invest in them to help deliver ever-improving customer service.’

It’s all experience, experience, experience with these people.  That’s why it’s also profit, profit, profit.  Perhaps this was the line in the new article that impacted me the most.  The airport manager said that by these means they aimed to “take full advantage of the economic recovery” when it arrives!  Already looking beyond and building towards the end of the recession!  That’s vision for you.  That’s why they’ll succeed.

I want to help you succeed too.  That’s why I’m holding a 1-day workshop in Queen’s University on 19 March 2009 called Managing Customer Experience.  Here’s what we’ll cover.

“The 21st century marketplace is brutally competitive. Recent research confirms that customer loyalty is more a result of how customers feel about doing business with you, rather than what they think about your products or services in a detached way. Businesses that provide satisfying service gain their customers’ loyalty in the form of repeat business and referrals – the ‘holy grail’ of customer service. The most successful companies achieve this goal by managing the total customer experience. The name of this new thinking is Customer Experience Management (CEM). CEM is concerned with planning how you will not only meet, but exceed, both the rational and emotional needs of your customers. In this workshop you will gain an understanding of the building-blocks of a satisfying customer experience and create interactions that turn average customers into your campaigners.”

This workshop is part of the Queen’s University CPD Short Course Programme.  Download a 2008/9 Brochure, or take a look at the List of Courses.

To register, fill in the Booking Form.  Alternatively To book a place, phone Marc Forte at the School of Education (Short Courses Programmes) on 028 9097 5260 or email cpd@qub.ac.uk.

See you there.

I got a letter from QUB a few days ago to remind me that they are currently receiving proposals now for the Spring programme.  I’ve a few ideas already, but then I had a better one.

Why don’t YOU tell me what course you’d like me to design and deliver for the OL programme?

So, let’s hear all those suggestions.  Come on, there must be some idea for a course in the back of your mind.  You know, the one you’ve always thought, ‘Well, if they’d do that, then I might just give up a Saturday or weekday night to attend.’.

For instance, during the latest Borat film, our favourite Kazakh journalist went to some American guru to teach him how to be funny.  (This mostly consisted in saying ‘Not’ after some remark, which wasn’t in itself that funny.)  But anyway, the teacher in me pounced on the idea.  Why doesn’t someone teach a course like this over here?  Which explains my 1-day workshop in March 2009 called The Power of Humour: How to be Funny.

By the way, if you feel that you would like to propose a course to deliver yourself, click here to find the Guidance Notes, Selection Criteria, and Proposal Application Form.  You’ve got until Friday 21 November…