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4 day work week anyone?

This morning, as you do… I’m having my English Breakfast Tea, scrolling on my social media and noticed that Nico Orie shared a brilliant article on LinkedIn.

Firstly, go follow Nico on LinkedIn, and secondly – you got to read the article he shared… for those wondering what it was – it was that Microsoft in Japan, trialed a 4 day work week, which meant, the employees had every Friday off.

What this meant was staggering! Productivity increased by 39.9%! 23% less electricity being used!

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Here’s the link to Nico’s post – https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nicoorie_microsoft-japan-experimented-with-a-three-day-activity-6596854917795852289-81UI

And here’s a link to the actual article that showed the information – https://www.inc.com/betsy-mikel/microsoft-japan-experimented-with-4-day-work-weeks-to-combat-overwork-results-were-pretty-incredible.html

So I started to read up a little more – it seems like there’s a number of companies that are trialing this 4 day week, with a Friday off…. and all the results show an increase in productivity. Why?

Because – firstly, this allows many employees to do things on a Friday that they struggle with during the week – for example, seeing the doctor, going to the bank (though many do online banking, a few still go to a bank), having the car MOT’d (if you’re in the UK, that’s mandatory), and many more things that you delay to the weekend or would have to do after work.

Also, it changes the mental attitude. Most of us complain about how short the weekend is. Now… you’ve essentially got an extra day! – the whole work life balance just got that little bit better!

Will we all move to adopt the 4 day working week – I don’t think it’ll happen overnight, but can definitely some companies and industries moving to this model. Some won’t be able to – because the way they are structured or how their business models work.

I’d like to take this opportunity, on this Monday morning to show my support for a 4 day working week! – And let the productivity increase commence!!

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Are you testing and learning?

So… you want to come to the first Think Lean and Get Digital Workshop?

You should! – It’ll not only be informative, educational and fun… but you’ll be taking away a lot more than you bargain for! – Yes there is a charge for it… and I can inform you now, your Return On Investment will pay dividends!

Okay – one thing I will talk about is innovation. I’ll explain how important it is to test and learn.

Yes, that’s all great Bal, but have you got any real life examples?

Yes. Yes I do.

Recently, the fast food chain, KFC cause a massive stir on Social Media.

That’s right. Because of the above. Someone took a photo of this banner in Glasgow, and shared it on Social Media. Before you knew it, it went viral and people were sharing it, liking it and talking about it.

80 piece popcorn bucket for £5.99 is a bargain. Well and truly a bargain. So much so… it’s a deal that many would take up in an instant!

Now, what’s this got to do with ‘innovation’ or ‘test and learn’.

Because later on in the day, KFC put this message out…

That’s right. KFC were testing it out in 10 restaurants in Glasgow – and seeing how it went – would do a nationwide release.

2 things here…

  1. They’re testing the market – yes, 10 restaurants… yes, in Glasgow… yes it’s only for a short period of time – but the key thing is to test. Now as this got out to the rest of the country and the world – KFC knew they were onto a winner.
  2. What’s the worse that could happen? – people don’t buy it… some people even made funny comments such as “are they actually going to count the 80 lol”. To be fair, I thought that’s a great comment. How are they going to actually ensure there’s 80 in each on. Obviously it’ll be done at the factory and pre-packaged… no?

So… test and learn. Give it a go – educated go…. see what the customers say, and if there’s hunger for it (no pun intended) they’ll let you know. But the important thing is… you’ll learn from it!

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Finally… You can learn too!

Many folk have suggested… ‘Bal, why don’t you hold some workshops, or events where we can learn a little more from you about digital and this thing called, lean, which you’re always going on about’.

Okay. I will. Here you go folks –

I’m going to finally do it. Will have my first workshop around Christmas time, focussing on a few ‘Lean’ subjects – mainly centred around the customer. And then how digital can pay huge dividends for you – and why it’s important to innovate.

Will share more details soon – if you are interested, please reach out to me, and I’ll put your name on the list. Only going to have 20 in the first workshop – and I’ll let you know the cost.

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Can you really disconnect?

This week – I’ve ‘officially’ been out of the office. That means, I ‘officially’ booked some days as holiday from work, and put my out of office on – also let people know i’m on holiday and if they need anything, then let me know either before or save it till after.

But can we really disconnect?

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Ok – I haven’t checked my emails. That’s one rule I made and thought to myself, if I respond to one, i’ll respond to most of them – and then, what’s the point on being on holiday?

Then, on Monday (I think it was) I received several WhatsApp messages… from Anna. Anna had a number of questions and wanted some help with something at work. I let her know i’m out of office – but the ‘inner self’ suggested a few options and suggested a few things, and then said let’s catch up when I’m back.

This made me think – and joked with Anna – maybe, I need to put my WhatsApp on ‘holiday mode’. I’ve silenced many groups (work mainly…) which i’m part of – so they don’t ping.

But in this very connected world – it’s becoming more and more of a blur… so where is the work life balance?

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It’s difficult to find that balance. There will be times when work needs you most! (that’s probably most of the time!) but you, and only you, need to focus on life. And then, you’ll be able to figure out the balance. Somehow.

There’s no magic formula that I’m aware of… or is there?

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No. There isn’t. So there’s ways you can have a more balanced life… and some things I’ve learnt to ensure you are switched off…

  1. Have 2 phones. That’s right – switch your ‘work’ phone off. Give one or two folk in your team your other number in case if the building is burning down (or other serious emergencies).
  2. On just holidays, but a friend once told me ‘Respect The Weekends’ – this is your time, to disconnect, re-focus and relax.
  3. There was a great LinkedIn post by Cristina Ghetti (I’ll let you search and read it) about being away from work, etc… and it’s a fantastic post because you know what… work will always be there.

So, whilst things are figureoutable – make sure you have time to relax. I’m back in the office tomorrow – so if you’ve emailed me, yes – I’ll aim to reply tomorrow. Till then… I’m off to spend some time with the family!

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Bal’s Friday Thought…

Recently, I’ve been on a bit of a de-cluttering mission! But also, things I just don’t need and feel could be of use to others – just given them for free.

I also help with charities, giving food to those who need it most. I’m only sharing this to inspire others who can do the same – appreciate not everyone can, but to make the world a better place… if we can help each other out, it’s wonderful because who knows when we may need that help one day.

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Politicians and Twitter…

If you’re on Twitter – which I hope you are, you’re probably following a number of celebs, VIP’s and politicians.

I am. I follow a few – but then, there’s times when I get confused – because of their tweets, and think, is it really them or is it a parody account (of which many exist!)

The above is from the ‘real’ but you could easily think it was a parody!

It’s worrying times. Twitter lets you go crazy – well, kind of. Depends on who you are. But times are changing. They’ve come out saying that Politicians aren’t above the rules.

Yesterday, Twitter put out a blog post in an attempt to clarify that world leaders, like President Donald Trump, are not above its rules — at least not “entirely.”

In Tuesday’s blog post, Twitter said that “Presently, direct interactions with fellow public figures, comments on political issues of the day, or foreign policy saber-rattling on economic or military issues are generally not in violation of the Twitter Rules.”

If a tweet does break the platform rules, Twitter can remove it. If it thinks it’s of public interest, the company can block it out with a grey box that users have to click through in order to see the content.

Will this really help? – I’m not so sure… but it’s a step in the right direction. Everyone should be treated equally, and if you’re promoting a particular bad thing – then you should be treated with the same rules as if you were head of a state/country or just the average Joe. Some would argue, you should be treated more harsher because of the impact you could have depending on the number of followers you have.

Social Media as a whole – is a huge platform for people to easily get their message across. The message could be of hate, however – the platform has to carry out it’s due diligence and make sure that it’s not breaking rules. And that’s where the likes of Twitter are coming from.

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Another day, Another Phone…

Let’s be honest. Phone tech is booming! And by that, I mean the phones themselves but everything else that is going on and around mobile phones .

In the past few weeks – I’ve share with you the iPhone 11, the new Google headset and more recently, Windows Surface Duo. In the past, I’ve shared the Samsung foldable screen phone… and many more.

Now, whilst I don’t want to turn this blog into a mobile phone type of blog – because I’d like to think I talk about other things – both Tech and Lean related…. I had to share the below with you!

It’s the new Samsung Galaxy 11. Coming out Feb 2020.

It’s rumoured to be shipped with a colossal 108MP rear-facing camera with a five-times optical zoom and a spectrometer for measuring everything from how dehydrated you are to how many calories are in an apple. It could even have a sliding screen.

But what’s more – is that the docking station that may come with it – that provides you with holographic type of messages and information!

Samsung is working on an exciting new docking station for the Samsung Galaxy S11 that can take the handset’s notifications and project them into thin air in the form of what the company refers to as an “aerial” image.

In a nutshell, there’s a mirror and a retro-reflective element baked into the docking station – aimed just the right angle to draw light from the handset’s curved screen and create the hologram – as well as a wireless charging element.

Now, I’ve described it as a docking station – but there may be also a case, that has similar features as the docking station and shows the holographic type images.

There’s also the sliding screen that’s being spoken about – and much more.

Looks like the whole mobile phone game is beginning to hot up again!

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Folding heck… who’d have thought it?

You may recall – I blogged recently about the Samsung folding phone. That’s right – a phone, that folds and has a screen, that folds! – Brilliant technology innovation – however, they’ve struggled because the screen was cracking and there were other issues.

Well… hot on their heels are Microsoft who’ve tag teamed with Google!

That’s right. You heard it right. Windows have teamed up with Google to release the Microsoft Surface Duo Phone!

Getting back into phones won’t be easy. There are really only three companies who sell devices in huge numbers and make any money from their smartphones — Samsung, Huawei and Apple.

In the second quarter, 22% of smartphones shipped in the world were made by Samsung, 17% by Huawei and 11% by Apple, according to Strategy Analytics.

However – teaming up with Google, seems like a bit of a master-stroke from Microsoft. Personally – I think it’ll do well, because it has alot of offer. Alot of businesses and organisations are Windows based. Alot are using the whole Office 365 suite of tools. And we’re all mobile and want to do things on the move.

What do you think about the Surface Duo? – will it be a success?….

Introducing the Surface Duo…

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Finsta…

You know I’m a big fan of social media – you can catch me on Twitter (@balbansal)… and you can catch me on Instagram (@mrbalbansal).

Now… I’ll be honest, what you see is what you get on Instagram. That is my life – the food, the football.. the fun. However, it’s not like that for everyone. There’s many people out there that want one profile for Instagram – so the world can see, and then another which is more…. real life. Therefore, let me introduce you to, Finsta.

Bal, is this a new app?

Nope – it’s still Instagram. But let me explain it to you –

A finsta is a secondary, usually private, Instagram account where users are more lax in deciding what they post. It’s a private space that might be more personally authentic and is shared with close friends. This is a contrast to someone’s main account, which might have more heavily curated content.

Content is King. We know the content brings the likes, the users, the audience. And it’s that content then may help a business, an individual, an organization grow – and gain more followers.

But what we’re realising is – there’s many people who want to be connected to their close friends and family and just be honest…

So… by opening a second account – having it private, you can accept invites from those whom you’re close to.

For example…

Everyone wants to look good on Social Media. Everyone wants a good reputation and we know the advantages and gains you can have from large following on Instagram (and other social media platforms).

Not saying this is something you should be doing – but just be aware… and it’s one for educating people… everything you see on Instagram, isn’t always what it seems.

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Find your inner Pichai

When I was at Kodak, I remember my Sensei saying to me –

“Bal, you must first understand – then to be understood”.

Mark Chamberlain

Reflecting – absolutely true. How can you relay a message or work on something if you don’t fully get it. I’ve kept that close to my heart. Yes – the world is a fast moving place, but I always try to understand, break it down and then to share that in simple ways.

There’s so much I don’t know. But then on the other hand – there is so much I’m learning.

And recently – I read an article about the Google CEO Sundar Pichai, on how he was interviewed for a VP position in Google back in 2004.

Basically, Pichai said the interviewers asked him what he thought of Gmail. There was just one problem: Google had just announced the email service that very same day, on April 1st. “I thought it was an April Fool’s Day joke.”

He responded by saying he couldn’t answer the question because he hadn’t been able to use the product. “It was only in the fourth interview when someone asked, ‘Have you seen Gmail?’ I said no. So he actually showed it to me. And then the fifth interviewer asked, ‘What do you think of Gmail?’ And I was able to start answering it then,” 

So why am I sharing this – well… couple of reasons,

  1. If you don’t know – you don’t know. Be honest. Just tell people, if you don’t know something – you don’t know it. And why you don’t know it.
  2. Don’t make things up -don’t try to bullsh*t your way through. You’ll eventually get caught at some point.
  3. Show intellectual honesty – it’s not about scoring points. It’s about being honest. And showing that you’re open to learn and make decisions.