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13 lessons in persuasion: conmen vs. marketing pros

by Matthew Stibbe on August 2, 2010

3.2 million people in the UK fall for mass marketed scams ever year – around one person in every fifteen. Swindles cost the public £3.5 billion every year. The OFT conducted a report to investigate those who had been conned and concluded that: 20 per cent of the UK population could be particularly vulnerable to [...]

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Do you need a think week?

by Laura Connell on July 21, 2010

The economic downturn brought about a boom in mid-career gap years. The so called “sabbat-packers” took unpaid leave and did something adventurous thousands of miles away from their recession-struck offices. The idea behind “sabbat-packing” was improve your quality of life by getting away from your job. But does it work the other way round? Can [...]

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The last week has seen the beginning of a coalition government in the UK. For me personally, it has seen the start of two new client relationships and the renewal of an older one. It seems like a good time to think about what makes relationships work and how to ensure that each marriage is [...]

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To do or to be, that is the real question

by Matthew Stibbe on April 28, 2010

Like most writers and entrepreneurs, I have a bulging to-do list. It’s like a bottomless cup of coffee; it stimulates, comforts and raises blood pressure all at once. My to-do list runs my life. I manage it on Outlook and via my iPhone with TaskTask. It is the epitome of the “do something” approach to [...]

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40 essential online apps for freelancers

by Matthew Stibbe on March 22, 2010

Online applications give me a competitive edge. I want to be a ‘big little company’ with the same (or better) IT capabilities as the biggest of my clients. I try to make the maximum use of online applications because they let me deploy new capabilities quickly without adding to my IT or admin burdens. This [...]

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Why do deadlines work?

by Matthew Stibbe on March 8, 2010

I’m reading Max Hastings Finest Yearsand there’s a lovely quote in there: “An Englishman’s mind works best when it is almost too late.” It’s the same for writers. But I wonder why? This is a slightly different problem from the one I discussed in November which involves doing stuff at the last minute because a [...]

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Search engine marketing for beginners

by Matthew Stibbe on February 10, 2010

Nearly every business has a website and we all know that Google (and to a much lesser extent Yahoo!, Bing and other search engines) help people find products and services they want. The challenge is to make sure that when people look for a business like yours, they actually find your business and not a [...]

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The enduring mysteries of productivity

by Matthew Stibbe on February 9, 2010

Why is it that when I am busy, I am also more productive? I mean that I get more done in an hour when I am busy than I do otherwise. How come you get more efficient at doing something the more you do it? Even creative tasks? Why does work always take longer than [...]

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Fast, good or cheap. Choose two.

by Matthew Stibbe on February 2, 2010

I used to make computer games and back then we had a saying about project management: ‘you can have any two of fast, cheap or good.’ It’s a choice that most people don’t want to make. Fast Most clients have a schedule: a campaign deadline, a business plan commitment, a product launch. Usually this is [...]

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How to write faster – learn Teeline shorthand

by Matthew Stibbe on February 1, 2010

Ambitious journalism student, Alex Cooper, introduces us to Teeline Shorthand with his debut guest post for Bad Language. In this article I will go through the basic structure of Teeline Shorthand, a brief history and some tips for learning it along the way. Teeline was invented by James Hill in 1970. It is aimed at [...]

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