August 2008 - Posts

• Meatloaf for breakfast

  OVER ANTWERP -- A fellow just got on this tiny commuter plane with his wife and tiny baby. He settled them into row 3. And promptly disappeared to the back of the plane. How can he get away with that? The plane is half empty. It takes all kinds. This Read More... Posted 20 August 2008 11:34 by David Ferrabee | 0 Comments

• Corporate writers... and the great works they leave unwritten

  LONDON -- Czech President Vaclav Havel was a well known playwright and dissident before becoming the symbol of post-cold-war politics. In a new book he tries to exorcise the ghost of his 15 years as a public servant of a different type. And he ends up Read More... Posted 17 August 2008 07:52 by David Ferrabee | 2 Comments

• How to use consultants

  LONDON -- I am having alternately excellent and horrible experiences. And I can sympathise with the people that I am working for: It's hard to work with consultants. There is no preparatory course. Consultants make it hard. They speak a strange language. Read More... Posted 14 August 2008 15:52 by David Ferrabee | 1 Comments

• What is employee engagement?

  KENSINGTON HIGH STREET -- I've just had another one of these conversations. Two, in fact. It's only 3 in the afternoon and I am already sick of the sound of my own voice! Usually it takes longer. Today's epiphany is that employee engagement is very different Read More... Posted 13 August 2008 15:44 by David Ferrabee | 3 Comments

• To those who will never read this...

  DORVAL, QUEBEC -- I saw my friend Jonny this week. We've been friends since we were 15 years old. So that's... a long time. And he's a very smart guy. Kept me from being kicked out of school a few times. Still keeps me laughing. But he's got no email. Read More... Posted 10 August 2008 23:57 by David Ferrabee | 0 Comments Filed under: Internal communications, Change Management, involvement, Engagement, motivation, morale

• McNasty: a US President who treats employees badly?

  GASPE, QUEBEC -- It would be a contentious issue in the community where I am spending my holidays, as many of the older members of the community are still quite taken with the Republican nominee. But I have been reading recent commentary on John McCain's Read More... Posted 07 August 2008 00:32 by David Ferrabee | 2 Comments

• The end is nigh...

  GASPE, QUEBEC -- I've always secretly wanted to carry around a sign that says this. And maybe now is my chance. But it's not the end of the world that I am thinking about today. It's the end of this blog. In a few weeks I am leaving Hill & Knowlton. Read More... Posted 05 August 2008 16:38 by David Ferrabee | 5 Comments Filed under: Leadership, Internal communications, Change Management

• Summer is not the silly season at work

  GASPE, QUEBEC -- It's amazing how quiet things are right now at work. Clients are away. Bosses gone. People on holiday. You can hear the echo. Even down the Internet connection. But I don't think we should be deceived. There's a lot that goes on in the Read More... Posted 02 August 2008 14:29 by David Ferrabee | 1 Comments Filed under: Change Management, New business, involvement, Engagement, marketing, motivation, selling, morale