Well, it’s Christmas again. I just bought a triple album of “lounge” Christmas songs (Julie London, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr). What a great thing! I was eagerly awaiting the release of the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on DVD, but couldn’t find it anywhere today!

But enough of my shopping habits… I’ve been remembering to notice some of the amazing factoids and ideas I’ve encountered in the past month or so since my last ezine. My web site will eventually catch up to these gems, and you get them first! Happy Christmas

This ezine touches on:

• Some interesting research on the “aha” experience, and info on the links between sick days and heart disease
• Branding, marketing and selling IP
• And to keep you thinking, the opportunity to contribute to an encyclopedia, and
• update your basic management knowledge

Hoping that you’re all geared up for a festive and relaxing holiday season.

Brains and the aha experience. You’d know that feeling of “aha” when you finally solve something. Well some cognitive neuroscientists have connected an increase in neural activity in the brain's right temporal lobe with problems solved using “insight”. If you’re curious to understand what it means neurologically, follow the link!

Look after that cold, look after that heart!
Since our consulting businesses rely on our being well, we think we can’t always afford to take days off when we’re under the weather. Research in the UK shows that people who don’t take days off when they have a cold may be at greater risk of heart disease. Even more reason to keep yourself well and respond to minor colds with TLC. You may end up with fewer days off in the short-term, and you may even live longer!

Branding with characters
If you’re thinking about branding your consultancy, a product or service with a little “character” too (a la nudie), here are tips on how to brand with a character

Really good passive income
Dreaming of passive income from selling your intellectual property, check out the online test for directors offered by Exemplar, an Australian Company. At $4.4k a pop it’s not budget priced (but excellent income!)

Get an idea a day
Check out www.Idea-a-Day.com “where ideas are free”. You can subscribe and they’ll send you an idea every day, or you can look at some of the previous ideas on the site. You could even submit some of your own. So simple!

A field guide to Management gurus
Maybe you’re feeling a little behind in your management reading. Fast Company have the answer, a “Field Guide to the Gurus” in a few hundred words puts you in touch with the thinking of The One Minute Manager guy (Ken Blanchard), the Built to Last guy (James Collins), The Reengineering guy (Michael Hammer), and of course the In Search of Excellence Guy (Tom Peters). Check out their consulting rates while you’re there. Something to aspire to perhaps!

Contribute to an encyclopedia
And if you want to marvel at how the web puts knowledge into the hands of everyone, and makes each of us potential encyclopedia contributors, check out Wikipedia, “a free-content encyclopedia in many languages that anyone can edit”. The English edition started in January 2001. There are more than 403,000 articles. You can edit an article too if you like.

Consultant’s Guide – out now!
And my books… the new edition of the Australian Consultant’s Guide is out in ebook format now ($35). If any of your friends or clients are starting their own consulting business for 2005, and you want to give them the gift of a hot off the press copy, then just let me know!

Consultants’ Companion – improve your business 30 minutes a week
I’ve also got the Consultants’ Companion ready to go. Great New Year’s resolution material, it guides you through improving your business 30 minutes a week, in each of 3 areas – marketing, financial and asset maintenance systems. $25 in ebook.

That’s it for December. May your days be merry and bright, and your new year sprinkled with opportunities to congratulate yourself on all the good things you’ve accomplished in 04!

Cindy

Cindy Tonkin can help you improve your business. Coaching by phone, email or in person. Corporate training for your consulting team.

Visit Cindy's Practical Solutions to People Problems Blog. Visit Cindy's Consulting Business Blog

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