The yes man

What is the biggest emerny of business? The list could be no is long. But what would you put at number 1 ? Me I would put the good old fashioned yes man right squarely at the top of the list. Wait no the boss would surrounds them selves with yes man is in fact even worst.

(The yes man= a person or persons who will agree with the boss no matter what)

No boss no matter how apparently good they are, never makes the right decision every time or always see the bigger picture Etc. And that is where your advisers/team comes in board of directors what ever.

Now this is where the yes men are worst because a bad decision will go unchallenged and be trumpeted as a good decision.

Fatigue Your Enemy my enemy

I have had a great response to my previous blog Why England sucked at the World Cup. The business case thanks every one. Your comment have been great. Which has given me some ideas for a few follow ups.

I have discussed Ego but other points where raised. And the one I intend to discuss here is the issue of fatigue (Thanks to Siegfried Adam Jr)

The English football league is made up of 100 or so matches and training and in the case of the world cup the players have had little down time and our rest. Combine this with playing in hot weather and any tiredness will show. Fatigue is a key issue to manage on the football pitch and in business. (please note that I am not saying this was the main reason England crashed out the world cup but just one of the contributing factor just like Ego did)

An over worked person will be less motivated for several reason, In the case of the players in the England squad this may have contributed to what I saw as a lack of pride and passion and other factor as previously discussed. After all no body preform at their best when tired. I also tend to think people are less motivated and more prone not to care about their mistakes and less likely to learn from these mistakes. Because we all make mistake we would not be human if we did not and we learn from mistakes. But we don't learn as well when tired. A further point on this issue is we are also more prone to make dangerous error and be less safe.

And as a result that is why fatigue management is important. And the England Squad may have help demonstrate this at the 2014 world cupI am no expert on this topic expect for what I have experienced in my working life. It is not complex never the less.For Example a person working 60 hour weeks will be more fatigued than a person working 40 hour weeks.

And longer hours does not always mean more productivity in fact it is often quite the opposite. There is a point in a working day were peoples productivity drops this will vary by the person. I will admit I don't know the figure/time.

But that is why fatigue management is an issue we all need to get our heads around. After all it is one of the biggest factor effecting safety and employee motivation it is that important. .

The unspoken language

As a market trader among other things. You see all sorts of sights and hear loads of different stuff some of it useful and interesting some of it not so.

One thing that I have noticed is people body language and what it says. And the strange thing is how often people don't notice are no aware of what their body language and what they are saying without ever moving their lips.

In many ways body language is just as important if not more so than spoken word in forming the first impressions.  It says a lot about you.
For example what do crossed arms say? or hands in pockets?
Among other things it may depend on who you are some people may interpret it slightly different. But in general it does not look good in particular in a customer facing setting. Would you want to be served by them?
So what does it say?
One or all of the following:

•  I am uninterested 
• I am bored 
• I am unapproachable
• I don't care 
• Etc..

Body language is important but the most important thing about it is been aware of your body language and what it is saying.

It can be very damaging in any setting but as I said in a retail sector it can be a major disaster and cost or reduce your sales and maybe even damage your company's reputation/Brand. 

Body language is that important 

Why England Sucked at the world cup. The business case

Can the recent England fiasco teach business anything?

Yes (But I will give my answer at the bottom)

It is a simple fact that England where a total embarrassment in the 2014 World cup so far 2 games played 2 games lost and the real and scary prospect of going out not having won a single game, now doesn't that make you cringe. 

But why.?

Well apart form the issue I have discussed in my previous blog following this link:

The following strikes me as reasons:
Well/overpaid players been on the squad simple because of their name I mention no name wait yes I do Wayne Rooney, who further seem to feel they deserve a place on the squad. Not based on merit but simple because who they are.
They seemed to be a major lack of pride and passion in the England squad. Caused by the above I deserve my place because I am X attitude. After all I am the top earning English player in the world so I must be the best and must automatically get on the squad.
No one seems to have earned it.

This seems to be the same problem Spain faces the two nations with the biggest and richest leagues seem to have created the same problems for them selves due to the abundance of money and Hugh wages creating huge egos this caused the reigning world to crash and burn even more than England.
The Fa has to take heed and act fast or we will keep suffering year in year out.
Does the manager need replacing? Normally I would say no it is to fast. But this time yes he played the status quo of English football and it is broken. It time to change big time. Drop Rooney and co fast and start again ego has and is ruining English Football. (among other things) wipe the slate clean start again.

Not all the faults that caused this disaster of football. Are the fault of the players and the manager just most of them.

Any Solutions?

• Play more friendly s (it will improve team cohesion)
• The England squad need to join up earlier before major tournaments

Can these situation teach/show business anything?

Yes but what?

As I think Ego caused a huge part of this nasty situation it can and has showed us what Ego can do in a business. In the case of the England players I think a factor in this was huge wages giving them an inflated Ego. And the same can and will/does happen in the world of business. Yes you should pay talent well but not inflated wages. In a business setting it can have the same results.

A great example of this is/maybe the bankers. Who were just like footballers lock in the never ending circle of every raising wages not thought results but because x is paying y so company x has to pay y to keep them. And we all know what happen in that sector don't we.

Ego caused by other root cause can also be damaging.

Unchecked Ego is dangerous very. Would you let a lion in your office no of course not so why would you let unchecked ego in. Ego Is not the same as pride or passion just remember that we want those in our people. But we want to no need to avoid Ego like the plague.

Why England Crashed out of the World Cup (Updated)

It is a simple fact that England where a total embarrassment in the 2014 World cup so far 2 games played 2 games lost and the real and scary prospect of going out not having won a single game, now doesn't that make you cringe.

But why.?

Well apart form the issue I have discussed in my previous blog follow this link:

The following strikes me as reasons:
 paid players been on the squad simple because of their name I mention no name wait yes I do Wayne Rooney, who further seem to feel they deserve a place on the squad. Not based on merit but simple because who they are.
They seemed to be a major lack of pride and passion in the England squad. Caused by the above I deserve my place because I am X attitude. After all I am the top earning English player in the world so I must be the best and must automatically get on the squad.
No one seems to have earned it.

This seems to be the same problem Spain faces the two nations with the biggest and richest leagues seem to have created the same problems for them selves due to the abundance of money and Hugh wages creating huge egos this caused the reigning world to crash and burn even more than England.
The Fa has to take heed and act fast or we will keep suffering year in year out.
Does the manager need replacing? Normally I would say no it is to fast. But this time yes he played the status quo of English football and it is broken. It time to change big time. Drop Rooney and co fast and start again ego has and is ruining English Football. (among other things) wipe the slate clean start again.

Not all the faults that caused this disaster of football. Are the fault of the players and the manager just most of them.

Any Solutions? 

• Play more friendly s (it will improve team cohesion)  
• The England squad need to join up earlier before major tournaments 

My opinion only not necessary reflective of Clark trading view point

#Target 1000

What is target 1000?

It is simply the target for the following blogs and pages about Dove House Hospice:

Dove House Hospice 
Dove House and what they stand for
Busting myths about Dove House

Or put an other way a target to help raise awareness of them.
It is an important target of ours.

So if you read #Target1000 please visit and read the mentioned blogs

Please Help us Help Dove House Hospice
By spread the word about them and there work

What is professionalism?

In some jobs your expected to roll up in a suit and tie and in others it would be frowned upon if you did. Just try to wear a suit a Google or Facebook and you would be so out of place it would be unreal. But that does not mean their staff are unprofessional.

So What is Professionalism?

Does it vary by industry or sector?

Is what I think professionalism is vary from what you think and vice versa?

The answer to both these questions I tend to think is yes. But some things are seen as unprofessional no matter what sector you are. Like any of the following:

1. Been rude  to customers (It does not matter who you are or what function in a company you preform this is just a hard and fast rule in my book)
2. Dressing incorrectly for you job Trainers to work when every one else wears a suit or such like you can dress to smart but under dressing/incorrect is unprofessional or is it? 
3. ETC.

Just been bad at your job does not make you unprofessional or been good at it make you Automatically make you professional. It just helps

Business 101

One thing I hate to hear is "I have been doing this for years I know what I am doing"
While in theory yes you do and you should know what your doing but it does not always translate like that. For one thing this in my experience can lead to taking things for granted and people stop learning, and no mater what your role is you can always learn new things new ways.

While I am on the point about new things people with this mentality cause a further problem with things like I been doing this x so I know more than you. This is a major problem as new people may have A seen problems and solutions they have not noticed for a possible variety of reasons.

This attitude can hold a person and or a company back no correction in fact send it backwards

Why and what we do to help Dove House Hospice

One of the worst words I can think of is Cancer it is a nasty little word that ruins so much and has destroyed many lives no correction murder to many people .  (Please note Cancer is only one of the conditions people have that Dove House Hospice cares for and I hate them all) I wish there was no need for Dove house hospice but it is a sad fact there is a great. need for them(Don't hate the player hate the game)

I am trying to write this so it not coming across as a sales pitch and the likes. I am proud to support Dove House Hospice as both a company and a person.
It is one of my favourite topics to blog about Dove House and what they get up to. I always try to go the extra mile when it comes to promoting blogs
about Dove House Hospice. For example I recently paid to promote a blog entry about Dove House on our blog that reached over 10,000 people. We always
try to share Dove House social media entry's.  (this is just a snip-it of what we do)
I know this sort of comes across as a bit of a boring list but I assure you that I am passionate about helping Dove House Hospice for personal reason
I am not going to go into here.
But one thing I do promise is as a company Clark trading will support Dove House until they need it, until life limiting and ending illness are defeated
and not a moment before. And I hope this is soon I really do but in my heart know it will not be. And we will be there to help Dove house in any way we
can thought out the long battle.
And helping charity is not just about money it about helping them raise awareness of what they do.

The moral duty of all businesses is..?

It does not matter how big or small a company is, we all have an impact on our local area and in many case wider area. As a company it is our moral duty to ensure that impact is positive. After all the effect for the business if they are negative can be catastrophic and I don't mean fine for damage to the environment I mean to customer relations. And we all know how long that take to build and how easy it is to damage or even destroy. And the great thing is that to be a force for good does not need to be expensive, it not only for big company it for us all. In my opinion the only reason a company can't make a difference is simple they are not even trying. It not like you have to be a superman/women to make a difference in business or life in general.

It can be as simple as feeding the birds or planting lavender(after all Bee love blue plants and are endangered and supporting endangered species is kind of cool ). Or Supporting charities I am pleased and proud to support Dove House Hospice. A combo of these types of thing what great is you can Taylor it to fit your company after all there is no one size fits all solution here. You can do as much or as little as is right for you. And lots of small things add up no matter how draft or tiny they may seem.

For great example and to see what we are doing on this front here at Clark Trading check out our Csr blog at this link

Thanks

#Charity #Enviroment our csr summary

• We aim to be Bird Friendly
•  We aim to be Bee Friendly
• We aim to be insect Friendly 
• We aim to reduce were possible our Co2 out put 
• We aim to offset were possible our Co2 out out 
• We aim to reduce our ease were possible 
• We aim to recycle as much of our waste as possible
•  We aim to reduce unnecessary packaging and only us what need on customer orders 
• We aim to reuse item were possible 
• We aim to raise more ,money for Dove  house Hospice in 2014 than 2013 
• We aim to raise more funds year on year for Dove House hospice 
• We aim to help Dove House hospice where ever possible
•  We aim to help raise awareness of Dove House hospice 

Is football coming home? Good luck to England #World cup

I will not denie  that I think English football is riddled with various faults that cause problems at the national level as discussed in my blog entry on why we will not win the world cup. But that does not mean I want to be right on this. And thankfully the FA are looking into the problems mentioned on here before.  (not because of my blog more the pity but at least they are looking)

GOOD LUCK TO ENGLAND IN THE WORLD CUP 

Lets not forget we invented Football and we should be good at it but are we? That what the boys of the squad will have to show and lets hope they can do.

14th June 2014 

England Versus Italy 

#Come on England 

(World cup shocker from Holland yesterday yes Holland are a great team and so are Spain who are the current world champ so I would never have expected such a one side match 

Well done Holland 

Holland 5 Spain 1 ) Are the Dutch now one of the top pick to either do well or win the cup?)

Any one fancy venturing a score on this match ?

Introducing our comic cartoon football print

This limited edition carton style football print is in good condition with no marks. 

It will make a great gift for any football mad person. And as the world cup kick of in 5 days what better time to get this for that special some one.

And what is the dog doing? 

Price £12 or very near offer 

Contact me by email @ Clark395@Hotmail.co.uk

D Day we remember and honour

Today is the 6th of June 2014. As I am sure you know the 70th anniversary of operation overlord  (DDay) The beginning of the end of World War 2.

And we remember and honour all those brave men and women (British, commonwealth,Americans,French) who fraught and died and survived. Both on the beach of Normandy and on the ships and in the UK in planning and home defence and the likes. 

But lets not forget all those who where involved in the war in the far east against Japan an equal important part of the war or those who fought in the desert of Africa. And all the other theatres of war.

We aim ? Detailed a force for good #Charity #Enviroment (Updated)

Our aims as a company here @ Clark trading are? 

The Details on been a force for good 

#Charity and the #Environment

1. We aim to be a force for good by supporting charity and been as green as is possible. 

We aim/are to be a part of our local community 

#Charity 

We are proud to support Dove House hospice  please check out their website for more info on them and  visit our blog entry on them follow this link:  Help us raise awareness of what they do. I am Aiming for this blog to reach at least 1000 (more information can also be found on our blogs at these pages 

Busting myths and Dove House what they stand for 

Helping to raise Awareness of Dove House Hospice.

And Helping to raise funds 

We are proud to support Dove House and are in it for the long rule in fact until it is no longer need 

#Environment

We aim to support local Wildlife (the Birds and the Bees)

As a company we only have a small yard area but as you can see form the below picture it is awash with various plants and even two ponds to help local wildlife in fact one of the ponds is home on occasion to frogs.  We also feed the birds all year not just in winter. 

For Example we have several lavenders (And quite a few other blue plants) which I personal love but so do the Bees which I am told are Endangered
Our Garden ponds are lit at night but that's by solar powered lights not mains power

We aim to be Bee friendly 

We aim to be Carbon neutral

 Reducing our Carbon footprint

where possible and the garden certainly helps this goal but we go further one of the factors in deciding on  our courier of choice My Hemres (Service and reliability) is that they are/aim to be Carbon Neutral 

We aim to reduce unneeded mileage in our company van. 

 One of several way we meet this aim is by taking customer orders that are shipping via Royal mail to the local post office on foot. By using the most direct routes possible to our Markets/car boots. Our company van has the latest and most Environmental friendly engine available on a ford Transit. And as speed reduce fuel efficiency
We aim to travel in the van at the most fuel efficient speeds as  possible (driving responsible to protect the environment)

We aim to Recycle and reuse 
We aim to limiting  the waste produced by us 

We aim to different from all other companies out there where it matters (To stand out) 

Our summary version is also available on this link:

Welcome to Heaven oh wait I mean Hull (photos)

Hull is a varied city with many landscapes that all add to Hull charm in their own way.