Matt D. Simpson

You Are Not a Large Corporation

May 17, 2013 — Leave a comment

A manifesto for the self-employed

Here’s a short 2-minute read that is sure to inspire…

You are a unique badass who’s thrown down the shackles of cubicle life and been liberated by your own ambition. You now have tremendous power, so use it to your own benefit.

You can define “success” without it being tied to quarterly shareholder reports or even income. It can be tied to the amount of days you can afford not to work. Or by how much you can donate to your favourite animal charity that rescues llamas. Or by how often you can work from the road.

You can make huge mistakes, apologize for them and learn something (or learn nothing and move on).

You can add “taking care of me” to the top of your mission statement and then go for a walk, take up a hobby or do yoga during work hours.

You can let your personal values and ethics guide your work and who you work with. Continue Reading…

In Entrepreneurship

How to Create Raving Fans Inside Your Organization

May 6, 2013 — Leave a comment

Every company wants raving fans who love their product, service, or cause. But beyond our customers and target audience, most of us also want to be a part of something bigger too. We desire to work with, or to lead those who also have similar goals – those who are aligned with us in a common purpose.

While most organizations do a pretty good job of understanding their external customers, far too many fall short when it comes to connecting with their internal ones. I often see companies invest huge sums of money in the “branding process” only to miss the critical step of really understanding their internal audience.

In Alignment brand management, culture, human resources, leadership

Will Mailbox change how subscribers respond to their email?

April 18, 2013 — Leave a comment

In a timely post by Ros Hodgekiss, of our friends at Campaign Monitor, she asks the question: “Will Mailbox change how your subscribers respond to their email?”

The short answer is we just don’t know yet. It’s simply too soon to tell. With a 6-figure wait-list for an account, we’ll be waiting for a while to see what happens “Mailbox-mainia” shakes down to the masses.

In Communications email campaigns, mailbox, marketing

How to Create a Team Member (Employee) Welcome Kit

April 17, 2013 — Leave a comment

The first step in creating any outstanding culture is simply being intentional about it. When it comes to new hires, your first impression of each other likely took place on Interview Day – but your new hire’s first impression of the company culture takes place on their first day in the office.

In Alignment company culture, employees, human resources, new hire, orientation

Choosing to Be Exceptional

April 11, 2013 — Leave a comment

… Our experiences shows that many senior leaders lack clarity, primarily because companies tend to put too much emphasis on comparing their present selves with their past selves and too often declare victory if they’ve improved. Continue Reading…

In Entrepreneurship competition

12 Tips for Using Instant Messaging in Workplace

April 10, 2013 — Leave a comment

As with all communication mediums, there are a couple of rules everyone should follow to be seen as a courteous coworker when it comes to instant messaging. By developing good habits with your IM, you can bring new consideration to using this tool in the workplace.

In Tips communications, instant messaging