6 reasons to stop charging by the hour

Via this article, I learned about the following 6 reasons to stop charging by the hour:

Reason # 1

It undermines your ability to be acquired.

Reason # 2

It makes customers hesitate before calling you for advice.

Reason # 3

It creates a negative cash flow cycle because you have to know how many hours were worked before sending a bill.

Reason # 4

It forces employees to fill out time sheets.

Reason # 5

It leaves your customers feeling “nickel and dimed”.

Reason # 6

It provides a disincentive for your employees to work quickly and efficiently, ultimately peopling your company with a bloated and slow-moving set of clock watchers.

To know more about challenges regarding compensation, have a look at this presentation. 

Education at Starbucks

I was at Starbucks in Zurich the other day. As Starbucks offers free WLAN, which I think is great, I brought a mobile electronic device with me. Sitting at a table at the cosy café enjoying a cup of fine coffee and a delicious piece of fruit bread, I was suddenly asked by a couple of people, whom I had not met before, if I could help them out with an assignment they were doing as part of an education. They had gotten a little stuck with a question. Fortunately, I was actually able to help the 2 people which they expressed their gratitude about.

Reflecting on this education experience, I find it quite interesting that education also takes place at other places than in a room in a physical school building. Besides using cafés, try experimenting with the use of other physical places for doing education. Here are some examples: Work places of people, people's homes, various types of shops. By combining a number of different places for doing education with the use of the Internet, for example blogs, I experience that even more value can be added to education.

By the way, I read here that the Starbucks mission statement is “To inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.”

Heavy equipment theme park

Via this posting, I came across Dig This, a heavy equipment theme park. Reflecting on the good experience I had a few years back digging dirt using an excavator at Danfoss Universe, I think this type of theme park may have an interesting potential. I think it is a fine way to learn more about, for example, building / constructing things and training hand-eye coordination. What are your thoughts?

Source

Ideas to improve the customer experience

Customer Experience Improvements

The more interesting, the less ordinary

Via this posting, I came across this:

Treehotel in Sweden

Here's a 3 minute video about an innovative hotel concept in the woods of northern Sweden. 

Power distance

Power Distance

Inventions that improve your daily life

Via this posting I came across fine inventions that improve your life. I liked, for example, the toothbrush and toothpaste solutions. Which great inventions have you come across lately?