5 sensible questions SMEs need to ask about Brexit

How do you react when you hear the B word? Run around the room panicking like a headless chicken? Or bury your head in the sand hoping it will all go away? Whatever you think about Brexit, the truth is that it will have an impact in some way on your business.

 The FSB (National Federation of Self Employed and Small Businesses) estimate that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up 99.3% of all private sector businesses and contribute a combined annual turnover of £1.9 trillion to the UK economy. So whatever your market or business area, all UK businesses will serve a client base that will be affected.

 Here are five questions we think every small business should ask to help them understand how Brexit, whatever form it takes, will affect them.

 1)     Do you import or export to the EU?

Perhaps the most obvious change will take place with imports and exports. There may be extra costs from customs import duties and there will also be administrative costs from additional red tape.

 As we will no longer be part of the free trade area, all businesses that import and export from Europe will need an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number, to complete relevant documentation. Even if you only import and export to countries outside the EU, your supplier may temporarily store goods in an EU warehouse, which means you will need an EORI number.

 2)     Do you employ EU citizens?

A recent survey by YouGov reported that nearly half of all UK businesses employ EU citizens. After Brexit, you will need to think about how you track the nationality and status of employees to make sure they can legally work in the UK.

 3)     Do you hold data on EU citizens?

You may not be able to use data you hold on EU citizens, whether they are customers or suppliers, until new agreements for information sharing are in place. Also, if you have a .EU domain you will have to change your web address, unless your principle place of business is in the EU.

 4)     Do any of your staff travel to EU countries?

If your employees travel within the EU, they may have to pay extra mobile phone charges - for data and calls. If your team drive abroad, they will need to apply for an international driving licence.

 5)     Do you hold any certification or trademarks?

If you hold certification for a product, such as organic certification, it may not be recognised after we leave the EU. This means you will need to apply for individual approval under specific EU regulations. Any trademarks you wish to continue to protect outside the UK may need to be re-registered for an EU trade mark (EUTM).

 Whatever you think about Brexit, it’s clear that whatever form it takes, it will affect your business.

You can use the UK government’s tool to find out more.

How to ‘spark joy’ in your office

 

Applying the KonMari method to your work space

 The 23rd March is officially the first day of spring! It’s a time of refreshing and revitalising; throwing open the windows and letting in the fresh air – literally and metaphorically. But as thoughts in Paperstone HQ turned to tidying, we started to wonder if we could ‘spark joy’ in our work spaces.

If you haven’t heard of ‘spark joy’ (where have you been for the past two years? Living in a cave?), it is the central tenet of the KonMari method brought to us by the latest doyenne of de-cluttering –Marie Kondo. This diminutive Japanese guru of organisation, calmly and caringly helps people de-clutter and sort their homes and possessions, and through that process improve their lives.

In essence, the MariKon method is about removing objects from your life that do not bring you joy.  Which turns out to be a simple, but incredibly effective way to tidy up.

Here’s how to apply the KonMari method to your work space.

 1)     Imagine your ideal lifestyle

Before you start tidying, visualise the work space that you want. Efficient? Clear? Useful things to hand? Also think about your desk habits. Are you eating breakfast and lunch at your desk? Do you actually want to do this? Keep these thoughts in your mind as you tackle the tidying, it will help inform your choices.

 2)     Tidy by category

You need to tackle groups of items all at once, rather than pick through items randomly. You must also follow a specific order.

i)                 Books

ii)                Papers

iii)               Miscellaneous – in this case stationery and office supplies

iv)               Sentimental items

 Take every single item from the category you are tackling and put it in a pile. Regardless of where these items are, you must put them together before you start sorting.

 3)     Spark joy

This is where you discover what to keep and what to get rid of. The process involves taking each item in your hands and working out how you feel about it. This video by Marie Kondo explains the process beautifully. If you decide an item sparks joy, keep it. If it does not, discard it.

 As you get rid of the item, thank it for being useful to you. (This bit sounds a little crazy, but it assuages the guilt we feel about throwing things away and helps you through the process of de-cluttering.)

 You are probably thinking that there are files and work-related documents that definitely don’t spark joy, but your boss might be pretty angry if you send them to the recycle bin. Fear not! You can keep items that are useful. So if it doesn’t spark joy, but is useful – keep it.

 4)     Finish discarding first

Sort through every category and every item before you start tidying away the items you are keeping.

 5)     Put things back in order

This is where the fun starts. You should have considerably less to put back than you started with, if you haven’t, you probably need to go back to step one!

 The secret to putting things back is to place them where you can see them. Don’t make piles of objects on your desk top, stand them vertically, so they are visible and take up less space.

Store larger items in clear plastic boxes, that way you can see at a glance what you have. Don’t just stuff your stationery into your drawer, partition items and use desk organisers so that you can see everything when you open the drawer.

 Obviously you don’t need to see every piece of paper, so some new colour coded files could come in handy. Put documents you need to hand in expanding files.

 When you’ve finished organising make sure everything is clearly labelled.

Then stand back and admire your handy work.

 If you’re inspired to apply more Maria Kondo to your life, read one of her books . Or watch her show on Netflix. You can also check out this video of Marie helping someone tidy their desk.

Are keywords killing creativity?

As I study another spreadsheet of SEO keywords that I need to embroider into my copy, I wonder whether we are stifling the beauty and complexity of the English language.

Is our versatile and varied language becoming homogenised as the algorithms push us to tap into the lowest common denominator?

The joy of English is the breadth, depth and variety of words that have wormed their way into our language. Words from across the world, from different times and cultures. Think of running amok (from Malay/Indonesian), or the charming Australian word for being sick – chunder (a shortening of ‘watch-out-under’, the cry that echoed round the decks on the long voyage over to the new world). There are simply too many to even start to do justice to here.

The richness of our language is in the fact we have five words to describe the same thing, but with subtle differences in meaning that even native speakers can’t quite put their finger on!

Don’t get me wrong, I am not stuck in the Stone Age, believing language should stop developing. The whole reason we have such a rich language is because it is constantly changing. Language is evolving and alive – and it needs to be. My concern is that as we struggle to get the most hits on our websites, are we subtly changing the way the synapses in our brains work and stifling the creativity and elasticity of the English language?

Now, where’s that emoji for shut up and get on with your work……

Cognitive computing: The dawn of a new era

Some of my recent work has involved researching big data and industry 4.0. We are entering a new age of computing which I think will have massive ramifications for the human race. Not just the way we work and the way we live, but the way our entire society functions. The philosophical implications are immense. But that's another blog! 

Here's an article I wrote about cognitive computing and how it will impact business in the short term. 

Cognitive computing: The dawn of a new era
Human development is marked by significant innovations that changed the course of our evolution. Carving arrow heads from flint gave our early ancestors a better way to hunt for food. The invention of the spinning jenny increased the production of cloth; fuelling the change from an agrarian to an industrial economy.

Now the stage is set for the next leap in human development. Some people call it revolution 4.0, some the third era of computing. But whatever you call it, the new age of digitalisation is set to change the way ourlives forever.

Big Data, cloud computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence are all part of this transformation. But a relatively new piece of the digital pie is coming to the fore - cognitive computing (also known as Robotic Process Automation [RPA] and cognitive technology). And it’s a huge game changer.

What is cognitive computing?
Traditional computer systems need to be programmed. Cognitive technology is not programmed, it learns. It understands data, and can process language and images. Mirroring the human thought-process, it develops a deeper understanding the more information it is exposed to.

Going beyond machine learning, which is essentially an algorithm you use to complete a task, cognitive technology finds patterns in the data to offer new insights. IBM defines cognitive computing as “… systems that learn at scale, reason with purpose and interact with humans naturally." 

Key factors in the rise of cognitive technology
Big data. It is impossible for humans and traditional computer systems to make sense of the massive volume of data we now create (and will continue to create as the Internet of Things grows). These new cognitive systems can trawl through data and deliver insights and answers we simply could not. IBM’s Watson, probably the best known name in this field, can read 800 million pages of data per second.  

The cloud. This mass of data is easily accessible on the cloud – making it straight-forward to tap into from anywhere.

Where is this technology?
You may not know it, but you have probably already interacted with cognitive technology. Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Google Now all use this technology. It is already infiltrating many industries from financial services, to car makers. In the next few years you may even reveal your medical problems to a Dr-bot, which will work out the best medical solution to your problem.

Business impact
1)     Informed decision making
When making a decision, the more information you use; the better your decision. By analysing ever changing sets of information, cognitive technology assigns a ‘score’ to different options, giving you a concrete set of parameters on which to base decisions. 

2)     Finding patterns
Now we can examine large data sets, we can discover new patterns and relationships within them and generate new insights. This then translates into improved systems and processes.

3)     Helpbot
As mentioned above, cognitive computing can work as an ‘expert assistant’ offering information and answers to questions. Cognitive computing uses language and interacts with you to refine a search and hone down the answer.

4)     Automation
It will take over mundane tasks. These systems can sift through information to arrange data and answer search queries. This will free workers from mind numbing repetitive activities and allowing them to focus on more complex challenges.

5)     Visualisation
After crunching through the data, the results can now be displayed visually. This new way of showing information allows for a deeper exploration and analysis, giving a more profound understanding and making information more relevant.

This territory is still new and uncharted. We are still learning how to tap into big data and fully utilise this new resource. But one thing is clear. The world is changing. Business is changing. Organisations cannot afford to be left behind, or they may risk suffering the same fate as the Neanderthals.

Sources:

http://www.cio.com/article/2977565/robotics/cognitive-technology-and-the-automation-of-everything.html

http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/Cognitive-computing---Part-1--Cognitive-computing-and-the-evolution-of-knowledge-work-115476.aspx

http://irpaai.com/what-is-robotic-process-automation/

http://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/science/move-over-artificial-intelligence-cognitive-technology-is-the-future/470711/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2016/03/23/what-everyone-should-know-about-cognitive-computing/#2a3d99df5088

Tags: Cognitive technology, cognitive computing, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), big data, machine learning, cloud technology.

6 quick wins for better copy

Whether you’re writing for your business, or for your colleagues, here are a few simple tricks that can pep up your copy and make it easier to read and more compelling.

1. Be active
Use the active voice in your copy wherever you can. So instead of saying ‘we were writing award-winning copy for our clients.’ Say ‘we wrote award-winning copy for our clients'.    

2. Don’t oversell
Try to avoid using superlatives, such as amazing, fantastic, brilliant etc. They sound insincere and don’t tell the reader anything new, interesting and different.

3. Them vs Us
Use the second person – you and us, rather than it and them It makes the copy more personal and draws the reader in.

4. Jargon-free zone
Steer clear of jargon and acronyms that only you and few of your close associates will understand. It can be hard to separate out these words as you use them every day. But try to adjust the copy to the level of your audience's understanding.

5. Forget what you learnt at school!
And
Because
But
Of course…
..can all start sentences. They draw the reader into the next sentence

6)     Keep sentences short
Try to keep one idea per sentence (or about 20 to 30 words); this makes it much easier to understand. If you have one sentence that seems to last for an entire paragraph, go back and add some punctuation.

 If you’re still faced with a blank screen and struggling to write compelling copy, it might be time to call in an expert. Contact me for help with creating and shaping copy, plus solutions to a range of other word-y problems.