My wife Nita and I started Workhouse Marketing back in 1992, and we’ve worked together virtually every day since. Even so, every night she asks me if I’ve had a good day. My response is pretty much the same, ” well, half of it was above average, and the other half of it was below average!” I guess what I mean is the average day of an MD generally includes some really good, positive news or achievements, but also some sticky issues to deal with revolving around staff, or money, or IT or something that conspires to balance out that smiley happy feeling when everything is just ticketyboo. Yesterday was no exception, but as it’s Friday I’m going to tell you about the smiley stuff and leave the sticky stuff to another day.
It was great to get not one, not two, but three really nice ‘thank you’s’ from three different clients yesterday. We have recently designed, written and published Training 2000’s new business magazine Source. We had our review meeting yesterday and our client said that ‘we exceeded their expectations’ and gave our team a big thank you for the quality of the magazine. (Heidi Kettle and Ian Macdonald are due all the credit at Workhouse)
Although I would say this, but it is a good read, and a good magazine to advertise in. Source Magazine has a lot of credibility and has a readership of about 4000 senior business decision makers in Lancashire. If you’d like me to send you a copy of the last issue just ask and it shall be done.
The second thank you came from the North Yorks Probation Service, on signing off their new brochure, their e-mail read “Thanks for all the hard work over the past week or so and pass thanks to Heidi and Nicky as well along with the rest of the team there. Thanks again.”
The third thank you came as a response to a previous post on this blog, from Lottie Designs who was in the photography studio yesterday shooting the cover of the next Live Ribble Valley magazine, who thanked Steven Carlin and Andrew Woodhouse, our photographer, for looking after them and helping with the shoot. Live Ribble Valley have used Workhouse Studios now on several occasions, and (I would say this too) it is an excellent mag and has a good reputation with everyone I talk to in the area.
Comments like these only take a few minutes but have a tremendous effect, not only on the people concerned, but everybody in the company gets a lift knowing that we’re doing good work and it is appreciated.
On the other hand I never say Thank You to my staff often enough and off course all my staff reading this are now saying ‘bloody right’. But of course an MD can’t win..If I walk round saying well done to everyone all the time for everything they do like some inane grinning happy jack, it would have little value “Well done Joe, you’ve managed to put one foot in front of the other today, that’s the best bit of walking I’ve seen for a while!” Conversely when I do say well done I can feel them thinking ” That’s all well and good, but it’s long overdue”. It’s a bit like when I buy my wife flowers, the first thing she says is “you never buy me flowers”…errr I just did!
So, at the end of my first week of blogging, I’m going to make an oscar style speech so….I’d like to thank all my staff for their hard work and good work it is too. I’d like to thank all my clients for trusting us to do the good work in the first place. I’d like to thank my family for putting up with me and putting the bins out every Tuesday. I’d like to thank the following who’ve added to the character of life in the past couple of weeks, Chris and Rachel for a superb wedding (I smiled all day), The Twang for an amazing gig at the Ritz, The poppy lady at Strensham services, Gareth and Nan and CJFiji, Slazenger and Adidas, Jed, Margaret the dog trimmer and Janis for the Victoria Sponge. Oh and if you haven’t bought a Ribchester Calendar Girls calendar yet, please do. Oh and a big thank you to the person who reads this blog, whoever you are.
I would say this but…..the atmosphere at Workhouse is electric at the moment. The tension and excitement is palpable.
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