Grombles

Following the overwhelming response to my post about advice for golf hackers , the one comment it received suggested I offer similar advice for tennis players. So here are some ideas to get it started. Whackers... players who aspire to be Rafa, Roger or Serena but remain perspiring, awkward dreamers probably nursing tennis elbows, dodgy knees and arthritic hips, and regularly deflated egos. Grunt. All top players expel a noisy grunt after every shot to prove to spectators, opponents and coaches that a maximum amount of effort has been expended to serve or return a shot. Failure to grunt proves a lack of effort and commitment even if the ball is out or the point lost. At least he/she tried hard to win it. Whackers, on the other hand, have neither spectators (other than those patiently waiting to use the court) or coaches to worry about. So the grunt is solely intended to scare the opponent, to disguise the sound of ball on frame, or it's actually a squeal of pain rather than the sig...

During a recent board meeting I was informed that one or two of our larger clients (car manufacturers) demanded that our email passwords be renewed every month. Every bloody month! I hit the roof. Like a lot of people these days who live sleep eat and breath emails, I access them on every device possible including phones, tablets, laptops and other PCs. Each one would need the new password entered (assuming I could remember it!) 12 times a year. The world's gone mad. But despite the fact I own the company and therefore chair the board, I had no option. Comply or lose clients. The next day I received the notification I was waiting for to renew my password. It was a typical Microsoft Exchange notification to click here and type in my current password which I duly did, followed by a web screen asking for my new password, which it confirmed had been changed. Now all I had to do was change the password in all my other devices which I would get around to doing later. Total pain in the ...

Q: When is it ethical to listen to other people’s phone conversations? A: When it’s in the best interest of both parties. Making sure customer gets what they want, and helping staff achieve their objectives. Maximising Customer Experience is the buzz expression these days. But less obvious is the benefit to the employee. But benefit they will. By identifying how they can improve their performance, we can not only help them achieve greater success and therefore greater job satisfaction, the resulting increase in customer satisfaction will assist profitability, which in turn translates into better employment conditions and good morale amongst work mates. They’ll be delivering for their employers and pulling their weight in a team. So what is at the heart of what ‘hacking’ or listening-in to calls to and from your organisation meant to achieve? What are we trying to measure? It’s all about really knowing what your customers are experiencing. And it’s about knowing for certain, quantit...