Brand recognition :)

Ever heard of this saying, if you want something done, give it to a busy person?

That always happened to me. My boss kept giving me more and more, work seems endless that I'm not sure if I have time for personal commitments until year end. Oh shucks! I can't get married this year, I guess. Oh whatever lah! Nevertheless, I'm not complaining about getting more work landing on my lap. I'm a workaholic, d'oh!

Hahaha! Really, I'm not complaining. Simply because my new project is an exciting one. I'm developing a communications and branding framework that will govern our group of companies and we're one of the largest conglomerate in the country with over 45 companies, mind you! That's many people to win over if I want a buy-in from every communication head in the group to agree and subscribe to the framework!

Irregardless, I'm 100% committed to this project - hey I even worked up past midnight preparing this morning's project brief for our communications fraternity - and still enjoying it despite the tears! I'm glad we got everybody's buy-in this morning! Phew! First hurdle is out of the way :)

I'm passionate about this project because once this framework is completed, approved and implemented, our communications fraternity in the group will break new exciting grounds in bringing our professional roles in corporate communications to a new height as a management function.

Public relations are not for bimbos and airheads you know. I'm saying this because you really have to be intelligent to make people pay you top Ringgit for something that is not tangible and not easily measureable - image, brand, reputation. Yet, this is something you cannot do without. Losing money is a lot easier to recover than losing your reputation and credibility.

Hehehe are you yawning yet? If you are, let me make communications and branding more digestible by putting it in a more humorous perspective.



How is communication important in branding? Perhaps...the following analogies will help us define the word...

You're at a party and see a handsome guy. You get up and straighten your dress. You walk up to him and pour him a drink. You say, "May I," and reach up to straighten his tie brushing your breast lightly against his arm, and then say, "By the way, I'm fantastic in bed." That's Public Relations.

You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome guy. One of your friends goes up to him and pointing at you says,"She's fantastic in bed." That's Advertising.

You see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and say, "I'm fantastic in bed." That's Direct Marketing.

You see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and get his telephone number. The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm fantastic in bed." That's Telemarketing.

You're on your way to a party when you realize that there could be handsome men in all these houses you're passing. So you climb out the sunroof of the car and shout at the top of your lungs, "I'm fantastic in bed!" That's Spam.

You're at a party and see a handsome guy. He walks up to you and says, "I hear you're fantastic in bed." That's Brand Recognition.

I haven't got a thing to wear!

Oprah Winfrey was right when she said, "Young or old, rich or poor, country girl or city slicker --- it doesn't matter: At some point, every one of us gets out of bed, grabs a hot shower, downs a cup of coffee, goes to the closet, and decides that we haven't got a thing to wear."



Hahaha it seems this is true lately for me - I find my clothes are getting tight. Hehehe I wanted to believe that but the fact is I'm getting a lil too big for my clothes to be fitting me as nicely as they did before. I weighed myself for the first time in months this morning. Holy Cow! I gained 5 kgs since I moved in with my mom sometime end of May.

Perhaps it's true they say that you gained 3mg of fat each year without doing anything. Sometimes I can feel myself growing by the milimimeter!

I guess I have to go on a weight reducing diet. I know, I know, DIE-T is Die with a T...but I don't think I have any other choice. If I were to economically unaffected, that is, because it's expensive to be doing a wardrobe makeover.

So, I guess diet and exercise, it is!

Common and un-common sense

According to Which Sense Is Strongest in You? quiz I did at Tickle.com, my strongest sense is Common Sense. Probably that's why Belle of the Party and some close old friends call me the "voice of reason". Probably that's why often times, I find myself a beacon for those seeking advice. Either that or I must have a great head on my shoulders huh? Hahaha, perfect!


The quiz results said, "With Nel's practical approach, her instincts are sure to guide her down a logical path. Nel's gotten her sensible smarts along the way from the school of life. Forecast calls for rain? Take an umbrella. Hitting the hiking trail? Don't wear flip-flops. You probably consider these no-brainers, but don't underestimate yourself — common sense isn't always as common as you'd think. Way to go!"

Hey, did you know that common sense is an intelligence most of us take for granted that everyone would have? But guess what I discovered - apparently, not everybody has it. But you know what? It's the most important intelligence that will ensure our survival in this ever dynamic changing world.



You know what? I think two things have always kept me afloat in times of difficulty, in my trials and tribulations in life - my common sense and my sense of humor, which is my un-common sense.

As William A. Ward once said, "A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life."

You break, you pay

Today, I learned about giving 100% commitment the hard way. I was two minutes late for my personal effectiveness training this morning and I was grilled by the group leader. That was so shitty!

I learned to acknowledge that I was late and that I had broken an agreement I made to myself and others. I learned that it is my personal responsibility to keep to my agreement because my word is my worth.

Omigod! I felt so not worthy and so small as I reflected on all of the agreements I've broken, promises not kept - to God, to myself, to my loved one and to others.

Before starting our three-day training yesterday, we had agree to adhere to all of the ground rules. One of them is to honour my agreements. Being punctual is one of my agreements. To participate 100% in the training I must attend the training 100% of the time. Whether I am a minute or 5 minutes late, it doesn't matter. It is a broken agreement. I realise making up excuses are only attempts to make myself feel better, not to make the waiting party or wronged party feel better. By making excuses, I'm not taking personal responsibility, and instead, I'm shifting the blame to other factors like traffic jams, I overslept and other things for example. I should tell myself every night, if I want to realise my dreams, I must not oversleep :)



After more reflections of my personal habits, I acknowledge that I do have a major problem in keeping time. From this moment on, I will make it my top priority to be 100% committed, to keep my promises and to honour my agreements. That includes managing my time well, and respecting my time as well as other people's time.

Wow! Thats really deep. Well I'd rather be deep than be in a deep shit!

It's like those petite cardboard you see on the shelves of the fragile section of a department strore or a gift shop which says, "you break it, you pay". So, in more than one way, you'll pay for breaking an agreement. Ever thought of that?