tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.comments2010-09-01T02:00:16.566-07:00dickiearmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235156604872449834noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-92060218872312300482010-09-01T02:00:16.566-07:002010-09-01T02:00:16.566-07:00I love it, I suppose though you have to be practicing the right things. It is no use practicing how to play the piano if you need to be good at the guitar.<br /><br />That&#39;s&#39; the tricky bit though, knowing what what instrument to practice ;)Peter Kayhttp://www.notfrombolton.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-33575449024823861062010-08-31T09:57:38.579-07:002010-08-31T09:57:38.579-07:00John,<br />Thank you for your comments and taking the time to do so.<br /><br />I love your flying and golf examples and totally agree with you.<br /><br />Thanks for liking my story - I cannot take full credit - Michael E. Gerber used the analogy while giving a speech in Leeds in 2004 which I attended.dickiearmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235156604872449834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-44151246991714599882010-08-31T09:56:05.137-07:002010-08-31T09:56:05.137-07:00Thanks Jamie! We are definitely all guilty of it - myself included!! <br /><br />;-)dickiearmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235156604872449834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-39833519985690324962010-08-31T01:56:07.176-07:002010-08-31T01:56:07.176-07:00You are onto something here, Dickie!

<br /><br />This separation of different things is so important. There are things that we do and can control and are the cause of other things; those other things are not under our direct control, but we can cause them to happen as an effect of the first set of things.

<br /><br />For me this connects immediately with at least three areas in which this separation shows up.

<br /><br />The first is the area of GTD (which you might like); it is an approach to personal management which is attractive to many people. Your line: &quot;If we practice the right things everyday, suddenly our music will show up.&quot; is so GTDesque!

<br /><br />The second area is flying aircraft where, depending on what one is doing, the instruments can be divided into two categories. There are &quot;control instruments&quot; (which are used as part of a short term feedback loop which includes applying inputs to the controls); and there are &quot;performance instruments&quot; (which used as part of a longer term feedback loop which includes monitoring performance against objectives).<br /><br />The third area is playing sports, particularly something like golf. For example, beginners at golf often try to hit the ball upwards to get it into the air, whereas the experts hit down on the ball and the club does the job of getting the ball into the air.

<br /><br />This approach provides a separation between tactical and strategic activities in a way that seems to be applicable to many areas of of our lives.

<br /><br />But, Dickie, the thing that I think you are onto here is not actually this underlying approach to separation at all! It is your effective use of a story about it and its application (in this case, about learning to play the saxophone) that helps people to learn about it.<br /><br />

Great stuff!<br /><br />

JohnJohn W Lewishttp://observations.johnwlewis.infonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-14758175072993575722010-08-30T23:16:12.278-07:002010-08-30T23:16:12.278-07:00Enjoy every moment of your life.Holiday in South Africahttp://holiday-in-south-africa.holidaybrochureworld.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-45983856084099863902010-08-29T05:41:48.893-07:002010-08-29T05:41:48.893-07:00Some valuable advice here and and something that I am sure we are all guilty of at some point.<br /><br />As the saying says, &#39;Practice makes Perfect&#39;!<br /><br />JamieJamie Forsterhttp://www.motley.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-30002936028811116702010-06-18T04:00:26.977-07:002010-06-18T04:00:26.977-07:00Good article. If only I had known this a year ago then I&#39;d be saving myself a lot of wasted time and effort now in getting my email linked correctly. This kind of info should go in some kind of business starter pack.<br /><br />AndrewAndrew Twigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17318326663988832712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-23655716564529709222010-06-17T23:30:40.031-07:002010-06-17T23:30:40.031-07:00Thanks Simon; thanks Phil. I appreciate your comments.dickiearmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235156604872449834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-78250352653606854942010-06-16T12:09:16.210-07:002010-06-16T12:09:16.210-07:00Brilliant info Thanks Dickie.<br />All new to me, got some wort to do now!Phil Clarksonhttp://www.interactive-t-s.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-80922251644514685782010-06-16T05:32:51.152-07:002010-06-16T05:32:51.152-07:00Nice Article Dickie. Great advice for anyone getting their business onlinesimonbunker.nethttp://simonbunker.net/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-57770321767779215822010-05-28T07:36:04.751-07:002010-05-28T07:36:04.751-07:00Simon, thanks for your comment. Great to hear Michael Gerber has helped you and your business.<br />I&#39;m loving your blog http://www.bloggingbookworm.comdickiearmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235156604872449834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-59067468418261217412010-05-27T22:39:57.046-07:002010-05-27T22:39:57.046-07:00Really interesting post Dickie. I am also a fan of Gerber, what he says seems to make an awful lot of sense. Since reading his work, I have changed a lot of things that I do in my business and things have improved massively.<br />Great Work!Simon Bunkerhttp://www.simonbunker.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-49063228544536335292010-05-03T03:21:32.778-07:002010-05-03T03:21:32.778-07:00Hi Dickie,<br /><br />Glad to hear that Virgin looked after you and your family so well. Considering the torrid time that some people had, including myself, whilst stranded overseas its good to hear that one company took the lead and did the best they could to look after their clients.Simon Bunkerhttp://www.simonbunker.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-89081484158760043962010-03-13T09:06:00.988-08:002010-03-13T09:06:00.988-08:00Hi Lyneth,<br />Thanks for your comments! <br />I hope you&#39;ll start letting staff use Facebook and other social media sites.<br />Of course it&#39;s always very sensible to give them guidelines and let them know that their accounts will be monitored.<br />As long as they use them sensibly, I think it can actually be good for a company especially if their employees are well connected and thought of highly by those people they connect with.dickiearmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235156604872449834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-64493734707980020792010-03-13T04:39:21.209-08:002010-03-13T04:39:21.209-08:00Just found this blog and you enlightened me! I used to have negative impression to those who are using fb in their workplace and I must admit Im one of those who block this kind of site in the router... Yay!<br /><br />I appreciate this too much Dickie! :)Lynethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-5584595978382795442010-03-01T08:42:54.416-08:002010-03-01T08:42:54.416-08:00I&#39;m speaking to ICAAN to see what can be done and I am also talking to a couple of members of Parliament to see what can be done.<br />I&#39;m not sure it&#39;s illegal as the letter is written rather craftily but as you say others may not be so suspicious.dickiearmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235156604872449834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-38075623546740809102010-03-01T08:35:23.557-08:002010-03-01T08:35:23.557-08:00What options are there to &quot;take them on&quot;?<br />Is what they&#39;re doing illegal as well as immoral?<br />I&#39;ve had letters from this shower, I googled them and discovered the scam for what it was.<br />Others may not be so suspicious!Chris Hardinghttp://www.mouseproud.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-20548904185316815532010-02-11T14:52:00.488-08:002010-02-11T14:52:00.488-08:00John,<br /><br />You are very kind. Thank you for your generous comments.<br /><br />You&#39;re certainly right about this being a tricky area. The Internet and World Wide Web was concieved but some seriously clever people but they were also very technical. <br /><br />It&#39;s this technical aspects that frightens people on Internet related stuff, but you actually don&#39;t have to be technical at all to understand the basics. <br /><br />But anyway, thanks again John; much appreciated.dickiearmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235156604872449834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-83574146436479512432010-02-05T06:04:50.891-08:002010-02-05T06:04:50.891-08:00The train analogy is perfect. None of us is in control of the train, but we must make sure we&#39;re on the right one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-1921126285082734472010-02-03T15:59:38.284-08:002010-02-03T15:59:38.284-08:00Thank you for your sound advice, Dickie. It is not easy for non-experts to find reliable guidance in this area.<br /><br />There is an overlap of business and technical issues in understanding the relationship between branding and internet domain names. On these kind of issues, there are few hard and fast answers and there is a wide range of viewpoints and styles of explanation from a multitude of advisors. To the majority of business people, it can all sound like &quot;mumbo-jumbo&quot;! Also, the relatively low price of some of the remedies offered can be tempting to those who are unsure of their position.<br /><br />To others reading this: if you are unsure of your ground in this area and are receiving a variety of conflicting advice from different sources, then you will naturally and rightly be cautious, will seek second opinions and will choose you advisors carefully. In this regard, Dickie Armour has a solid long standing reputation in this field. He can relied upon to be completely open with you about your options and I know that he will be happy to explain his advice as it applies in your context.<br /><br />There are many people who are knowledgeable and skilled in business areas or in technical areas, but in making sound choices in the tricky area where these overlap with the internet, good advice is hard to find.<br /><br />Dickie, this is what you are extremely good at! Thank you.<br /><br />JohnJohn Lewishttp://johnwlewis.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-25880549833199005482010-01-19T07:15:52.550-08:002010-01-19T07:15:52.550-08:00Special Agent Bosher, hi there!<br /><br />I can just see you on the DJ decks looking cool as ever! <br /><br />:-)<br /><br />There are sure to be some perfect tracks for our Social Media Train! <br /><br />Follow you, Follow me - Genesis<br />I will Follow You - Phil Collins<br /><br />How weird that both of those feature Phil Collins. I think if Twitter had been around 20 years ago, Phil Collins would definitely have been in the buffet car with us!!<br /><br />LOL!dickiearmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235156604872449834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-56320067725177568942010-01-19T07:12:36.841-08:002010-01-19T07:12:36.841-08:00Hi Peter,<br /><br />I know what you mean! The tables are fairly sparse on this train!dickiearmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235156604872449834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-42224126688126706502010-01-19T07:11:56.412-08:002010-01-19T07:11:56.412-08:00Hi Nick,<br /><br />Thanks for commenting.<br /><br />You and the others are now listed.<br /><br />:-)dickiearmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235156604872449834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-65278983311650432010-01-16T10:27:10.788-08:002010-01-16T10:27:10.788-08:00Hi Dickie,<br />Just trying to find a table in the car to park my ....Peter Ball (petrball on Twitter)http://www.peterball.org.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389238745235524695.post-51789792996358397122010-01-16T10:01:18.187-08:002010-01-16T10:01:18.187-08:00I&#39;d love to be on the list.<br /><br />I&#39;d also like to suggest two others:<br />@JoelComm - Joel Comm<br />@LinkedInExpert - Viveka Von Rosen<br /><br />-Nick<br />@ImNickArmstrongNick Armstronghttp://www.iamnickarmstrong.comnoreply@blogger.com