Outsourcing and Customer Service

Look up customer service on a search engine and then switch to the pictures page. What you’ll see is predominantly photos of smiling faces sitting at a call centre desk. The irony is that this is where the poorest customer service is usually evident. If you were asked what good customer service entails, wouldn’t you agree that it is predominantly about speed, reliability, relationship and trust? Seeing as the call centre is so closely associated with customer service, why is this function so consistently outsourced, and how does this relate to these factors?

The Effect of Trauma on Training

This article was first posted on the Hive Health Media Site. I am posting it here for ease of reference and in case they decide to delete it there.

I have recently had two incidents occur that reminded me of the physical effects that trauma can have on your training objectives. The first was a small medical procedure which involved general anaesthesia. The procedure itself should not have had any effect on my physical performance, as it did not involve surgery, just the placement of a JJ Stent. I asked the surgeon beforehand if I could return to training afterwards, just to be safe, and he confirmed that I could. However, during the week after, I struggled in gym as I lacked energy, felt exhausted and once gave up halfway through my programme

Asynchronous movement is the most common cause of injury.

Care and Maintenance of The Human Machine

 A short analysis of The Human Machine’s Main Component parts 

This article was first published on the Katoptron Website, but since it is no longer available there, I have decided to post it here for easy reference in case some of you are interested.

Remember when cars were relatively simple and you could buy manuals for every model that hit the market? My first car was a red Ford Escort 1.6L, and I had just such a manual for it. These manuals were so good that you could literally maintain your own vehicle and never needed to wonder if the mechanic actually did the work specified on the invoice. My manual was well worn, had oil stains as testimony to the work I had done on the vehicle while referring to the manual and even had a blood stain on page 21, reminding me that I had nicked a finger with a pair of pliers. As such, my car was in excellent condition and I knew exactly how every component part worked and could fix anything that went wrong. A lot of people bought these manuals though, read parts of it, did the simple things (like changing light bulbs), but never really got to grips with the machinery or repaired or serviced their own vehicles.

Training and Motivation

This article was first posted on the Hive Health Media Site. I am posting it here for ease of reference and in case they decide to delete it there.

The gym is a great place to get stories for motivational speaking. The members who are serious about training are always revved up and talk about goals, better ways of training, progress made and of course new supplements. You can learn a lot by just listening to the guys around you.

I recently overheard another such conversation where a member said to the gym owner; “Hey, I’ve just heard about a great new supplement. Perhaps you can help me get it, because no-one seems to have it in stock.” Chris, as helpful and interested in new developments as always, said; “Sure, what’s the name? I’ll find out who supplies it and see if I can get you some.”  We both smiled as the member replied; “It’s called motivation.”

You can learn a lot by just listening to the guys around you.

The Human Machine

* This article was first posted on the "Katoptron" Site. Since it is no longer available there, I'm posting it here for those who might be interested.

Knowing yourself must surely start with how the psyche develops. Speculation about biological psychiatry as opposed by theories proposing a more spiritual approach aside, there is much to be said which is not subject to the confusion or controversy of these subjects. At the same time, not enough is usually made of the development of the human machine, and I am of the opinion that most answers to behaviour in general can be found here.

The psyche is at its formation much like a blank page, although the basis for it being a self-organising system is already present.

Getting the Job

I’ve recently had the dubious pleasure of having to go to some interviews again, and noticed that I had not as yet posted anything under the heading of “Career”. Well, this is the ideal opportunity to do something along that vein. Interviews are one of the strangest events you’ll ever experience. However, as with all meetings, you’ll get most out of the meeting by preparing and knowing exactly what you want to gain from it. If you’re thinking, “Well that’s easy, I want to get the job offer”, then that is exactly where the problem lies.

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
Confucius

Move, Rest, Eat, Sleep…

A few days ago while doing a heavy set of Incline Bench Presses, I asked one of the guys standing around to spot me during the last set. I was already tired and stopped somewhat short when bringing the weights down. After the set, the spotter advised me to drop the weights and rather bring it all the way down to my chest. Nothing wrong with the advice, so I just said; “OK, thanks for the help” and moved on. But I immediately realised that I was looking at this young man who was badly overweight, could not push half the weights that I did, and thinking; “who is he to even think of giving me advice?”

Even good advice from those who have obviously not achieved is often spurned.

The truth is that we happily take advice from people who have already achieved a level of excellence to which we aspire. Even good advice from those who have obviously not achieved is often spurned. So, I have decided to spend more time writing articles related to the area where I can show demonstrable results. Health and fitness is a strong suit, and I post a recent picture to show this (Note: I am NOT a body builder, and looking like one is not a goal – I gym for fitness, health and keeping in shape).

How Our Academic System is Flawed…

What have you recently invested in your intellectual life? Have you read some good books, attended courses or seminars? Whatever input you are getting now will directly influence the direction your life takes in the next 5 years. In fact, if you read my article in Katoptron – The Human Machine, you’ll know that you are in large part the sum total of learning experiences that shaped the values on which you base your life.

Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.
Anthony J. D'Angelo