Think the opposite of what you think you should think

Just picked up a copy of Whatever you think, think the opposite by Paul Arden (Penguin Books, 2006). Arden makes the point that until the Mexico Olympics of 1968 the customary way for a high jumper to cross the bar was with their body parallel to it - the Western Roll. A little-known athlete then turned his back on the bar instead of turning his body towards it. Dick Fosbury set a world record height of 7ft 4.25ins and invented the still-used Fosbury Flop. He jumped higher by thinking the opposite of everybody else. Hmmm. Easily said, harder done...but worth doing.
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River Island - don't shop there!

I am outraged by the customer service - or lack of it - at fashion shop River Island in Norwich. My teenage daughter has just had her ears pierced and I gave her some money to get her first fashion earrings for a party. She came back with some earrings from River Island. But unfortunately - and bear in mind you are not allowed to try on pierced earrings before you buy - when she put them on they were so heavy they were unwearable. They dragged the ear lobe so far down that the hole tugged and gaped and you just couldn't wear them. I've had my ears pierced for years but I couldn't wear them either. At £12.99 I considered that they weren't 'fit for purpose' and went back to the shop. 'These earrings are so heavy they are unwearable. You can't try them on before you buy to discover this. They are unfit for purpose and I would like my money back please,' I say with a smile and what I considered to be a pleasant manner. 'We don't refund pierced earrings', says a surly assistant. I repeat that I don't want to change them because I don't like them, but because they are not fit for purpose. She repeats that they don't refund pierced earrings. I ask to see the manager and she has the same surly, rude attitude. There is nothing doing. They are not listening. They are rude. They don't get they we like the earrings, but can't wear them because they are so heavy they are unwearable. 'Nobody else has complained.'I am feeling humiliated and hot. There is nothing doing. I walk out with no joy. What terrible customer service. It was their rudeness that annoyed. Even if they hadn't been able to change the product, or the law isn't on my side (I'm not sure where I stand on this) they could have been more pleasant. I spend hundreds of pounds in River Island. It's where I buy many of my daughters' clothes and would have bought many of their Xmas presents. I instantly vowed to never ever spend a single penny in their ever again. So for the sake of refunding £12.99 and having a happy customer. They have a very unhappy customer who will never shop their again and has been repeating negative comments about them to anybody who will listen. 'Never shop there' I have told my daughters, and friends, and relatives...terrible customer experience. I decided not to bother writing to the management because if the shop ethos is this rude it probably comes from the top of the company. It wouldn't surprise me if they end up in financial trouble - and I wouldn't care either. River Island  - just say 'no'...

Aggregation of marginal gains

I love the philosophy espoused by Team GB Cycling's psychiatrist Steve Peters (see pic left) and coach Dave Brailsford.

They talk a lot about what they call 'aggregation of marginal gains' - making tiny improvements wherever you can which adds to a constant total improvement. It is the most optimistic and inspiring philosophy for sport

On the Team Sky website http://www.teamsky.com/article/0,27290,17547_5792058,00.html Dave Brailsford explains: "We've got this saying, 'performance by the aggregation of marginal gains,'" Brailsford continued. "It means taking the 1% from everything you do; finding a 1% margin for improvement in everything you do. That's what we try to do from the mechanics upwards.

"If a mechanic sticks a tyre on, and someone comes along and says it could be done better, it's not an insult - it's because we are always striving for improvement, for those 1% gains, in absolutely every single thing we do."

All these tiny gains gradually add up to a larger gain. I'm holding onto this thought in my veteran novice attempts to improve my hockey playing. I motivate myself by making sure that after each training session or match, however down I feel about my performance, that if i can take one tiny thing from it and improve the smallest amount it's moving in the right direction.

Indeed, the marvellously positive ''AMG" mantra as the team cycling coaches call it, applies well to any endeavour in life as well as sport.

Liz Hollis

Field hockey - my new obsession

It passed my by at school - I was more interested in gymnastics than standing in the cold on a muddy field. But in my forties I have just discovered field hockey. It's tough starting from scratch and coming up against players who are the same age but have been training solidly since school - or indeed highly skilled younger players. But I keep plodding on trying to improve my skills and I'm now into my second season playing with the second team whenever I get the chance. Not sure what position I should play yet - am usually put in left wing or left half. I'm not just enthusiastic I would say that I have become fanatical about this marvellous sport - probably because it's the first time I have been part of a sports team. There's vast room for improvement but that's part of the appeal - as well as the fitness benefits. There's a lot of failure involved (missed balls, when your team loses, not being selected for the team, injury, messing up a tackle, being outplayed) but the joy of the small successes when they come more than compensate. I've discovered it late in life - but for me it has to be the best sport.

Local newspaper journalists a disappearing breed

They are shedding 20 more editorial jobs at my local paper the Eastern Daily Press. Must be a high proportion of jobs, as I guess there are only just over a 100 editorial posts at the company Archant anyway.

Couldn't help wondering how many public relations professionals there now are compared to journalists? The ratio of people wanting to create news, compared to those wanting to find out and write about it.

My guess is that there are thousand more PRs now trying to talk to local newspaper journalists - who are working ever harder, with less time to find stories and get out and meet people.

Indeed, Archant suggested that shedding journalist jobs would enable them to 'consolidate' editorial coverage - especially in the digital economy. Also, they suggest that in future journalists will be out in the community more.

Again. I'm wondering how this might happen? Perhaps local village correspondents (hopefully not unpaid, although I fear they might be) will become more important contacts for PRs than local journalists? Liz Hollis

How to come up with ideas

Ideas are currency for freelance writers. Googling around about better ways to come up with better ideas, I found a tip from Weinburg (with no first name reference unfortunately). It is called the 'fieldstone method'. She or he suggests that if you collected two or three interesting looking stones a day you could eventually build a wall. The analogy is that you should collect ideas in the same way with the aim of leading to bigger and better ideas. They suggest you make a note of two or three things a day that interest or bother you as you go about your day. Eventually, you will start seeing patterns as ideas coalesce (what a great word that is) around some central themes. Creativity and innovation are not about coming up with something completely new in a vacuum, Instead ideas build from other ideas and over time, thanks to your gathering of daily jottings about things that interest/bother you, you will eventually see a trigger for an even bigger idea - a feature, book, programme, website, business idea. Good luck.

Conference - Beyond the Paywall

Beyond the paywall
How to pay for quality journalism in a digital world?

Conference: 9 May @ City University, 6.30pm, London.

It's time to search for a solution to how journalism can still continue in a digital world. This conference at City University in London looks as if it's going to tackle some of the big questions. With an esteemed panel of speakers, it will be interesting to see what they think...

Chaired by the UK Press Gazette's Dominic Ponsford, the panel is Geordie Greig, Dan Sabbagh and Stevie Spring.

A year ago Emily Bell, head of digital content at the Guardian, condemned paywalls as 'a stupid idea', says Dominic Ponsford.

But now, he adds, the mood around paywalls is changing. The Telegraph is looking at metered access from September and Mail Online is looking at signing up to the Google One Pass digital system.

This will all be debated at the City University conference at 6.30 pm on 9 May.

www.city.ac.uk
www.pressgazette.co.uk