The week that was 20191214

PROUDEST | MOST GRATEFUL MOMENT

We are in! Shucks this week is a bit of a blur. We are officially in our new beautiful home. I am so grateful and proud! This is the view from our bedroom. Now for all the unpacking and finding a spot for everything. 

This pretty much depicts how my packing went!

I absolutely LOVE our clients and my AMAZING team! Specialites Pet Food (SPF), a division of Diana Pet Food, did their first reputation study and scored an excellent 94%. They now have a set of baseline metrics for each business element to manage their reputation going forward. Thank you to the SPF team, it was great to work with you!

We also presented great research results to McDonald's. 

I am so grateful that I could take the week off to move and that the team are not dependent on me to be in the office to work on projects. 

BIGGEST LESSON THIS WEEK / REMINDER

Moving is hard work! Keep yourself nourished and hydrated!

SOMETHING INTERESTING

I'm not too sure which Church this is at, but I thought it was brilliant. The congregation crotcheted a square that was then used to make a Christmas tree. These blocks will then be sewed together into blankets to be handed out to those less fortunate. 

WHAT MADE ME GIGGLE

Oe there were a few:

The cutest "nope" :) [via Soul Alchemy @marciaswords]

The week that was 20191207

PROUDEST | MOST GRATEFUL MOMENT

[I actually wanted to post this last week, ironically I lost all the photos on my phone while I was backing them up onto a hard drive.] 

I am so grateful for and proud of our Awesome AfriCAN initiative. Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Newlands are mentors for entrepreneurs completing their course at the False Bay TVET College. As part the incentive for the entrepreneurs to complete the mentorship programme, Rotary are sponsoring a website for each of the entrepreneurs. Where our Awesome AfriCAN initiative comes in, is that we are training and empowering the entrepreneurs to build their own websites so that they can also update it themselves. It was such a wonderful morning watching the entrepreneurs build their own sites. Funds raised from the website sponsorship is being ploughed back into the community by providing community members with basic computer skills. 

I am so incredibly excited and proud of our new service offering that we are launching in January 2020. The main aim is to empower our clients with the knowledge to roll out the recommendations from the reputation research that we conduct for them, themselves. We are also offering reputation management support for entrepreneurs so that they can build reputable businesses right from the start. Send us a mail and we'll share more information including an exciting launch deal! [research@reputationmatters.co.za]. Here's an article that was published on Media Update.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to facilitate a full day reputation management course at Enterprises at the University of Pretoria. It was a fabulous group with a lot of knowledge and ideas sharing throughout the day. 

I am very proud of some lovely coverage that we received on Moneyweb, thanks to a media release that Senior Stakeholder Liaison, Chris Bischoff on our team wrote.

On a personal level, it was a rough, tough week. I had to say 'bye' to my darling, sweet Timmy. I am very grateful to have had him part of my life for the past ten years (he was about seven years old when we got him). He had become a bit of an institution in Earl Street, greeting every person that walked by and always ready for a tickle from a passersby. 

BIGGEST LESSON THIS WEEK / REMINDER

Magical things happen when you are tuned into the little things around you, especially nature. On the way to the airport I saw a flock of birds flying, when I took a closer look, I noticed they were flamingos! They were so graceful and beautiful. Later in the afternoon, this (slightly drenched) Hoepoe came to sit on my window, he became quite a poser when he saw me taking photo of him.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding," Leonardo da Vinci.

   

"Life is always a little rocky when you are a gem!", Margaret Hirsch.

WHAT MADE ME GIGGLE

Heard on the Gautrain: A child is very permanent; rather start with a tattoo and see if you get used to something that permanent...😂

Media Release: Reputation mentorship matters

Reputation Matters launches reputation mentorship programme.

Reputation Matters, who has dominated the reputation research space with their customised reputation research tool, the Repudometer®, is excited about their new service offering that they will be launching in January 2020.

“Measuring and understanding your reputation isn’t always enough. We have realised that there is a massive need for ongoing reputation management support, especially for entrepreneurs and people who are new to the communication field,” says Regine le Roux founder and managing director of Reputation Matters. “Very often it is assumed that reputation management is very pricey and something that is only relevant for large corporate organisations,” continues le Roux.

“It is especially important for new business owners to build and foster their companies’ reputations right from the start. Often it is assumed that having a social media presence is sufficient. It is, however, everything about your business that impacts how you are perceived that has an effect on your reputation.”  

But why is reputation management so important? “People want to do business with companies that have a good reputation. We have evidence that there is a correlation between a good reputation and bottom line,” adds le Roux.

“Reputation management is much more than just having cool social media pages, SEO and a creative website,” explains Regine. “A large portion of your budget may be going to quirky marketing gimmicks, but if you don’t have your reputation building blocks in place, you’ll be wasting a lot of time and money.

“With our hands-on approach, our programme will help you to focus on the whole business and how you as an entrepreneur (or even a large organisation) can build a positive reputation for your business right from the start. You will be empowered with a very comprehensive understanding of how to look after your reputation, identify your blind spots and leverage off your strengths,” says le Roux.

Communicators, or in fact anyone in the organisation that has a keen interest in reputation management, will also benefit from the mentorship programme. “We have often seen that after a company has invested significantly in a research project, they don’t implement the recommendations. 

Research is crucial; unfortunately, without implementing the recommendations, your reputation will not grow and improve. With the new mentorship programme, we aim to empower the client with the knowledge to roll out the recommendations themselves. We will mentor you on how to build your own communication policies, strategies, and plans, and provide you with templates to make your job easier. In this way we aim to foster a longer-term relationship with the client instead of just an annual engagement,” concludes le Roux.

For more information about Reputation Matters’ mentorship programme and an exciting new launch offer mail: research@reputationmatters.co.za or visit www.reputationmatters.co.za. Follow Reputation Matters on Facebook (@yourreputationmatters) or Twitter (@ReputationIsKey).

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The week that was 20191201

PROUDEST | MOST GRATEFUL MOMENT

This week I am feeling a bit nostalgic. After eleven years in our house in Hout Bay, the time has come to move. I looked everywhere for the perfect place! We almost moved to Kommetjie, which is a lovely community with some lovely properties, it's just really quite far. After the last house viewing there on my way home, and as we drove over Chappies into Hout Bay, I just realised that Hout Bay is home and neither Mark and I wanted to move out of the Republic. I then found the perfect house, such a lovely space (and quiet!) a block away from where we are currently staying. I am grateful to have stayed in this wonderful house in Earl Street, but, I am now excited about the new chapter, still in Hout Bay! Next mission: packing!

It's been another wonderful week of running and cycling! I am so grateful for my running buddies. Photo above is from our Tuesday run with the Hout Bay Harriers. We ran from the Vine to the pier. It was such a beautiful evening. I think we did just over seven kms. 

Two early morning rides up Suikerbossie continued this week, I know that I have said it a million times before, it just really is such a magical time of day. I am so grateful to live in this beautiful part of the world. Picture above is the back of Table Mountain.

I am very grateful to have been part of the PR2020 Summit presented by Faselis Southern Africa, where I spoke on Wednesday on  reputation management from a communicators point of view. Friday was Entrepreneur2020 and my focus was on the importance of reputation management as an entrepreneur and the different dimensions to consider. Well done to Nadia Hearn from Get Published for an absolutely wonderful and well organised summit! Exciting times awaits the PR industry!

BIGGEST LESSON THIS WEEK / REMINDER

I definitely love bibliosmia! It is the smell and aroma of old or good books!

A great reminder that I saw on social media this week:

'The only thing that matters is how much you love. In the end it doesn't matter what your body looks like, how successful your career is, how big your house is, how advanced your yoga practice is, or what your bank statement says. Let me repeat this: "The only thing that matters is how much you love." Your purpose on this earth is to love. And love is a two-way street. We give, we get. With love we will turn this crazy world around.  

And another one:

Refuse to be offended. When people ignore or are mean or rude to you... they're revealing themselves. They're telling you what's within themselves...not what's within you. How you treat those who mistreat you, reveals your emotional and spiritual maturity. "A fool's displeasure is known at once, but whoever ignores an insult is sensible," Proverbs 12:16

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Loved seeing the quote above: "Sometimes in order to keep growing you just need to change pots."

"Don't find fault. Find the remedy; anyone can complain," Henry Ford

THIS WEEK I FINISHED READING...

The Stellenbosch Mafia by Pieter du Toit. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped I would. The chapter on Steinhoff was incredibly interesting, now I definitely want to read Steinheist. 

I also finished listening to the ebook, "How to Live on 24 Hours," Arnold Bennett. I did have a couple of giggles I am so grateful that we've really evolved specifically with women in the workplace. I do feel that I am doing fairly well with maximing my daily 24 hours.

WHAT MADE ME GIGGLE

"You know what doesn't grow back, Susan? Trust."

It was really very hot in Cape Town this week, I had parked in the sun and it was 40 degrees Celsius!