To all friends of the zone, have a safe and Merry Christmas, and a happy new year!

So New Zealand beat Australia in Australia for the first time in 23 years last week. Is this the dawning of a new era for New Zealand cricket? Can we rise from the doldrums of 8th place in the international test rankings? Will our opening batsman magically become the stubborn “I will not get out flailing to a crap delivery” stalwarts that test opening requires?

The answer I say is a resounding NO! Our batters still have the astonishing ability to collapse for bugger all runs and I truly believe I can bowl faster than the majority of the Black Caps bowlers. One test win does not a great test nation make. We need to create some consistency and start winning on a regular basis. You know you are a team under fire if you struggle to beat Zimbabwe…

However – does it really matter? I know the cricketing purists like our Mr Tattershaw believe that test cricket is the only form of the game that matters. Personally, after living in America for so long now I am starting to agree with their perceptions that any game that goes for 5 days is just silly and hard to support.

I hope New Zealand does indeed move forward and become a top tier nation once again (hang on – were we ever in the top tier?) We certainly have youth on our side.

Bring back Shane Bond (and Buck)

Hamish

So we had our first snow fall here in Chicago today – apparently the 5th latest snow fall on record. We are heading from one of the largest snow fall winters in Chicago history according to the weather experts. So the woolies are out and the fires are burning as we make our kids behave with threats of Santa’s naughty list.

Christmas in New Zealand is a bit different than here. For one, it’s hot, so people tend not to stay indoors around a fake pine tree. Instead, families head to the beach where they camp in droves, eat ham, play cricket, drink a bit of this and that and swim at the beach. Also, the Pōhutukawa tree (NZ Christmas tree) is in bloom, painting bursts of bright red stamens all over the place. It’s the quintessential sign that it’s Christmas in New Zealand.

My Kiwi family is packing up to head to Matarangi Beach on the Coromandel Peninsular. Santa will visit wearing shorts and gumboots, his sleigh pulled by sheep. He will get to enjoy a beer and pie left by hopeful Kiwi kids.

Hamish

Better than staring at tiles and good for the advertiser – everyone’s happy. ‘Don’t cross the streams Venkman!’

Matt

These ‘lightpainting’ images are the work of photographer Fabrice Wittner, lending his talent to the rebuild effort in Christchurch. Handmade stencils and a long exposure technique create the ghostly figures in memory of the city’s February 2011 earthquake. See more development shots here.

Matt

Today I was going through my business cards and I found this curious card.

This is the card for Dr Regina M. Benjamin. TimeZoneOne was luckily enough to work with her a few years ago on an assignment for the American Medical Association. We were creating marketing communications to explain the value and great work of the AMA.

At that time Dr Benjamin was the doctor in a small health clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. We went there to photograph and her learn her amazing story.

Dr Benjamin is now the 18th Surgeon General of the United States.

Her job is to now provides the public with the best information available on how to improve their health. Dr. Benjamin also oversees 6,500 public health officers.

For more information please go to:
www.surgeongeneral.gov
wikipedia.org/wiki/Regina_Benjamin
www.ama-assn.org

TimeZoneOne is privileged to have worked with Dr Benjamin.

Cheers

Richard

Please note the following keywords for TimeZoneOne:

• Digital marketing
• Sales leads
• Website design
• SEO
• SEM
• Search Engine Optimization Agency
• Landing page design
• Brand development
• Logo design
• Advertising agency
• Graphic design agency
• Design agency
• Marketing agency
• Creative agency
• Chicago
• Chicagoland
• New Zealand
• Christchurch
• Richard McDonald
• Richard Tattershaw
• Nigel Foley
• TimeZoneOne
• TimeZone1
• TZ1
• TZO
• Nigel, please send some more biscuits.

Yours sincerely

Richard Tattershaw

I believe that goal setting is vital to helping people and organizations make progress.

In the formal context goal setting involves establishing specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-targeted objectives. Goal setting theory suggests that it’s powerful tool as it ensures everyone in a group has a common goal and understands what is expected of them.

I certainly believe this to be the case, but what I especially love about goal setting is that it engages the power of the subconscious. If you set your mind on a clear path and visualize it then your brain will find a way to get you there.

Here is a great quote wiki quote that describes this: “Goal setting capitalizes on the human brain’s amazing powers – our brains are problem-solving, goal-achieving machines.”

TIP:
In our USA office we have started asking ‘what is the objective of…this meeting, email etc’. This simple question at the start makes a huge difference to how you approach something. I encourage you to try this.

Cheers

Tatts

Achieving excellence should be everyone’s goal. After all why not? Why chose to be a bit average, a bit OK, a bit so-so?

Before “working” my background was sport and performance was a much easier thing to measure; at the end of a game someone won and someone lost. But even in sport once you dug deeper it still got murky with some people playing better, some people training harder etc

In business excellent performance is clearly desired but can get lost in the cracks of emails, meetings and worky-work.

Here is a short list of things that help with performance.

• Clearly define what winning looks like
• Clearly define and live by the culture
• Communicate the big picture to everyone
• Develop an ownership mentality
• Be transparent to build ownership and understanding
• Focus on internal communication
• Celebrate wins

TimeZoneOne has always been focused on performance and excellence. However resting on your laurels gives you sores so I am delighted to report that we have just started sharpening our focus on performance.

This can only lead to good things.

Cheers

Tatts

Before I go on leave, I thought I would steal Tatts’ blog thunder early this week by posting some feel good animal stories…

click here to read about the bling dog who has his own seeing eye dog…

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/cutestuff/5845961/Home-sought-for-blind-dog-and-its-seeing-eye-companion

and click here for the feel good video story of a man who raised a gorilla and went back to see him in the wild…

Gorilla Reunion: Damian Aspinall’s Extraordinary Gorilla Encounter on Gorilla School

If these don’t make you smile, nothing will.

See you in 6 weeks!

Tim