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Just received an email from Be, my broadband provider, to inform me that my payment card had expired. Love the tone of this email…I’m sure approach leads to fewer defaults and churn.

And this tone is reflected across their site. See the examples below. They even seem to have got their customer care outsourcing right. A couple of weeks back I had a technical issue, phoned their support line at 11pm in the evening, got transferred through to what I presume was an Asian outsource centre but the guy was amazing.  Very knowledgeable and fixed things in a jiffy (he even addressed me properly, none of this robot-pigeon English “Hello Mr Chris”).  I could probably save a couple of pounds  by switching to another provider but given the quality of the service and the hassle of doing so, I’m staying with Be.

Just as the news came in that Napster had been sold to Best Buy for $121m, i received this shareholder notice which I have to admit made me chuckle. The description of the dissident group’s experience included Musician (obviously inappropriate experience for a digital music company?), and then Ice Cream Franchisee etc…Hee Hee. On a more serious note, the deal pays $2.65 per share which is twice the closing price but still far below historical positions.

Harvard Biz Review – article by Kimberly D.Elsbach
From observing Hollywood script pitches the author discusses how the person you’re pitching too often has placed you into a specific category very quickly – so it’s important to understand what stereotype you fall in to if you’re to be successful. Author talks about 3 core types, and suggest that often the ‘catcher’ will buy the individual instead of the best work…which is why there is so much poor TV made!

• The Showrunner: those that combine creative thinking with passion and enthusiasm
• The Artist : like the Showrunner but less slick and conformist in their dress and mannerism. In Hollywood script pitching, the arist tends to be the writer – and the more shy a writer comes across the better you think the writing is.
• The Neophyte: opp of Showunners, instead of displaying their expertise they plead ignorance

How to kill your own pitch

• Pushover – if you are probed on an integral aspect of your proposition you must be able to defend any criticism, and stand your ground, never discount a core strategy in th ehope this will win favour.
• Robot – formulaic pitches presented by a cybeborg rarely win
• Used Car Salesman – VCs are professional, silky slippery salesmanship is unlikely to win
• Charity Cases – never cme across as desperate, VCs want see confidence