It really is possible - and worth it long term!

Sometimes I feel like a lone wolf promoting 'Non-layoffs.'

But here is a great quote!

Being mindful of the pitfalls of large scale downsizing and employee redundancy was the clear message that Heather Ridout, Chairman of the Australian Industry Group gave to business in a recent interview. Heather is not a lone voice in the wilderness on this topic. In the wake of weekly announcements that big business is shedding staff in mammoth proportions, other business and political leaders are joining a growing voice around the world warning of the consequences of these knee-jerk reactions to sustain short-term business viability.

http://climateforchangebook.com/wordpress/

新しいウェブサイトはスタッフを置かない会社を祝う!

www.wehaventlaidanyoneoff.com/ has made it to Japan.

Thanks to google I could translate the link, and here's what it said:

New website to celebrate company does not have a staff

Made to collide at an extra HOSUTOJASUTINBURAUN (I think that's my name) the radio in the morning before his world came Christmas. (I think they're trying to say my world came crashing down before Christmas.)

But he took the feeling of anger and hostility, and positive to celebrate the company failed to door staff to do something - I turned website.

Love it...

Why you need to be on this site!

I had a great email from Chris Williams, MD of King Street Advertising (http://www.kingst.co.nz/index.php) and he reiterates what others have said about being on this website: 'It feels like we're hanging out with companies with similar business acumen; we feel like we're part of the same family; and we could become part of something enormous!'

www.wehaventlaidanyoneoff.com is still an infant, but is generating some real interest.

My main aim at the moment is to get your company noticed!

Gawker and Chicago Reader

Thanks to these guys for giving http://www.wehaventlaidanyoneoff.com/ a shoutout.

http://gawker.com/5280359/ has a very funny line about their own company's actions.

And http://www.chicagoreader.com/ is just cool. I want to write for you guys!

Hope everyone's weekend is going great...

Let's lay off the firefighters!

Call me old fashioned, but I would have thought when it comes to keeping your community safe, firefighters are essential. Tell that to Lehigh Acres Fire Department in South Florida. They're making nine firefighters redundant. What next? Nurses and policemen? Talk to any fireman; most don't even do it for the money, they do it to help people.

Damn credit crunch.

http://www.winknews.com/news/local/46666412.html

The CNN interview

The only version of my interview I could find online didn't have Richard Quest's elegant intro.

So here it is in it's entirety.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlyeS7ZJWAo

Please pass it on to all those companies who value their staff!

A publisher who hasn't laid anyone off? In these times?

Great company, this. I caught up http://www.cleanslatepress.com

Tell us about your business, what do you do?

Clean Slate Press is a publisher of innovative literacy and social studies resources for the international education market. We create grade-appropriate material that is curriculum-linked for each market we sell to. We present series overviews and prototypes to international publishers, who then, if we’ve done our jobs properly, commit to the series. The market we’ve been most successful in is Canada, and we’re also starting to reap rewards from the U.S.

We are also publishers/distributors for the NZ/Aus market. Providing quality materials for NZ/Aus teachers and students is something we are very passionate about. We are 100% NZ owned and operated, and we are committed to serving our local market.

What is your attitude towards the recession?

While we are aware that the recession has impacted significantly on our industry and on the individual schools we sell to, we are in a growth period. This is partly due to the fact that because we are a small,dynamic company we can make decisions quickly and change our focus. We operate on several business models and try not to hold all our eggs in one basket. In some ways, we may benefit from the recession due
to large companies choosing to outsource design and editorial services from companies such as ourselves rather than work with a costly inhouse team.

Do you have a recession plan?

We don’t have a plan as such apart from continuing to grow our client base and making sure that we are open to different ways of doing business. Our hard costs, such as printing, have increased due to the recession, but our sales are up. Our policy is that we must be doing something right, so we’re just going to keep on doing it. We learn more about our industry every day.

How do you keep staff happy/uplifted?

We are lucky that our staff all want to work in the publishing industry and are passionate about their jobs. They take pride in their work, and we take pride in having such a great team. We offer our design/editorial staff flexible hours and a casual, friendly working environment. We work closely together, and every staff member is valued. We also go through quite a lot of wine!

Who is your ideal target customer?

We love all customers, but there is one company we have been wooing for several years that we would really love to do business with and that is Scholastic U.S.A. The time will come – we just have to be patient!