You want to ask someone, “In welche Branche arbeiten Sie?”

What do you say in English?

You need to be careful here, because you can’t use the English word ‘branch’. A ‘branch’ translates as ‘Zweigstelle’, ‘Filiale’ or even ‘Ast’ in German!

What you can ask is, “What industry/field/sector/line of business do you work in?”.  

And your conversation partner might answer, “I work in the consulting industry. My company has branches in several countries. I work in the branch in Germany”.

So what line of business do you work in?

 

All our dreams come true if we have the courage to pursue them.
Walt Disney

And getting out of our comfort zone is the first step in gathering the courage. Once we leave our comfort zone, the world is open for us to change.

If this inspires you to take that first step, what are you going to do?

 

How can we create real value for others without spending a penny (or cent!)?

Of course, it’s not easy to offer better ideas, products and services, is it?

How can we take ordinary products or services and make them extraordinary?

One little idea can make a big difference.

Have you ever gone to a supermarket, asked a shop assistant for a certain product and been escorted to the correct shelf? (I could tell you which shops do that!)

Have you ever been asked at the supermarket checkout whether you’ve found everything you were looking for? (I have once!)

Does your postman or postwoman make sure that your post is safe, even when you’re not at home to accept it? (Ours does!)

Has a waiter ever said to you, “We are glad you came in today?”? (I’ve not experienced that yet!)

Have you ever ordered anything via eBay and received more than you expected? (This happened to me once—an extra present with a hand-written note!)

Does your bicycle repairman pick you up if your bicycle breaks down? (Ours does!)

Have you ever experienced any of the above?

Do you know of any people who create real value for others? If so, I’d love to hear about them.

We are now seeing more and more workers collaborating across cities, countries and even multiple time zones. Can we make sure that all employees feel connected?

According to Mat Mullenweg, we can. 

Listen to Mat’s 5-minute TED Talk to learn why he thinks working from home is good for business. 

(You can watch with subtitles and even read the transcript if that’s easier for you.)

So what do you think about Mat Mullenweg’s idea?

The way you end your emails is quite personal. You probably have your favourite sign-off. However, you might like to try something different now and again.

Personally, I hate seeing Thx or Rgrds. It really doesn’t take much longer to write out ‘Thanks’ or ‘Regards’, now does it?

My short list
Best/Kind regards
Best wishes
Best
All the best
Sincerely (rather formal)
Thanks
I appreciate your  (help, feedback, input …)
Have a lovely/splendid day
Enjoy the day/the holidays
Sending you lots of positive energy (and good vibes)

Do you have sign-offs you’d like to add to my list?

If you’re in the Alps and are on a “Gratwanderung”, you’re walking along a ridge. In fact, I remember going on a spectacular ridge walk many years ago.

However, when we talk about a “Gratwanderung”, we often mean a “balancing act” or a “tightrope walk”. (You can see me here balancing on a piece of wood in the nearby forest.)

Don’t we often find ourselves having to do a balancing act between work and family?

In fact, life is a series of balancing acts, don’t you think?