Volunteers’ Week is an annual celebration of the contribution people make through volunteering. Although Covid-19 has stopped some of the things we usually do, Sue reminds us about what we can do and why, now more than ever, it’s important to find ways to keep volunteering. Over the decades (showing your age Sue!) I’ve tried…
DetailsKat reminds us that there’s still something fab we can do during lockdown! Did you know that the month of May is National Walking Month? Seems ironic, doesn’t it, that since the month began many of us have been unable to do much else than stay at home. But one form of exercise a day…
DetailsEd gives us all the info we need about Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 and why now, more than ever, it’s important to look after yours and others’ mental health. The week 18 – 24 May 2020 has been chosen this year to highlight mental health awareness. The initiative first started in 2001 to help…
DetailsEd talks about his experience of being furloughed and how he’s tried to use his time productively. He also shares his top tips on keeping a positive mental health mindset. Here at Rambutan, we like many other businesses have furloughed members of the bunch. When I first found out I was being furloughed I asked…
DetailsAlton is currently furloughed as are many other people. However, he’s managed to fill his time productively and also exercise a little kindness. As with many people I’ve added a new word to my vocabulary this year, ‘furlough’. At Rambutan we quickly realised that to protect the business we would need to all play our…
DetailsKat reflects on her time so far as a furloughed member of the Rambutan bunch. On Wednesday 1 April I found myself (like so many other people) furloughed from work. It came as no surprise… several clients had postponed projects already in the diary and the daily news on TV and social media was unfolding…
DetailsDavid shares his ‘top 10 things’ that the current situation has made him commit to changing forever. Having retreated from a ski trip from France in lockdown, through Switzerland in lockdown and arriving back in the UK just before the lockdown happened here, it’s fair to say that the first week back at whatever I’m…
DetailsThere’s lots of information out there about leading virtually during these unusual times, and rightly so. We all need some additional support and guidance at these times, but Craig has been wondering how else you could continue your development as a leader or manager. Right now, I’m noticing leaders and managers are starting to consider…
DetailsAs we all become more used to our temporary, crazy world of isolating and staying inside, Craig has been dreaming lots about what the world will be like when we go back to ‘normality’. I’ve been asking myself this question a lot recently ‘What will I do first when I can freely go out?’ There’s…
DetailsCurrently, with social distancing becoming the new rage, we can’t all spend time physically together. So, how can you still enjoy weekends having fun with friends and family if you’re all in separate locations? Craig spent his Saturday night finding out how! This weekend, like the rest of the country/world I spent my time partly…
DetailsAs many thousands of office-based workers are now working from home for what appears to be the next few months, this might fill the more sociable folk with dread as they start to get to grips with a very new way of working. For Rambutan consultant Mark, this is not new, as he’s been primarily…
DetailsWhile carrying out the task of updating Rambutan’s style guide, Kat has been delving into the Oxford English Dictionary on more than a few occasions and realising that while the English language isn’t the simplest to understand, it can be a lot of fun! Proofreading is a matter of course for the bunch at Rambutan…
DetailsSue was contemplating International Women’s Day and thinking about how the women you meet and chat to in your everyday life can be the most inspiring of people. The theme for International Women’s Day which is on Sunday 8 March 2020 is, ‘I am Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights.’ It’s all about asking how you…
DetailsKat chats about how she bought a coat she’d seen in a magazine from the comfort of her own home; and no, it wasn’t online, over the telephone with a credit card or contactless via her mobile! It came about through a commitment to stunning customer service, with a simple question and a little bit…
DetailsCraig was recently ‘chewing the fat’ on why it’s the easy, straightforward and simple stuff we sometimes forget and ignore. When I think about a lot of things in life, it’s very easy to over-engineer, over-complicate or add complexity to what should be a straightforward approach… just like this sentence! At Rambutan being straightforward is…
DetailsGemma absolutely loves the power of stories and their ability to convey messages that would be seen as didactic lecturing if spelt out formally. Stories and parables abound in all of the well-known religions of this world for the very reason that they can impart truth and meaning to their followers. Stories are not limited…
DetailsCraig and Sue were busy pondering the art of storytelling and how ‘once upon a time’ can be the start of something very special. Storytelling is a key communication skill, whether at home or at work. Storytelling can help you engage your audience so much better than just listing facts, reading statements or perusing figures.…
DetailsIt’s now commonplace for organisations to have a vision, mission, values, behaviours and a strategic plan. What’s often missing though is a compelling and authentic strategic narrative which weaves these together into one simple ‘story’ of where the organisation has come from, where it’s going to and how it’s going to get there. Mark has…
DetailsCan you tell a good story? Would you like to? What makes a ‘good story’ to you? The story Kat wants to share is her memory of how her dad could turn a very ‘dry’ subject around and make it an engaging experience, fun and interactive, and most importantly memorable. I was brought up very…
DetailsWe love to share our thinking and knowledge to help people improve their skills in business, and today Craig reveals how humour can help defuse a situation. To have the ability to recognise when some well-applied natural humour may shift the tension or become an unblocker for a situation is a skill that can easily…
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