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Showing posts from May, 2021

4 Straightforward Ways to Strengthen Workplace Communication

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In March of 1977, conditions at Spain’s Los Rodeos Airport were chaotic. Due to a nearby terrorist incident at Gran Canaria Aiport, many flights were diverted to Los Rodeos. The airport quickly grew congested with parked airplanes blocking the only taxiway. This forced departing aircraft to taxi on the runway instead. Patches of thick fog drifted across the airfield, greatly reducing visibility for pilots and the control tower. Around 6:00 PM, a Boeing 747 KLM flight initiated its takeoff run while a PanAm 747 was still on the runway. When the planes collided , the KLM plane lifted off briefly, then stalled, rolled, and burst into a fireball upon striking the ground. The PanAm plane was also ripped apart and destroyed by the collision, resulting in a total loss of 583 fatalities. It was the deadliest accident in aviation history. Unfortunately, the tragedy was entirely avoidable but it occurred in a moment of confusion. The pilot believed he had received clearance for takeoff. He

Touch is Everything: Choosing the Perfect Paper for Printing

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There’s nothing better than the feel of a well-constructed catalog, brochure, or invite. After all, no one wants to be handed a pamphlet that crumples because the paper quality is not up to par. This is why choosing the right paper for your print marketing projects is more important than you might think. Choosing Your Paper Type There are many different kinds of paper to choose from for your print projects. These vary in composition, design, weight, and thickness. Gloss vs. Matte Choosing whether to use gloss or matte paper is one of the most common choices when picking out paper. Gloss paper has an incredibly high shine that enhances color. Matte , on the other hand, has a muted surface that refracts light and reduces glare. It has a textured, soft feel compared to a gloss, which has a sleek and almost sticky feel. Uncoated vs. Coated If you’re looking to achieve enhanced colors and a matte or glossy finish, coated paper would be a paper choice for you. Coated paper

More than a Boss: How Inspiring Managers Lead from the Front

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“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” (Ronald Reagan) What is the difference between a boss and a leader? John Maxwell said it this way : “He who thinks he leads but has no followers is only taking a walk.” If you can’t influence others, they won’t follow you. And you can’t lead people where you aren’t going yourself. Inspiring managers are those who do more than delegate tasks; they put skin in the game by personifying the actions and attitudes they hope to replicate in others. Nearly 250 years ago, a man dressed in civilian clothes was riding a horse when he encountered a group of weary soldiers. The exhausted troops were digging a defensive position to prepare for the next battle. Though morale was already low, the leader of this beleaguered group was a mean-spirited man who threatened to whip those who could not finish the work in an hour. He barked orders from the rear

6 Winning Direct Mail Campaigns

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Direct mail offers results that other channels just can't match. According to a recent study, direct mail has a response rate as high as 9% . However, there are always ways to engage your audience better and improve your mailers' effectiveness. These methods below catch your recipents' attention and increase the chances that they'll read and respond to your direct mail piece.  6 Winning Direct Mail Campaigns 1. Instill Curiosity with a Quiz Do you worry your direct mail envelopes are going in the trash unread? Take a page from Harvard Medical School's playbook. In a recent mailing to woo subscribers for their Harvard Heart Letter newsletter, they put a heart health quiz on the front. The answers to the three-question quiz were inside the mailer, giving recipients a reason to open. 2. Benefits, Not Features As marketers, it's so easy to get caught up in promoting all the neat features of your product. Your readers, however, don't care about th

Thrive Over Time by Making Self-Care a Priority

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One day, a hare was making fun of the tortoise for being so slow. “Do you ever get anywhere?” he asked with a mocking laugh. “Yes,” replied the tortoise, “and I get there sooner than you think. I’ll run you a race to prove it.” With great amusement, the hare agreed. The hare took off like a shot and was soon out of sight. Meanwhile, the tortoise plugged away diligently. Soon, the hare grew distracted with the race and lay down for a nap. While he slept, the tortoise slowly passed him and plodded on. The hare woke with a start and ran swiftly to the finish line, but he could not overtake the tortoise in time. The moral of the story? “Plain plodding people, we often shall find, will leave hasty confident people behind.” The Strain of 2020 The nature of many people is to go fast and hard for as long as possible. But this approach to life can (quite literally!) be a killer. As Aesop’s fable reminds us, enduring over the long haul brings fruitful, sometimes unexpected results.

Add Order and Finesse with Versatile Binding Solutions

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Your home wouldn’t be complete without the paint, and print projects also come alive when you add beautiful finishes. Binding is a necessary step for compiling multi-page documents, and you have many options to work with. Here is a quick reference guide of several formats that might be a good fit for your project. Case Binding Case binding attaches a hardboard book cover to a bound set of pages. Case binding is timeless, classy, and typically requires around 60 pages (approximately 1/8 inch) of content. Since the hardcover makes the binding so sturdy, case binding is ideal for documents that will be handled frequently and need to hold up over time. While this method offers immense durability, it is usually the most time-consuming and expensive process. In case binding, using an adhesively bound – or hinged – cover with a flexible joint can allow your book to open without breaking the spine. (Hinged covers are scored 1/8 inch from the spine, so books can open more easily.)