Business Bricks

Anywhere is walking distance if you’ve got the time.

IKEA has a new idea, advertised on posters instore. It suggests you leave the car at home, and try walking instead. It’s greener, it says. Last weekend we only had to pick up one item, so we gave it a go. Our local IKEA happens to be IKEA Edmonton - infamous for its first day chavalanche. But, according to the catalogue, and this map, it’s a short 1 mile hop from the tube station.

Except it isn’t. It’s double that. Actual distance (according to Google Maps) - 1.9 miles. Maybe IKEA meant a country mile, or maybe Google’s figures are out by 90%. But much more likely IKEA was just doing what big “they” businesses always do - rounding down. IKEA’s marketing wonks probably think if it says 1 mile, “they” (the customers) are marginally more likely to make the journey. But what would happen if IKEA - and others - stopped rounding down, and started rounding in favour of the customer?

A few weeks ago in Pick Me Up: NAME ILYA’S BABY
“I am unthrilled by the selection of boy’s names I can think of for our soon-to-be-born child. Any ideas for something slightly off-beat that fits with my (frankly daft but I like it) surname but doesn’t overwhelm it with otherness?” ILYA COLAK-ANTIC

Here today: NAME CHARLIE’S BUSINESS
“We (Standard Office Cleaning) need a new name. The word standard nowadays means boring and average - and we’re anything but. We’re growing rapidly, and whereas most cleaning companies pay low-skilled employees a low-wage, we reward our workforce with a capital stake in each individual contract.” CHARLIE MOWAT

Can you help Charlie? Comments are open.

And winner gets a bottle of champagne.

BUSINESS NEWS: Business plan is more important than good idea, say budding entrepreneurs (link).

Do these kind of stats appear wrong to anybody else? And am I alone in thinking that business plans are overrated?

I get some support (kind of) in last week’s New Scientist, of all places. Mathematician, James Yorke, on Chaos theory: “the most successful people are those who are good at plan B.” I have a friend who has spent 2 years (and counting) writing his plan A. Chaos theory deals with plans B to Z. Shouldn’t we do exactly the same?

Anil Dash compares Google’s “Don’t Be Evil” motto to his own “Don’t Kick Kittens”.