Coaching flaws? Dryclean green… Want a job? Send a thankyou… iYomu’s million dollar offer… Free paper for uni students…

• Coaching flaws?
• Dryclean green
• Want a job? Send a thankyou
• iYomu’s million dollar offer
• Free paper for uni students

Coaching flaws?

Could your business or life coach be doing you more harm than good? Coaches are supposed to enhance your performance, but a recent study at the University of Rochester in New York, reported in the Australian Financial Review today, suggests that the method of fostering autonomy and offering guidance could be curbing motivation and diminishing enthusiasm.

It’s all about reconciling conflicting impulses in the brain. The need to regulate impulses when given autonomy but subtly encouraged to take a certain course of action uses mental energy and leads to exhaustion, affecting motivation.

Apparently a very good coach can overcome some of these pitfalls but commonly used techniques such as visualising, identifying goals and challenging assumptions and giving praise can backfire.

Dryclean green

Traditional drycleaning is pretty heavy on the chemicals and power – not great from an environmental perspective. According to Springwise, a German company by the name of Fred Butler has seen the issue and come up with a solution: green drycleaning.

Fred Butler’s new technology replaces solvents such as perchloroethylene with carbon dioxide. It works by placing clothes or other textiles in a machine that removes the air and lets carbon dioxide in to fill the vacuum, thereby creating high pressure that, combined with bio-degradable cleansers, ensures dirt particles are removed from fabric.

Apparently technology is being rolled out on a franchise basis, and with some success: there are already 19 of these green clean-o-matics in Sweden, 13 in Germany, 11 in the Netherlands and 11 in Denmark, with more to come in other parts of Europe.

Want a job? Send a thankyou

Sending a handwritten thankyou note to potential employers after an interview can give you a better chance of getting the job, a new survey reported by Inc.com shows.

Almost 90% of 150 senior executives US recruitment company Accountemps said a post-interview thankyou note can a positive factor when evaluating candidates for a job.

Apparently not everyone is aware of the benefits of sending a note, however, with the survey respondents reporting they had received thankyou notes from only about half of the candidates they’ve ever interviewed. Most respondents said although they preferred handwritten thankyou notes, but an e-mail message was also helpful.

iYomu’s million dollar offer

iYomu, which advertises itself as the social network for grown-ups, is holding a contest in which users of its site can win $US1 million, according to mashable.

The competition comprises a series of tricky puzzles, with participants earning points for every one they get right. At the end of the competition period the 10 leaders have to publish an explanation of why they should win the $US1 million prize and how it would change their lives.

The iYomu community will then vote on who gets to take home the million smackeroos. The competition started yesterday and runs until December 31. The vote will be held in February next year.

Free paper for uni students

A US company called Free Hand Ads has come up with a clever way of getting advertisements in front of the eyes of uni students: print them on the top margin of note paper and give pads out free on campuses.

According to Adrants, not only does the company offer colour or recycled paper, they also hire students on campus to hand out the pads to your chosen demographic. So if you want to target women students, or future computer scientists, or first year students only, that’s not a problem.

Quote of the Day

I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn’t here.
George W Bush