Posted by Jon
I was away for most of October in Japan – it was my wife’s 30th birthday, and a long vacation was her big treat (along with the surprise party with 25 friends, the new iPhone,…!).
Now we’re back, I thought I’d share a couple of photos of things that made me smile on our travels. The first’s a rather confusing signpost in the beautiful gardens of the Hei’an Shrine in Kyoto, and the second’s a marvellous illustration of why one shouldn’t write documents if one’s not entirely fluent in the language concerned…
I was away for most of October in Japan – it was my wife’s 30th birthday, and a long vacation was her big treat (along with the surprise party with 25 friends, the new iPhone,…!).
Now we’re back, I thought I’d share a couple of photos of things that made me smile on our travels. The first’s a rather confusing signpost in the beautiful gardens of the Hei’an Shrine in Kyoto, and the second’s a marvellous illustration of why one shouldn’t write documents if one’s not entirely fluent in the language concerned…
Perhaps the highlight of our Japanese trip was an afternoon spent with the samurai sword master who’d choreographed the samurai fighting scene in “Kill Bill”.
We were shown the basic movements, the correct posture, how to hold our sword… and then taught us a very simple sequence of movements so that we could act out a somewhat realistic looking “fight”. We then watched our efforts on video – and felt suitably impressed; I personally think I looked made for the role, don’t you?
We were shown the basic movements, the correct posture, how to hold our sword… and then taught us a very simple sequence of movements so that we could act out a somewhat realistic looking “fight”. We then watched our efforts on video – and felt suitably impressed; I personally think I looked made for the role, don’t you?
Then followed an explanation of the routine that samurais followed centuries ago to improve their swordsmanship. That basic movement we’d practised a few times? They’d have done that 2,000 times each morning, until it felt like second nature.
Discussing this with colleagues after my return, I could see a parallel to proposals. Some organisations pay lip service to training – an occasional course for their bid or proposal managers, after much internal haggling to secure budget. And then there are those organisations that “get it” – training everyone involved in proposal work, so that the process is clear, practised and works perfectly each time…
Discussing this with colleagues after my return, I could see a parallel to proposals. Some organisations pay lip service to training – an occasional course for their bid or proposal managers, after much internal haggling to secure budget. And then there are those organisations that “get it” – training everyone involved in proposal work, so that the process is clear, practised and works perfectly each time…