Go!Get a proper job
March 1st, 2008 by angryfromellesmereport
Apologies it’s a long post but I have spent four days and three nights with 55 like minded people at the BASF Middle East Annual Sales Conference here in the UAE, and I am still hungover. I would like to share with you one of the pearls of wisdom that I learned over the last few days which I believe is relevant for every one of us. But first, a little background information about BASF
Global experience, local expertise
BASF Construction Chemicals UAE LLC is the local affiliate of BASF the leading supplier for construction chemicals.
BASF product range from Chemicals, Plastics, Performance Products, Agricultural Products and Fine Chemicals to Crude Oil and Natural Gas. As a reliable partner to virtually all industries, BASF’s intelligent system solutions and high-value products help its customers to be more successful. BASF develops new technologies and uses them to open up additional market opportunities. It combines economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility, thus contributing to a better future. In 2007, BASF had approximately 95,000 employees and posted sales of more than EUR 58 billion
Research & Development
Research, development and innovation are key elements in the ongoing BASF strategy for sustained growth and BASF will invest EUR 1.1 billion for R&D this year. World-wide, almost 7,000 BASF employees work in research and development and in addition, BASF is currently involved in about 1,300 strategic partnerships with universities, research institutes, start up companies and industrial partners.
BASF Construction Chemicals itself has created essential packages as a result of this intensive R&D activity, including:
• Glenium® SKY: A new generation of superplasticisers for ‘Total Performance Control’
• Rheodynamic®: Hyperfluid, self compacting and self leveling concrete
• Electrochemical Solutions: Utilising Emaco® cathodic protection systems
• Performance Flooring: Car Park, Ucrete® and Mastertop® resin flooring range
• MBrace®: Carbon fibre systems for seismic and structural strengthening
• Wabo®: Bridge bearings and seismic expansion joints
• MEYCO® Fireshield 1350: Passive fire protection coating for tunnels
• Total Watertight Systems: Active and passive
The 80/20 Rule
One of the most important things to point out is that 80% of sales are made to only 20% of customers. The biggest thing I got out of the meeting is that there are three things which will determine your success in business and they are:
- The right product
- Plan
- Hard work
Over the last couple of weeks, although my time here has been limited by work and being away from my laptop (at the bar), I have been reading some of the comments and the limitations that I come across just make me shake my head and think “why would you shove a tube up you’re a**e and pour a gallon of coffee in there” And then I remember 96% of people are gullible and will part with their money when a slick marketer tells them they can have a happy and fulfilling life or make a $ million in 18 months. DO THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING AND GET A PROPER JOB
If you are interested in more of what BASF manufactures, this link leads to where you can download technical data for free. You can read it for yourselves and then you will be able to buy decorative epoxy floors or carbon fibre structural strengthening worldwide. I know there are some of you here who already have BASF Chrome Dioxide C90 Cassettes from the 80’s and if you feel comfortable sharing your taped music, that would be great!
So tell me, have you noticed how you have been drawn in while reading this? Are you aware of your posture when curling one out? Does your language turn blue after a few drinks or slurred? Hmmmmm…. something to think about?
Angry,
Welcome back and enlightening stuff!
We’ve linked the BASF logo to open in a new window (i.e within flowers) and also the word BASF PLUS we’ve added a few tag words for you to the post! Here to help…..
So - any highlights of the conference apart from the ability to end blog posts with ‘powerful questions.’
I won an ‘MTV’ award for my portrayal of Freddie Mercury in our team’s Bohemian Rhapsody video. The team also won best pop video.
Even if i could i wouldn’t put it on youtube and if it ever gets out i’ll track the culprit down and eat his/her first born alive
I have videos from the previous year and the winning film was a 15 minute version of Titanic. next time we meet i’ll show you and you can put a copy on the net
Can’t believe you have actually taken the time in your clearly busy schedule to write this lengthy post to ridicule other Founders writing style and subject preference. Petty and shallow.
BJ Jim here,
Come on now, it’s angry - it’s what he does and his posts always have a message in them somewhere although not the norm in terms of the blogging world but hey….he’s a non blogging founder!
Angry is an ex colleague of mine and so you and everyone else is aware I was the Marketing Man for Degussa in Dubai before BASF bought them out - the content he has posted was written by me 4 years ago but with a different range of products! I conceptualised and held the sales conference 80:20:2004 that tested application of dear old Paretos principle…so this was a big part of what I used to do…..
It was from there I left corporate and travelled with my then girlfriend Em during which we spent time at a health spa and gave colonic irriagation a GO!
So, its kind of a joke that Angry has with Em and I and the post appears to be directed at us rather than any founders, which is fine…..
More compost for the garden
I think Ange is big enough to have a go back. Even when UP was giving it both barrells she acquitted herself pretty well and came out at least even, maybe even a little on top.
What we have here is really an anti thesis to the seminar and set yourself up in business posts.
What you should all be doing is looking to have a go back at us corporate boys.
The main thing is most people look at working in corporate as wrong, stifleing and a not following your heart, etc. Well sorry I believe its what YOU make it and what YOU put in to it that makes it worthwhile or not.
Our view (well mine anyway) is that it is possible to travel the world, follow your heart and make a cracking salary to boot. Certainly the security a monthly wage of known quantity brings has a lot going for it.
I get to be able to plan into the future, realise long held travel plans and generally enjoy the things I want to do with my life - I still get a kick out of the job and thats really all that matters. The small down side is I have a boss and have to go to work each day. However, each day is never the same and so far has brought in visits to 37 countries, the chance to live in 4 different ones and plenty of experience that ‘travelers’ never get as they are tourists and not actually really connecting with the local people in a real life day to day situation.
I wouldn’t swap it to shove coffee up my jacksy and hope that on the off chance someone will love my web site and give me a billion pounds/euros/dollars for it.
I think i mentioned some months ago that one of our guys had visited over 50 different countries many through business trips. As you say GIC he gets to do a job he enjoys, he’s paid very well (tax free most of the time), spends half of his time travelling (at the company’s expense) he has lived in at least 4 ‘foreign’ countries takes plenty of holidays using his airmiles
He makes the most of his job and has yet to shove a tube up his rear, drink wheatgrass or be coached
It was BJ who commented here GIC not Ange who as you say handled the thorns admirably over at her Jamie Mcintyre post.
As GIC would say - ‘get a grip’ he’s answering BJ’s comment
Ermmm sorry Admin, you are getting too much.
Please read will you. I commented back to Bridget who was referencing Angry having a go at Ange. If I was replying to Ange I would have said ‘you’ not ‘Ange’
If you are going to comment about my posts at least first read them and digest them.
Meeeow!
Our mistake, sorry.
sorry
but BWA got her arse owned in the seminar con thing- GIC how did she do anywhere near getting the better of me? seriously? O-W-N-E-D
what is O-W-N-E-D?
angesbiz’s last blog post..Education for Life Seminar
Fair enough Gareth, Angie is indeed a big girl and can take care of herself.
As to your point, “What you should all be doing is looking to have a go back at us corporate boys”, you won’t find me doing that as I am a corporate girl myself. I don’t look at it as being wrong, and not following your heart. Like you, I get a kick out of my job, I get to do different things every day, I travel on business trips, and my job allows me to plan ahead in the future. I have simply chosen not to talk of my professional life at Flowers, that’s all.
My point was more about it being petty to have a dig at people who believe in an alternative life style in the manner this post did. If we were all the same, life would be boring. Plus, I believe someone of Angry’s intellect should be encouraged to post more ’serious’ stuff.
Cool Bj, GO! Smell the modesty eh! Good for you
Jem, it’s more like GO! Smell the privacy paranoia ha!
Bridget you are starting to intrigue me - you really are- if you are lucky you MIGHT have a chance
HA!
Ha ha ha! Nice try mate!
Note to Flowers’ new visitors:
For ” if you are lucky you MIGHT have a chance”, read “Bridget, I WISH you’d finally give me a chance”!!!
Do let the newbies settle in before you treat them to more of your Brit humour Gary ha!
I think what me and AEP are getting at is most people who peddle this (Jimenem, BWA, et al) tend to be pushing it as though every other person hates their life, are held by a huge ball and chain and this is the true way forward.
I know thats not what they believe but it always comes across like that. They can come back and give me a load of waffle about what they are trying to do and what they are trying to say, however the way it comes across is the way it comes across, intent or not.
A fair point GIC - your interpretation which is your call.
I had no idea that that’s how you perceive it GIC… and there are probably others who think the same. Thanks for the heads up. I am always looking for feedback so that I can improve on how and what I do. It’s because I am so passionate about what I do that at times, I forget my audience. I know that not everyone hates their life and are tied to a ball and chain… it’s just that there are people out there searching for something like I once was, some idea which can help turn their lives around. That’s who may happen to read one of my posts one day and it will be their “aha” moment. Promise you will pull me up again if that’s the case.
angesbiz’s last blog post..Education for Life Seminar
BJ
This was posted in General and Fun
A selection of comments from the original post
1. Luv the bit about just 20% of United fans are from Manchester. Quite possibly a reality ha!
2. LOL. Is that the Brit way of saying you find him cute Lib?
Hmm, I dunno.. He lacks this little ?je ne sais quoi?
Oh I know.
Too smooth.
Fake smile.
No proper eye contact.
Going bald? Don?t hang on to it, go army cut.
Actually, he lacks a lot of ?je ne sais quoi? ha!
I?ll pass. All yours Elton!
3. Typo Chook, I meant to say:
4. I can easily believe that!
Yes, it?s me, Bridget, the Invisible Woman ha
5. Huh? First Bridget is anonymised? then Gary is spammed?? Hum! The conspiracy theory against the Frogs is taking a beating!
6. Ha! I?m back to being Bridget! Just when I wanted the comment to be anon duh!
7. Hey check my reply to you above Chook.
8. Sent me chooks alrite you did I?ll get back to you over the w.e sweety, may have other chooks, not sure yet.
Hardly deep!
Ah erm… the comment ’shallow’ did not refer to the content of the post per se, but the attitude behind. It’s interesting though to see you went to the extent of quoting me verbatim here to make your point..
BJ
I’ve said before there’s room for lighthearted posts as well as serious stuff. Yes i did take the time to check the original post, to check your contribution, although i already knew what i could expect to find.
If i’m not making a point in a discussion my comments may well be shallow and flippant, but generally i try to engage my brain before putting my ‘mouth’ in gear
Thanks Bridge for stepping in on my behalf, it’s good to know you care
I have made comments further down the page…
angesbiz’s last blog post..Education for Life Seminar
okay RYK… I have cleared caches and cookies and now I am showing up as “angesbiz” even though I type in “Buzzing with Ange”… what gives!!
angesbiz’s last blog post..Education for Life Seminar
I already buy from BASF.
They supply us some of the polyol and iscocyanate we use in order to make foam for dashboards. The lads in the Japan office are pretty good and helpful.
Totally agree with the sentiment. Hard work, planning and focus. Its all you need, well a bit of brainpower, the right business model and the right product
Different Division - now if you are building a new production facility give me a call for your Floor Zone, below ground waterproofing, and performance concrete requirements
Our motto buy high sell cheap
LOL Angry,
No Brand positioning then in a saturated marketplace?
Shock, horror, probe!
Oh and we advocate the 3 ingredients of success PLUS enthusiasm, living the brand, passion and a compelling vision.
When we were in Bombay Angry there were HUGE BASF bilboards promoting R&D is schools - alos on the London underground as well…they do say though one companies research is another development!
Anyway its great to see another top brand here, under GSTF
BASF billboards in schools! Sounds scary man. At least they haven’t infiltrated schools over here yet.
Funkygirl012003’s last blog post..New Blog
Thought i’d take the opportunity of trying to flog something online
GO! Buy BASF’s new line of hippy friendly VOC free products
With 11 deaths per 100, 000 workers (1, 186 reported deaths) in 2005, construction is the fourth most dangerous job out there. Construction Job
Hey aptly named Construction Job, welcome to flowers! Are you in Dubai?
Check the link - i think a spam sneaked through
Bugger! Clever spam - oh well - it can stay as safety stats are an issue as is Spam.
Hey, lets add more comments to the spam comment!
Funkygirl012003’s last blog post..New Blog
check out my dummy spit over at Aussie… and My meter…. lol……
aussiecynic’s last blog post..Go on! Get Over it!
ace- most of the dead will be ragheads
Fraid not - most of the stuff which involves getting onto site where of course the policy is ”Safety first, last and always” is done by indians, pakistani’s, philipino’s chinese etc
Unless you include Sikh’s in your comment
Oh dear.
Ok I’m sold..
either of you need a PA….
Hand up …
pick me pick me…..lol
I am totally against the Corporatition of the worlds Economy….
but hey why not use the wages from one to fight anonymously…
Down with Globalisation.. Except for flowers…. Go Global… spread the World…
oh no I am so confused….
hmmm going to take a panadol…..
aussiecynic’s last blog post..Very Happy People Laughing
Let’s see you’re CV with accompanying topless photo - just in case you’re qualifications and experience is matched by another candidate - then of course i can pick the one with the biggest……..
lolololol
You wont find anyone with any bigger…….. credential than me…. Angry….
:lol:
aussiecynic’s last blog post..Very Happy People Laughing
Can we smell BASF HR recruitment policy leaking in the garden here?
lol
aussiecynic’s last blog post..Very Happy People Laughing
AC,
So do you actually believe that or are you spewing forth a trendy sound bite.
Most of the services, products and development used by people daily are done by global players. So tell me why AC.
I have a dislike of commercialist dribble… corporations without a conscience, and mutton dressed as lamb so too speak…
With business I am interested in, I look at how a company conducts itself and compare it to how they act and react in the public arena…
Many corporations are becoming much more transparent and their conduct matches their reteric more and more… and this is to their credit my problem is with those whose conduct lacks ethics and morals even to a small degree…
I dislike companies who market to Children there are several using fause hood… campanies which claim to evironmentally friendly and arent, and companies which appear to be making an effort to do the right things but actually rip off their customers… and there has been alot in recent years…
I understand Big business has tough decisions to make and that can make them unpopular that is not what I am getting at.. it is the profit for profits sake… banks here put up their interests on home loans in response to the American markets (the reseerve had already increased them 10 times in 15 months), then the Reserve increased the interests a quarter of a percent again, so the banks did the same again… several companies complaining there profits where only 34 billion dollars (clear profit not before taxes) so they where sacking workers, scaling back, this sort of things really peeves me…
Where they are making an actual effort power to them but the ones that arent can go jump..
just my thoughts… not aimed at any particular unless it is GUNNS… lol…
aussiecynic’s last blog post..Go on! Get Over it!
With the banks putting up their rates so many times does it mean that Jamie McIntyre’s get-rich-quick scheme has taken a hit on the success rate
It is possoble but if he has any sence he would have invested in Beaconsfield Mine after the Cave in when the shares dropped to 18 cents, they are now around the $3.00 mark or perhaps some other resource company…. but if not he will be looking to shed some baggage…
The last thing I would be doing at the moment is investing in the stock exchange, perhaps term deposit at 10% interest but deffinatly avoiding the stock market… the American Down turn is taking a lot of companies with them and the full extrend wont be known for a little while…
While the rest of the world are cutting their interests to increasing spending ours is increasing to try and cut it… inflasion figures are nasty and our dollar hit 95 cents US on Friday…. hmmm… can see it hitting $1.20 soon
aussiecynic’s last blog post..Go on! Get Over it!
Heres our first association with the BASF brand…
BASF
- Big Arsed Sexy F****rs
or
- Bloody Awful Sales Force
nice video jim, how did you get the idea of posting videos in comments
Most of the time the only limitation is the mind 
whatever happened to BASF’s consumer products, the last I saw of them were cassette tapes and recordable CDs ?
Ta for the youtube inspiration Rehan, theres youtube clippings all over the garden now
Well Angry, I have to say that I am flattered that you would take the time to post in the same manner as I did and to even use some of the same language too! Maybe I should call you Angel? Imitation is the highest form of flattery so I thank you and take it as a compliment… even if you were taking the mickey out of me. And what is “curling one out?” Or shouldn’t I ask?
BASF certainly do produce a wide range of products. How are they protecting the environment and how are they being socially responsible? I’m curious. Oh… and your portrayal of Freddie Mercury… get someone to upload it for you… Freddie is one of my all time favorites… let us flowers see why you awarded that MTV award
angesbiz’s last blog post..Education for Life Seminar
Angry, where art thou?
that’s precisely what I would like to know!!
angesbiz’s last blog post..Education for Life Seminar
See my previous comment - i’ll eat the first born of anyone who manages to put the video on the web. I will very soon put an edited version of the video of the previous years effort (not starring AEP) which deservedly won the Oscar for best film.
BASF are actively engaged in protecting the environment from as little as recycling paper/reducing paper usage through to a global strategy of improving the efficiency of buildings in reducing carbon footprints.
I’ve been tasked to attend hippy love-in’s, wear dungaree’s, drive a 2CV (with a ‘Nuclear Power - no thanks’ sticker) whilst singing and playing the guitar.
Here’s an example of what we’re up to in the UK
http://www.basf.co.uk/en/uk/house/?id=V00-oJnpMBwsVbw2*eI
http://www.icis.com/Articles/2008/02/04/9095930/energy-efficient-house-showcases-basf-products.html
Curling one out - an act undertaken whilst sitting in the dunny
Angry, I make no apologies, it’s long past its sell by date and the blog is not working properly and somehow in the masterful way that cyberspace does its thing, I find myself here, long after the time for posting is exhausted.
You poor, sad, individual. My heart genuinely goes out to you.