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FOCM Members Discount Offer

A long time friend of mine, Michael Williams has joined Thrive 4-7.  Thrive 4-7 has developed a mobile phone app useful for tracking and managing mild depression, anxiety and stress.  The app is called Mevii and it was launched on Facebook and is available in the app stores for iPhones and Android

FOCM members are eligible for a Friends and Family Code Here is the link: Free Trial Mevii App

It’s a 7 day free trial after which it is available at a 20% discount for $7.99.  The Friends and Family Code expires August 31.  You can click the link, sign up, provide payment information, and you will not get charged until after the 7 day free trial ends. At the end of the 7 day free trail you can do nothing and become a regular subscriber at $7.99/month or you can opt out/unsubscribe on day 7.

Feedback on your experience is appreciated and can be done via commenting here or emailing Michael at Michael.Williams@thrive47.com

Project and Program Manager Job Openings

Alcami is looking to fill project manager (all levels) and program manager positions across all their office locations.   Alcami provides services for all phases of pharmaceutical development for small and large molecules through two laboratories located in Durham and Wilmington, North Carolina, as well as Germantown, WI, St. Louis, MO, Edison, NJ, Charleston, SC and Weert, Netherlands.

Go to the link below for more information and to apply.  I can provide job descriptions, write to me at chris@focmnetworking.com if you would like to get them.

Alcami Job Openings

Alligators – their time has come

Alligators – do we really need them any more? Thousands of other species have become extinct, can’t we finish off the alligators and crocodiles? They’re a remnant from prehistoric times.

Alligators flat out KILL people.  Guns don’t kill people, loaded guns shot at people kill people.

Where is the outrage?  Can’t we control this somehow?  Make alligators get a background check and wait 3 days before attacking a human.  Let’s ban assault alligators!

Humorous things I’ve seen

Saw these in the April 2016 Reader’s Digest:

People are less quick to applaud you as you grow older.  Life starts out with everyone clapping when you take a poo and goes downhill from there.
– Sloane Crosley; writer, from her book “I Was Told There’d be Cake”

Children’s answers to test questions as seen in the book F in Exams: Complete Failure Edition by Richard Benson.

Q: Use the word congenial in a sentence.
A: When you leave the gravy out too long, it congenials.

Q: The first thing Queen Elizabeth II did upon ascending the throne was to…
A: Sit down.

Q: Write a sentence containing a double negative.
A: Mike is ugly and he smells.

Q: Name two plays by Shakespeare.
A: Romeo and Juliet

Q: On what grounds was Aaron Burr tried for treason?
A: New York

Q: Write about the importance of  animals in Of Mice and Men.
A: The mice are very important – without them, you’d have only the men.

Q: Use the word doldrums in a sentence.
A: I cannot play the doldrums.

 

How FOCM Can Help

A colleague of mine working for a service provider in the clinical research industry approached me to see if I could help them ensure an audience for a promotional and educational event they were hosting in the Raleigh area.  This is a perfect example of using my network and passion for connecting people to good use.

By being an active networker, I have also met people similar to me.  So in the above case I reached out to one of them, also in the industry as well as reached out via email to people I thought would be interested in attending.  I also did a reminder email the day of the event.

As is well known in the advertising and promotion world, sometimes it’s hard to pin down which communication inspired people to respond.  The host of the event may have emailed some of the same people as I did.

I did a count and of the 30 attendees, 9 were people I had reached out to.

I am working on a business model for such a service.  What would you be willing to pay for such a service?

Farewell email to coworkers

Sometimes I have googled things like: “wedding toasts” or “resignation letter” to find examples.  Recently I looked up “farewell emails to coworkers” and saw that there are some good resources and examples out there.  Recently while cleaning out my file folders, I found one and thought I’d offer it as a guide or template from which someone can edit.

Hello amigos,

As some of you know, I’m actually 73 years old and despite the injections of botox, HGH and lipsosuction procedures, I’m beginning to age.  The time has come for me to take some time off and get more procedures done all at once.  Recovery will take a while and I’ll not be able to be seen in public.  I’ve resigned from _____ effective _____; however, the company may decide on a different end date.
I’m going to take some time off before deciding on what to do next.  For the upcoming month, my agent will be handling all inquiries.

Until we meet again, happy trails to you.

Disclaimer: nothing in the first 3 sentences is true.

Before printing this email, please consider the lumber industry and print 50 or more copies.

How NOT to network

Remember, networking is a two way street.  Do not underestimate the importance about getting to know the person you met.  This blog by Whitney Johnson was seen on LinkedIn.  I liked how open and talkative the student was; however, he never asked her anything!

Returning home recently from a consulting engagement in Tampa, I found myself stranded, late at night, in the Washington Dulles airport. The small regional airline I was counting on for a puddle jump never came through. Eventually, the airline loaded all nine passengers into a van, and shuttled us the two  hours to Shenandoah Regional airport.

One of my fellow travelers was a student at a local university. Upon discovering that we lived fewer than three miles apart, he asked me for a ride for the final leg home. I happily agreed.

During our 45 minute drive, I learned a lot about him: his name, where he grew up, where he goes to school, his major, what his parents do for a living, his own career aspirations when he graduates in a few months. We even discovered that we have an acquaintance in common.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/airline-cancelled-my-flight-put-me-van-along-way-i-got-johnson?trk=eml-b2_content_ecosystem_digest-hero-14-null&midToken=AQEhPoPBKCv_tA&fromEmail=fromEmail&ut=0C88XMH4qhwTg1

New hotbeds of pollution spotted from satellites

Saw this article on Reuters:

Researchers in the United States and Canada have located 39 unreported sources of major pollution using a new satellite-based method, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.

The unreported sources of toxic sulfur dioxide emissions are clusters of coal-burning power plants, smelters and oil and gas operations in the Middle East, Mexico and Russia that were found in an analysis of satellite data from 2005 to 2014, NASA said in a statement on Wednesday.

The analysis also found that the satellite-based estimates of the emissions were two or three times higher than those reported from known sources in those regions, NASA said.

http://in.reuters.com/article/nasa-pollution-idINKCN0YO1XJ