Enigin Voice

Virgin “will go on way beyond me” - Branson

Here at Enigin we respect a strong entrepreneurial spirit, encouraging Distributors and our own staff to be entrepreneurs, and with this attitude prevalent throughout Enigin quite rightly Sir Richard Branson is highly respected.

But the creator of the Virgin group is getting to that age when he may want to enjoy his latter years and not work so hard.

With that in mind HR magazine recently interviewed the great man.

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A Whisper Becomes a Shout

EXCEPT for a few activists publicity about the environment, global warming and climate change for many years was a whisper in most people’s hearing, not listened to but we were aware it was there amongst the background aural clutter.

Back in the 70s people were becoming evermore environmentally aware, but apart from worries for our own health through breathing in the smog in the major cities, we were little worried about the future. Suddenly concerns about pollution and its longer term affects grew.

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Voices Talk Enigin’s Eniscope

I have just been finalising a video montage of end users of Enigin’s real-time energy management solutions talking about how Eniscope has helped them in their businesses or organisations.

It is always pleasing to hear glowing reports from other people about your products or services, and I guess even better when it is once removed, that is the end users, or in other words the customers of Enigin’s Distributors.

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What’s that? Speak up Enigin and ESA!

Here at Enigin Voice it is time to shout - what about, about Enigin’s energy saving business and foundation membership of the Energy Saving Association.

Enigin are always looking to advance energy saving and management and they have been working hard since the start of the year to add to the great range of solution they can offer to the energy saving industry.

One of the projects that is being developed is real-time monitoring of renewable energy and a graphic public display, showing what is being generated by the renewable energy source and calculating the savings, including the money from any feed-in tariffs.

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ESA and Enigin Enjoy the Winter

Many of you who read this are of course spread around the globe; this is the point of the internet after all. So I expect that there will be a lot of you who have real winters and for whom what follows will cause some amusement.

On Christmas Eve my blog mentioned “a bit of weather” and some sliding about in the Enigin car park. Well, we have now had about three inches up here, combined with temperatures down to -5 C overnight, and in true British style this has now really caused problems.

Many of the hardy Enigin souls have made it in to the office over the last couple of days but there are others who have been unable to harness up the huskies and forge through the blizzards. Today, a recent absentee who ignored the advice given about not coming down the slope into the car park has found that he cannot now get back up. It has been very amusing watching him try though, much sliding, slithering and revving – let’s hope he’s brought his sleeping bag.

You can guess the reaction to all of this from ESA Council Member Ken Cheyne who lives in Michigan and who of course is used to a few feet of snow; I don’t think he can quite see what our problem is. But he’ll be over here in ten days time and if we are still in the grip of winter he will be able to experience the joys of our snowy disruption first hand.

Ken is making the haul across “the pond” as we are now at a crucial stage with the development work at the ESA. Whilst internet and telephone communication is a miracle of our age, and really does make pretty much everything possible, it will be great to be able to sit down in the same room and review all the work that has been done over the last few weeks.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll be joined by a few more Enigin colleagues in the office, as well as my friend who may have to stay the night!!

Enigin and the ESA into 2010

So we’ve had New Year’s Eve. I have often thought it an overrated occasion, exciting plans are made, parties held and yet……a hangover is often the only memento the next day. Many years ago when I lived in London I spent a couple of New Year’s Eves in Trafalgar Square, the classic British celebration, and these were probably the best I’ve had - I keep promising myself that one year I will experience the Times Square equivalent.

Several of us from Enigin celebrated together, albeit twenty-four hours early! As they say, “a good time was had by all” and for me one measure of that “good time” is not to experience that well known “morning after”. (Already known as Granddad around the office, I guess I am only confirming the suitability of that nickname).

Having said that, I don’t think many of my Enigin colleagues suffered too much either. Whilst we know how to enjoy ourselves the idea of work next day for some and the real New Year this evening for all of us, meant that we were just a little circumspect.

The first working day after another long weekend and a chance to check on progress with the ESA launch, which appears to be on track. Although many businesses around the world seemed to shut down for long periods at this time of year, thankfully Enigin, the ESA and our other Council Members have all managed to put in a few hours over this “social season”!

The first posting of 2010, I am surprised how diligent I have been since I started. So, a time for resolutions (again a much overrated notion), but I will at least resolve to keep posting in 2010, particularly as I will have much to report as launch day approaches.

ESA and Enigin Looking Forward to 2010

Well, that’s it….the first half of the “festive season” is over and the turkey and gift wrap are done with for another year. There is a bit of a skeleton crew in the Enigin office today. With the UK taking one more public holiday than the rest of the world at this time of the year and another day off for New Year’s Day on Friday, several Enigin colleagues are using up their annual leave and recovering from recent excesses.

But the three “working” days left this week mean that it is a good opportunity to continue the build up to the ESA launch and my fellow Council Members all seem to be back at the coal face and working away to meet the deadlines we have set.

As we near the big day, I am very gratified at the level of interest we are receiving in the ESA, from all around the world. Whilst I have been away from the office for the last four days, there has been no let up in the flow of emails expressing interest in the Association and asking to be added to our mailing list, I guess there are many people who find refuge in the internet from all the “Ho ho ho”.

This year, the “New Year” is particularly significant for me. Whilst I have my Enigin responsibilities to fulfil, I am of course very focused on the ESA launch. The plans now coming to fruition are really exciting and we will be able to provide a superb resource for energy saving businesses 24/7. The new features will make membership essential for all those who work in the industry or those who are involved in making significant savings at work or at home.

The launch is of course important, getting it right is critical. However, as I have learnt from everything we do in the Enigin business, keeping the momentum going and the standards high will be the challenge. Feedback is a major element, and we are already reacting to the views of members, including many new ideas that they have suggested – and I am looking forward to the Association evolving over the next twelve months.

“All work and no play” is not the best recipe for life so tomorrow evening I and a few Enigin friends are going to a local restaurant. Not exactly corporate New Year celebrations, but the chance to relax with colleagues, enjoy some good food and a few laughs.

So, a happy and prosperous New Year to you all…..

ESA and Enigin Survive “Winter”

It’s that time of year….everything and everyone quietening down for the “big break”. Here in the UK we have of course been having our usual winter panic brought on by relatively little snow and some minus winter temperatures. I was away from the office yesterday, so sadly missed the chance to see various colleagues in their cars sliding across the Enigin car park, but understand there was some fun to be had.

Since working at Enigin, talking to people from all around the world, I always feel pretty stupid about our inability here in the UK to cope with what we call winter. I was talking to fellow ESA Council Member Ken Cheyne who has a metre of snow around his house and, like many others; he cannot believe how easily the UK is brought to a halt by what he sees as a minor “snow flurry”.

I’m going to get my own back though as Ken is visiting us in January to discuss the ESA and other matters, and with a bit of luck we will once again be “suffering the winter”, so his plane, train etc may well be disrupted and then he has to get to the Enigin offices perched high (sort of) above sea level.

Seriously, I am looking forward to his visit as I have been working with him on the ESA product “road tests” I mentioned in an earlier blog and it will be good to be able to sit in the same room (in the same time zone!) and review progress.

December 24^th, and I am sitting in the office with few Enigin colleagues left, I have just have a couple of ESA emails to send and then I too will be off to begin the seasonal festivities. Next week we will be beginning the final push for the ESA website re-launch, so I will be around to post a ‘tween Xmas and New Year update, until then ……..

Enigin Trainees Can Know Too Much About The ESA

Well, here we are in the last week before “the break”, my Enigin colleagues had their last training course of 2009 last week and are already winding up for the first of 2010. It’s fascinating for me to meet the people that visit from all around the world as I am able to get a good idea of what are the key energy saving issues in all corners of the globe – not unhelpful as we develop the new ESA website!

Enigin give me a slot during the training week to talk about the ESA. I am able to share the aims and objectives with the trainees, get their feedback and give them a glimpse of the exciting new developments we are working on.

As 2009 draws to a close, the pace doesn’t let up as all the ESA Council Members are pulling together the materials that are needed to build the website and the emails and skype are constant as we talk through the various nuances, disagree and then agree again – one thing is set in stone – no compromises.

Of course, when a launch is being planned the temptation is to tell people what is going on and what to expect, it’s difficult not to let your own excitement get the better of you. In training last week I was in danger of letting the latest batch of Enigin Distributors in on too many secrets, enthusiasm can sometimes be dangerous.

All the Council Members are in daily contact with companies and individuals working in one way and another in the energy saving industry, and whilst we are not exactly sworn to secrecy, we all agree that we need to keep our powder dry to ensure that launch day has the greatest impact possible.

So no more from me now, I have already in earlier blogs sailed pretty close to the wind and I will be posting more between now and D Day!

Youthful Enigin Input to ESA Project

I’m told by my friends at Enigin that my blogs, whilst quite interesting, are pretty lengthy so let’s keep this short.

The product review tests for the ESA are now well under way and I’m looking forward to seeing the results and recommendations and then getting them up on the website.

As my colleagues at Enigin beaver away towards the end of the year, I and my fellow ESA Council Members are working towards the ESA website re-launch with an ever increasing fervour. As we are spread around the globe, co-ordinating conversations between Australia, the UK and the United States can be an issue and requires holding conversations at some pretty silly times of the day.

Where would we be without modern technology? Email, skype and mobiles have now become so much part of our daily lives that we don’t give them a second thought, and so the world shrinks and we think nothing of being in contact with colleagues in far flung places at all hours.

One of the Enigin marketing guys helping me out with this project is only a youthful twenty-three years old and I was recently saying to him that we couldn’t get the ESA show on the road without all these technological developments (he did point out that we wouldn’t have internet either which would make building a new website a bit tricky!!).

He couldn’t believe it when I was saying that I could remember the time when the most exciting new development was the fax machine, and the first mobile phone I saw came linked by a cable to a battery the size of a brief case. The mention of the telex system just made his eyes glaze over!

So onwards and upwards, the full panoply of technological wizardry to the fore and more power to the ESA - definitely a “product” of the 21^st Century.