Atmosphere One

After all my big boots talking about how Im going to write a blog more than four times a year, I clearly need to step to it. Ah the promise of a regular entry and rantings from me and alas not a peep since I set this blog up.  The truth is that I was about to dispense some advice in my next blog and it occurred to me (like a good business woman needs to think of these things) that I really need Terms of Business on this blog of mine.

Frustratingly, then having to think like a lawyer quickly killed off my writing ‘flow.’ “You must not use the Website (or material obtained from the Website) to harm, abuse, defame, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise offend others or violate the legal rights of others or restrict or prevent another user from using and enjoying this Website.” I mean really? Nutcases.  Need to think about the nutcases. My expansive thoughts of helping you out with your confidence, or an interesting case study on a company’s green IT initiative, quickly turned to information superhighway paranoia. So, ‘1) Sort out Blog’s Terms of Business’ sat on my list of things to do for around two months, whilst I ducked in and out of thoughts about preventing others from using this blog to “to breach any applicable laws or regulations” and highlighting that, impersonating “any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity” is not cool.

Still I got there in the end. There was a price though.  That was the fleeting mind space it took, every time I looked at that list of things to do: ‘Uggh haven’t done the Terms yet.  Need to do the Terms.  Don’t have time.  Have too many jobs to fill.  They need to be perfect, you need more time to work it out.  Do it tonight.  (Tonight comes), can’t stare at the computer anymore today, I should go to the gym.  Should do it soon though because of all your big boots blog talking. Tomorrow night.’

Had I just sat down and sorted it out without question, it would’ve been done and all that split second, annoying frustration at having something sitting there on the list for all that time, wouldn’t have been there.  Frankly, Im not at all big on cheesy buzz words, business catchphrases and acronyms, though I always remember one client of mine saying they lived by this mantra and it is actually one I like: “Do it, Dump it or Delegate it.”  Outsourced to the experts, just like it should be, delegate it I did.

Atmosphere One has just turned three. For the sake of sentimentality and for the lack of an actual official launch date, let’s say it was three years ago today.  Three years ago today, I was under pressure.  In the three weeks prior I had make sure everything was organised and ready to go – I had to choose a name for my business, make sure the name domain was free, register my business, open a bank account, complete the business plan, develop processes, buy furniture, fine tune the value proposition, get my website up and running, choose the right telco provider – everything you could possibly think of to set up a business from scratch. In that three week period, the thing that took me the longest was choosing the name.  It took an entire week.  If you imagine that I had sunk everything I owned into setting up my business and that I had four month window to succeed, you’ll understand that the name was kind of important to me.

A lot of people in business will tell you how hard it is to choose a name.  First you have to like it, second it has to work, third it has to be available and then fourth the available domain name needs to be free.  I have had a lot of different reactions about the name Atmosphere One.  From the tentative, ‘Are you sure it doesn’t sound like a nightclub?’ to the bemused ‘How did you choose THAT name?’ Well believe me when I tell you I went through the entire dictionary, ruling out the obvious ‘People, Recruitment, Resources, Search, Talent etc.  It came down to Magnetic and Atmosphere. I chose Atmosphere because truly, I believe one of the main ingredients for success in any relationship, team or company is the vibe.   How people feel at work.  How they feel when they deal with you. Do they trust you?  Are you trustworthy? Can they feel safe to be themselves? Is there inspiration? Where is it going long term? Do they feel part of something special and unique?  I only want to be a connector for teams who have a great atmosphere for the candidates I work with. Or where I can see I can help to create a great atmosphere, by adding star performers as key ingredients and the way I see it, a star performer always brings that something special – the right energy.