End of the dog days

Slowly, slowly, working life is coming back to normal as the dog days of August come to an end. At least some clients are now back at work - though France remains stubbornly on holiday, and the UK isn't too far behind.

But one project has been signed off this week, another has stepped up a gear, and a third is set to come up to speed after next Monday's Bank Holiday. The slight snag is that one client still has huge expectations of getting a piece written, designed, printed and dispatched by mid-September, but hasn't actually put up anyone to deliver a brief yet. Still, that's what weekends and evenings are for.

One of the dilemmas facing Leapfrog at present is how to deal with one client demanding tactical comms help when what they really need is some fundamental work with their leadership team to define, align and plan around change. We could stick in there and deliver smart looking media - but media that has no credibility. Morally that doesn't feel right and will do no good for either our business or the client in the long run. But at our level of operation cash-flow is king. So do we sacrifice short-term gain? At this stage, my heart and head are saying one thing, but the business bank balance is saying quite another. So no decision yet.

Finally, while I still hate AOL, I was able to complete the modem drivers upgrade yesterday. AOL had put a solution in place. It wasn't perfect, but I was able to work around it - using two of their three suggested steps and part of the other. However, it still makes me angry that they are steamrollering customers into an upgrade with poorly-written flaky software at the heart of the process.