neilmartin.me
Beats, Business & Life
Proud Dad and family man. A lifelong obsession with music. 3 decades in business and technology. Stuff about this thing called life that I’m still figuring out.
Latest
Fresh off the press
The best coworker you know doesn’t need to be asked
Sierra’s AI teammate stays quiet most of the time, then speaks up with a fix. What a good AI colleague looks like for a small team.
The people who shaped me before I’d ever met them
In 2016 I made a list of people who’d changed my life without ever meeting me. Who was on it, what each one gave me, and a question that might help you find your own list.
Do More Than They Asked For and the Money Tends to Follow
Lessons from my 2019 summit on surprising customers, and on asking for proper money once you’ve solved their actual problem.
Stress Is a Signal, and It Gets Louder If You Ignore It
Lessons from my 2019 summit on treating numbness and lost motivation as signals, and on knowing when to stop or walk away.
Track by TrackA soundtrack for Today
Lovely Day (DJ Eleven Remix Do-Over): Bill Withers Meets Biz Markie
Bill Withers over Marley Marl’s beat for Biz Markie. You won’t find this DJ Eleven do-over on Spotify, so here are the two records behind it, and why I use it to close a set.
Previous tracks
Pie N Mash by The Skinner Brothers: All My Favourite Music in One Band
Arctic Monkeys and The White Stripes crossed with The Specials, The Beat and a bit of The Prodigy. The Skinner Brothers tick every box for me, and Pie N Mash is the one I keep going back to.
Can’t Stand Losing You, and the DJ who gave me the record
The first record I ever owned, I didn’t buy. A DJ at a family party gave it to me. Why that white 7-inch is still on my shelf, and what it taught a four-year-old about asking.
Track by Track: Morning
My own song this time. The story behind Morning, a Dust and Data love song about two cups and the start of a day, and why I think the little things matter most.
Run-DMC, Here We Go (live on Yo! MTV Raps)
Run-DMC on Yo! MTV Raps, a VHS tape I’ve kept for 33 years, and why they were hip hop to me.
Beats
From the Decks
A lifetime of following music down the rabbit hole. The beats, the lyrics, the samples… but more than anything, how it makes you feel.
Sunday Selector
Sunday Selector: Kid Once
Some songs you don’t remember learning. They were just there, on the radio and in the playground, and forty-odd years later they still are.
That’s this playlist. Twenty tracks from the late seventies and early eighties, my primary school and even pre-school years. I couldn’t tell you where I first heard every one of them, but they’re all songs I’ve gone back to again and again since.
read more…Lovely Day (DJ Eleven Remix Do-Over): Bill Withers Meets Biz Markie
Bill Withers over Marley Marl’s beat for Biz Markie. You won’t find this DJ Eleven do-over on Spotify, so here are the two records behind it, and why I use it to close a set.
The tape from a friend’s dad that got me into reggae
A friend’s dad heard the hip hop I loved and handed me a Yellowman tape. Four records from my reggae crates, the stories behind them, and why the best music tips often come from the least likely person.
Business
Business In Plain English
Some of it’s about tech. Some of it’s about teams. All of it’s about the conversation that changes everything.
The best coworker you know doesn’t need to be asked
Sierra’s AI teammate stays quiet most of the time, then speaks up with a fix. What a good AI colleague looks like for a small team.
Do More Than They Asked For and the Money Tends to Follow
Lessons from my 2019 summit on surprising customers, and on asking for proper money once you’ve solved their actual problem.
You can only save money once
Most businesses use AI to do the same work cheaper. Mintel’s Jason Thomson thinks that’s the least interesting thing it can do.
Life
Everything Else
The stuff off the clock. Good food, fresh threads, and trying to be a bit better than yesterday.
The people who shaped me before I’d ever met them
In 2016 I made a list of people who’d changed my life without ever meeting me. Who was on it, what each one gave me, and a question that might help you find your own list.
Stress Is a Signal, and It Gets Louder If You Ignore It
Lessons from my 2019 summit on treating numbness and lost motivation as signals, and on knowing when to stop or walk away.
What Joe Cross told me about his biggest achievement
In 2014 I interviewed Joe Cross from Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead on his day off. What he said about his biggest achievement, an ice cream in Harrods and the routine nobody sees, and what it says about what really counts.
About
Hi, I’m Neil
I got my first turntables in 1987, when I was 12, and I’ve been playing records to people ever since. I’ve been in business for three decades and I wrote a book called Done Beats Perfect. This is where I write it all down.
By day I’m Director of Marketing & Edutainment at ActionCOACH UK.
DJing since 1987Three decades in businessAuthor, Done Beats Perfect
The book
Done Beats Perfect
A short, honest book about putting things off, and how to stop. Paperback, Kindle, or the audiobook read by me.
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