2 Minutes

Audio

Even if it’s Obvious: Ask

I recently recounted a story about a project I completed at a prior job.

We had spent months designing a student teleconferencing lounge, complete with state-of-the-art codecs, microphones, cameras, and control interfaces.

Months spent meeting over the logistics of working with A/V vendors, electricians, and building contractors, getting people working on their part of the project, on time and at the right time.

We met regularly with our finance people, to make sure we were on track and on budget.

We met throughout the project with the people who would be using the space, to make sure all of the elements were going to meet their need, and that all of the elements going into the space met the stated intention of the room.

Finally, we outfitted the room with a wonking huge flat-panel display, to finish the room setup.

The day came to turn up the equipment, check out the networking, and test everything in the setup.

The codec worked beautifully. The sound was phenomenal. The microphones picked up every nuance in the room. The control interfaces were intuitive, and precisely what we described to our A/V vendor. Check. Check. Check.

Someone asked: “Where is the control for Basic Cable TV?”

Awkward Silence.

Dozens of people involved in the process. Months of planning. Detailed oversight throughout.

And yet, no one had thought to ask to install cable TV. In a student lounge. With a TV that covered the side of a barn.

No one – especially myself – thought to ask the most elemental of questions, concerning function over form.

Fortunately, we were able to easily correct the issue, and had basic cable installed in short order.

The only real casualty was our embarrassment. And, a little “stupid tax” we paid.

Even if the question seems obvious: Ask.

Go, and be you.

Audio

Another Webinar? No Thanks.

I’ve never been a huge fan of webinars. Probably, because most of them are colossal wastes of time.

But – if you insist on producing your own webinar, the following tips could help the next person feel like they at least got something of value from your efforts:

  1. Prepare. This is my number one complaint about terrible webinars – it’s usually quite obvious that many presenters don’t adequately practice their presentation, or don’t have mastery over their subject matter. Give yourself ample time to prepare your content, and work on your delivery.
  2. Get to the point. Fast. Your time is valuable. And so is your audience’s. Respect their time as if it were golden. Because it is.
  3. Don’t read your slide deck, word for word. It just insults everyone’s intelligence, and makes the room dumber.
  4. Buy – and use – a good microphone. If I’m thinking about your poor sound quality, then I’m not focused on your content. Solid production values can help even the most mediocre of presentations; but, poor production kills even superior content.
  5. Make sure your video is well lit, in focus, in frame, and is shot in front of a background that isn’t vying for your audience’s attention. Non-watchable video is worse than useless. Remember: if what you produce is unwatchable, why are you even going to the effort? Or expecting your audience to?
  6. And finally: Have something to say. Don’t tease us with up-sell. Deliver the goods. Make it worth everyone’s time.

In short: Don’t skimp on Quality, or Preparation. You might even change my mind about webinars. But – I doubt it.

Go, and be you.

Audio

Small Biz 101

Here are a few “chestnuts” I’ve learned along the way:

  • Know what your time is worth. You will invariably be approached to work on spec, work for “sweat equity”, or work at a huge discount for the promise of better pay on “the next project.” These offers never pan out. Know what your service or time is worth, and engage only at those rates. Your time, resources, and patience are finite – and these “clients” will only waste all of these.
  • Never sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Non-disclosure agreements between clients and contractors, especially on limited engagements, pretend you don’t have any experience that you didn’t attain but through that engagement, they are all nearly impossible to police, and start from a premise of distrust and suspicion. Besides: ninety-nine times out of one hundred, the “secrets” being protected have been done many times before, and are in effect, unprotectable anyway.

  • Don’t be afraid to fire a client. We’ve all heard that the worst mistakes in life happen when you said “yes”, when you should have said “no.” If a customer or relationship is in opposition to the well being of your business, or your employees, then it is time to cut the engagement short as soon as you ethically and responsibly can do so. Your main responsibility is to yourself, your employees, and to your business. The best advice? Say “no” when your intuition tells you that that high-maintenance contract that you’re about to bag, may not be all it’s touted to be. Not all business is good business, and some customers are more trouble than they’re worth.

Remember: Making a profit isn’t a bad thing. It’s your business’s reason for being.

And if it’s not, you’re not running a business – you’re running a hobby.

Go, and be you.

Audio

Constructive Feedback

When was the last time that you told your employees, your teammates, or your colleagues that they did a good job?

Why is it that we have so much trouble giving constructive feedback to our associates?

Are we really so threatened in our positions, that we can’t admit when someone, who might possibly be compared to us, does a good job?

Stop and think about it – your paycheck is entirely dependent upon everyone you work with, performing at their absolute best. Why, then, would you want to sabotage your associates, by knocking them down? Or, when their work isn’t up to par, you criticize them, personally, rather than their deficient work itself?

This is a sure fire way to destroy a team, a career, a reputation, or a company.

I’m not suggesting that “everyone gets a trophy”, or that we should be praising people for simply doing what they’re supposed to be doing.

What I definitely am saying, is that we never praise the people who are deserving of our praise, enough. Not even close. A great start toward mastering constructive feedback is simply acknowledging this – and thanking those people, profusely. You’re thinking of them right now, even as I say this.

Remember – You were once this person, that you’re now riding, constantly. But someone recognized something in you along the way, invested their time, mentored you (with no benefit to themselves), and brought you along.

None of us got here solely on our own merits – glowing though they may be. Recognize that. And pay it forward.

It’s much harder to build up, than it is to tear down. I suppose that’s why we do it.

But we must learn to lead in a way that strengthens, rather than denigrates, those we work around, if we wish to be truly successful.

Go, and be you.

Audio

GSD

What’s the secret to Getting Stuff Done?

The first step is not to conflate being busy, with being productive. Being busy is all about appearances, and focusing on how much time we’re spending on our efforts. But being productive is solely about performance. Results.

The key to being consistently productive is to establish good work behaviours. I recommend the following:

  • Planning: Never start a task or project until you completely understand your deliverables. This seems entirely self-evident – that is, until you have to redo work because you didn’t understand all the requirements, or you misunderstood your assignment.
  • Measurement: Agree upon milestones and metrics before starting work. Understand what “being successful” actually means for your project. How do you know if you’re making progress, if you can’t quantify what you’re doing, how far you’ve come, or how far you have to go? You can’t understand, what you can’t measure.
  • Collaboration: If you have a question about your project, ask. When projects begin to lag, team members not understanding their assignments are usually high on my list of things to investigate. This is especially true for younger workers – they often don’t seek out help, or know when to seek outside help.
  • Reflection: Set periodic breakpoints, to stop and ask yourself “am I working on the right problem?” If you’re not, stop what you’re doing, refocus, and begin again.
  • Communication: My number one secret for successfully Getting Stuff Done, the first time ’round? Communicate, communicate, communicate. Did I mention that you need to communicate?

So: Plan ahead. Measure your work. Collaborate with others. Constantly and continuously reflect upon what you’re doing. Communicate. These foundational work behaviours will give you more than a fighting chance at escaping the “Culture of Busy”, and allow you to finally Get Stuff Done.

Go, and be you.

Audio

Ideation

“Blue-skying.” “Spitballing.” “Brainstorming.” These phrases are often used synonymously for the concept of “Ideation.”

Ideation is the creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas.

Habitually creative people have a repeatable system for going about being “creative.”

Some go somewhere quiet to contemplate. Some simply block out dedicated time, to work on their craft. Others do their best thinking, by taking long walks; while still others have their “Eureka!” moments in the shower, or on the way home from work, in the car, or on the subway.

Innovation and creativity don’t occur by accident. They are fostered through practice, repetition, and long experience. Learning by doing. Creating good habits. Having a system to get your mind focused on the problem at hand. Removing everything and anything that doesn’t contribute to what you’re wishing to achieve from your field of view.

My favorite Ideation method is to start mentally cataloging what I want to get done for the day, while on my way to get my morning coffee. In fact, the idea for 300 Words, 2 Minutes actually came to me while sitting in my car at Starbucks.

Maybe for you, it’s sitting around a table with your team, and posting stickies on the wall. Or it’s renting out a hotel room for the weekend, to get away and work without being interrupted.

Regardless of the approach you take to getting your creative juices flowing, you should think about Ideation as an ongoing, habitual process – and not just counting on “getting lucky.”

Create a system that works best for you, and your team. Having a structured, repeatable process for Ideation is perhaps the best hedge against the “innovator’s dilemma”, and will keep you atop your game – so that opportunity and preparation can coincide, to create something truly remarkable.

Go, and be you.

Audio

Getting Started

I’m kicking off a new feature, called “300 Words, 2 Minutes.”

Each day, I’m going to do my best to share a couple of minutes of insight – on topics covering business, entrepreneurship, marketing, education, technology – and, sometimes, just something personal.

A short podcast will accompany each day’s segment, so that you can consume the content the way you want – on your commute, working out, or just sitting at your desk.

I thought I would kick off the very first 300 Words, 2 Minutes with a few thoughts on Getting Started.

I know a lot of you have some really great ideas, or life-long passions that you haven’t acted upon, simply because you don’t know how to get started.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret – nobody is ever going to tell you “now is the time to be awesome!” “Hey – time to quit your job and go all in on that great startup idea!”

If you’re waiting around for that invitation to start living your passions, you’re going to wait around forever. There won’t be a mystical sign from the Universe that says “now is the time!”

You simply have to take the plunge, and start taking concrete actions toward your goals. Take a class. Start a side project. Collaborate with a local non-profit.

The same holds true for gaining life and work experience. There’s always a first time for everything. Many of the projects that I took over the years involved technologies and experiences entirely new to me at the time. In fact, these were some of my most lucrative projects.

Growth comes from putting yourself at risk, and taking on new challenges.

You won’t know where your boundaries are, until you decide to go find them.

I look forward to sharing 300 Words, 2 Minutes with you tomorrow.

Go, and be you.