You’ve probably seen them by now – the Samsung Galaxy commercials where the owners of Samsung’s new smartphone flirt with Apple fanboys(and girls) waiting outside the Apple store to purchase the next version of the iPhone. (Video below)
I laughed, heartily for that matter, when I saw this ad.

Despite finding the ad amusing and getting a laugh in the process, I had to ask myself if I could objectively consider the effectiveness of the spot, who it was trying to reach, and what it was really trying to say. It is also interesting to note that in no point does the ad mention Apple by name.

Going against a company like Apple even for a giant like Samsung is no small undertaking. There is a certain cultish quality to Apple users. Their attitudes and allegiance often surpass use of “fanboy” terminology. So, there are going to be those, ironically exactly like those depicted waiting in line in the ad, who will probably never digress from the Apple path. However, the existence of the extremists is proof that there is a spectrum of opinions about Apple products. Therein lies the Samsung strategy; appealing to those who have considered purchasing the iPhone but have not yet made the commitment. The question though is are these ads going to sway people’s opinions either way? Or more likely have most people already made up their mind? And, the spot while a clever anecdote will only serve to reinforce their station on whichever side of this debate they reside.

I’ve been monitoring some of the comments about the ad from both sides of the spectrum and the middle. When you get out to the far end of the android vs iOS or Apple versus other device arguments people get pretty emotional. What you end up with is a cyber mob of people finding ways to voice and reassure their disdain for the other side and basically whooping each other into a frenzy. They end up just talking amongst themselves and their opinions largely become irrelevant.

Some might call their strategy ineffective because it doesn’t really emphasize many of the true merits of the phone it just makes fun of Apple users. But in my opinion ads that focus too much on the technical concerns lose the viewer in the process. Ads that tell stories and make the viewer question who they are as a person and how they relate to a product on an emotional level are much more effective. Ever wonder why politicians who make cohesive arguments but are more comfortable pointing to a graph than crafting a tale and connecting often find it difficult to come up with the votes come election time?

Everyone from your grandmother who doesn’t use “the email” to your colleagues at work are going to have an opinion about this ad. The interesting takeaway I believe is that the vast majority of those opinions do not matter. There is a small segment of the population from which these ads are going to bear fruit for Samsung and with that demographic I believe they are successful. And they also get some points for entertaining everyone else in the process.

When the Steve Jobs biography was released a few weeks ago I must admit that I did not have any pressing need to wait in line at the Barnes and Noble for one of the first copies.  In fact, that statement is rather moot because when I did purchase the book I did so through audible.com. So any anticipated or avoided line waiting was truly a fantasy. All of this aside, once I began reading I found myself enthralled by the story of an individual who not only revolutionized five industries but also reshaped the way that the world thinks about technology and their own personas.

Isaacson constructs an authentic narrative depicting both what it was like to be Steve Jobs and to work with him. The book is filled with little anecdotes, such as a young Steve, falsely promoting a “take your pet to school day” at his elementary school, or indicating an added benefit of choosing the name “Apple” for his fledgling computer company was so that it would reside ahead of his then current employer Atari’s name in the phone book. These anecdotes lay the groundwork for understanding the stubborn yet jocular character he paints in Jobs. Stories that are bred into the rebellious DNA of Apple and its many iterations.  The back stories on the evolution of the Apple (and Pixar) products bring the reader back throughout.  Early in the story, we see Jobs obsessing about the power supply of the Apple II and insisting that the computer not have a cooling fan.  Later we learn of his utter contempt for the stylus. You might also be interested to hear about how the character of Woody in “Toy Story” started out as quite mean.

While largely debatable when viewed in the context of the whole story, Jobs seems at many points throughout the story to be uninterested with financial compensation. In fact he is quoted as saying after his return to Apple, during which he was only paid a salary of one dollar a year for the first couple of years, “I get paid fifty cents for showing up, the other fifty is based on performance.” Cleverness aside, Jobs is rewarded handsomely for his triumphant resuscitation of Apple. Despite the massive wealth he accrues his true obsession seems not to be financial. Had it been so I feel as though the sustainability of his creativity would have been compromised. His true obsession and what he used to motivate his people was building incredibly high quality products that pushed the limits of both technology and design.

Steve’s revolutions, like so many others, came at a price. And that is quite evident in the story. Jobs polarized people around him utilizing what Isaacson repeatedly refers to as his “reality distortion field” to shape and bend situations to his will. He created dozens of really awesome products but he also hurt people in the process both in his business and personal lives. A tragic hero of sorts.  Despite his misgivings and quirkiness the reader stills finds in Jobs a hero worth rooting for.  Whether or not you you agree with his methods or find him a like-able protagonist I think we can all agree though that the world would not be the world as we know it right now had Steve Jobs not been in it. His story is one worth telling and Isaacson does a thorough and entertaining job crafting his tale.

One of the most important things to consider when evaluating the viability and sustainability of your employment, with a certain company is said company’s culture. Company, corporate,or organizational culture (for the intensive purposes of this post referred to hereafter as just culture) is the interdependent set of beliefs, ceremonies and rituals, management paradigms, leadership strategies, history, values, and mythology of an organization. Culture has the ability to serve as a cohesive agent or an alienating force at the same time to different people. The main question is does the culture jive with your own personal values, traditions, beliefs and interests; your own culture? If so, great! If not, a situation can be presented in which there is just something wrong with your employment that you can’t quite put your finger on.
Here are some quick questions to ask yourself to conduct a culture congruency checkup:

When others in the office are participating in group activities do you join right in or feel as though you’d rather be doing something else?

Do you feel as though your actions contribute to the construction and evolution of the culture or detract from it?

Do you agree with how decisions are made, whether by democracy or autocracy?

Do you feel recognized for my success? Do you feel others are deserving of the recognition they receive?

What does your intuition tell you? Do you fit in?

It is rare to find a culture that your are in alignment with 100%. In fact, if you did, I would say that you might be deluding yourself a little bit. The key is ensuring the culture is enough of a fit to foster your own success and build upon your strengths. This will not only benefit you but also your company and and parties concerned.
If you feel as though you are a fit in your current company culture try to think of some ways to continue to contribute to it and make it even better.
If you don’t feel as though you are a good fit, determine if there are ways to align with some elements of the culture and not all. Or it might be time for a clean break.

A little more than a year ago I wrote a blog post entitled “What happened? I think I blacked out…” which sparked a self-imposed challenge to write more frequently for this blog.  Well it lasted for a little over a month and led to a flurry of new articles, some more people reading and commenting, an incredible amount of time devoted to the blog, and a completely unsustainable routine.  The result since early September 2010? No posts.

Looking back it is hard to determine exactly when the wheels came off the axles.  I don’t remember making a conscious decision to stop posting.  Our lives are filled with different internal coaches that encourage us in fluctuating volumes and intensity to do certain things.  The need to blog coach was replaced with decrees to “focus more on your day job”, “be more of a family man” or “go to the gym more”.  And then silence.

Not that the absence of my blog posts from the world created any great disruption to the natural order of things.  Quite the contrary.  The world went humming along just the same.  But, the question that looms for me is: why did I start this process of blogging in the first place?  I got into blogging because I like to write, I have some good ideas to share with the world, and it helps me to get better at the things I do.  Just as the tag line of the blog’s title states – getting better at what we do, bit by bit.  All of those motivations are still here both underneath and rising back to the surface.

So here’s to getting back on track with some good posts, cool ideas, and a return to the essence of why I started this blog in the first place.  I’m not going to make any promises to post with a certain frequency just going to write and throw stuff up here that I find interesting and hopefully others may too.

Some people like the occasional cold shower.  They find it invigorating.  I am NOT one of these people.  I’ll take it as hot as I can stand it.  Why do I mention this fun little fact about me?  The other day I had to take a cold shower as a result of having a little problem with the pilot light in the water heater.  So, occasionally I’ll be all ready to get in and then realize there’s no hot water.  At this point, I am faced with two options: 1. Get in and bear it (or) 2. Light the pilot and wait 30 minutes.  I chose the former.

Did I mention I do not like to take cold showers?  To take my mind off the fact that I am taking one, I do this little dance while spouting nonsensical primal noises and gibberish.  Other than making my wife think that I am more crazy than usual, I think there is a poignant take away here.

When we engage in things we don’t enjoy or find unbearable often times we develop rhetoric to take our mind off the real problem.  Every endeavor in life requires some supportive script to make it both feasible to sell it to ourselves and to prospects.  The real question is do you buy the pitch?  If you don’t buy it, other people literally won’t buy it.

So, the result of engaging in an activity that you are not connected to is that you start speaking in ways that are foreign to your original mission and purpose.  Foreign to your identity.  You are taking a cold shower and trying to take your mind away from it by doing a little dance and speaking in an unintelligible manner.  Let me clarify, by unintelligible not outwardly necessarily, but to how you really feel.

So, I pose the question:  Are you engaged in what you’re doing or are you trying to take your mind off having to take a cold shower?

Humans are considered, by some accounts, to be the most habitual beings on the planet.  If that is the case why do we often seem to be the most unpredictable of creatures?  I believe the answer lies in our ability to intellectualize everything that comes across our palate.  The list of possibilities of activities on which to spend our time constantly grows.  And, our inquisitive minds combine our new activities in seemingly infinite ways.  Intellect and reason overtake instinct and hard wiring and what we are often left with is far from routine.

Don’t get me wrong.  These qualities are what set us aside from other beings on this planet and make us capable of all the wonderful things we witness on a daily basis.  However, if you’re anything like me sometimes the thinking mind can overrun the doing mind and any sense of progress is fleeting.  I have found the key to maintaining a balance lies in working on a routine and revisiting it often.

Initial Considerations:

1.  Be flexible – Be willing to bend a little bit so as make your routine adaptable to the every day world.  But do not be so flexible so as to mold and change the routine whenever the breeze blows.

2.  Cut yourself some slack – You’re not going to go from flitting around like a bug to light to a regimented army cadet overnight.  Nor is it probably healthy to be either.  Balance is key.  I have often been so taken with a new time management plan, diet, or other methodology that I completely immerse myself in it only to be haunted by the pounding of the clock of sustainability.  Then, boom, it’s all over before it even started.  Most lasting and worthwhile change is gradual.  If you go from 0 – 60mph overnight it’s probably not going to last.  Focus on changing one habit at a time.  I like 21 day increments.  They say once you can do something for 21 days it becomes a habit.  Don’t try to do it all at once.

Steps to Get Going:

1.  Conduct A Routine Audit - You already have a routine.  Bear in mind, you just need to tweak it and modify it.  Take a couple of days and start to document what you are doing with your time.  Look for patterns, trends, and similarities.  Write everything down.

2.  Categorize – We all play differing roles in our lives.  Once you have your list of tasks see how those fit into different roles that you play.  For instance, some roles I play in my life are: husband, blogger, development professional, friend, son, etc.  Are there some roles that you play that currently don’t have any respective tasks?  If so, do some further investigation.

3.  Compartmentalize - Determine logical task recurrence intervals: daily, weekly bi-weekly etc.  This part of the exercise is part subjective and part objective.  Some of the compartments are a result of tasks you already have.  Some compartments are a result of time you have with which you would like to fill in some tasks.

4.  Fill the gaps – Now that you have categories and compartments look for missing parts.  If you have identified categories that seem to be a little short on tasks revisit those and see if there is a need to fill some in.  Don’t add just for the sake of adding but ask yourself if you are hitting all the areas you need to in that particular role of your life.  Now take a look at your compartments: daily, weekly, every other day, etc.  What is the timing for your different tasks?  If you are doing something every single day, could it make more sense to switch it to every other day?  Is there a task that you should be giving more attention than once a week?

5.  Determine a plan for action – The preceding steps may present you with more information than you bargained for.  However, that is the point.  You want as much information on the table as possible.  You don’t want to leave anything out.  Now take this data and make a plan in attainable steps.  Take a handful of items and focus on those.  You’ve gotten as far as you have doing what you have been doing.  Therefore, don’t take all this new data and think that you have to change everything immediately.  Manageable chunks are the way to go.

I hope you find these steps useful as you work to develop a routine.  Remember, show some resolve but don’t go crazy.  What routine development techniques have worked for you?

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In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey culminates his list with a technique he calls “Sharpening the Saw.”  The chapter starts with an anecdote of a person trying to feverishly saw down a tree.  When a passerby asks him what he is doing he states that he has been trying to saw down the tree for 5 hours.  The passerby then logically asks when he last sharpened the saw.  I think the answer goes without saying.

The saw in this story relates to all of the items that we hold in our life’s toolbox.  Covey breaks it down into four categories, physical, mental, social/emotional, and spiritual.  The 7 Habits had a great impact on me when I first read it and I try to revisit its teachings often.  Here are 7 areas where I currently try to keep my saw sharp.

1.  Exercise - Bottom line – I feel better when I get exercise.  Exercise causes the brain to release endorphins and serotonin both of which cause the body and mind to feel naturally good.  There are also a whole host of scientific studies and explanations for how physical exertion improves our ability to think.  For an in-depth look at the ways our mind reacts positively to exercise take a look at Brain Rules, by John Medina.

2.  Reflection

Every one has, in their own belief system, a way for reflecting upon recent actions and events.  Whether you go to church, meditate, write in journal or just sit and contemplate, it is important for you to take time and decompress.  My moments for reflection tend to occur in the morning.  I am usually the first one up and will take the dog for a walk, get ready for work, and make breakfast.  Being that I am by myself, these tasks are all done silently which provides me a great time to both think and listen for new thoughts and ideas.

3. Quality and Memorable Experiences with Friends and Family

I read recently on the LifeHacker blog that people are deriving more satisfaction from spending their money on experiences than from the latest and greatest gadget from the local electronics store.  My wife and I love going out to dinner with friends, going to the movies, spending the day in New York City, and basically having a good time doing “stuff” with one another.  Material items break, lose their luster, and become outdated.  Memories last a lifetime.

4.  Mental Stimulation

Recently, I have found my mental stimulation residing in reading.  I subscribe to approximately 50 RSS feeds and I also read in a book every day.  Ways to keep the mind limber are not, however, limited to reading and can include spirited debate, crossword puzzles, sudoku or watching a documentary.  The key here is to do something that causes your mind to think in ways that it is not used to and expose it to new concepts and ideas.

5.  Hobbies

I have a number of hobbies and, interestingly, I find that they satisfy a number of the needs listed above.  For instance, I love to build scale models.  While I am deep in the throws of a model car, I find time for reflection while also being mentally stimulated.  I also really like to play music.  Doing so can serve as reflection but also as quality experiences for friends and family.  I think the sign of a good hobby is that it allows you to sharpen your saw in a variety of ways while also providing you with enjoyment and fulfillment.

Summary

These are but a few ways that I try to keep my saw sharp.  And this list is constantly shifting and evolving.  I think the key concept here is that no person can be successful without being a whole person.  If you focus too much attention in one area it is often to the detriment of others and eventually everything suffers.  What kind of things are you doing to keep your saw sharp?

If you are interested in purchasing any of the books mentioned, you can do so by clicking on the links in this article which will take you to my Amazon affiliate store.  I do receive a small commission for all purchases made through this method.

Well everyone, today is the last day of my 3 week blog post challenge.  21 posts in 21 days and it was a great experience!  Thanks for being a part of it!  Here are a couple of things that I learned:

Creativity Breeds Creativity – By forcing myself to write something new every day I literally had to maintain a constant creative outlook.  I was always looking for ideas for blog posts.  And, it helped me to look at the world through an interesting new lens.

Adherence to a Strict Schedule is a useful tool. Knowing that I had a commitment to write a post each and every day helped me to budget my time more effectively.  This new challenge did not change the amount of responsibilities I have in work and at home but helped me to more efficiently complete my tasks in these areas to allow for the time to write.

Writing provides a great creative outlet for me. I enjoy writing.  Not only does it push my mind to articulate all of the thoughts running around up there but I find it helps me with my ability to communicate with people in my life in general.

Next Steps

For the next 3 weeks I would like to commit to writing no fewer than 3 posts per week because I do not want to lose momentum.  I have decided to stop posting every day during this time so I can shift some of my efforts to promoting Bits of Business and developing budding relationships with fellow bloggers.

Many thanks to all of you who have been supportive during these 3 weeks and who take time out their day to share in this conversation.

I took a cue from someone a while back and instead of signing my credit cards on the reverse side I wrote in large black permanent marker “SEE I.D.”  The hope is that, should someone steal my card and try to use it, they will be foiled when my instructions cue the clerk to the illegal activity about to transpire in his/her establishment.  The problem is no one ever checks the back of the card.  No one that is except for the receptionist at the most unlikely of places: MY DENTIST!

I just spent over one hour having people poke me in the mouth, scrub my teeth, and take 360 degree X-rays of my head.  Three different people checked me and entered information into a computer containing a database file with my information.  And at the end of it all I hand them my credit card which has my name on it (the same one in the computer) and they actually ask me to see my I.D.???  They blindly follow the instructions I laid out for them.  The safeguard that I put in place to stop would-be thieves from buying nachos at 7-Eleven with my plastic is now making me feel like the newest brand of criminal: the forerunner of Dental Identity Theft.  They did exactly what I asked.   So what’s the problem?

We are at a pivotal moment in society right now when it comes to customer service.  Interactions have become so impersonal.  We buy online and over the phone.  We use self-checkout at Home Depot or Stop-n-Shop.  The guy at the gas station doesn’t care enough to look at the signature on the back of your card to see if you’re ripping somebody off.  And your dentist’s office cares so little about customer service that they make you feel like you’re going through JFK airport when you go to pay your bill.  People who are in the supposed “customer care” business have lost the ability to think on their feet.  They have lost the ability to take policy and protocol and determine where it’s appropriate and where it is just illogical.

The companies that truly remain successful in the coming years are going to be those who know and understand their customers.  When was the last time you took a moment to really get to know your customer?  Do you allow them to have meaningful interactions with you or your company?  Or, do you need to check their I.D.?