Busted Missive

The End?

2013-03-03T13:21:00.000-05:00

"Well, I don't really think that the end can be assessed as of itself as being the end because what does the end feel like? It's like saying when you try to extrapolate the end of the universe, you say, if the universe is indeed infinite, then how - what does that mean? How far is all the way, and then if it stops, what's stopping it, and what's behind what's stopping it? So, what's the end, you know, is my question to you."

David St. Hubbins

To everyone who's read one or all 400 posts, my personal thanks. It means more than you know that this content has actually entered someone else's skull. The Missive has been a therapeutic exercise for me, I've learned a lot about focus, clarity, humor, and the importance of rewriting. Special thanks goes to my family: my wife Ann Marie, and my kids Liz, Nick, and Tim. (and my dog Duke), they always kept me grounded, and yet supported all of the time I spent on this.

My new blog will be kicking off at the beginning of April. As mentioned in previous posts, it will be directly linked to work on my book. I'm very excited about both and I hope you will continue to follow.

Followership

2013-03-01T08:55:00.000-05:00

It's becoming more and more apparent as we move deeper into the 21st century, that what is really going to save us is...ourselves. Not us in our current, doubting, snarky, nasty, twisted, and seriously negative state. But perhaps a smarter, more understanding, focused, optimistic, and relentlessly driven version of ourselves that is willing to give the right people the roles of leadership and do whatever they can to support that leader. The scary thing (at least historically) is this type of statement could have been made by early supporters of the Nazi party. I'd like to believe the difference, this time around, is we're smarter.

Consider (once again) the follower. Who is this mythical beast? Where did she/he come from? What brought them to this point of "true believer"? What motivates the follower? Are they merely animals that respond to a ringing bell, a flashing light, or a promise of a free meal, free health care, or free cell phone?

Currently we're suffering what could be a crisis of leadership. Nobody seems nice enough, or smart enough, or capable enough to warrant the support of a clear majority of intended followers. You could argue that an election is the barometer by which we measure leadership potential, but the fact, these days, is that smaller and smaller groups of eligible voters are even showing up to make a selection. So we're left with the winner, who for the most part, has merely succeeded in "winning the ground game" and not winning the hearts and minds of those to be led.

We should be worried about terms like "mandate", "majority", and "moral", which have all to frequently been invoked to silence critics and opinion outliers. Of course the majority always rules in a democracy, but are the true majorities being heard and understood? More importantly, are the true majorities engaged enough to be heard? Or are they whining, bitter people who shake their fist at the TV set, frown, and then settle back into the La-Z-Boy thinking someone else will do the dirty work?

Become a good follower. The world needs you.

#399 one more to go.

The Casting of the Runes - 2013

2013-02-27T09:37:00.000-05:00

Quickly follow me on this double-time step through the power of symbols. In this particular post, graphical symbols. From the earliest of hieroglyphs to the logos and branded trademarks of today, there has been then magical and now metaphorical meaning associated with these symbols. Ancient curses of bad luck and ill will were made "real" and cast upon enemies, by the scratching, carving, or writing of these characters upon skin, stone and parchment. Don't we at least imply a similar "good magic" through the use of a Johnson & Johnson, GE, or Apple logo?

Of course a logo alone can't work magic, but the solid product offering, great customer service, or innovative solutions offered become glued to that logo or brand. It's a quick "magic" way to make an informed purchasing decision. Note I didn't say "smart" purchasing decision.

If a logo represents merely the "coolness" of said company, couldn't you argue that you really are trying to channel the "magic" associated with the symbol? You're using the symbol to bring about an almost magical outcome of envy and awe in those who see you carrying an iPhone, driving a Mercedes, or drinking a Perrier.

In the classic English horror short-story "The Casting of the Runes" by Cambridge scholar M.R. James, ancient runic symbols scrawled on a piece of parchment become a unstoppable supernatural weapon. Wielded by the villain who summoned a monstrous demon to horribly murder whomever was in possession of the cursed scroll.

Now consider the logos and trademarks of fallen companies. Whether it's the Enron "E", or the stylized Border's "B" or even "Twinkie the Kid", when you glance at them what instant emotions, or quick thoughts come to mind? Could it be that they're casting a spell on you?

Post #398, 2 more to go.

Favorite Metaphors #19 - The Countdown

2013-02-25T08:43:00.000-05:00

In our clock regulated, calendar managed, and schedule dependent human world, nothing adds as much real (and artificial) drama as the countdown. Rocket liftoffs, New Year's Eve celebrations, Drag-racing starts, even Iron Chef meal preparation are accented by the drama of the countdown.

But if you really think about it, all of this excitement, it's another human manipulation of reality. Countdowns make our heart beat faster. They dilate our pupils. They inject adrenalin into our systems. Not saying any of this is bad, but it is manufactured.

In this spirit of counting down, I'm both happy and a little wistful to announce with this post, that I'm counting down the final 4 entries to this Busted Missive blog. I've been writing it for close to 3 years. My target date for my final post (#400) is March 3rd 2013. So three more to go after this one.

I'll be focusing my writing efforts on my book and a new supporting blog. I'll leave the Busted Missive up, and it will still be available for reading and commenting, but I won't be adding any new posts.

Thanks for paying attention. Stay tuned for more great stuff!

The Fracturing of Big Ideas

2013-02-22T08:44:00.000-05:00

Is your Big Idea too big? Are potential sponsors, partners, publishers, investors in awe of your passion but at the same time frightened or doubting of your massive scope? Maybe you should think smaller.

Don't dismiss your Big Idea completely, rather see it as an "end state" to be achieved. But critically dissect and deconstruct it into stages or phases that are powerful nuggets unto themselves. Keep in mind each must have it's own mini (or not so mini) business case or rationale. Each should bring your awareness of something bigger and better to a waking audience. So you won't just be selling salvation you'll be getting people primed for salvation by selling them steps to salvation.

Many of you might think this compromises the "Grand Plan" you have floating around in your head and burning a hole in your heart. To those of you who feel this way, ask yourself these questions: "If I can't have it all, will I walk away?", "Can my Big Idea really be broken down into smaller, more do-able steps?", "Is the whole really greater than the sum of it's parts?".

Consider thinking smaller. Don't scrap the Big Idea. Just start, take it apart. What are the components? What is the value of each component?

Consider the Lego Brick. Each piece virtually indestructible, well-engineered yet a component of a unrealized greater structure.

If you're having trouble seeing the pieces of your Big Idea, call a friend, walk them through it, have them help you find the seams. Don't give up. There are so many great, creative ideas floating around in people's heads these days. How about we give a few more of them a fighting chance?

Are you with me? (fist-pump, fist-pump, FIST!...PUMP!) ;o)

The End of The World (As We Know It)

2013-02-20T08:38:00.000-05:00

Barbara Kellerman's 2012 book should be required reading for anyone who gives a hoot about leadership (not just leaders, or leader-wannabes, but followers and follower-wannabes as well). It's an excellent extended essay on how difficult it is to be a leader, taking into account business as well as political leadership evolution over the past decade. Kellerman does a wonderful job laying out how freedom and democratization contain the very seeds of their destruction if not cared for properly by an engaged leadership and supported by a loyal gathering of followers (Schumpeter much?).

After coming together, we are dividing again along wealth "caste" hierarchies, forming tribes of unhappy slacker rebels who are annoyed but lack the commitment or trust in the system to take action. It's way too easy to complain, and most feel there's no point or too much effort involved in changing things.

Almost finished with the book, a quick 256 pages, I'm at the critical ending chapters that dwell on what Kellerman terms "The Leadership Industry", which seems to be another way of saying college, grad school, and business training organizations (ala my current employer). Not sure what I'll find, but the way the book is going, it'll be a solid, long and loud rallying cry for creating better leaders. Preparing those (un)lucky few for the craziness of their desired and super-important roles. But I also imagine, there will be a significant amount of Kellerman's thought devoted to how to be a better citizen/employee. In the age of internet speed, and full-disclosure, 24-hour cable and Sarbanes-Oxley it's too easy to become a jaded complainer, feeling sorry for ourselves and/or envious of those who have it better than we do.

Read. This. Book.

(Thanks to friend, mentor, and awesome leadership author John Baldoni for turning me on to Kellerman!)

The Jerry Lewis Effect

2013-02-13T08:38:00.001-05:00

As in the "hard and soft" sciences of physics, chemistry and psychology, where one can stumble across and study in detail such concepts as "The Doppler Effect", "The Hydrophobic Effect" or "The Dunning-Kruger Effect", I believe we should have a unique set of observable phenomena that are more personal and personality driven, specifically the crazy, clumsy, and klutzy behavior we humans exhibit when caught off-guard or unprepared. I propose these phenomena be collected and categorized under a new heading subsequently known as "The Jerry Lewis Effect" (JLE).

How else can we explain away those bizarre, unlucky, but in the end absolutely hysterically funny moments when we spill a full cup (not a half, or even 3/4 cup) of coffee not once but twice all over our desk at work? Or how about locking your keys in the car? Or dipping your new tie directly into a cup of hot tea (it would seem most of my personal JLE case studies center around hot beverages)? How about answering your home phone with your "work phone greeting" (never fails to entertain relatives).

JLE phenomena run the wide spectrum from getting pooped on by a random bird to dropping your cell phone in the toilet to tripping on your shoe laces to failing to mute your phone while both participating in a conference call and ordering a Happy Meal from the McDonald's drive thru. The list goes on and on.

I hope by spending the time on this important taxonomy exercise we've all come to realize we're all klutzy, we're all a little stupid, we're all subject to the random practical jokes the universe throws at us. Rest assured someone is laughing somewhere. Why not us as well.

Don't take it too seriously. Life is too short. You're surrounded by humor and laughter all the time. Be open to it. Just remember, the French thought Jerry was a god. So maybe there's hope for you.

Resistance is Futile

2013-02-11T09:04:00.000-05:00

So it's 2013 and many of you are still working at jobs where your opinion is not requested, your creativity is rejected, and your observations are devalued. Now granted I typically beat up on the organization and company leadership in this blog, but this time let's spin the camera around and look at ourselves.

Have we become the Borg because we believe that's what our company wants? Have we sacrificed our initiative because we've been told "it won't matter"? Are we keeping our heads down, merely doing the repetitive almost assembly line work that most of annual performance metrics are attached to?

So consider this...maybe it's not the company's fault! Maybe you need to approach the company, your job, and most importantly, yourself in a new way. Maybe you need to find other ways to add value. Maybe you need to learn new skills, gather new knowledge, or stretch your capabilities.

Sure we can all murmur our complaints to each other at the coffee machine, or at the Starbucks around the corner. But what are we actually taking ownership of if that's all we do? What's the worst thing that will happen if we shift this awareness that we're on the hook for our own happiness? You may actually come to realize that you really don't belong in the job you're in, working for the company you currently work for. But let's put that into perspective as well: unless you've got a sizable parachute, you just can't leap out the window into a job search, especially these days. You have to be smart.

But leaving the job search on the side, have you really attempted to approach your current job, your career, as a focused passionate, lifetime learning opportunity? Have you availed yourself to all of the benefits of company employment? By "benefits" I don't just mean the dental plan. Discount health club memberships, training on new processes and technology, publication subscriptions, books, etc. Dude, some else is funding your growth!

Take the time to see what type of bird you're holding in your hand before you curse it and let it go. But as I have said before, if that bird is hurting you, even after all of your attempts to nurture it, it's time for you to let go.

Never stop learning. Never stop growing. Never stop reading.

Son of Bloom's Taxonomy

2013-02-07T08:52:00.001-05:00

If there's one thing we big-brained, college educated, training and communication consultants like to learn about it's how we learn about things. As with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, we need to have organized "thought structures" that explain how we become educated, how we can be trained, how we learn new skills or improve our understanding and application of old ones. So into the world of the educators, the trainers, and academics, arising from that need came Bloom's Taxonomy.

Not even directly authored by Benjamin Bloom, rather arising out of a 1956 committee, which he chaired. It's stated purpose was to establish a universal (ok, too ambitious), widely agreed upon, classification of learning objectives for the overall endeavor of human education (not too ambitious). Roughly divided into 3 primary categories: Cognitive (Head), Affective (Heart), and Psychomotor (Hands), it went into significant depth to wring out the nouns and adjectives that described the actions, both physical and mental, that underpinned these primary categories. The end result is an in-depth breakdown of "everything you needed to know" about how to create and deliver a maximum learning experience to your students.

Over the years the taxonomy has come under attack (what hasn't?) for it's forced hierarchies, and it's inability to paint a more holistic picture of learning. As you can see from the graphic above the old pyramid level named "Synthesis" has apparently been absorbed into "Evaluating" and the new crowning piece is designated "Creating". So it would seem evolution is ongoing.

In a previous job, about 10 years ago I worked with a very bright colleague who boiled most of this down into a simple and easy to understand model called "Ready, Willing and Able", a corporate brochure if ever I saw one. This approach took a lot of this detail and exposition and turned it into a hard hitting case for employee education and performance support. Once again with the "Ready" component aligning with the "Head", "Willing" with "Heart", and "Able" to "Hands". Being a fan of simplicity, I still think and speak this way when I discuss the design, development and deployment of learning programs, either live or on-line.

Your thoughts?

Favorite Metaphor #18 - The Flip Side ("B")

2013-02-04T08:30:00.000-05:00

A short time after proto-humans began to walk erect, we put music onto small records called 45's (due to their designated playback speed of 45 revolutions per minute). This recording format could only provide the purchaser/listener with 2 songs: one per side. Recorded music marketing strategies enforced a fairly strict balance between the "hit" on the "A" side of the record and the mostly obscure, generally unknown tune on the "B" side. On occasion the "B" side would go on to become more popular than the "A" side, but that was definitely the exception to the rule.

I'd like to believe a significant amount of time and analysis went into the selection of the "B" side song, but I'm probably mistaken. I was always more interested in the "B" side, it was a chance for the hit artist to stretch themselves in a different direction, show their sense of humor or their serious side. I hoped the "B" side song was going to be different enough that I would be able to turn on others to my cool discovery.

Consider you and your company's go-to-market strategies, your brand. Sure you're "playing the hits", dropping the big buzz-words, singing the type of song that got you there all those years ago. But what's your "B" side? What's the cool alternate tune you can perform that shows off your creativity or surprises current clients and potential customers with your range and ability? How can you use your "B" side to be more than just a "one-hit wonder"?

Also of note: a few years ago we had an expression we used to say after listening to a long-winded whiner or complainer (you know the type: "Nobody has it worse than me, I'm so unlucky..." ). We used to say "Play the flip-side already."

What's your flip-side?

2 boats and a helicopter

2013-01-31T09:54:00.000-05:00

There's an oft repeated sermon story about a "true believer" stranded by a massive flood, on the rooftop of his house. While the waters relentlessly rise, the victim is visited by a man in a small boat, "Come into the boat, let's get you out of here." the rescuer shouts out. "No, I'm a true-believer, and I'm waiting for my lord and god to rescue me." the victim responds. The thwarted rescuer shakes his head and powers away into the rain. A bit later, after the water has risen significantly, a much larger boat chugs up next to the rooftop in the now churning stormy flood waters. "Hey come on to the boat, this flood is rising rapidly and you haven't got much time, let's go!" the captain of the boat calls out over his megaphone. "No thanks, I'm praying for my lord and savior to rescue me and I believe he will!" the victim yells into the gusting wind. The large boat chugs away into the storm. A bit later, after the water has risen to a point where the true-believing victim is at the highest non-submerged part of the roof, and just about going under, a rescue helicopter comes chopping out of the black stormy sky. "Attention, you down there on the roof, put the rescue harness over your head and around your arms. Do it now!" The victim waves off the helicopter as a massive wall of water and blast of wind pushes the helicopter away and the victim off the roof and into the deep. The man dies...Upon his arrival at the gates of heaven he calls out "God, I waited and waited. I prayed. I prayed hard for you to come and rescue me. But you didn't. and now I'm dead. Where were you lord?" A slightly annoyed voice seems to come from everywhere, "I sent 2 boats and a helicopter!"

Taking this story out of it's Christian context, it becomes for me a fable about opportunity. We wait for opportunity. We look for opportunity. We've got the binoculars out. We're watching the radar screen. We're doing our "Big-Data" analysis, taking surveys, polling, testing, and on and on. How many times have we missed out on something great because we assumed we knew exactly what we were waiting for? Be open to opportunities that just "arrive". Always look to expand your network. Push yourself to think about opportunity differently.

Mentor/Mentee/Mutant

2013-01-28T08:24:00.000-05:00

The mentor, an unusual species to be sure. Somehow driven by the need (or responsibility) to assist those more junior, or less experienced in business and or life. Not looking for financial reward, or glory, no, they are the epitome of altruism, selflessly donating their time and effort to those most in need. Yeah, that sounds plausible. I hear tell of some large organizations creating and sponsoring internal mentoring programs for their "high-potential" (leaders of the future) junior staff. Sounds pretty neat, but I'm guessing that as I tip the scale at 50+ on the age-o-meter, I'm past the point of institutional mentoring.

The mentee (a backward construction if ever there was) is the needy, unwashed, experiential poverty victim who requires the big brain and battle wizened counsel and coaching of the mentor. He needs it apparently because someone has seen potential in his or her job performance. Umm, so this character confesses her need to the company and her mentor, and seeks their guidance? And I being the older, wiser "character actor" can assist them with war-stories of what worked for me back in the day (provided I was deemed worthy enough to be a mentor to one of these "needy high-pos").

So it's looking like, at least by the standard corporate definition, I don't qualify for either role. How many of you do?

I propose a new category: the mutant. The mutant knows who to call when they have a question. The mutant follows the right people on Twitter and Facebook. The mutant reads lots and lots of cool pertinent books and blogs. The mutant knows what he doesn't know and is prepared for that detective work. The mutant is relentless in his or her self-development. The mutant recognizes that corporate solutions are typically a flavor of the month or year that can be just as easily moth-balled, ash-canned, or right-sized. The mutant plays nicely with others because she realizes that she is only as good as her last success or as bad as her last failure.

Mutant: where a lot of us are right now. Let's get together for a coffee and an idea jam? What do you say?

Where's your head at?

2013-01-24T08:30:00.001-05:00

So where is it? Focused on the mundane, day-in, day-out details of the stuff you need to get done every work cycle? Dwelling on the annual goals you and you boss have set for you? TPS reports that need to be completed and distributed? Counting widgets? Modifying project plans and accounting for slippage? Responding to customer service queries with the patented (scripted) answers that "It's not company policy" or "Our standard practices prohibit us from...". Sitting in the same weekly meeting, hearing the same updates from the same people, and on, and on, and on.

Why not take a step back. Take a deep breath. Maybe check out my friend Michael Bungay-Stanier's website and books or perhaps Seth Godin's new call to action. Or how about Chris Brogan's Brave New Year project? Maybe Dan Pink's new offering?

The point is, there's something for everybody. Don't get bogged down in the gears of everyday, mind-numbing activities. Find time to invest in yourself, your skills/knowledge, your future. Seems like a good time of year to do it (and stick with it). Lots of options.

And now some inspiration from Basement Jaxx:

Follower Note

2013-01-18T08:16:00.000-05:00

Dearest Fearless Leader,

How's life? How are all the little fearless leaders? Hope this note finds you in good health and positive circumstance. Just curious, I know the org chart indicates that I have to do everything (within legal and ethical standards) that my boss and my boss's boss tell me to do, but do I have to be happy about it? Do I have to show a passion for somebody else's idea? Do I have to get all hot and bothered about a grand plan that I know little to nothing about?

It strikes me that while title, responsibility, and commensurate compensation are awarded by the organization directorship; things like loyalty, passion in work, commitment to quality, and just plain good followership need to be earned over and over again by people in command.

Now I know the rest of your comrades at the politburo might laugh at such nonsense, but the fact is we followers, need to feel we're being listened to and respected. Heck, we'll follow you and support you all the way to Hell and back if we feel you value our commitment and our energy. And perhaps most importantly, that you give us a cause worth fighting for.

Business as usual won't cut it. Merely treading water and staying afloat isn't enough. We need to be thriving ,not just surviving. And while we respect you and your executive team's authority, our hearts and minds are not committed to a strategy we don't understand or that you won't share with us. And if you do decide to share it with us, make it important to us, make us care. because without us, you've got that much more of a heavier burden to shoulder yourselves.

And please don't threaten us, that's so 1920s. If you feel we're the right people for the job, then be the right leader for us to follow. Kind of simple, no?

Well I've droned on too long, Natasha sends her love.

Yours truly,

Boris.

Yours Truly, The Commuter

2013-01-10T08:19:00.001-05:00

Ordinarily this song brings a knowing smile to my face, this morning however, I got a little choked-up (middle-age don't you know), after being sick at home yesterday with a cold. Jason Lytle's solo stuff and his great work with Grandaddy have been on heavy rotation on my Pandora stream. I feel this song perfectly captures the silent heroics of commuting every day, week in week out, to and from a job you may have mixed feelings about. In the end, I think Jason's saying: don't take it all so seriously.

Yours Truly, The Commuter

Jason Lytle

The last thing I heard I was left for dead
I could give two shits about what they said
I may be limping, but I'm coming home

All work and no play might' done me in
So I'm stoked, I'm back after where I've been
I may be limping, but I'm coming home

So take a day off, keep it to yourself
Cuz I don't wanna see anybody else
I may be limping, but I'm coming home

Brave New Year - 3 Words

2013-01-06T23:31:00.001-05:00

Thoughts on Duluth Trading

2013-01-04T08:24:00.002-05:00

I have to admit I'm attracted to the quirkiness of their TV/YouTube Ads, and spending a bit more time on their website, they've won me over as an experimental customer (I've purchased a pair of these jeans). I'll add a post script after I have a chance to "experience" the Duluth difference.

Obviously targeted at not only tradesmen, outdoor workers, and...ahem...larger gentlemen, such as myself, they've made it safe to make fun of ourselves and yet provided a solution to our unique challenges. I believe a lot can be learned from this fun but focused type of marketing. I feel like I'm in on the joke, that I don't have to be as wispy as a Calvin Klein model or as chiseled as an Abercrombie and Fitch poser, I can just be myself, some one who works hard and doesn't need to play ridiculous games with clothes that are built for the special few.

Now you could argue that Klein, Fitch and the rest of their super-healthy, seriously slender ilk present an aspirational goal that I should seek to attain. Fair enough. I'm working harder on losing weight and eating better, but in the meantime, it'd be great to have a pair of jeans that didn't cause physical pain to wear.

Who's your customer? Do you solve their problems? Are they in on the joke? Just sayin'.

NOTE: My Duluth Ballroom Jeans are terrific. Very comfortable. Very solidly constructed. Hmm, so along with all the jokes, you get a terrific product, how novel!

Why History Is Important

2013-01-01T11:11:00.000-05:00

I'm about halfway through Mark Cousins 2011 15 hour long documentary (broken down into hour long chapters streamed through NetFlix). Even if you're not a dyed-in-wool film history buff, it's absolutely worthwhile viewing for the insightful context provided on each and every important cinematic movement. For you fans of pop-culture, you get a sense of the political and societal triggers for the images on the screen, the sounds you hear on the soundtrack, the characters that you meet, and the stories that unfold in your head.

From a metaphysical level, it reminds us that we don't just arrive on the scene as a fully formed individual, or artist, or (in)famous person: there were initiating pebbles thrown into the stream of collective and now global consciousness that caused ripples to travel through time to the present.

I also think it's important to consider this history at the start of the new year. I'm just saying consider, not dwell, not over-analyze, not obsess, but consider where you are and how you got here. Realize that there is still time to change, there is still time to get great work done, there's still time to tell someone you love them, there's still time to become a better person. You need that consideration of the past to build on what you plan to get done this year.

Images, themes, memes, characters, leitmotifs all come from previous experiences, memories and mistakes. Use them as the bricks to build a newer, better, more hopeful reality.

Call me crazy: I've got a great feeling about 2013. Happy New Year!

Tireless Self-Promotion

2012-12-28T09:40:00.000-05:00

We don't go door-to-(physical)door anymore, or at least adults selling their products and services don't, or shouldn't. Now we've got Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter. Some of us blog. But more and more we rely on the internet as the medium to sell ourselves. The challenge is it's really easy to look incompetent or worse, untalented, online.

Where before we could count on our powerful resume and strong recommendations to at least get our foot in the door, now we have to be aware of and sensitive to good design, impactful content, and great user experiences. The good news is we don't all have to study at the Rhode Island School of Design or apprentice at Industrial Light and Magic.

If haven't already, checkout services such as 99designs.com, crowdspring.com, or designcrowd.com for affordable help in spiffing up your blog, website, or twitter page. If you read this blog regularly, you know I'm a strong advocate for lifetime learning and as such regularly visit sites such as lynda.com, creativecow.net, and endless bulletin boards about digital media tools and techniques. Most of the toolsets that are available now cost a fraction of what they priced out as only a few years ago.

So you've gotten some professional help, you've built up your own skill-set, great, now what? My most significant advice is don't overshare (it's a word). Be consistent, but be smart. Work hard at making your digital presence the best representation of you it can be. But going too far, too gauche, tweeting every single step of every single project (personal or professional) will become tedious. and the one thing you can't afford to be in today's short attention span universe, is boring.

But don't let me discourage you. You have to try over and over again to establish your personal brand, until it sticks. It will so be worth it!

My personal wishes for a very Happy New Year!

The Incomplete Idea

2012-12-21T08:35:00.000-05:00

It's almost there. You can sense the bits and pieces. You almost know the tools, techniques, and technologies you'll use to render it real. But you feel there's not enough of it to begin. Should you start, and at least get it out of your head? Isn't that wasteful? Shouldn't it be more fully formed in your mind? Have you been keeping notes or better yet a journal? Do you have sketches or wireframes? Is it more than just visual? Is there an accompanying story or user experience you're going for? Is your frustration beginning to mount?

Have you shut out other ideas or reading because you're convinced that this solution is something that has to simmer in the pressure cooker of your own psyche? Do you feel that this external fertilizer would taint your original unconscious inspiration? Are you becoming preoccupied with the rising frustration?

How much of that is pride? How much of that is fear? The incomplete idea is so powerful, you feel that you're the only one to bring it to fruition or you're scared that it won't live up to it's potential?

Not sure what's worked for you, but I'm trying really hard to get this out of my head and into reality. And I'm going to go with what I've got, and try to be open to what happens. Sure I'm afraid it'll suck, but if I don't try I'll never know, and that will suck.

Have a Merry Christmas all!

Wilco - ok, so I'm late

2012-12-19T08:35:00.002-05:00

See here's the thing, there's so much great music out there, you can't possibly pay attention to everything. On my Grandaddy Pandora stream Wilco has been making itself known more often. Many good songs, all heart-felt, but whenever this song comes on, particularly the live version, I get one of those, "Jeez I wish I was in the audience for this show" pangs.

Without knowing the words I assumed the song was a call to action, a veiled drug reference (isn't everything?), but after finding the lyrics, it felt darker, more about painful change. But as I have re-linked the words and the music I see it's both: a lament about the good times past and the changing shape of the world and your role in it, but ultimately a call to action to evolve. I guess Wilco's saying you can choose the drugs or booze and the escape or you can seek the encouragement and the hope.

You're welcome to your own interpretation, of course. It just cheers me up.

"Shot in the Arm"

The ashtray says
You were up all night
When you went to bed
With your darkest mind
Your pillow wept
And covered your eyes
And you finally slept
While the sun caught fire

You've changed

We fell in love
In the key of C
We walked along
Down by the sea
You followed me down
The neck to D
And fell again
Into the sea

You changed
Oh, you've changed

Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm
Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm
Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm
Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm
Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm
Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm
Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm
Something in my veins bloodier than blood
Something in my veins bloodier than blood
Something in my veins bloodier than blood
Something in my veins bloodier than blood

The ashtray says
You were up all night
When you went to bed
With your darkest mind

You changed
Oh, you've changed

What you once were isn't what you want to be any more
What you once were isn't what you want to be any more
What you once were isn't what you want to be any more
What you once were isn't what you want to be any more
What you once were isn't what you want to be any more

Does Maslow Still Matter?

2012-12-13T08:32:00.000-05:00

Abraham Maslow, for many of us psych novices (the worst kind!), was a touchstone for understanding human behavior, particularly the motivations of mentally healthy adults living in the Western hemisphere after the 19th century. The pyramid of "needs" associated with his name and work was actually a textbook invention. He, apparently, never laid out a visual diagram of his (in)famous hierarchy of needs. This is significant, particularly in the work that I do, interviewing business thought-leaders, consultants, and executives on the subject of employee motivation.

Back in the day..ok, a few years ago, nearly all of these podcast and webcast guest presenters flashed the fabled Maslow pyramid, embedded significantly in their PowerPoint slide on the underlying psychology of how to motivate workers. Now, not so much. As a matter of loose recollection, I can recall several snickers and a few eye-rolls when I brought up good-old Maslow. So why the change? Why is Brooklyn-born, Abraham Harold Maslow on the outs? I blame it on the hard new science of Neuroimaging.

There are at least 8 currently accepted forms of neuroimaging technology and practice. These technologies and their associated methods and tools deliver almost magical images of brain activity. Brain activity at rest, at play, at stress, in all states. Exhaustive testing of people either stuffed into massive, seriously expensive machines or covered in hundreds of cranial electrodes and sensors, has created a deeper visual understanding of what parts of the brain are stimulated by specific actions, forces, and perceptions.

In an interview with Dr. David Rock, I conducted not too long ago, he suggested that the Maslow hierarchy was an old idea that didn't hold up to a lot of this new science, but strictly as a list of needs, in no particular order or hierarchy, they could still be useful in describing specific individual states of need. But according to Rock, average people didn't rise and/or descend through the pyramid as their life situations or circumstances changed, rather humans have an ability to persistently jump around, both consciously and unconsciously, in their "need focus".

Yet again chaos rules.

The Frivolity Trap

2012-12-11T11:16:00.000-05:00

Amazon, Apple, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cheesecake Factory, Dogfish Head Brewery, Industrial Light and Magic, Fireproof Studios, Google, LEGO, Mr.Coffee, Staples, Wham-O, Wizards of the Coast, Yahoo, Yum! Brands, Zappos, Zipcar...the list goes on and on of companies that incorporate whimsy in their very name. Indeed their name, hopefully along with their corporate culture and most importantly their product or service offering positions them in a playful, but very memorable place in consumers and clients hearts and minds.

But we mere mortals need to tread lightly, particularly small-businesses and consultancies. Of course you want to be cool and maybe cute, possibly even funny. But merely naming your operation after your neighbor's schnauzer doesn't mean you're hip. I believe that unless you are straight-up working in the fast-food, high-tech, toy or video-game industries you should tread carefully in the zany company name space.

Better yet, how about this, start with something descriptive initially and then work your way up to wacky after you get several very large clients who consistently pay their invoices on time. Also you shouldn't hang your shingle out there without accompanying witty samples from your portfolio of solutions (whatever they might be).

Admit it, you are or know people who are considering a second, third, or even fourth act in their professional lives. For many of them (us?) need to be careful, but do have fun, when establishing a brand: in name and personality.

Space: The Commercial High-Ground

2012-12-07T08:26:00.000-05:00

Heard rumblings this week, and now the ticker outside of Fox News on the corner of 48th and 6th confirms it: ex-NASA leadership forming private commercial start-up venture (Golden Spike) to return to the moon. Mixed feelings about this. The true, now almost official, moth-balling of the NASA I grew up with and inspired me, makes me a little sad. But I guess it's hopelessly romantic to hold on to those halcyon memories. Time to grow up and see the obvious opportunities in space exploration and travel that Richard Branson and others are pursuing.

My guess is that (similar to Moore's Law) the costs and risks associated with construction and launch of spacecraft will shrink at first slowly and then rapidly. In just a few generations, the early swashbuckling, pulpy fantasies of space tourism and space commerce will become real.

Space truckers, space bus drivers, space sanitation workers (have you seen these graphics?), space construction workers, etc. We evolve. I guess we have to get off this planet sooner or later.

Read This Before Our Next Meeting

2012-12-06T08:33:00.000-05:00

I'm very lucky to call Al Pittampalli a friend. Even luckier to have done a few programs with him on the topic of his short, in your face book: "Read This Before Our Next Meeting". I just read it again last night on the way home. Yep, the whole book in one train ride. It's probably the most important 80 pages I've read this month (even on a second read). Al's book dwells on a rather sore subject for me: meetings.

Meetings, meetings, meetings. (or if you're an elderly "In Living Color" fan, such as myself: "Mo meetings, Mo meetings, Mo meetings!!) Jeez, enough already with the meetings. Do we work around meetings, or meet around work? What do we need meetings for? or Al would have us ask "What do we think we need meetings for?". Odds are we're wrong.

With more and more books and blogs being written about "Flow" and "Great Work", we face so many non-value added gatherings every day that take us out of our zone of creativity, efficiency, and productivity. Many of us complain about meetings and just how painfully inefficient they are as a communication, ideation, and presentation venue. But here's the sneaky secret that Al smashes us over the head with: We have meetings because we're afraid to make decisions.

Think about the real tangible actions that come out of your everyday, every week, every month, every quarter meeting. Isn't most of it just status reporting? How many times are the only action steps coming out of meetings the scheduling of other meetings? There is a better way people.

Al is not anti-meeting. He believes meetings have a definite purpose and can be an awesomely powerful tool if run the right way, for the right reasons, with the right prep.

I guess you could say Al is a dangerous person, in that he's challenging some serious old-school, deeply entrenched business thinking. Isn't it amazing throughout history how often dangerous people create some of the most important art, science, spiritual and social thought? If you met Al, you wouldn't think him dangerous, but his ideas are lethal to the status quo.

You have been warned.