Darren R Hill

What happened to the 10th of Feb?

Darren — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:57:00 +0000

That’s a rhetorical question. The 10th happened and it was last week. The thing is I was intending to post about a review and re-focus on my goals. The first follow up post concerning the powers of 10.

The reason I am a little late in posting is that I have been busy writing. And I have finished, well the first draft and the big hurdle for me, the manuscript for The Sky Will Fall. While doing this I have suffered from a big dose of writer’s block and missed several deadlines. But now I am done.

I have also been taking a photo each day, however, I have lost track of what photo goes with each day – not helped by my date not being set correct on the camera.

So, the review is late, this post is a little rushed, but I have been getting somewhere. Let’s see where we are on the 1oth March.

Leading from within just like Martin Luther king

Darren — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:46:31 +0000

Leadership, or being a leader for a team, is going to figure quite high on my agenda this year. Part of my personal development plan is to look at being an effective leader. I’ll share what I pick up along the way and I hope that you’ll also offer some insight in the comments.

I saw an article in the Harvard Business Review about Martin Luther King (link below). What I picked up from this article, is that King had a vision but that vision was not in isolation. The vision related to the basic principles of the US constitution; that all were equal and had basic rights – please forgive my simplistic rendering.

Therefore, to be an effective leader we should develop a personal vision, but that vision can, or even should, be tied to a larger mission. The larger mission provides a ready audience to hear your vision and follow you.

In the business environment the company’s mission may change and develop. Quite often, at the very top, a personal vision and a company’s mission may evolve in synchronicity.

What is the dream that you or I have?
What would we like to see happen?

These are the sort of questions that can help form our vision.

Why do I want to see this happen?

That is the type of question that has shaped or will shape the mission.

It is the vision that motivates both the visionary and the followers. The vision is active and drives people forward. So, ‘what is my dream?’

Leadership and Martin Luther King’s Dream – Rosabeth Moss Kanter – Harvard Business Review

The power of 10, 2010

The power of 10, 2010

Darren — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:55:46 +0000

I’ve been spending a bit of time pulling together some goals and planning for 2010. One danger of goals and plans is that they can be forgotten. You can print them out, but then if the print-out isn’t in front of you you’ll forget. You could use a snazzy web 2.0 app to remind you, but if you lose access, you lose your reminder.

So, how can I remind myself of what my goals are for 2010. I need a hook so that I can be reminded constantly. I remembered (and that’s key here) how memory works better when you can associate one thing with another. The more connections you can make the stronger the memory. (If there are any memory experts out there, please correct me if I’m getting this wrong.)

It’s 2010, and will be for the whole year. Therefore, how can I use that as a stimulus? Within a few minutes of thinking about this I pretty much had a plan for the year. And not just a plan but a means of reminding myself about the plan and goals within it.

It was all about the number 10. Everything that I wanted to plan and do this year would be connected to the number 10. It could be a multiple, a date in the month or divided by. So, here are my goals and plans for 2010 – personal but there is crossover into the professional.

1 Live my life true to my personal mission statement
10 complete 10 personal projects in 2010
100 Look at the 100 things challenge (possibly the original challenge or any of the others, or perhaps one of my own)
100 Develop a network of 100 influential people to share and develop ideas with (I am an I [INTP] networking is not me, but this year it will be)
1,000 Finish the year with a disaster fund of £1,000 (This is above savings and debt reduction – link to follow when I work out daytum)
1,000 Have 1,000 fans for a project (This could be for any of the projects above as I work through them)
10,000 Unique visitors on my sites. This is an aspiration but is not limited to this site, it will be a goal for all my sites
100,000 Have an annual income of, well I can dream. Without dreams we simply spend eight hours each night doing nothing
1,000,000 This number comes into play if any of the above go viral. Yes, it is another dream but as Joseph said in his musical, any dream will do

Oh, and if you haven’t noticed it is the 10th today. I’ll be reviewing these goals and plans on the 10th of each month. The simplicity of this is that anything related to the number 10 fits into it and can be used. Let’s see how it goes.

Let’s begin again

Darren — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:58:08 +0000

All change for 2010:

a new year
a new decade (although for pedants you can argue the point)
a new theme (working on it – but until it is finished I’m keeping things simple)
a new day job
a blog with purpose
a better me (that’s a work in progress for sure)

It won’t all happen at once but then does anything? But as we transition from one place to another it seemed the perfect time to transition things here too.

And so a thought for 2010, as it sneaks past the bouncers and makes its way to the bar…

Be proactive; don’t be defined by others, their prejudices and their judgement calls, for you are fearfully and wonderfully made so be that.

Moby journal

Free e-book from Seth Godin and The Shakers

Darren — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:23:57 +0000

I can imagine Seth Godin as the leader of a Rock band. His attitude is to rock the Staus Quo, to gather no moss as a Rolling Stone and to give marketing the Cure. Sorry, enough of these puns. Free e-book from Seth Godin and a cast of many can be downloaded below. Get ready to rock 2010! We can make a difference.

Seth’s Blog: What Matters Now: get the free ebook

Arnold, Aliens and Avatar, three in a row?

Darren — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:01:28 +0000

I’m not a great film buff. I can’t discuss the finer points of film noir or indie cinema with you or anyone else. But I do enjoy watching films. I could give you a long list of movies that I have seen and I have liked.

There is also a list that contains films I haven’t liked. This list could be sub-divided into films I have been looking forward to and then been disappointed. One of the reasons for this is that I tend to over-hype the movie to myself. Even if the movie is better than average I have elevated it to a status that it couldn’t reach.

However, twice before I have hyped up a movie and seen it with great hopes and expectations. And twice before I haven’t felt let down. The first was The Terminator, yes very 80’s and a little dated now, but at the time it was everything and more than I expected.

The next was Aliens, a sequel no less. But once again, despite my very high expectations, it provided. The astute among you may have noticed that they are both films by James Cameron. The other films he has made are also ones that I would willingly sit through more than once… yes even Titanic.

Well, he is about to release another film. This one with an alleged budget of $230 million. Once again, as he did with Terminator 2, he is pushing the boundaries of what is possible with special effects. And once again I am looking forward to it. I am trying not to hype it up too much in my mind, but everytime I see a trailer I can’t help it.

So I’m hoping that it will be third time lucky and I won’t be disappointed. And if you’re not sure what I am on about, take a look at the trailer below for Avatar.

The world isn’t changing; it has changed

Darren — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:04:18 +0000

The world has changed, we are no longer where we were.
Old models no longer work, and that’s frightening.
Old models no longer work,but that’s exciting.
Let’s journey.

I’ve been pretty busy these last few weeks, hence the disturbing lack of posts, or perhaps you prefer it that way. There are many changes happening around me at the moment and also changes happening to me and what I do in my conscious hours.

There’s something inbuilt in many of us that leads us to fear change. I’m sure it has its own phobic term, however with so many of us prone to it, can it be a phobia.

‘Change management’ is one of the big leadership / management trends at the moment and yet, in a recent survey, the ability to manage change was a competency most leaders still need to master.

So, with reference to the above video, things having already changed. Especially when you realise that a lot of the information in the video is now out of date!

But, I’m still thankful for far more than I deserve, in no order (or is there):

The future
The past
The present
Prezi
Mozilla Thunderbird (still)
Google wave invite
Firefox extentions

Pondering many things

Darren — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:49:16 +0000

First up is the theme I’m using here. I’ll probably be changing it in the very near future. I’m in the process of defining the whole ‘why’ of this blog. As a consequence of this, things may well look a little different in the next few weeks.

Second, is the fact that my son has just whited out his face and added a black star to go to a fancy dress party as a memebr of Kiss. About *cough* *cough* years ago, I did a similar thing but had a lightning bolt to make me look like David Bowie on the cover of Aladin Sane. Those who don’t learn from history are destined to repeat it? Or perhaps those who have a digital camera won’t be destined to repeat history?

Third is the element of irony I am having at this moment. Many fundamentalist and evangelical Christians will be condemning the practice of Halloween at this time, as is their right. At the same time the next month will see me writing a manuscript that may be published by a Christian publisher in a series tentatively described as ‘Bible Horror’. It will be very good though, so I hope the option to publish is taken up.

That is about it, apart from the things to be thankful for that I have been pondering:

ywriter – excellent novel writing software
Local market green grocers
Ideas
ASBO Jesus
Spotify – yep still there
NaNoWriMo
Robinson Crusoe Theme Tune – from the old TV series that was often on during school holidays

(it’s just like) Starting Over

Getting old: nostalgia and narkiness

Darren — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:28:31 +0000

I spent last Friday evening enjoying an evening of nostalgia. BBC Four showed a program called Synth Britannia. This was all about the UK music industry and how the arrival of affordable synths and post punk gloom got together to make a new sound.

This was what I grew up with. It was a joy to watch Gary Numan, John Foxx and Daniel Miller share their memories. And I’m sure a joy for all those involved to sit amongst all those ageing analogue synths.

At times I did feel old, but at other times I enjoyed laughing along with my daughter at Midge Ure’s excuse for a moustache. I still can’t quite decide what Andy McCluskey’s worst crime is, Atomic Kitten or his dancing. That said, it was great to hear from all of them and my thanks for all their music – well perhaps not Tesla Girls.

I also wondered whether I have reached the age that I want to complain to the BBC.

Was I upset that Japan only got a brief image toward the end of the show? Was I annoyed that John Foxx’s Metamatic was mentioned before Gary Numan’s (for the pedants, Tubeway Army’s) Are ‘Friends’ Electric?

No, my main gripe was that a clip of Kieron Prenderville waxing on about the Fairlight Sampling Computer, was followed by Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys talking about the Emulator. This gave the impression that it was the same machine, it wasn’t, not by a long shot. I’m either getting old or the geek in me is finally breaking free.

Still, as I list my things to be thankful for, you’ll see the program was thoroughly appreciated:

Synth Britannia
Numan / Foxx et al
BBC Four
Flash Forward (so far, don’t think I’ve forgiven Brannon Braga for Dr Phlox yet)
DirectLine Insurance (fixed a leak for me)
Life – BBC not mine
Life – mine, I’m still breathing

Can’t see the wood for recycled trees

Darren — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:52:57 +0000

One person can only take so much.
One person can only do so much.
Jesus was only one person.
Thank God.

I don’t think I’ve been coping too well with everything that has come my way recently. If I was a little younger I’m sure I’d be an emo or goth bemoaning the state of my sordid existence, but then if I lived in Palestine or Rowanda I may have a little more perspective than my comfortable western lifestyle allows.

So perhaps the eyeliner and back combed hair will go on the back burner – no comments please.

I’m still trying to find the ultimate solution to organisation, from David Allen’s GTD to Stephen Covey’s 7 habits, I can’t seem to pull it all together. Actually I think the problem is that I am looking to technology for a solution. And unless I code one myself, I’m not going to find it. The answer, I feel may lie in index cards.

Anyway, enough of this idle banter, what do I have to be thankful for, in no order?

Keith Floyd – he’s gone but he was my inspiration for using chilli, galangal and approximate amounts
Spotify – the best, by far, online music service
First Cape Rose wine
Getting up with you – The Yeah Yous
CS4 – still thankful for this
tags
Keith Floyd – this guy is probably in my top five influential people in my life, so he deserves to be here again. I will eternally miss ‘a loving close up’ . If you don’t mind some pretty harsh language then this is a great interview.