Month: November 2011

The concept of growing
using only the resources you have
(namely the revenue you’re currently earning)
is great in theory.

I had that plan when I started writing.
I’d only advertise
using the royalties I earned.

The challenge with that tactic is
growth is slow
and it assumes growth is smooth.

In the publishing world,
as with many industries,
growth isn’t smooth.
There are levels
and getting to the next level
requires additional resources.

As Les McKeown explains

“In reality, growth is never seamless.
There’s always a point at which
a step is required to get
to the next stage
(in moving from solopreneur
to microbusiness
or small business,
that step usually involves
moving out of the home office,
committing to employing someone,
or purchasing expensive
but needed equipment).

And it’s at this point
that all sorts of subliminal stuff kicks in,
testing the solopreneur’s commitment
to building their business.
Do I really want to do this?
Is this worth it?
Is there a financially viable future
if I make this commitment?
This is a key inflection point –
the point at which what is now
a source of additional income
may (or may not) become a business
in its own right”

At some stage,
if you want to grow,
you WILL have to invest resources
the business hasn’t yet earned.
Yes, even in the writing business.

It is half way through NaNo,
I have rewrites for two publishers,
edits from all three,
and a book release this week.
I’m stressed,
crazy stressed.

When I’m stressed out,
I’m tempted to rush, rush, rush,
getting tasks done
as quickly as possible,
hoping none of the deadlines are missed.

That’s a recipe for disaster
because deadlines WILL be missed.

What I need to do is
stand still,
take a deep breath
and rework my to-do list
including my often self-imposed deadlines.

Is ‘winning’ at NaNo
necessary to achieve my goals?
If the same editor is looking at
my revisions AND my edits,
is it necessary that she receive
both manuscripts at the same time?

If you’re stressed about
meeting your numerous deadlines,
it is time to look at these deadlines.
Look at your task list.

Take a breather
and reorganize for success.

I had someone tell me yesterday
that she couldn’t lead a certain change
because she was ‘just a writer.’

“Bull shit”, I replied.
“You’re not JUST a writer.
You’re a writer who knows there’s a problem.
You’re also a mother, a wife,
a university educated woman,
an entrepreneur
and the list goes on.
If you don’t lead this change,
who will?”

She used ‘just’ as an excuse.
Others use ‘just’ as an insult.
“She’s just a financial analyst.
What does she know?”

Mike Figliuolo’s view on the word ‘just’
is quite a bit stronger.

“No one is just anything.
The phrase is demeaning
and pejorative.
We’re all people
– we happen to have different responsibilities.

The connotation of just
is that someone is worth
less than someone else.
As if that just someone has a defect.
One of the most powerful leadership skills
I’ve seen and used
is valuing everyone’s contributions equally.

How do you do that?
Simple
– treat everyone like a person
and an equal first and foremost.”

Think before using the word ‘just.’

Some of my buddies and I
were discussing
why Tiger Woods would put up
with a possible racist caddie.

My theory is…
he knew the caddie was racist
(working so closely with someone
for so many years
would make that almost impossible
to hide),
but he tolerated the racism
because the caddie was so damn good
and Tiger’s focus was
on winning championships.

(This theory would explain why
when his focus changed,
his tolerance of the caddie’s attitude
changed).

If we really want a goal achieved,
sometimes we decide to
tolerate non-ideal behavior or attitudes
in the people
who can best help us
achieve that goal.

That isn’t a bad decision
but it should be a conscious decision.

I’m currently managing a writer’s group.
I’m experimenting
with different processes,
finding a process that works.
While I’m testing,
I’m documenting.

Why?

Because I don’t want to manage
this writer’s group forever.
Documenting processes is key
for training replacements
or for delegating.

As Todd Nielsen states…
“If you have to explain something
to someone more than once,
then it probably needs
to be written down.
Want to be able
to empower your employees
with greater ability to get things done
without coming to you,
write processes.
A process can be
as simple as a checklist
or as complicated as
an ITIL compliant flowchart.
Even if you area 1-man shop,
you can start writing processes.
You cannot have scalability
and exponential growth
without a solid foundation of processes.”

Document your processes.