March 2010 – client k

Drama Is A Time Suck

When I was a lower case k,
I would participate in the drama.
I would listen to gossip
(though I wouldn’t pass it along).
I would sprout off an opinion.
I would get heated about things like
that poorly written memo
on appropriate casual Friday wear.

Then I realized…

Drama is a time suck.

It is also a passion suck
and ultimately a success suck.
Look at the people
actively participating in drama.
What have they last accomplished?

Be aware of what the drama is
(because it might interfere
with your project or team)
but don’t participate
or follow it too closely.
Allocate that time to doing.

The Three Second Rule

Think you have 8 seconds
before surfers click away
from your site?

Think again.

The 8 second rule
is now 3 seconds,
according to Compuware.

What does that mean?

Have the essentials
on your site load quickly.
Have your contact information
above the fold
and easily found.
Put the fancy special effects
that load slowly
on their own page.

Speed is the key with websites.

Loving What You Do

I love what I do.
I love writing novels.
I love solving business problems.

I don’t love ALL of it
but I love enough of it
to make my days more fun than work.

Forbes has a wonderful new series
about ten minutes that mattered
to successful people.

The ten minutes that mattered
to Dean Kamen,
inventor of the Segway,
were spent with his dad.

His dad told him
“If there’s one thing you do
while you’re young,
figure out what you love.
Figure out what you want
to do more than
playing ball in that street.
Then figure out
how to make money at it.
We spend more time at our jobs
than anything else.”

Great Samples

One of my writing buddies
has a story
that doesn’t quite work.
She told me that
she planned to use that writing
on her blog
as a ‘sample.’

No, no, no…
as Business on Main states
“The key is to sample products
that are so great
they’ll win raves and repeat business.”

Your samples should be
your BEST products,
not the products
you couldn’t sell elsewhere.

Thinking of donating
that unappealing product?
Again, if you wouldn’t sell this product,
don’t donate it
… well, at least not
with your branding plastered across it.

Talk Potential

Jennifer Brown has a great article
on the differences
between men and women
when they sell.

One surprising difference
is that men talk about potential,
what they could possibly do
for the client,
while women talk about experience,
what they have done
for other clients.

The best solution
is, of course,
a mixture of the two.

Sell potential
on the base of experience.

Instant Success

I’ve been having a serious case
of the envies.
One of my buddies just landed
a wonderful publishing deal.

Of course, she worked hard
for that publishing deal.
It didn’t happen over night.
I had to remind myself of that.

As Guy Kawasaki
states
“success is a grind.”

“Many people,
especially young people,
think success is event-related.
You announce.
You ship.
And then life is good
and you go straight to the moon.
Instead, what happens is
you ship with bugs in the software,
and people don’t like your product.
Then you fix and fix and fix,
and you keep shipping.
I suppose
there are some instant successes,
but that’s principally an oxymoron.
That’s like saying
Sidney Crosby was an instant success
in the NHL.
Well, sure,
in his first two years he did very well,
but that ignores
the 17 previous years he practiced
or played hockey five hours a day.
There’s no instant there, or here.”

Keep grinding!

The Quest For Contact

Why authors and other personalities tour?

As Food Network host
Guy Fieri
explains
“What do people want?
Contact.
People want to be able
to see you and touch you.
Are you real?
The No. 1 thing
I hear from people
when I meet them
in the airport is,
“Oh my gosh,
you’re just like you are on TV.”
Well, I’m not an actor.
I don’t think anyone
could figure out
how to be this weird. ”

If people want contact
with their celebrities,
don’t you think
they’d want contact from their managers?

Go on tour…
Daily.

That First Deal

I’ve been enjoying
the interviews Forbes has been doing
with the world’s richest people.

I loved the answer
Indian tycoon Gautam Adani
gave when asked
what was the wisest decision
he ever made.

“The first lot of polished diamonds,
which I sold to traders
as a teenager in the streets of Mumbai!
That was the best purchase,
as it gave me confidence
that I could do deals.”

Small deals matter
especially when they build a base
for you
to do larger deals
in the future.

Celebrate those small wins!

Timing Of Feedback

Like it or not,
we’re emotional creatures
and our emotions do affect our performance.

I have to write a story this week.
I’m on a deadline
that can’t be moved.

Confidence is essential
for creativity.
Criticism eats confidence
so until I finish this story,
I’m not reading reviews,
I’m not opening reader mail,
and
I’m not doing promo.

Feedback IS important
but timing of feedback is AS important.
Pair criticism, however construction,
and creativity too closely together
and creativity suffers.

Preferential Treatment

I know an author
who has the top 8 spaces
on her small publisher’s bestseller list.
She still has to submit
through the slush pile
with everyone else.
She gets one line rejection emails
with no explanation on
why her manuscript was rejected.

She is, of course, submitting her stories
elsewhere.
When she leaves,
her sales will leave
and that publisher will remain small.

I know a salesman
who brings in 80% of the sales
in his division.
He wanted an assistant
because he had so much work.
He was told no.
No salesmen in his division
have assistants.
He hired his own assistant
and is looking for a company
who will appreciate him.

Your stars SHOULD get preferential treatment.
There should be a reward
for achieving
(unless you don’t want achievement).

If you don’t give them
preferential treatment,
someone else will.