Family And Friends First. Always.

I had a book due
to the editor on March 1st.
That deadline was tight.

Then a loved one
became very sick.

I set the book (the product) aside,
told my editor (business partner)
the book would be late
(which put the launch date
at risk),
and I focused on the loved one.

Product launches can be
rescheduled.

Businesses can be replaced.

Money can be earned
a different way
or
it can be borrowed.

Family and friends
and other loved ones
can’t be replaced.
And their time on this planet
is limited.

Put them first.
Live life with no regrets.

Scope Creep

I gave myself
the project of straightening up
some shelves.

While I was doing that,
I was tempted to declutter
those shelves too.

I was already
looking at the shelves.
I might as well
evaluate whether or not
I needed those items,
right?

Wrong.
This is a simple example
of scope creep
and it places the entire project
in jeopardy.

Because the time needed
to complete the project
with this add-on task
just increased.

I had the couple free minutes
that would be needed
to straighten up
the shelf.
I didn’t have the entire day
that would be needed
to declutter it.

I had a choice
– Either I limited the scope of my project
or I didn’t complete it at all.

Part of being a project manager
is controlling scope creep.

Keep your team focused
on the task
you truly want to complete.

Measles In The Mix

In the past,
I’ve advised you
and other business builders
to make
masks and hand sanitizer
freely available to employees.

It is simply the right thing
to do
for you,
your employees
and your business.

If you’re looking at it
from a purely financial perspective,
one benefit of
providing masks and hand sanitizer
is
it will greatly decrease
the odds of your business
getting sued into the ground
because someone became seriously ill
while on your premises.

And providing masks and hand sanitizer
is fairly inexpensive to do.

But, but employees won’t wear the masks,
you say.

If employees don’t wear the masks,
hey, the price of supplying them with masks
decreases even more.

But make them available
and be visible about this.

Post signs
in employee areas.

Place the masks and disinfectant
in plain view.

Because,
with measles spreading today
like…well…measles,
in addition to COVID
and Monkeypox and Candida Auris
and other sh*t
continuing to circulate,
providing masks and disinfectant
has gone from a recommendation
to a MUST-DO
if you want your business to survive
long term.

This infectious sh*t
isn’t going away.

Protect your employees
and protect your business.

Supply masks
and hand sanitizer.

Managing Projects And Communication

We had an outside project manager
for our solar project.

He sucked great big donkey b@lls.

He was terrible at scheduling
and time management.
But we would have been
okay with that
if he had communicated
the changes in scheduling.

He told us
work would start
on X day.

On X day,
we cleared our schedules
and waited around the site
for the team to arrive.

They never arrived.
The start day had been pushed back
yet again
and the project manager
didn’t inform us.

Communication is a HUGE part
of project management.

Aligning everyone
is often 90%
of the project manager role.

The right people have to be
in the right places
completing the right tasks
at the right time.

Ensure you communicate well
and often.

Your Target Market Isn’t Your Competition

Many writers are ranting
about how AI stories are sh*t
and how no one who cares
about quality
or the future of storytelling
would buy them.

The issue is…
writers aren’t the target market
for AI stories.
READERS are the target market.

And the average reader doesn’t give a sh*t
about how their stories are crafted.
They also don’t care
that much about quality.
And they really don’t care
about the future of storytelling.

Your target market
isn’t your competition.

Focus on what
your prospective customers
want.

Can Partners Accept Criticism?

A cover artist
went on a rant
recently
talking about
how writers ‘attacked’ her
over a recent cover she created.

The comments I saw
were critiques.
They weren’t attacks.

No one likes criticism.

But a cover artist
or any other partner
who can’t deal with it
is someone I don’t want
to work with.

Because what she’s saying
is…
it is my way
or no way.

That’s not a partnership.
That’s a dictatorship.

The writer
wouldn’t be an equal partner
in that relationship.
They would have no say
in any decisions.

Don’t work with people
who can’t take criticism.

Opportunities In Disaster

In my part of the planet,
we usually have a lot of snow
over winter.

This year,
we had snow stay on the ground
for less than a week
and that snow didn’t reach
the top of my running shoes.

This is a climate disaster.
Spring crops will struggle
due to lack of snow pack.
Vegetation and animals
will suffer.
Owners of ski resorts
are in financial distress.

But we’re business builders.
Of course, you and I
also
see the many opportunities
in having no snow
over winters.

There are ALWAYS opportunities
in disasters.
The house that burned in a wildfire
has to be rebuilt.
People displaced by a flood
have to eat.

But we should also remember
that it IS a disaster.
People are scared, sad, mourning.

Approach the opportunities
with empathy and tact.

The Rich And Powerful ARE Above The Law

Some media people are saying
certain rulings prove
the rich and powerful
aren’t above the law.

That’s bullsh*t.

If you or I had done
the things
a certain
rich (or perceived so) and powerful
person
has done,
our a$$es would have been
in jail a LONG time ago.

His perceived wealth and power
bought him nearly a lifetime
of freedom.

We aren’t playing
by the same rules
as the rich and powerful are.

Realize that.
And be very cautious
about using their actions
to justify yours.

Luck IS A Factor In Success

You do everything you can do
to ensure a project
is a success.

It still fails.

Hey, this happens to me.
Often.
It happens to everyone.

Because like it or not
(I vote for not),
good luck is a factor
in EVERY success.

We need a bit of good luck
to be successful.

Acknowledge that.
Accept that.

Try to minimize
the impact luck has
but know that a little bit of it
IS necessary.

And also know
that, eventually,
if we try hard enough,
work wisely enough,
we WILL get that little bit
of luck.

If A Project Doesn’t Start On Time

We’re completing a
major renovation.

Thus far,
the start date
has been delayed three times,
for a total of two weeks.

The reason given
for all these delays
is the previous project
ran over the time allotted.

The probability
our major renovation
will take only the five days
the project manager
proposes it will take
is now,
based on my experience,
zero.

A late start
means predicting the time needed
to complete a project
is a challenge
for the project manager.

They’ll
miscalculate
the amount of time needed
to complete ANY project.

Including any projects
we’re involved in.

If a project starts late,
know that it will take
longer than
the project manager expects it
to take.

Plan your life accordingly.