Anonymous posting on the internet
has never been truly anonymous.
Comments and other activity
are easily traceable.
It has merely been
that no one has bothered
to trace these posts.
As we’ve seen with the Amanda Todd case,
when someone has the desire,
she can not only trace the posts
to an individual
but trace the individual to his employer
and have that individual fired.
If you wouldn’t attach your name
to a comment or post,
keep that insight off the internet.
I try not to give advice
unless people ask for this advice.
Why?
Because giving advice well
(with the research, etc.
supporting that advice)
takes time.
But most of all,
because most people don’t take advice.
Want proof?
Watch one of the expert shows
like Property Ladder.
Participants fight to appear
on this show.
They know the host is a veteran flipper,
an expert in what they are trying to do.
They rarely take her advice.
They often don’t even listen to her advice.
So I save my time
and give advice to only people
who want that advice.
Time is a precious resource.
Don’t waste it.
The blind painter
The deaf singer
The media and the average person
loves these types of stories.
They prove we can do anything.
But should we do that anything?
The lazy route to success
is to uncover what we’re great at,
work to make that great even better,
and figure out a way to profit
from that greatness,
delegating the tasks we suck at.
My writing strength is developing characters.
Romances are heavily character-based
so that’s what I write.
I suck at grammar.
My editor fixes my grammar for me.
My editor’s strength is grammar
and finding mistakes,
improving writing.
She sucks at developing plots
and characters.
Yes, if I worked really hard,
I could be an editor,
and yes, if my editor worked really hard,
she could be a writer,
but why would we?
It is much more efficient
to do what we do best
and delegate the rest.
Work with your strengths.
Delegate to mitigate your weaknesses.
I grew up on a farm.
On a farm,
children start working
before they start talking.
I did child-appropriate work
but I contributed,
gaining a habit for hard work,
a pride in contributing,
a sense of family.
Same of my happiest memories
happened while working side-by-side
with my siblings.
In a restaurant makeover show
I watched last night,
one owner was torn
about not spending more time with her kids.
The expert’s solution?
Include the kids in some of the tasks.
The kids bellyached at first
but soon happily embraced the change,
tagging along as the owner bought ingredients
and setting the tables pre-opening.
As entrepreneurs,
we have an unique opportunity.
We can involve our children
and other loved ones
in our ventures,
in our dreams.
Consider taking your child to work.
I often receive emails
from readers
asking me to write longer posts.
I could write longer posts
but those wouldn’t be clientk posts.
I know what I offer to readers.
I supply short business reminders,
often with links
to longer articles and posts.
Every writer, entrepreneur, project manager
receives these suggestions.
Ironically, the more successful a product is,
the more suggestions we’ll receive
to change that product.
Because many of us are tweakers,
it is very tempting to take these suggestions.
Resist this temptation.
Know what you do,
what your product does,
and stick to that niche.
I’m a big fan of to-do lists.
I start the day
with list of what I wish to accomplish
arranged in the order of importance.
As I accomplish the tasks,
I cross them off the list.
It gives me a sense of satisfaction.
It ensures that I focus
on key tasks first.
I’m driven to complete the list.
“Make a list and
go through it methodically.
The list is one of the simplest
and most ignored relics
of the pen and paper age.
There is something viscerally satisfying
about manually crossing a task off the list.
Without a “guide” to the work
that needs to get done,
we’ll tend to forget what needs to be done.
Make your brain a chores list,
and don’t let it go play
until the chores are done.
No excuses.”
To-Do lists work for me.
They could work for you too.
I’m teaching
a short story and novella writing course.
One of the challenges
I give students weekly
is to write flash fiction
(a story using 150 words or less)
around a certain theme.
You might think…
150 words?
What is that going to do?
It accomplishes a number of things.
Challenges kick start creativity.
Writers are trying different techniques, genres.
They’re writing… something
But best of all, they’re finishing.
Because finishing is a habit.
Quitting also is a habit.
The successful do both,
quitting when something isn’t working,
finishing when it is.
The unsuccessful are almost always quitters.
They haven’t learned how to finish.
Finishing small projects
such as 150 word stories
teaches us how to finish.
Learn how to finish.
The first step to changing the world
is believing it can be changed.
That requires optimism and hope.
“There are those who pride themselves
for playing the devil’s advocate.
Research shows that these individuals
snuff the life out of innovation.
Be the voice in the room
that infuses the meeting with positivity.
Leaders value those
who adopt a positive stance
and help others see what’s right
and what works,
rather than focus on what’s wrong.
A study showed that
senior executives use positive words
four times as often as negative words.
That’s one way to genuinely boost
your executive presence.”
Keep it positive!
Justifying R&D expenditure
to shareholders and executive boards
can be tricky.
Benefits might not be seen for years,
if they are seen at all.
In Leigh Gallagher’s article,
DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman shares
“”We do spend $2 billion a year on R&D,
and that’s a lot of money,”
she said.
“Investors say,
how do you know
if you’re getting a return from that investment?'”
She said she gives them “mileposts,”
proof in the form of margin expansion,
products that didn’t exist four years ago,
and other metrics.
“I spend a lot of time understanding
we’re getting a return for it,”
she told the audience,
adding she has to explain to investors
the company hits a lot of singles and doubles
as well as home runs.
“But that’s what’s fun for me.
That’s what drives me.”
Develop these mileposts.
Justify your R&D spend.
When I receive a repetitive task,
my first thoughts are
“How can I eliminate this task?”
or
“How can I complete this task faster?”
I’ll admit.
I’m not thinking this
because I want to change the world.
I’m thinking this because I’m busy
AND lazy.
“Some of the greatest innovations
were developed by people
who were too lazy to do a particular task.
Professor John Atanasoff,
along with graduate student Clifford Berry,
built the world’s first electronic-digital computer
back in the late 1930?s.
Why did he do this?
He said,
“I was too lazy to calculate
and so I invented the computer.””
If laziness is a motivator
for innovation,
embrace it!