Category: New Business Development

My cousin is visiting my home city
for the first time ever
this week.
(That’s pretty damn exciting,
to be part of a first ever)

I don’t know this cousin very well.
I had no idea what she wanted to do.
I gave her a list of possibilities
but all I heard was
‘whatever you want to do.’

So that’s exactly what we’ve been doing.
If I’m going to do something,
I figure I’ll, at least, make one person happy,
even if that person is myself.
We’ve been visiting the sites
I want to see.

Often, that’s the way
it also is with new product development.
In the absence of other insights,
we test the products
WE would like to see.

Make one person happy today
with each of your decisions.
(And yes, you count as a person)

Jan Yager has the best explanation
I’ve read
on the difference between juggling multiple projects
(something most successful people do well)
and multitasking.

“I have observed
that successful individuals,
whether in the business world
or the creative worlds of writing or arts,
are able to switch back and forth
between projects.
Now this is different from multitasking,
where the tendency is
to try to do several projects
at the same time.
As I point out in my book Work Less, Do More,
in the chapter on multitasking,
what you really want to do is
what’s been called selective attention.
Most of us have to juggle,
one, two, five, 10, or even 20 projects
over whatever time period
it takes to finish those projects.
But — and this is a very important “but” —
the selective attention part is
that when you are working on a specific project
— when you have shifted from project A to project B —
you are completely focused on one project.”

I don’t multitask.
I find it doesn’t work for me.
When I do multiple things at the same time,
I do a shit job on each thing.

I DO juggle multiple projects
(any successful author or project manager
has to learn this skill)
but when I switch to a new task/project,
I switch completely.

Multitasking isn’t needed for success
but do learn how to manage multiple projects.

A few weeks back,
I talked about
how I had signed up
to do a piece of writing
I had no experience with.

I have since submitted that story
to my editor.
My editor loves it.
She loves it so much
that she has suggested I write the sequel
BEFORE seeing the numbers
on this first story.

This was the story
I considered bailing on
because it was too different for me.
Now it could possibly be a career maker.

It is okay to be afraid
to try something different.
I was afraid.
It pushed me to work harder
and to get advice
and to deliver my A-Game.

It is not okay
to let this fear stop you.
Try something different.

A buddy of mine
has been drafting up her plan
to take over the world.
It is a solid plan.
She’s already had some success with it.

The problem is…
she’s continuing
to ask opinions on this solid plan.
Every opinion she receives
either has a tweak
or is negative.
That’s normal.
Not many people
will say “Woo hoo!
Your plan is perfect!”

So she tweaks
or she hesitates
and it is eating into her doing time,
delaying her ultimate success.

When you are satisfied
with your plan,
WORK it.
That is…
work your plan,
not work on your plan.

I’ve been feeling quite lazy lately.
I’ve been writing,
meeting my 10,000 word a week quota,
but I have to force myself to work.

Turns out…
being lazy is natural
but busy people are happier.

Results of a study done by
Christopher Hsee
shows that
we’re happier when we’re busy
yet human nature encourages us
to be lazy.

So if happiness is your goal
(and if it isn’t your goal,
why isn’t it?)
then fight human nature
and work your ass off.

Excuse me as I get back
to my word count goal…

I wrote a post earlier this week
about concentrating
on the step you’re taking.

You should also concentrate
on your own business.
Yes, you should be aware
of what competitors are doing
and what suppliers are doing
and other industry stuff
but at a high level
and regarding important stuff.
The bulk of your time
should be spent on your own business.

I have a writer friend
who helps everyone else out
with their stories.
She’s great at helping others out.
She’s also a great writer.
The problem is…
she never works on her OWN writing.

Work on your own business first.

A new author posted
on a publisher loop
complaining about
how her eBook hadn’t gone to print.

She acknowledged her low eBook sales
and her lack of promotion in that format
but insisted that would change with print.
You see…
she has her print promotion plan in place.
She had no eBook promotion plan.

In other words,
she wished to skip a step
in the process.

I see this all the time.
An author or entrepreneur or career employee
plots out all the steps
to success
but then concentrates on the next step
rather than her current step.

Concentrate your efforts
on the current step in your plan.
Clear that hurdle first
before working on the next.

One of the best investments
I make each year
is buying a package of
fine felt tip pens
in a variety of colors.

You see…
one of the ways
to look at a piece of writing differently
and to inspire creativity
is to add color.

If I’m stuck creatively,
I’ll start handwriting in another color.
It shakes my thinking up.

I’m not imagining this.
It is real.
Studies have shown
that red enhances memory
(why edits are often done
in red pen)
and blue inspires creativity
(I use a sky blue).

If you’re stuck,
try a different color pen.
(And not those ugly black or blue pens
found in every office supply cabinet).

I attended a seminar
held by romance writer Robyn DeHart
on Saturday.

She said that every book
has a piece of the writer in it.
Usually it is the emotion.
The source of the emotion
may be different
(I don’t go around killing people,
for example)
but the emotion itself is the author’s.

That is also true of other products.
Yes, we try to make it all scientific
and reflecting prospect’s needs
and as impersonal as possible.

However, there’s a reason
why you picked THAT product
to test with consumers
or that you thought of THAT product
at all.

That’s one reason I call my products
my babies.
They are a part of me.

Sometimes you have to kill your babies
and that hurts.
It is okay that it hurts.
Take some time and grieve privately
(focus on privately
as women especially don’t want
to get smacked with the deadly emotional label).

And when they launch successful,
be proud.
That’s a piece of you
sitting there on the shelf.

Mary Buckham gives
one of the best explanations
I’ve heard
about the differences
between literary writing
and genre writing
(such as romance).

The difference comes down to world view.

Literary folks believe
that people (and usually circumstances)
don’t change.
They can only be understood.
Forest Gump was the same person
at the start of the movie
as he was at the end of the movie.

Genre folks believe
that people (and circumstances)
can and do change.
The lonely learn how to love.
The murderer is caught.
The alien learns to appreciate humans.

Most entrepreneurs
adhere to the second world view.
They believe that
prospects do change
and that
they WILL buy the new product.

World views can change.
I believe you are what you read.
If you are trying to change the world,
consider reading more genre fiction.