May 16, 2013

Ctrl Alt Delete, by Mitch Joel

ctrlaltdelReboot your business. Reboot Your life. Your future depends on it.

So argues Mitch Joel in his new book, Ctrl Alt Delete, a follow up to his earlier work on the world of new media, Six Pixels of Separation. Where Six Pixels of Separation showed you the new world order emerging, Ctrl Alt Delete is a wakeup call to help you recognize that it has arrived. Joel says we’re in a sort of business purgatory now, so it’s crucial that you do the things that will get you to the promised land.

And that doesn’t mean tacking on some social media bells and whistles here and there. It means embracing new strategies for success. Your business must establish a direct relationship with its customers. Your digital products aren’t to be cute shiny objects, but must offer real utility. You must understand the difference between passive and active media, and know how to leverage each. You must recognize the wealth of data you now have access to and learn how to analyze customer behavior more fully. Finally, Joel argues that it’s a one screen world going forward – the only screen that matters is the one your customer is looking at right now.

In a conversational tone, Joel walks you through this new world as he sees it and provides specific guidance on how you should move forward. The advice is summarized as lessons at the end of each chapter.

Lessons for you

Once he’s done talking business, Joel spends the second half of the book speaking to you more directly. How should you personally navigate this new environment?

Joel explains how to become a digital native, how to view your career path differently, and how to embrace the new work environment. He goes on to talk about marketing yourself, embracing a start-up mode attitude, and other ideas for personal success going forward.

A lot

There’s a lot packed into this book. It’s really like sitting down and having a conversation with Joel, one where he attempts to tell you everything he knows about what’s happening right now in the world of marketing and business and gives you his best advice for how to be successful. That can make the work a bit overwhelming at times, but the book is structured well and ideas can easily be referenced later on, along with the specific advice that’s called out at the end of each chapter.

I enjoyed the book, and I very much enjoy Mitch’s weekly podcast. If you’d like to learn more about how a really smart and successful guy sees the business and marketing world right now, pick up a copy of the book. It might just be the wakeup call you need.

 

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May 6, 2013

Fixed and variable

Sometimes we’re too well trained in problem solving. We accept the problem as given, or worse – we subconsciously jump to a problem definition of our own that’s too rigid. We view certain aspects of the challenge as fixed and only limited options as variable – often reducing the variable to a single, all-important yes/no question.

That’s not the way the world works. We always have more options. It just requires taking a moment to step back and recognize them.

Listen to any good advice-based radio show. Most of the time the caller has already framed the situation so that it converges on a single decision point, with neither option being a good one. That’s why the called into the show – they’re stuck.

What does the host do? The host listens, queries, and then starts to open up possibilities. In a brief exchange, the whole situation is presented and analyzed at a high level and new possibilities emerge by reframing the problem, questioning the initial assumptions, and digging for deeper insights. Talking things through (in the interest of creative thinking, not grousing) always helps, particularly if the person you’re talking to is the type who will push you to be your best.

The next time you’re faced with a “no win” scenario, where neither option seems particularly appealing, take a moment to recognize that you’ve likely over simplified and over dramatized the situation. The choice is likely more than a simple yes/no, and the variables you’ve already accepted as fixed can likely be changed. You just need to open up the possibilities. Reframe. Question your assumptions. Dig for insights.

A good way to do that is to call on a friend or colleague. Pretend they’re the host of an advice-based radio show. Or pretend you’re the host and look at your problem from afar. What questions would you ask? What weak spots in the story would you challenge? What advice would you give?

 

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March 17, 2013

Within your direct control

controlA lot is within your direct control. Nobody’s going to question your decisions here. This is your area.

This matters a great deal, whether your sphere of control is limited to just one task, just a few functions, just your job, just your team, or just your department. Or any subset, cross-section, or combination. The point is – it’s yours and you can do a lot with it. More than you might think.

Sometimes it’s worth considering this. And then doing something about it. Take your focus off of other people, other decisions, other circumstances. Look at what you can do (what only you can do) to have an impact.

You may discover that even changing the things in your direct control can be hard – it can take some guts and some effort. But it will make a difference, and it will be worth it.

Photo credit: apdk

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March 14, 2013

We have the technology

SixMillionDollarManThere’s not a lot of room for complaining about what technology can’t do these days. So, the real issues are harder and harder to ignore.

There’s not a lot of room for complaining about the lack of data these days. So, the decisions are harder and harder to ignore.

There’s not a lot of room for complaining about a lot of things. There are more options than ever. Many solution components are inexpensive or free. Talented people are ready to engage. Business circumstances demand action. So, the lack of leadership is harder and harder to ignore.

A willingness to make decisions,  to take responsibility, to commit to a path. A chance to be wrong (which is also a chance to be right) and the guts to take it. That’s what’s going to make the difference.

 

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March 9, 2013

Why it can’t be done

rockThis is a gift. When people are telling you why something can’t be achieved, they’re sharing part of their worldview. It may be a widely held belief, or it may be a personal protection mechanism. But it’s how they (singular or plural) have rationalized inaction.

Now, what they’re saying likely has merit. Obstacles are all around us. Anyone who tries to move the ball forward on a regular basis sees that. But the obstacle is also likely not fully recognized in the story of rationalization. It’s simply been agreed, implicitly if not explicitly, that this is the point where progress stops.

And everybody waits.

For someone else to move that obstacle.

The trouble with that, of course, is that if everyone is waiting for “someone else” then there is no one else.

It’s better to take the gift of why it can’t be done and unwrap it. Look at the obstacle that everyone agrees on but that nobody has examined for a good long while. See what it is, why it’s there, and how it can be changed. And it’s likely not the obstacle that needs to be changed, but the perception of it. Looking at it anew, re-examining it in the current context (because it’s been there so long), and talking about it will likely lessen it’s power over everyone.

Dispel the mystique. Figure out how to work around, ignore, redefine, or do something about the obstacle now that it doesn’t seem quite so onerous. After all, the obstacle wasn’t really such an obstacle to begin with. It was an excuse.

Photo credit: sagebrush photography 

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January 10, 2013

Front Load Your IT Projects

frontloaderWe have so much technology these days, readily available. It’s easy to jump right in and start solving problems. And that’s tempting.

But it’s not the best approach, not by a long shot.

It’s better to front load your project with as much analysis, planning, and decision making as possible. To spend a significant amount of time defining the problem. To establish and validate the business objectives. To determine the scope of the initiative. To understand and define the challenges that will threaten the success of the project. To define what success looks like.

The challenge in many IT projects used to be developing and implementing solutions. And that’s still a big and important piece, but it’s typically no longer the hardest or most critical factor for success. Before moving toward solutions, considerable time should be spent defining things up front, reviewing options and approaches, acknowledging and contemplating the organizational challenges, considering the broader context. The project team, stakeholders, vendors, sponsors, and others can then be engaged to debate issues, make decisions, and commit to a path forward.

Expending all this energy up front isn’t free, but it’s cheaper than changing things further down the line. And it’s a great jump start on all the necessary communication and coordination that is crucial to any initiative.

Photo credit: mpd01065

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December 3, 2012

11 Rules for Creating Value in the Social Era, by Nilofer Merchant

Spend three dollars and a few hours with Nilofer Merchant’s 11 Rules for Creating Value in the Social Era and you’ll gain new insight into the emerging social era of business. New fangled phenomenons such as social media and Enterprise 2.0 are merely symptoms of the larger changes afoot, argues Merchant. What we are really witnessing is the transition from the Industrial Era to the Social Era. And in this new world, the old rules don’t apply.

Indeed, the first chapter of the book is the obituary for the traditional strategy model that has dominated for the last forty years. Though it served us well in earlier times, it’s no longer appropriate to have strategy developed on high and handed down to the masses for execution (an approach that often results in an “air sandwich” – a void between strategy and execution – rather than real results). Replacing traditional strategy is one that is co-created using feedback loops from within the organization and beyond.

To support this, organizational structures themselves must fundamentally change. New ways of creating and delivering value must be understood and adapted to. Relationships with workers, customers, and communities must be reconsidered. Social purpose will be an important force aligning interests in this dynamic and more complex set of relationships.

This is big picture stuff. Profound ideas to consider. Fortunately, Merchant provides many good examples and explains her points very well, without being wordy. It’s a concise tome that will get you thinking more broadly and more strategically about the changes that are emerging in today’s business landscape. And I think you’d be well-served to drop back from the shiny objects of the social media, high tech gadgetry hype and buzz to consider the bigger picture she paints.

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October 20, 2012

Strategic choices

Quality matters, now and in the long run. Achieving it requires selective attention – to what you elect to do next, and how deeply you focus on it.

Trying to do too many things at once diffuses focus. Things get blurry and confusing. Work gets sloppy and rushed. Better to take on less and do more with it.

Because once you decide what really matters, you can really commit to addressing it. You can ignore many other things that don’t matter (right now). You can go deep, and deliver something substantial and enduring.

You already know this. And you know what to do. But you still have to decide to do it.

Make the strategic choice and get on with it.

Photo credit: Editor B

 

 

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June 26, 2012

Finishing

Finishing well is just as important as getting off to a good start. Where a good start ensures proper direction and good momentum, finishing well provides completeness and packaging. That packaging – the final report, closing speech, or last team meeting – brings closure. And with closure comes an opportunity to reflect, analyze, and learn.

What did we really gain from the experience? Did we accomplish all that we set off to do? Why or why not? Where did things go right? Where did they go wrong? What did we learn? Where did we confirm things, and where did we learn something completely unexpected? What would we do differently next time? What learnings are transferrable to new endeavors?

That “finish work” is very important. In construction, that’s the only part everyone will notice. More importantly, many aspects of the finish work are only noticed if they’re missing or sloppy – the paint line between the wall and ceiling, the caulking along the trim, the grout between the tiles. Starting out with a solid foundation, good framing, and plumbing and electrical that meets code is crucial, but the finished product requires a lot of attention to many details. And that’s where the game is won or lost in many instances.

Forging through to meet the minimum requirements and rush off to the next job may be a way to maximize productivity, but it’s not a great way to continually improve your work product, to move to higher levels, to hone your skills, to master your craft, to learn and to teach others. To do that, you need to finish well.

Finishing well also brings momentum to the next project. You’re free to let go, to move on (after you’ve answered all the closure questions), and you’re primed to take the new or newly reinforced learnings and apply them to a new endeavor. And that’s a great setup for a good start – and another strong finish.

Photo credit: tristanf

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June 5, 2012

Seek to simplify

Making something complicated is easy, and it usually doesn’t help to move things forward. Instead, it slows things down.

Making something simple is hard, but worth doing. When you simplify, you make things easier to understand. You bring clarity to a situation. You establish a platform that can be easily remembered and leveraged, a mental model on which to build progress. You remove obstacles, gain credibility, and build momentum.

Photo credit: Melvin Schlubman

 

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