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Daily one-pagers about AI, leadership, technology, and being human.

johnmaconline

I'm writing to think, learn, and remember in public. I'll be here everyday.

February 2, 2021 1 minute read

The Usefulness of a Gimmick

ActivityBusiness

Are Gimmicks Good or Bad?

If your nose is in the air, a gimmick is never for you. If you’re a hustler, a gimmick is always for you.

If you’re a producer, a gimmick may be a trick to extract money. If you’re a consumer, it may be a trigger that sets you on the right path.

If you create a dietary supplement and put “fat melter” on the label, you are using a gimmick. Does that mean no one who uses your solution will benefit?

If you’re a jazz musician, you might turn down a gig playing in a pop band because they use gimmicks. Does that mean pop bands don’t provide any value?

You can be an artist who never tried a gimmick, and no one saw your work. You can also be the guy who gimmicked your way to Instagram hypercar glory, only to have left a wake of unfulfilled promises.

Are gimmicks good or bad? A gimmick might prompt someone to talk about your product, or swipe right, or complete the checkout. Beware, however, because a gimmick might attract attention, but substance is required to retain it.

January 21, 2021 6 minute read

Why Follow Your Passion is Lousy Advice

Mindset

Passion in Your Work is a Choice, Not a Calling

“Passion is too important to be without, but too fickle to be guided by. Which is why I’m more inclined to say, ‘Don’t follow your passion, but always bring it with you.’”

– Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs

Mike’s right.  

“Follow your passion” is not lousy advice because no one should. It’s lousy advice because it can easily be used as an excuse not to take control, start doing something, and get good at it. 

Are you bringing your passion to your work, or are you chasing it?

Passion is Not the Same As Purpose

An internet search on passion vs purpose brings about 95000000 results. Take your pick of articles that overanalyze the differences.

For me, I keep it simple:

  • Passion is what I feel like doing right now
  • Purpose is what I know I should be doing and what ultimately brings me peace and joy and that through which I can make a positive impact  

Both are necessary, but you use passion as fuel. It’s fuel for the day and the job at hand.

Passion is the Choice of a Pro

You make a decision each day in how you show up in your job and life.  

Seth Godin in “The Practice” says doing what you love is for amateurs. Loving what you do, however, is for the true professional. That love is born out of bringing your passion, rather than chasing it.

You choose to have passion by showing up, caring, and mastering. 

The pro makes that choice.  

Passion is Caring About Your Craft

“Craft is when you meet up with someone else who’s serious about her craft and you talk for hours about the subtle nuances and acquired wisdom of the work. Craft is when you realize you’re building muscles and habits that are helping you do better whatever it is you do. Craft is when you have a deep respect for the form and shape and content of what you’re doing. Craft is when you’re humbled because you know that no matter how many years you get to do this, there will always be room to learn and grow.” 

— Rob Bell, How to Be Here

A craftsman doesn’t follow his passion. A craftsman brings his passion with him.

Think about the best performers and happiest professionals you know.

She probably isn’t afraid to talk about work outside of work.

He’d probably be happy to show you the nuances of his tools, or methodology, or team.

She’s probably stayed late to help someone else get it right.

He probably understands details about his work, and possibly your work, that no one else does.

She probably knows a lot of history about her industry.

A Passionate Craftsman Cares About Details

The passionate cabinet maker cares about how the cabinet looks when it leaves his shop. But he also cares a great deal about how it looks when it’s installed. 

Is it level? 

Is it placed at the proper height? 

Was it cleaned after installation?

The passionate accountant cares about whether she’s got the right answer. But she also cares about the colors, format, and automation she’s built into the spreadsheet.

Does the summary page make sense to someone who is seeing it for the first time? 

Do the graphs automatically update without intervention?

Is it easy and obvious how to do what-if analyses? 

A Passionate Craftsman Cares About Tools

When a passionate chef shows up at the restaurant, she brings her own knives. 

She likely won’t let you use them. She cares about her knives and who uses them because they are an extension of her. They feel familiar and good in her hands. They give her confidence in her ability because of this familiarity. They never distract her. 

In reward for their service, she carefully cleans, sharpens, and stores them. 

You should ask her about her knives because although she may not let you use them, she’d love to tell you about them. In fact, this is how she knows you care about her.

With her set of meticulously cared-for knives, she starts there and then adapts to the remainder of her surroundings.

A passionate software developer needs administrative credentials on his computer.

He has little regard for the IT department’s rules. The IT department is the enemy.

He’s cultivated a set of tools, applications, and automations upon which he relies to do his best work. The look and feel down to the colors make a difference for him. He works from the command line, knows the keyboard shortcuts, and can intuit his way through new scenarios. He never enables “auto-update” because he wants control over what and when.

When properly configured, his machine feels familiar and good in his hands. It gives him confidence, and never distracts him.

You should ask him about Python vs Java or Windows vs Linux because he’d love to grab and beer and debate. This is how he knows you care about him.

With his platform tuned to his liking, he starts there, and then he adapts to the remainder of his surroundings.

A Passionate Craftsman Keeps Up With Modernity

Even though the chef and software developer want their tools the way they want them, they are also on the lookout for new and better. 

Each adapts to new tools when needed or when the benefits become clear. Each takes the industry’s pulse to see if anything new will help them at their craft.  

They only adopt new if new brings forward progress. And they discern forward progress from shiny objects.

If you want to know about the latest gizmos, methodologies, and science in your industry, ask a craftsman.  

How To Bring Your Passion With You

Ask yourself these questions:

What engages you about the work you do?  

Where can you attach purpose?

How best can you make an impact?

What skills or tools would you love to master?

I agree that not everyone can bring passion to any line of work. If you can’t find answers to any of the above questions, it’s time for a change.

Give yourself a chance, however, especially if you feel stuck. 

It’s hard emotional work. That’s why so many people wander throughout their professional life complaining about their job, boss, or business. Most people are looking for shortcuts or feel safe and vindicated as the victim. Lack of passion is an excuse.

But that’s not you. Make the choice.

Don’t follow your passion, but bring it with you each day.

November 25, 2020 5 minute read

An Important Difference Between Knowledge and Learning

ActionActivityPersonal Investment

And Why Learning Is What You Need

It wasn’t until I understood the difference between knowledge and learning that I finally got unstuck.

I have loved acquiring knowledge for my entire 50 years. I’ve always been naturally curious; read books; like museums, school, and trivia; and love to figure out how stuff works. My main work is software development and engineering.

What I’ve learned, however, is that all of the knowledge that I’ve acquired doesn’t necessarily help me accomplish any goals. Maybe it helps during dinner conversation or at a cocktail party, but knowledge isn’t what helps you become successful.

Here I discuss the important difference between learning and knowledge and why learning is what you need.

Definitions

Before moving on, let’s look at the formal definitions of each (from dictionary.com).

knowledge: noun

  1. acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation; general erudition: knowledge of many things. 
  2. familiarity or conversance, as with a particular subject or branch of learning: A knowledge of accounting was necessary for the job.
  3. the fact or state of knowing; the perception of fact or truth; clear and certain mental apprehension.
  4. awareness, as of a fact or circumstance: He had knowledge of her good fortune.

 learning: noun 

  1. knowledge acquired by systematic study in any field of scholarly application.
  2. the act or process of acquiring knowledge or skill.
  3. the modification of behavior through practice, training, or experience.

The Real Difference Between Knowledge and Learning and Why It Matters

On the surface, the definitions are similar. A keen observer, however, can spot the real difference. Consider the 3rd definition for learning:

“modification of behavior through practice, training, or experience”

Therein lies the real difference between knowledge and learning. It’s all about action and application.  

Here’s what coach Don Shula says about learning in his book “Everybody’s a Coach“:

Learning is defined as a change in behavior. You haven’t learned a thing until you can take action and use it.

Don Shula

Here’s what personal development teacher and leader Jim Rohn has to say about the subject:

Don’t let your learning lead to knowledge, let it lead to action.

Jim Rohn

The difference between knowledge and learning is action.

I’ve been gaining knowledge all of my life, but this knowledge wasn’t helping me attain goals because I wasn’t doing anything. Talking a good game and playing a good game is not the same thing. Maybe I could talk a good game, but I wasn’t on the ice with my skates and stick.  

Don Shula may have studied opposing offenses and defenses, but it was his time implementing schemes and instructing the guys on the practice field that mattered on Sunday.

Jim Rohn may have read 1000 books about how to maximize his potential, but it was his time calling clients and speaking on stage that made him the guru he was. 

Michael Jordan may have spent hours watching basketball, but it was his time in the gym taking shots that mattered at the end of the game.

Tiger Woods may be a student of golf, but it was his time on the driving range and putting green that mattered on the tie-breaking putt.

My Own Journey of Learning in Software

I mentioned that my main work is as a software developer. I’ve never been formally trained by an accredited institution in software. My schooling is in Electrical Engineering. I have 2 degrees in EE (some coursework did require programming), but I’ve made my living developing software and leading teams of developers for over 20 years now. 

The transition from EE work to software work just happened naturally because of the learning I had been accumulating.

I started learning programming on my own when I was in 4th grade on a TRS-80. I made little BASIC programs that were calculators, and word games, or solved specific problems. I continued through school, college, and into my professional life. It was always something I did, but never something I studied via formal coursework. 

When I became an adult and entered the corporate world as an engineer, I gravitated towards tasks and work that required some software development. I only considered it an ancillary part of the work I was doing. Until one day, it was the main thing. This never could have happened if I hadn’t put my time in programming, rather than taking courses.  

My Own Journey of Learning in Writing and Elsewhere

This and all of the other articles on this blog are a testament to my journey of learning. I’m not a Pulitzer prize-winning writer, but I am a writer. If I keep writing, I will learn to get better.  

Here are a few articles as some examples where I started taking action in other areas:

Go Out and Learn

If your goal is to make interesting conversation at a dinner party, then knowledge may be all you need. But you can’t accomplish anything through knowledge alone. Goals can only be attained through action.  

The actions you take lead to learning.    

True learning happens when you couple those actions with experimentation. Try something, see the results, adjust, and try again.  

Rather than surfing the internet gaining useless knowledge, go out and learn some stuff.

November 18, 2020 9 minute read

How to do Marketing Right: Three Things Pizza, Wine, and Vinyl LPs Taught Me

BusinessMindset

And More Importantly Taught Me About Myself

That’s right. At 50 years old, by learning more about marketing, I learned quite a bit about myself, and in some ways, I’m not at all who I thought I was.

I’m an engineer and software developer. I’m a logic-first guy and a rational thinker. I would not consider myself a follower of the crowd, nor easily influenced by messaging and other people. I’m not exactly a non-conformist, but I would definitely consider myself an independent thinker.

I’m wrong.

I recently went through Seth Godin’s Marketing Seminar, which gave me a chance to dig in and start to understand marketing from someone who I virtually admire. One of the most interesting personal outcomes, however, was not “how I can be a good marketer” but it was a better understanding of myself (which can lead to being a better marketer). 

I learned to admit that I am indeed influenced by messages, people, and groups. In other words, marketing works on me, as it does on you. That was a little uncomfortable for this “independent thinker” to admit.  

Armed with this new-found awareness, and a much better understanding of how to do marketing right, I took a look at three different products that I love and how marketing works for these.

Pizza Wars: Awareness

I love pizza.

So do Americans as a whole. US pizza restaurants generated almost $46B in revenue a couple of years ago.  But which style is better, New York thin or Chicago deep-dish? A debate for the decades.

I’ll eat either, but when presented with a choice, I’m a New York thin guy. I love that sweet sauce and foldy crust.  

You may feel the same, or you may prefer Chicago-style. In either case, however, we each recognize that “which is better” is purely subjective.

You have your opinion and I have mine. We may have a friendly debate over a cold brew, but neither of us will convince the other.

The pizza industry knows and understands these entrenched opinions, so they don’t fight them. Marketing at pizza shops isn’t trying to convince you that one style is better than the other. Its purpose is to make you aware of which style you can find there. 

This is why it’s marketing done right:

You have an opinion that likely won’t change, so if you are in search of pizza, all you need to know is where you can find the style you want. Marketing for pizza is all about awareness. It’s not trying to convince you that one style is better than the other, it’s simply letting you know where you can find what you already want.

The Wine Tasting Experience: Investment in Success

I’m no sommelier, but I do enjoy wine.

Visiting local wineries for tastings is one of our favorite things to do when my wife and I travel. We’ve been wine tasting all over the US and we’ve found that the good experiences are very similar whether you are in California, North Carolina, or eastern Pennsylvania. The tasting experience in all locations follows a script whose purpose is to take you on a journey that sets both a physical and emotional stage for the wine (er…for the purchase of the wine).    

The script goes like this…

Your host starts with the background of the winery, its ownership or winemaker, and the sourcing of the grapes. The who, what, and why behind the wine you are about to sample. The purpose here, along with the physical setting, is to set your mood and mindset. It primes the pump, piques your interest, and invests you in the success of the vintner.   

She then tells you in interesting detail what you are about to experience across the entire flight. This is a form of anchoring bias, with a side of confirmation bias setup. 

As each wine is offered, often with some taste-enhancing or palate-cleansing cheese, cracker, or chocolate, you are taken further on the journey of that specific wine. The host will compare this one to the others. Then she’ll tell you exactly what aromas you will notice as you swirl the liquid, followed by the mouthfeel, and ultimately the full taste profile from the first touch of the tongue through several seconds after you swallow.

When done right, it’s amazing. I can’t help but want to love the wine, and hence, I love the wine!  

Then I buy.

Here’s the problem: Once I get it home, it rarely tastes the same. Occasionally I’ve found the wine to be almost undrinkable.  

What happened here? Why did I love, or at least like this wine just a few days ago at the winery? Were there shenanigans? Is this a different year, or lot, or has some chemical shift occurred?

Heck no.

The difference is that when at home sipping while making dinner, there’s no story. There’s no mood, no ambiance, no emotional connection. I’m no longer invested in the vintner’s success. Without that emotional investment, the taste just isn’t the same. 

This is why it’s marketing done right:  

The story directs the physical to be an outcome of our emotional connection. Stories captivate us, and we tend to become emotionally invested in a positive outcome for people with whom we are engaged. The anchoring and confirmation bias are real tactics that feed our investment.  

Does Vinyl Sound Better Than Digital: People Like Me

People like me appreciate the art of an album and the vision of the artist for the work. The extension of the music to the production and recording, to the album jacket, and to the medium itself.

People like me care about the whole experience of listening to music. We care about the equipment, the setting, the furniture, and the company with whom we are listening.

People like me are discerning and appreciate subtleties and nuances. We are experts (and possibly a bit snobby). 

People like me enjoy the real thing and we care about important things.

People like me shun the modern throw-away culture and know that a song or album is an art form to cherish over the long haul of life, rather than something to occupy interest over the next 2 weeks of driving in a car. It’s something to hold in your hand and to show another person.   

People like me enjoy nostalgic memories. Sometimes our own, sometimes borrowed from others, and we find them to be deeply impactful on our current self. 

Do you find yourself in any of those statements? If so, you likely think that vinyl LPs sound better than digital music.  

They don’t, by the way. Nor do digital recordings sound better than analog. At least not scientifically. There are exceptions, of course. But the exceptions are a product of recording and production techniques (or failures) and playback equipment, not a product of the medium itself. 

Many studies show that equipment and listeners can’t discern these differences, but those who favor one format have a confirmation bias based on their preferences or values going into the test — ie, people like us.

This is why it’s marketing done right:

Vinyl-lovers is a club with exclusive membership for people like me. Marketing for vinyl LPs (music being an already highly emotionally charged product) is about appealing to my connection with my gang. Exclusivity is a real appeal to our emotional being. We all want to be part of an exclusive club, even if that club is “people who don’t join clubs.”

Next time you insist that vinyl or digital sounds better, remember that’s your heart talking, not your ears.  

What This Tells Me About Myself

I’m human.  

Also that I can be influenced more than I’d like to admit.  

I have opinions, prefer particular things, and I will purchase things I like.  

I am susceptible to stories and emotional connections, and these stories can affect my physical experience. I root for people and ideas and am willing to spend my money to support them.

I identify with people like me, and I like to be around them. Even as a person who likes to think that I don’t go along with the crowd (which in itself, is a crowd), I’m fooling myself. Deep down, I take pride in the exclusive clubs into which I have been invited or purchased a membership. I love to share the knowing little head nod, or sideways wink with my gang — the smart people.  

What This Tells You About How to do Marketing Right and Yourself

When do marketing the right way, it works like the examples above. It works on you and it can work for you.   

To make it work for you, define your audience, and find the method to emotionally connect them to your product or service. 

Is it awareness? Does your marketing need to be a beacon that shows your audience where they can find you? Marketing doesn’t always need to change your mind, it can simply be confirmation to your audience that here you are.  

Is it to invest your audience in your success? Does your marketing need to connect with your audience on a level that makes them care about your success or touches them in a way that affects their senses? Marketing can be the uncovering of that connection.  

Is it membership in an exclusive club? Does your marketing need to be a signal that people like us are doing things like this? Marketing can be a gatherer of certain people, and just as importantly, exclusion of others. 

Marketing done right isn’t about gimmicks. It can be about awareness, and connection, emotional investment, and the gathering of people like us.

On a deeper level, what does it tell you about you? What are the feelings that drew or continue to draw you to your product or service? Knowing yourself on this deeper level helps you understand and connect with your audience, which in turn will help you connect your product or service to this audience. This connection is where you’ll find success.  

June 22, 2020 4 minute read

How to Know When to Say Yes or No

ActionActivityMindset

The Science of Saying Yes and the Art of Saying No

You and I have a yes/no problem.

Specifically, we’re not saying one of them enough, or to the right thing, or at the right time.

This group over here says we’re supposed to say “Yes” more.

Saying yes boosts our confidence, exposes us to more opportunities, and grows our mind, skills, and network. All of which will ultimately help us become more successful.

OK, got it.

But wait. This group over here is telling me to say “No” more.

Saying no more often rids us of stress, wasted energy, and toxic forces, as well as increases our focus. All of which will ultimately help us become successful.

So which is it?

I’ve found a great and simple tool that helps me determine when to say yes or no, and it allows me to completely ignore the conflicting storm of self-help advice on this topic.

The Science of Saying Yes

“Say yes to invitations to a new country, say yes to meet new friends, say yes to learn something new. Yes is how you get your first job, and your next job, and your spouse, and even your kids. Even if it’s a bit edgy, a bit out of your comfort zone, saying yes means that you will do something new, meet someone new, and make a difference. Yes lets you stand out in a crowd, be the optimist, see the glass full, be the one everyone comes to. Yes is what keeps us all young.”

Eric Schmidt

There’s science behind why we need to say yes to more things. The science is both math and psychology.

The math of saying yes is about finding the right opportunities through experimentation.

Plus, saying yes compounds the number of opportunities for experimentation because of opportunity chains (one opportunity leading to another).

The psychology behind saying yes is about personal growth and the opening of your mind.

The more you say yes, the more confidence you gain, the more experiences you learn from, the more opportunities you will see, and the more connections you will make.

Yes is about possibilities and breadth.

The Art of Saying No

“[Success] comes from saying No to 1000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much.”

Steve Jobs

“Just saying Yes because you can’t bear the short-term pain of saying No is not going to help you do the work.”

Seth Godin

Saying no is an art because the core of the issue is usually entangled in a web of emotions.

Sometimes we say no out of fear. Fear of the unknown, rejection, failure. Fear that you won’t or can’t finish.

Other times we can’t say no because of fear. Fear of letting someone down, disappointing ourselves, or having to admit a weakness. We all want to be someone who can be counted upon.

But to get unstuck, to finish what you’ve started, and to make an impact, you will have to say no to something and to somebody. There comes a point where no becomes necessary.

The art is in separating your emotions of the moment from the journey you are on.

No is about focus and depth.

You’ll Have to do Both

Success will come when you keep saying yes UNTIL you find your opportunity, your voice, your direction, and your thing. If you never say yes, you never give yourself a chance.

But once you’ve found your way, then it’s time to start saying no.

How to Know When to Say Yes or No

It isn’t complicated.

You can ignore all of the self-help advice about a deep dive on authentic core principles, “does this bring me joy?”, and whether this gets you closer to something on your vision board (in fact, burn your vision board). All of these are like crack for the overthinker (do you know anyone like that? 🤚), and I’ve wasted months and countless opportunities because of it.

To know if you should say yes or no, simply ask yourself, “Which is harder for me (in this situation)?”

Use your fear and comfort zone as the guide.

My comfort zone is a stone-cold sage when it comes to what I should be doing. The answer that threatens to pull me out of my comfort zone is likely to be the better choice.

The best part about this method is it works for both the big things and small things…life and career direction questions as well as daily living questions.

If you’re struggling right now with a yes/no decision, it’s ok to toss your vision board and core principles worksheets in the trash and simply ask yourself, “Which is harder?”

June 10, 2020 3 minute read

Time To Learn How To Listen

MindsetPersonal Investment

Dear Younger Me,

You weren’t a good listener.

Oh sure, on the surface you were. You developed skills as an active listener and you learned the finer points of conversation etiquette. But all in the context of getting what you want, making your viewpoint known, and from a perspective of your team.

You didn’t learn about true listening.

You didn’t learn that true listening is not about you. Not at all.

Now it’s time to listen.

Listening is Not

Listening is not maintaining eye contact, leaning toward the speaker, and being attentive to non-verbal cues. Those are the charlatan techniques of a manipulator.

Because listening is not waiting patiently for your turn to talk.

Listening is not simply and blindly posting a color or using a hashtag. Those are the fear-induced reactions of a follower.

Because listening is not about fear of what they think.

Listening is not swinging the baton nor throwing the rock. Those are the actions of someone who has stopped listening.

Because listening cannot happen when the line has been crossed.

Listening Is

Listening is a search for true empathy.

Listening is an honest attempt to walk in his shoes (an impossibility, but still a worthy exercise).

Listening is being genuinely curious about her, her story, and her meaning.

Listening is a willingness to challenge your own closely held beliefs. Even the things you know to be true at your very core.

Listening is starting with the knowledge that the speaker has inherent value. That all speakers have value, not because of the message, but because of their being. Even if you don’t agree with the message.

When You Listen

When you listen, the ends never justify the means.

When you listen, your knee could never stay on a neck.

When you listen, you find that even when common ground is not possible, respect is.

When you listen, you must see the uniform, the skin color, the gender, and the cohort, because these bare the perspective.

The hard part of listening is not just picking the voices with whom you already resonate, but picking the voices that have something to teach you.

Is There Still Time to Learn to Listen?

Of course. It’s never too late.

Because whether its a better bottom line, or a better relationship, or dare we say a better world, it has to start with listening.

So now’s your time, even at your age, to dig in and learn to listen.

June 8, 2020 3 minute read

Stop Being a Starter and Start Being a Finisher

ActionActivityBusiness

Dear younger me,

Stop being a starter and start being a finisher. Although starting is an important step, it will con you into never making an impact.

Once you become a finisher, then you can become someone who finishes well. And that’s how you will ultimately make the impact.

The Love of Starting

I know you love starting new things. You always will.

You will always be curious and love learning. You’ll be pretty good at understanding things quickly. You’ll look around at many things in the world, and think to yourself, “I might like to do that.”

But starting is a hobby, not a profession. Any amateur can make a start.

If you’re not careful, you’ll become the consummate amateur.

The Folly of Being a Perpetual Starter

“They” will talk about the risk of starting something new, and you’ll relish this “risk” because you’ll think it means you’re doing something meaningful. But this is folly because there’s no risk in starting because there’s no contribution.

The clean sheet of paper makes no demands, but is full of possibilities.

At the start, your cohort is in your corner, “Awesome! That sounds like a great idea!”

But the first customer, reader, or listener that signs on has done so because you finished it, not because you started it.

The Peril of Finishing

The risk is in finishing.

Finishing is perilous because you will be exposed to emotional danger. Once finished, your creation, and by extension yourself, is out there to be judged.

And the judgement will come, even if (especially if) the judgement is crickets.

Beware of Sexy Labels

Beware of the sexy labels that feed the story in your head. Labels such as “idea man” and “architect” and “big thinker.”

The labels aren’t liars, per se, but they will derail you from your purpose.

It’s not the big idea that makes the impression, it’s the implementation of the idea. An artist’s rendering of an electric car doesn’t make a difference. Grabbing the keys to the Tesla on the way out the door does.

Beware of Busy Work That Isn’t Finishing

Hitting save is not the same as hitting publish, even if it’s an important step.

Developing your sales script is not the same as making the ask, even if it’s an important step.

Forming your LLC and creating the logo is not the same as standing in the front of the room of potential customers, even if it’s an important step.

Creating the budget is not the same as signing the check, even if it’s an important step.

The Magic of Finishing

When you hit publish, or make the ask, or sign the check you cross a barrier and something magical happens.

God, or the universe, or the whole conspires with you and you learn something. You’ve just conducted an experiment that produces a data point. Now go create more data. 

Finishing is an emotional choice. The choice to expose. The choice to grind past the excitement and into the unknown.

Starting is easy, finishing is hard.

Finishing is where your insecurities lie…

May 20, 2020 2 minute read

To Mask or Not to Mask

ActionActivityWellness

I honestly don’t know who to believe.

There are experts, so-called experts, and loud-mouthed non-experts on both sides of this issue (as with most issues).

Here’s one thing I know, though: Wearing a mask in public spaces is no longer just about individual nor collective health.

Wearing a mask or not wearing a mask has become a symbol for whose team you support. It’s become yet another divider in our already divided society.

It’s a Dallas Cowboys jersey. But are you sitting in AT&T Stadium or Lincoln Financial Field?

Here’s the teams how I see them.

Team Safety (Team “I’m Better Than You Because I Care”)

Are you part of the “they” for whom wearing a mask shows your empathy, your care for those around you, and your high regard for mankind in general and those you love specifically?

Or are you part of the “they” for whom wearing a mask shows you agree that this is serious, that any method of cutting any risk (perceived or real) is worth it, and that safety is the highest principle upon which we should rest all of our decisions?

Team Freedom (Team “WTF”)

Are you part of the “they” for whom not wearing a mask shows your individualism, your defiance of the herd, and your support for the freedom principles upon which the United States was founded?

Or are you part of the “they” for whom not wearing a mask shows you’re not afraid and won’t be ruled by fear, that we need to build individual and collective immunity, and that nobody has yet provided definitive evidence that it helps anyway?

Where Does that Leave You and Me?

I guess I have to pick a side, just like you. And the side we pick inevitably and publicly puts us on a team.

Which means you and I have to coalesce our internal narratives and decide what “people like us” are supposed to do.

May 11, 2020 6 minute read

The Most Important “Best” Practice When Working From Home

ActionActivityWork From Home

There are thousands of articles that give great lists of best practices when working from home, but most of them neglect what has been the critical one for me.

In my experience, the most important “best” practice when working from home is to work socially. Especially if you are an introvert, like me.

One of the biggest challenges in the remote work environment is isolation. If you don’t head it off, isolation can kill your motivation, productivity, and happiness.

But you can beat isolation with intention and a little effort.

I’ve been a full-time remote worker for several years now. I struggled at first, but now I wouldn’t trade it for any commute of any length, nor any office environment in any part of the world.

The difference has been leaning in to the concept of working socially.

What does working socially mean and how do you do it?

Community Through Conversation and Collaboration

A healthy office environment has an energy.

That energy results from the community that is built through conversation and collaboration.

For years, executives, human resources, and office designers have been chasing the holy grail of how to build community and culture through management style, company perks, and office layouts. Apple even chose the chairs in their new Apple Park campus for the purpose of promoting collaboration.

But that’s crap, because you can’t build it like that. Culture and community result from the people and the conversation they share, independent of the latest management and office design fads.

Are the people engaging in the activity of conversation and collaboration? More specifically, are YOU engaging in the daily conversation and collaborating with your colleagues?

This is true for the office and it’s true for the remote workforce.

The good news is that since the conversation is the critical piece, you can build community with a remote workforce if you foster that conversation through tools and activity.

For you personally, you can stave off those feelings of isolation if you stay engaged and work socially.

How to Work Socially

On the surface it’s rather simple: Stay connected and engage in the conversation.

Working socially is something YOU do, for your own benefit, but it also has tangible team benefits. If you do your part, the example you set might be enough to get the ball rolling for your whole team, which in turn makes it easier to keep yourself engaged.

It takes intention and effort, but you might find that the remote platform and tools make it easier for you to be social than in the office.

Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Engage With Tools That Foster Conversation

Hopefully, you have been provided with some tools such as Slack, Zoom, MS Teams, or something similar. These are real-time conversation tools and are excellent at providing a collaborative running discourse throughout your day, as well as direct and live person-to-person conversation.

If you’ve resisted these tools in the past (whatever your reason), now’s the time for an attitude of openness to change.

What about email?

Unfortunately, although email is ubiquitous, it’s terrible at conversation. It’s great for publishing, formal and external communication, and announcements, but it’s terrible at conversation.

Engage and use the tools that make conversation effortless. If you’re not currently using them, get started.

Keep Colleagues Informed and Celebrate Wins

It starts with oversharing your work.

Post when you finish something or start something new. Hop on a video call when you have a question for a colleague. Be a virtual connector between teammates. Ask others how their stuff is going.

Engage in the conversation of the workday.

Always celebrate wins for yourself and your colleagues. It’s amazing what “likes”, smiley faces, virtual high-fives, dancing bananas, and some “Oh Yeah!!” gifs can do for the team energy in the virtual environment.

“Doing it right” may feel like you’re communicating too much, or that somehow you’re “tooting your own horn.” But what you’re really doing is ramping the information velocity. And information velocity is the key to collaboration.

Keep yourself and others plugged into the heartbeat of the work itself by oversharing what you are doing and celebrating the wins of your team and colleagues.

Show Some Personality

It continues by bringing humanity to the workplace.

Although remote working tools are great, they can easily mask personality and intention. These things come through more reliably when in person.

By definition, your work and home lives have become integrated, so embrace it, rather than fight it.

The dog’s gonna bark. The delivery guy is gonna ring the doorbell. The kids will interrupt because they need help with homework. Horns from the traffic outside? It’s all good.

It’s OK to share a little more about your home and personal life than you might if you were in the office.

Do you need to wrap up the meeting by noon because you have a long training run scheduled for lunch? Is tonight the performance of your improv group? How about some messy desk pictures or video of the distracting squirrel at the feeder outside your window.

The conversation tools make it easy to share photos, videos, emoji’s, giphy, and links to fun and interesting stuff.

All of this allows you to effortlessly put some personality into the workplace.

Try Stuff…Stuff that Might Not Work

The tips above are things I have found help me and my team stay engaged, be productive, and love the remote environment. But of course, every person and every situation is different.

Have the courage to try some stuff. It may be uncomfortable, or it may even fail. You might even have to participate in some … (GROAN)… virtual team-building exercises.

Seth Godin has a test he uses on himself, and he teaches others. If you’re not saying to yourself, “This might not work,” then you’re not pushing hard enough.

The more you put yourself out there and the more you push yourself, the more engaged you will be in the workday and with the team. That engagement, which is the heart of working socially, is the most important “best” practice when working from home.

April 15, 2020 5 minute read

Why You Need Recess If You Work From Home

ActionActivityWork From Home

Mr. Leeser’s fifth grade was the pinnacle of my elementary school career.

Specifically because of recess.

Fifth-grade was all about kickball. The way I remember it, the kickball game was the most important 30 minutes of the entire fifth-grade day.

This was 1979, so unless it was pouring, we were going outside at recess, and there would be a kickball game. Dress appropriately.

The pre-game ritual started early in the day with trash-talking and anticipation of the impending contest.

The lunch table was filled with underhanded draft negotiations just prior to the recess bell’s merciful release.

When the recess bell rang, it unleashed us to bolt outside, line up against the brick wall, and rush through the anti-climactic choosing of the mostly pre-negotiated teams.

And then it started…

The result was a glorious full-circle arc of anticipation, physical release, and the thrill of victory marred only slightly by the occasional trip to the nurse’s office for band-aids or finger splints.

The ending recess bell delivered our cohort of sweaty boys and girls back to the classroom. Some euphoric with the win. Others dejected and passing around the blame of the loss.

We were all physically spent, yet mentally refreshed and ready to take on an afternoon of sitting in class and paying attention to the riveting lessons in language arts and the scientific method.

As it turns out, what’s good for readying a 5th grader for an afternoon of desk work is just as good at readying an adult for an afternoon of desk work.

Why You Need to Take a Lunch Break When Working From Home

Working from home, especially if it’s new for you, can present an almost paradoxical challenge to your productivity and energy. Especially in the afternoon.

Time works differently when working from home.

A healthy and productive integrated work and home life schedule does not look like a commute to the office schedule. Working in an office has natural breaks built into the day, even if your normal routine is to work through lunch (although you shouldn’t do that either).

Working from home can bend linear time into an amorphic blob.

Many days, you roll out of bed and right into work mode, and before you know it, it’s dark outside. You are often isolated from your team, and the household distractions that occur are counterproductive, rather than naturally rejuvenating.

The Science

How does recess as an adult fix this?

There is a pile of research, from both the psychology and physiology angles (some launch points here, here, here, and here) indicating that physical exercise, especially something that you look forward to, helps boost your mood, energy, cognition, and mental acuity.

These are the ingredients that keep you productive and happy during your workday.

Taking a recess is about taking an intentional break from your work to do something that you look forward to in order to boost or regain your energy and creativity for the afternoon. If you use that break time to do something physical, you magnify the benefits.

Some Anecdotal Evidence

I first discovered the benefits of an intentional and physical lunch break in my mid 30’s.

Around that time, I started working at night after the family went to bed. No longer was a 5:00 am workout going to win when pitted against an extra hour or 90 minutes of sleep.

To remain reasonably fit, I’d do something physical at lunch a couple of days during the week. Sometimes a gym workout, but also running, cycling, ice hockey, or even a nice outside walk around the office area.

A funny thing happened. I noticed that the days I had something planned were the days I looked forward to the most. They were also the days I had the most energy well into the evening.

Recess worked.

So I ramped it up from a couple of days per week to every day…or just about every day. Now I can’t (or won’t) go back. It just works too well.

When I started working from home, I purposefully kept the mid-day recess. And it still works just as good. In fact, it works even better because of the convenience of my own home and better control over my schedule.

Just Do It

What kind of break should you take?

The one that you take.

Anything that you like to do can be a helpful recess, but you will get the most benefit out of something physical and outside.

A 20-minute walk is great. A 5-mile run is great. Shooting hoops for 15 minutes in the driveway is great. Dead-lifting is great. Tilling or weeding the garden for a half-hour is great.

Get outside, get some fresh air. Maybe sweat a little…or a lot.

Feeling the benefits of recess, just like when you were in 5th grade doesn’t require something specific. It just requires that you do something you like so that you look forward to it and keep doing it.

And here’s one more suggestion for those of you whose schedule is stacked with one meeting after the other:

Start declining meetings over lunch. You have my permission.

When the recess bell rings, don’t miss it.

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