Casual Fridays

A friend of mine was considering a position as pastor of a church. The church is an hour or so away. He declined the position because of the distance. My wife said the church probably would want someone who lived in their community anyway.

She’s right. Not only is proximity an issue, but there’s something comforting in another person knowing the “hole-in-the-wall” restaurant we love or the fact we had a relative in the obituary this morning. Not because we told them, but because they experienced it… they saw it.

Don’t we all want that? We want communers at our table, not commuters interrupting our lives. When we go to buy hiking equipment, we want an experienced hiker to help us find what we need. But more than that, how comforting is it to hear, “I remember my first hike. I wish I had one of these smaller backpacks. I wore myself out carrying too many unnecessary items. Since you’re going on a weekend hike, I’d recommend keeping your load light.”

As marketers (which we all are, to a degree), we have to remember this.

Do we drive in, drop off our marketing message, then speed back home? Or do we take the time to experience real community with our customers? Do we experience a part of their lives? Eat from their table? Drink from their cup?

Our agency helped a client develop a customer advisory board. We brought in 15 of their top customers, fed them dinner and discussed the company, the community and the customers. It was eye-opening. Assumptions were shattered and revelations came forth.

We made new friends and discovered something new about ourselves. I’m so glad we did it.

Try to commune with your customers. I think you’ll be amazed at the information, insight, and loyalty you gain.

Hope you had a great November. I’m glad to be back on my blog. Something is wrong with previous comments. They disappeared. I’m trying to fix it. Is feexed.

During a recent lunch with a friend, he asked me, “What do you believe Dustin?”

I thought for a moment, then his cell phone rang. I was grateful for the time to ponder his question as he took the call.

There’s something powerful that happens when you ask yourself what you believe. The moment seemed filled with mystery and depth.

I realized this: I believe there is incredible, untapped potential inside each person. Most people never reach that potential. They are bound by something. Maybe a hurt, a habit or a false story they tell themselves over and over again.

I believe, at our core, we all desire to see that potential unleashed - yet on the surface it scares us to death.

We’re afraid of reaching that potential and then discovering it wasn’t enough. It didn’t matter. I was rejected. I failed anyway.
We’re afraid of others reaching their potential also. What if he won’t need me anymore? Maybe others will think she’s better than me.

So, we bind them up.

I believe companies and organizations do this all the time. We create rules to a game we don’t even understand. Then we expect everyone else to follow them.

“You can’t move to that square, you don’t have seniority.”

I think we hire, promote and fire people for the wrong reasons.

I believe we condition people to be something they’re not… then reward them for it.

The word ’standardize’ makes me want to puke!

I believe there’s a way for people to be set free…

…and I believe it is worth the effort. Every bit of it.

I’m taking some time off.

Blogging has become a weekly chore.  Not because I don’t like to write.  I think it’s because I don’t like WHAT I write.

I need some space to rethink what I’m doing here.

Two things I know:
1. I don’t like blogging in a vacuum.  I want to encourage readers to participate in the conversation.  I get decent traffic to the blog, but few comments.

2. I want to develop community.  I don’t think the formatting of my blog encourages that.  It’s more like a soap box than a club.  I want that to change.

So, I’m taking off the month of November.

Return in December for an update.  Thanks for your patience.

First Step to Creativity:

Realize

There

Are

No

Steps

Now, how will you get

from

———————–—————-to up there?

———————–———____
—————–————–|
—————-———____
———-————–|
——————____
—————–|
————____
———–|
——____
—–|

down here

If there are no steps, what else can

lift,

elevate or

transport

you to a. higher place
.you to a  h/\
you to a hig|her place?
|
(Feel free to leave a comment and fill the rest of us in)

Kem posted:

What is it with the human need to turn everything into an acronym? Really. I cut this out of a magazine I was flipping through last week about, of all things, CUSTOMER SERVICE.

My wife is a dental hygienist. We participated with her dental office in a fundraising walk supporting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation last weekend. Instead of simply showing up and walking, the dentists at Berkshire Dental Group decided they would bring Flossie, a 9 foot-tall penguin tooth fairy.

The ’statue’ usually resides in front of their office. It was no small task bringing her to the walk, but it paid in dividends. People were getting their picture taken with Flossie. Look at the the photo below. That’s a news camera in the background. The main goal was to raise funds for JDRF, which we did. But why not make a splash at the same time?

I own a 3rd generation iPod. It looks like a Commodore 64 compared to the new iPods. But, it plays music and has a glorious 10GB hard drive. So, I’m reluctant to buy a new one. The battery began to no longer hold a charge several months ago, so I couldn’t use it unless it was plugged into a power source. It pretty much became useless. I was considering replacing it with a new iPod when I noticed Small Dog Electronics had an iPod battery replacement kit. I was nervous cracking open my iPod, but the process went pretty smoothly (with the exception of continually breaking the cheap plastic tools used to open the iPod).

Below is a pic of the recycling option for the iPod battery. A little crude, but it’s more than they had to do. I sent mine back for recycling.

With any purchase from Small Dog, you get… small dogs. I’ve been ordering from Small Dog since the late ’90s, so I’m creating a collection of these little fellas.

Some White Cloud diapers now feature characters by John Lennon. John Lennon artwork on baby diapers? Perhaps a sign of licensing gone too far.

This is a license plate on a green Jeep Cherokee. It reads ‘PMS343C’. I won’t bother explaining it, but graphic designers will appreciate it.

While at Ultimate Electronic several months ago, I was looking at camcorders with hard drives. The specs on these two models were nearly identical, yet there was a nearly $700 difference between the two. No explanation. I was amazed.

The last two SnapThoughts involve screen instructions on automated machines.

First is an ATM screen. If the ATM is out of order, why not display the locations of the nearest alternatives?

Below is a screen from an automated postage machine at a local U.S. Post Office. Can someone help me understand how to comply with these instructions?

MIT has a great resource including free videos of presentations made at MIT by an impressive line-up of speakers. Jack Welch, Jeffrey Bezos and Carly Florina just to name a few.

I’ve known about this for a while and yet I’ve only watched one presentation video.

If these speakers were making appearances here in Tulsa, I’d be paying to go see them. Yet, I find it hard to give up the time and effort to watch them for free online.

Why is that? It’s the same info.

But it’s a different forum.

Part of the appeal in attending a live presentation is knowing you will be surrounded by like-minded individuals. There’s a collective sense of belonging. There’s also the opportunity to connect with other attendees and expand the knowledge gained from the speaker. To tap into the wisdom of crowds.

MIT’s online forum doesn’t facilitate that. Actually, I’ve never seen an online forum that does this as well as a live, personal event.

Online
It may never equal the live presentation, but what if viewers could comment on these vidoes? Rank them? Rate them? What if there was a schedule of weekly chat sessions based on particular videos? How about a subscription-based email list specific to those who have watched specific presentations?  Notify me by email when a similar presentation is uploaded and available.
Live
What if live presentations used the pre-registration process as an opportunity to connect attendees with similar interests? Then you give them the ability to contact each other and create a post-presentation discussion group for bloggers, educators, students, managers or small business owners… etc.

I think there’s incredible, untapped value here… and it doesn’t just apply to presentations either.

In his popular ‘06 TED talk, Sir Ken Robinson makes an inspiring, and entertaining, argument that we are educating the creativity out of our children.

It’s not hard to see how corporations are on creativity killing sprees as well.

Here are the top 10 signs you’re killing creativity:

1. You Preach ‘Safety First’
If you are always opting for the safest decision, you’ll never approve the truly creative ideas. Creativity almost always includes risk. Eliminate risk and you eliminate creativity.

2. You Lease Decisions Instead of Selling Them
Employees must own their decisions, but if they have no real authority then they will only do as told. They fear returning the car with any scratches or dents, because it’s not theirs. Once again, fear rears its ugly head. You squelch the creativity of your employees by not giving them ownership (see Mike Wagner for more on the benefits of ownership).

3. You Relentlessly Pursue Efficiency
Sorry, but the creative solution is not always the most efficient. It hardly ever is. Why? Because creativity requires experimentation. Experimentation requires you to try something that may fail.

4. No Rest for the Weary
Is ‘downtime’ a dirty word in your office? If people are always busy with tasks, when do they have time to be creative? They never have time to question whether or not this is the best way to do their job. Maybe that’s the way you like it though (tsk, tsk).

5. You Expect Perfection
Do you reward risk or results? I’m not saying you should create a daredevil mentality in your workers, but what if you rewarded small risks? Many times they won’t entertain creative solutions because they’re unsure of the results. Encourage them to try something different even if it isn’t ‘perfect’.

6. You Protect the Status Quo
Do you find yourself saying “That’s not how we do things.”? Now envision Dirty Harry holding his 44 Magnum up to your face. That’s how your employee sees you. “I know you feel creative, but you have to ask yourself one question, ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Do you feel lucky, punk? Well, do you!?!”

7. You Settle for the First ‘Good’ Idea
People naturally gravitate toward the path of least resistance. Creativity fights through the resistance to find the truly brilliant ideas on the other side.

8. Creative License = Business Card
Some people have no creative latitude because of their title. Is the word “executive” on your business card? No? Don’t bother trying to be creative then. Ironically, those with a license to be creative end up being the least likely to do so.

9. You Give Short Answers to Deep Questions
Someone asks, “Why do I need authorization from Joe in order to give a refund?” The short answer would justify the procedure because of inventory control or quality management. But responses like this invalidate the opinion behind the question. Instead of a short answer, try responding with another question. “Is this causing issues? Do you have an idea of how we can improve our process?” You may be surprised how many good, creative solutions come from the front lines.

10. Fill in the Blank_________________.
I don’t know all the signs and I don’t want to kill YOUR creativity. Maybe you have an idea that belongs on this list. Feel free to share it.

I was working on a post for last week, but wanted it to be spend more time on it. (faulty ‘perfectionistic’ thinking on my part)  I’ll post it Friday.
To make up for it, here’s an article I found on optimizing your book reading experience:

How to Get the Most Out of Your Books

I read quite a few books.  I enjoy reading.  But at the end of many books, I feel like I could do more to retain and/or apply what I’ve read.

Maybe you have other pointers or ideas for the optimal book reading experience.  Feel free to share.