Working with calmness and composure

By knowing how long things take

 

It is stressful and unpleasant being late for an important deadline. 

There is nothing elegant or enjoyable about running, red faced and flustered to catch a train.  And it is traumatic and disruptive burning the midnight oil to finish a key report that was started too late.  Creative juices do not flow and it’s not good a good way to work, or to live.  Of course what I’m describing here is different from being in “flow mode” where you are so lost in your work that you don’t notice the time. 

Being on time, with a little time to spare has much to recommend it by, not least the higher quality of work that gets done.  Planning ahead, having time to think, and finishing things to a high quality causes less worry and is more enjoyable.  It encourages “flow mode” because the brain isn’t stuck in "panic mode".

Repeatedly hitting deadlines without compromising quality requires a number of things to get done:

1.     Creative thinking or brainstorming about how to give it the “wow factor” (less appropriate for catching the train, more appropriate for key reports).  Sometimes referred to as the “fuzzy front end” it can have dead-ends and wasted work, but is important nonetheless.

2.     Identifying tasks - figuring out what needs to be done (talking to certain people, reading around the subject, checking the train timetable, etc)

3.     Estimating how long things might take (easy for how long the train will take to get to Edinburgh, less easy for creating and agreeing an outline for a report)

4.     Planning what will be done when, and who will do what.

5.     Creating checklists for repeating tasks.

6.     Accounting for other things that need to be done – so you can be confident that you are working on the right thing, at the right time, without another problem cropping up elsewhere.

7.     Working the plan – trying to do what you said you were going to do, when you said you were going to do it.  And trying to get everyone else to do what they said they were going to do, when they said they would do it.

8.     Reviewing and adjusting – either for this project, or for the next one.

Reading through that list makes me, and probably you, realise just how much scope for error there is in the whole process.  Not least because things take longer than we think they will take, other people don’t do what they said they would do, etc. etc.  To such a degree that many people don’t believe it’s worthwhile to make a plan because “things change anyway”.

A particularly difficult (but crucial) step in this process is estimating.  Figuring out how long things might take is difficult for many reasons, but up at the top of the list is the belief that whatever it is we are doing is a “one-off”, with the second being optimism.  The “one-off” argument says that this project is different from the last one, and that the problems encountered on the last project won’t be encountered on this one, which inevitably leads to optimism.  Instead of thinking we will have different problems, we think we won’t have any, and therefore believe the new project will be quicker to do. 

How do I know, for example, how long it might take me to write this blog article?  I don’t know when I start how long it will be, or how complicated the subject matter might turn out to be.  The only way to know is to time myself when I write blog articles - long ones, short ones, difficult ones and easy ones.

Only then will I know whether I'm likely to finish one before I have to leave the office to catch a training in 45 minutes.  Otherwises I'm likely to start, get absorbed and then end up running for the train.

I appreciate that timing what we do is counter-intuitive, but much of what we depend on today were once considered alien.  Like the trains running (roughly) on time or knowing how long a policy document might take to write.

All the planning in the world is useless if everything takes twice as long as the plan says it should take to complete.  Or even longer.

How to Listen

1. Pay attention
2. Don’t talk
3. Don’t think about your reply while the other person is still speaking
4. Pause before replying
5. Think about what the other person has said
6. If it’s helpful, say back to them what you understood they said

How do you excel at listening?  What do you do badly?  What tips can you share to listen better?

A place for everything; and everything in its place

I’ve always wanted to be the sort of person who could honestly say things like “a place for everything – and everything in its place!” It is so organised, so logical and so likely that you could actually find things again. Even though our desire for order and organisation is strong, the tendency to be disorganised is ever present – at least with me.

One of my favourite quotes is from Gustave Flaubert – the French author of Madame Bovary. “Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.”

As the complexity of our work increases, so the need for order increases. As the complexity of the problems we wish to solve, so the need for organisation increases. As the number of people we involve in our endeavours, so the need for regular orderliness increases. When this order is missing, so unproductive thrashing increases.

I was talking to someone yesterday about an interesting (and far from straightforward) business problem. As we talked and I tried to understand their approach, it became clear that one issue was having information in different places. Whilst the system we were discussing was in constant use, other information was in other places and getting no attention. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the information was lost – but another few months, or years and it may well be lost. Or at least forgotten about so it will be of no use.

So it seems that both my grandfather and Flaubert were right. Whilst Flaubert is known for his scrupulous devotion to his art and style, he is also known as being one of our greatest ever novelists. He was certainly violent and original in his work - which is not bad for such a short life.

How to proofread for zero defects

Over the Christmas break I was asked about how to improve attention to detail and proofread work so that it is error-free. It’s an interesting question and one I have given much thought to over the years.

So, on something of a tangential note for the New Year, here are my tips for proofreading and zero defect copy:

1. Allow time between finishing the work and proofreading. Ideally this would be several days or at least overnight, but even an hour or two will help. Allowing the brain to focus on other things allows you to come back to your work with a more detached view.
2. Read the document several times to check for different things, eg whether it makes sense, whether it flows nicely, whether it is factually accurate, whether there are any misleading sentences, etc. Proofreading is not the same as reading through your work. We often mix up proofreading with these other activities, trying to do too many things in one reading. Separate them out to improve accuracy.
3. Use an eye-guide such as a ruler, your finger or the cursor to check each sentence slowly and methodically. Because we are capable of reading quickly, we do. But proofreading requires us to slow down and purposefully read each word. The physical act of moving a ruler or a finger helps.
4. Change the look of the document. Word processors enable us to very quickly change things such as the margins, font or pagination to get a different view of the text. Make the text larger to see if errors are easier to spot.
5. Use the spell checker. This is standard in most word processors but some software requires it to be switched on. Never release a document without spell checking it.
6. Read your work aloud. This has two benefits; firstly you “hear” errors more clearly aloud than when you are reading to yourself. Secondly, it slows down the process, also making errors easier to find.
7. Always go back and re-check your work after you make a change. Many mistakes slip through because of last-minute changes that alter the sense or structure of a sentence. If you make a change, carefully re-check that section.
8. Ask someone else to read your work. No book publisher would ever allow a book to be printed without several people carefully checking it. Someone else will more easily spot awkward sentences, sentences that make no sense, spellos, typos and other gremlins. Even better if you know someone who is a stickler for grammar and punctuation.
9. Concentrate on the proofreading process. Often this “last lap” is done without the attention it deserves. We allow our minds to wander as we work. Proofreading for zero defects is strenuous and requires 100% concentration.
10. Listen to your inner voice. Often we notice errors even though we don’t do anything about them. Grammatical errors or using the wrong word register with us on a subconscious level; listening to your inner voice at the checking stage often saves a red face later.
11. Have good references. Using a good dictionary, a good thesaurus and style guide all help in quickly checking the correct word or phrasing.
12. Create your own checklists. A checklist for things to check, eg grammar, style, readability, clarity, accuracy, completeness, spelling, typos, accuracy of numbers, etc. A checklist for favourite mistakes, eg words you frequently misspell or grammatical errors you make often. Every time a mistake creeps into your work, add it to the checklist so you improve next time.
13. Create your own style guide. Each industry has its own best practice. Create a style guide that includes common company names, abbreviations used in your industry, etc. Include good examples of other people’s work. Include favourite references such as dictionaries or web sites that are useful. This is another feedback loop that helps improve writing with every piece that is published.
14. Read your work in different ways. As authors of our work, we start at the beginning and lovingly read through every word. Readers don’t do that. They scan the title, intro and random paragraphs to see if it looks interesting. They miss bits out or skip to the part that is relevant to them. Simulate a reader’s behaviour by reading random sections, or parts you know might be read out of context. Do they make sense? Are they clear and unambiguous? Try reading backwards and focusing on each word rather than the sense.
15. Proofread from a printout; don’t rely on working from the screen. I know it’s not ecologically sound, but moving away from the computer to a quiet place makes a big difference. You can work slower and more thoughtfully.
16. Build proofreading time into your schedule. Nothing ruins good work like silly errors that should have been picked up long before they get to the reader. It is tempting to think they don’t matter, but readers subconsciously mistrust error-prone work.
17. Use a professional service. I have employed a copywriter to check my work for important work and it doesn’t have to be costly. If you have a large or important document, it could be worthwhile.

It’s a long list. And I’ll admit to having made each and every mistake going. Working in the software industry teaches accuracy, even if it doesn’t come easily and is an on-going struggle. But proofreading and producing zero-defect work is a process rather than a talent. Certainly some people have better attention to detail than others, but technology and checklists help.

Does anyone else have any tips or techniques to share? I’m sure there are more and I’d love to hear!

Who is your hero?

At the end of a long and busy day yesterday, Notting Hill was the perfect antidote. The film required little or no concentration, brought a surprising number of smiles to the face, and could be switched off part way through because the story is older than most hills round my way.

The film is all about Julia Roberts (aren’t all Julia Roberts’ films?). She plays a Julia-Roberts-type actress called Anna Scott who falls for ordinary Notting Hill bookshop owner William Thackeray. Will’s little sister loses no time in telling the famous Anna Scott just how much she loves her films, and how they have just “got to be best friends”. It’s as silly as the rest of the film but this no-holds-barred star worshipping made me think about few heroes we have these days.

I’ve been rereading David Ogilvy. He was a real advertising and direct marketing hero, described as a genius by many. Yet his genius followed a careful study of other great men’s work. Raymond Rubicam (also of advertising fame), Dr George Gallup (for whom he had worked) and Claude Hopkins were all credited by Ogilvy as major influences on him.

The world’s most successful investor, Warren Buffet, was a great student of Benjamin Graham’s work. He apparently has read his book many, many times over.

Whatever our field or specialisation, we all need heroes. We all need to look up to someone who has excelled and contributed lasting value.

"If we can see further it is because we stand on the rungs of a ladder built by those who came before us."

Basic human drivers

Good marketing and advertising reaches us at an emotional level, without us even realising. Or putting it a different way, it answers needs inside of us that we are not really aware of.

But what are our needs? What are the emotions that we respond to? I found a list of basic human drivers attributed to Dr Kevin Hogan, which I thought made rather interesting reading.

Do you agree or disagree with the list? Would you add or remove anything? Should marketing be considering such psychological factors? Comments, thoughts and debate all welcome.

Here’s the list: 16 basic human drivers

1. Sex/romance
2. Acquisition/saving
3. Bonding/connecting
4. Learning/curiosity
5. Eating
6. Defence/fight or flight
7. Nesting
8. Vengence
9. Status
10. Power
11. Loyalty
12. Order and organisation
13. Independence
14. Acceptance
15. Altruism
16. Physical activity

Don't call me average

I’m going to have a rant. I’ve just had yet another email from a local business man who assures me he is in the business of selling. But it’s the funniest looking selling I’ve ever seen.

He doesn’t know me, he doesn’t know my business, and he doesn’t know my priorities, yet he assumes he does. He writes about my knowledge and my concerns. The only trouble is he is absolutely wrong. This might be forgivable if we hadn’t already exchanged emails, and if he didn’t have ample opportunity to figure out a little bit about me.

In other words, he is treating me as average. Which I can assure anyone who is trying to sell to me, I am anything but average.

Broadcast marketing is suitable for broadcast media, like the cinema, the TV or radio. Even then there is a great deal that advertisers can do to target their message to their audience. People want to be entertained at the cinema, and Orange devised a brilliant set of advertisements that are funnier than many films. Cooker manufacturers sponsor foodie programs. Instead of being bored by the idea of a new kitchen appliance, I am inspired to recreate part of Tuscany for my own adoring family.

So why, oh why, do people use broadcast messages on personal platforms? Email is personal. It is addressed to me individually, in the middle of my busy day when I am worrying about other things. My business colleagues use email to talk to me, as do my family and friends. So why do people broadcast their offerings with no thought of the suitability for their audience?

Twitter is personal; I follow individuals, not homogeneous globs. So why are people writing direct messages to me as if I were a tiny fraction of a homogeneous glob? Maybe they too think I am average. A girl could get a complex …

There is a lovely (old) video clip of a famous (m)ad man having a rant about not knowing him, not knowing his company, not knowing his problems, etc etc Now what did the salesperson want to sell him? For the life me I can’t find the clip, otherwise I’d give you a link. But it’s oh, so relevant to anyone in the business of finding new customers. Because none of us are average.

What marketers can learn from road signs

My route into work is currently plagued by road works. After a summer of pot holes, they are resurfacing the road just in time for this year’s snow and ice. So I get to notice all sorts of things as I wait for the cars in front of me to move.

The other day I noticed a little sign for a local village fete. Upton and Somewhere. Sometime in November. A Saturday I think. It was a beautifully printed coloured flyer lovingly enclosed in plastic and tied to a lamp post. Someone had thought carefully about how much traffic passed by, and strategically positioned the advertisement for maximum viewing.

The trouble is, that’s all they thought about.

It was printed on A4 in tiny type and placed close to ground level. Whilst I noticed the notice, I couldn’t possibly read it. Not without causing an accident and even more delays.

Just a few feet away was another sign. This was about 6 feet off the ground and maybe 2 or 3 foot square. It simply says:

Free Recovery Starts Here

Four words on an area many, many times larger than the village fete ad. And you know what? I must have driven past it maybe a dozen times before I noticed it.

This is a stark lesson for all of us involved in marketing. Whilst we lovingly craft our carefully worded emails and web pages about our complicated propositions, our customers are flying past with their minds half on something else entirely. Anyone who has ever been caught speeding knows they may well have seen the sign once or even twice, but didn’t really register what they saw.

So in marketing, we need to ensure our messages are clear; very clear. And repeated - many times. Rather than boring our prospects, we may still not have got their attention.

I counted the number of road signs that warned me to slow down as I approached a village on my route home. The signs appeared 3 or 4 times, and in a number of different ways (30 miles, flashing light bulb thing, 20 mile sign, 20 miles painted on the road). And people still drive too fast.

Of course road signs are there for safety, not to sell anything. But it is sobering to realise how large and flashing and enforceable they have to be before we even notice them. We can’t make our marketing legally enforceable (probably a good thing!) but we can make it stand out.

I’d like to be able to tell the people who are organising the village fete during the cold and windy November, but I have no idea where they are …

Be remarkable – or be invisible

“Be remarkable, or be invisible.” Seth Godin of Purple Cow fame throws down the gauntlet to the ordinary everywhere. Being remarkable sounds great in theory, but in practice it involves risk.

I was chatting to the Over 60's World Champion of Bog Snorkelling last night, which in itself is pretty remarkable. I suppose he carried his share of risk by taking part, but not quite much risk as the bright sparks who thought up this unlikely sport. The story goes something like this …

Locals in the pub were chatting about how to attract more tourists to the pretty Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells. Having decided that consonants were not necessarily a selling point, someone had the great idea of digging a ditch in a field and hosting the Bog Snorkelling World Championship. I think they must have had a few pints ….

As remarkable (in every respect) as this sounds, the idea was and is a great success. Over 200 entrants take part in the annual event held every August bank holiday, and the sport has spread to Australia and Ireland. Contestants wear snorkels and flippers and are not allowed to swim. Wet suits are usually worn but I believe the current Over 60 World Champion ruined a beautiful white T-shirt during his attempt.

Tourism is not an easy business to promote. Yes, you have beautiful hills, sandy beaches and friendly locals, but so does Scotland, Spain and France. And at least two of those places has a lot less rain. It is easy to be ordinary, safe and ineffective.

No doubt a great many people scoffed at the idea of bog snorkelling. But by being remarkable, the people of Llanwrtyd Wells got themselves on the world map, got an entry in Wikipedia and the Over 60’s champion has been on TV in Brazil. None of those things would have happened if they had carried on promoting beaches. Or consonants. Or the fact that the pubs close on a Sunday.

Fake Guinness Viral Advertisement

Did you see the fake Guinness viral ad? The one with the naked lady doing goodness alone knows what underneath a bottle of Guinness? If you haven’t, it’s too late, because Diageo have made YouTube remove it from their site. I’m not surprised.

Although it was free advertising for Guinness, it wasn’t at all consistent with the Guinness brand values. Whilst 50% of the population (that’s not the female half) I'm sure thought it hilarious, its overtly sexy and sexist content seemed more suited to a Castlemain 4X Aussie commercial - with all its sophisticated humour. The Guinness advertising has always been wholesome, intelligent and stylish. Consistently wholesome, intelligent and stylish: which is why Guinness is a valuable brand that Diageo rightly want to protect.

Great marketing is a good deal more than a fun idea and a camcorder – although at times it doesn’t look that way. That’s the real beauty in something as complex as a world-beating brand – when you get to see the finished result it looks like a 16 year old could have done it.

But they didn’t.

The gentle art of working together

People can be prickly sometimes, can’t they? We easily get upset when left off the email distribution list for one of our projects, or when someone doesn’t invite us to a meeting. Rightly so – work is an important part of everyone’s lives.

As work becomes more complex, and pressures build to do more, we need better ways to collaborate and share. Email gets a message from one machine to another, but does nothing to help organise and prioritise. The internet has done a great deal to put more at our finger tips, but sometimes the result is overwhelming – so much information, so much to do, and so little organisation.

Within Anatec we use Microsoft SharePoint to share information and coordinate goals. That’s not a great surprise as we are Microsoft Certified Partners. But I think everyone’s needs concerning collaboration are pretty similar. Here is my top ten list of what’s important to get the best out of other people:

1. Be clear. Collaboration sites need to have a good hierarchical structure so information is easy to find. Colour coding by department can help orient people in a large site.
2. Make it attractive. Just because it’s work doesn’t mean to say that the look and feel of your collaboration site isn’t important. The better it looks, the more likely it will be to be used. Have a house style so that fonts and headline sizes are used consistently: it’s a lot easier on the eye.
3. Consistency of purpose. Make objectives consistent and visible and ensure company communications reflect current priorities.
4. Time to think. Make key documents or discussions available to everyone involved. The more time people have to mull over a problem, the better their input will be.
5. No surprises. Ensure key dates are visible well ahead of time. A shared company calendar with dates for exhibitions, people’s holidays, key presentations, etc. helps to keep people focused on the major events during the month.
6. Make it inspirational. Whatever your line of work there are people who will live better lives as a result of what you do. Share the inspiration with your co-workers though words or pictures.
7. Keep content up-to-date. Intranets are a great place to share things, but they need to be kept up-to-date and they need to keep people’s attention. If they always see the same old stuff, pretty soon they will stop reading. If there is a key report you can share though your intranet, then do. People will get familiar with the structure and content by using it more.
8. Make it interesting. Is there a relevant RSS feed you could include on your home page? Can you use appropriate and attractive pictures to help get your message across? It all makes work more enjoyable, and collaboration more effective.
9. Don’t make it optional. Whenever a new system is introduced, there is always resistance. Don’t be tempted to keep emailing documents, just because it’s easier. Put the document on your collaboration site and then email the link. Keep on eye on what people are accessing to make sure its being used.
10. Get everyone involved. Collaboration is exactly that – people working together to create something more than one person could do alone. Ensure there is a structure to the way you work, then use it at every opportunity - in meetings, as a way of discussing things, even as internal presentations.

Collaboration through intranets is not new, but options are opening up for smaller companies to use tools that the big boys have enjoyed for years.

Five Criteria for Greatness

This is not my list, but paraphrased from someone else’s blog post. She had read about James Dewey Watson, who discovered the structure of DNA with Francis Crick. Ruby's original post appeared on Zen Habits and is well worth a read: Why Discovering Your Obsession Can Lead to Your Greatness.

The list apparently came from a speech Watson made on why he deserved to discover the structure of DNA.

1. Go for broke - if you are going to do something important, do it.
2. Have a way to get the answer – if you haven’t a clue, you’re going to waste time.
3. Be obsessive – think about it night and day.
4. Be part of a team – have a partner to bounce ideas off and support you.
5. Talk to your opponents – share your ideas, cooperate and talk to others.
6. Never be the brightest person in the room; so you can always learn something.

I was so impressed with the list that I keep a copy in my notebook. I hope you get something useful from it too.

How involving is your marketing?

“Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I’ll remember, involve me and I’ll understand.”

Marketing is often thought of as the way of getting a message out to a particular audience; a way of broadcasting our message in the hope that someone hears and finds it interesting enough to buy. Television, radio or cinema advertising is an example – advertisers expect their audience to sit, listen and absorb their message. They hope and expect that next time consumers need their product or service they will remember the advertisement and buy.

Data handling has now made it possible to interact with potential purchases to a great degree than has ever been possible before. Database marketing, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are all good examples of involving people in a company’s brand, product or service.

A simpler, but no less effective device is the survey or questionnaire as a way of involving customers or prospects. Instead of guessing what people want, you ask about likes and dislikes. Some companies even listen to the answers.

At its simplest level, involvement marketing is getting customers to DO something, rather than passively listen to a marketing message. Involvement includes signing up for a loyalty card, answering a survey, joining a group on Facebook or LinkedIn, attending a webinar or requesting a sample. All these things indicate that the person not only knows about your company, but they care enough about what you are saying or selling to join in the conversation.

Involvement marketing is all about creating a mutually agreed communication link – where both parties understand the ground rules, and both parties benefit. It sounds simple, but it takes thought and technology to get right. But it’s more cost-effective than broadcasting, and therefore ultimately a better deal for everyone.

What do you think? Get involved and leave a comment with your examples of the best and worst of involvement marketing.

What do customers really want?

Theodore Levitt famously said “People don’t want a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole”.

Despite this being something of a shock to countless women who routinely accompany their men folk to the DIY store to buy yet more drill bits, it’s a stunningly good point. We like to think we are in the software business, HR services, coaching or bed and breakfast. But customers don’t want software, HR services, coaching or bed and breakfast. They want improved efficiency, the luxury of staying away from law courts, improved productivity or an enjoyable break away from it all. The products and services are a means to an end.

Focusing on what your customers actually want, rather than what you provide, makes a difference.

Does Amazon sell books? Or do they sell the ability to deliver knowledge to me exactly when I want it (faster than I ever believed possible)? Countless excellent bookstores have gone before, but only Amazon perfected the art of on-time delivery with such frightening efficiency. Or are they in the business of knowing what I want to read next (better than I do)? Whilst my favourite bookseller might give me a recommendation of a great novel they have enjoyed, only Amazon can produce such a worryingly on-message list of books I’m keen to get hold of right now.

Amazon have redefined bookselling as eBay have redefined bring and buy sales. Both have dominated niches we didn’t even know had gaps. All because they figured out what customers actually want.

Making space for good ideas to grow

Over the weekend I stopped to talk to two gardeners thinning out a row of broad beans. As they threw strong and healthy broad bean plants into the bucket I said: “That’s too bad – throwing away those healthy young plants!” They agreed, but they worked at speed pulling out young plants and moving others so they were all the correct distance apart. I silently wondered if I would have been so disciplined if it had been my own garden. Behind them was a perfectly straight line of perfectly spaced healthy broad bean plants, all with enough room to grow into healthy specimens.

The processes and methods at this particular garden were influenced by one of Kew’s ex-Directors and it showed. I could see the discipline and attention to detail with my own eyes.

The business of business has more than once been compared to gardening or sowing and reaping. As spring is beginning to show its sunny face between the rain drops, it seems a fitting reminder that we need to do what needs to be done. Weeding, filing, sorting, choosing, and getting rid of things that will slow down growth, even though we find some things difficult or unpleasant.

Tom Peters talks of leaders only scheduling 50% of their time so they have space to think, reflect and make sure the important things are being done, rather than just the busy work. It’s the space between the broad beans that makes sure the good ideas have enough space to grow.

Asking the right questions

So often in life we search for solutions. We look for the answers to our problems, both in business and our private lives. Yet so often it isn’t the right answer that is eluding us, but the right question.

I’ve recently finished reading The Snowball by Alice Schroeder, the biography of Warren Buffett. Readers from nearby planets should know that Warren Buffett is one of earth’s richest men, and an astonishingly successful investor. She paints a vivid picture of his approach to investing. Rather than ask “Should I buy this stock at this price?” Buffett asks “What is this stock worth?” The difference may appear subtle, but the effect is dramatic.

The first question assumes the stock price is reasonable, and the decision hinges around whether you believe it will rise in value or the company will maintain its dividends. The second question is more arrogant: it attacks the very heart of the system. By going back to first principles Buffett ignores the market, and comes to his own independent conclusions as to the value of what is on sale.

It is clearly a successful approach because Buffett’s net worth has more zero’s on the end than this blog has space for.

Putting in a new software system also prompts questions. I see many companies approach the decision by asking “Should we install this software in our business? What benefits will we get by using it?”

Whereas perhaps the question could be better phrased as “What do we need to achieve in our business, and how are we going to get there?” The answer might or might not include software, but the process of figuring out what the objective is, and what the best steps are to achieve it, will produce a better result than concentrating on the functionality of any or even several software packages.

Peter Drucker famously asked “If you weren’t already in the business [you are already in], would you enter it today?”

It’s a tough question that requires some hard thought. And is likely to provide some valuable insights into your business, your competitors, and the direction the market is heading. It encourages independent thought, not a follow-the-leader mentality. I think that’s a useful skill in life and in business.

Twitter: not as daft as it sounds

Many years ago when I was in advertising we worked for a young American computer company that was just launching in the UK. They were called Dell Computers. Most of us had never even seen a computer before, let alone used one. We all had a new PC delivered so we could try it out. It seems strange now, but we hadn’t a clue what to do with the things!

We did, however, solemnly recommend to this company that they should change the name for the UK launch. As if talking to Martians, we told them about the UK TV programme “Only Fools and Horses” and Del Boy. They thanked us for our recommendation and politely said that they would launch under the name Dell anyway. It was, they quietly pointed out, the name of their founder.

We hadn’t met Michael Dell, only seen pictures of this slightly geeky looking youngster. And of course we didn’t have a crystal ball to see into the future. That geeky looking youngster has now given such mighty names as IBM, HP, Compaq and others a good run for their motherboards, and come out ahead. I blush to think how unwise we must have sounded to them.

We did, however, play an important part in them getting established, and I am proud of that.

Another name that I originally thought didn’t sound too sensible at first is Twitter. I was introduced to it by a good friend and showed the same wisdom by looking at her as if she were insane.

This pointless, alien tool has now become an extremely useful part of my business life in keeping up to date with performance measurement thinking. I’ve linked up with like-minded individuals (if there is such a thing) and wouldn’t be without it. I believe Barak Obama found it a rather useful tool on his journey to the White House. I follow my local MP and Councillors on Twitter and Eurostar got roundly criticised by not making good enough use of it during their snow-trains crisis.

So the point of this ramble? I’ll be keeping more of an open mind in future, as I tend to look a bit of a twit when it comes to future-gazing.

Nuclear fusion - energy source for our children

As 192 nations prepare to debate What Should Be Done About Climate Change in Copenhagen, the world carries on burning coal, oil and gas and discussing targets that will not be met. Wind, wave and solar dominate the debate on renewables, unsurprising as those are the technologies we are currently working with. The future will need a better mix of energy sources and more creative thinking than we have applied in the past. The future will, however, need other technologies in addition to these renewables in order to replace the vast amounts of hydro-carbon based energy the world currently consumes.

Climate change is a long term issue, as the difficulty of weaning ourselves off carbon-based fuels is proving. It therefore seems only right that replacing the coal, oil and gas (which currently produce most of our electricity) needs a solution commensurate with the problem. France, for example, has low carbon emissions because of their high dependence on nuclear fission reactors. Whilst traditional nuclear power does not pollute the atmosphere with carbon, it does pollute the ground and oceans with radioactive waste that stays radioactive for centuries.

The promising work that is being done in nuclear fusion in the UK and elsewhere promises carbon-free power without the long-lived nuclear waste. It could be an excellent solution to a tricky problem. The only difficulty is that we haven’t got it to work yet – despite successful proof of concept work. The research needed to find answers to a host of practical problems with this difficult technology are proving time consuming and expensive.

Despite all the difficulties, there is a big prize to be scooped by a generation that has done little but use up fossil fuels as fast as they can. And it is a prize that more of us should be fighting for. We owe it to future generations who may not be able to enjoy the cheap energy that we have benefited from all our lives.

So why isn’t nuclear fusion higher on the politicians’ agendas? Why are we not thinking longer term about such important issues? Politicians may be re-elected every 4 years or so, but this beautiful world will still be here in 40, 400 or 4,000 years time. The global nuclear fusion project at Cadarache in the south of France called ITER is in its initial stages and deserves more bullish backing than we are currently giving it.

All managers know that hitting targets requires taking actions that have sufficient chance of being successful to be worth implementing. Nuclear fusion is a strong contender and needs a higher profile, more public debate, and more money.

For those with an interest in all things climate, energy and fusion, the New Scientist is giving away a free poster all about ITER this week. Getting informed about energy and climate change is surely the least we can do for the children who won’t have the vast natural reserves we have used up with hardly a thought.

Today is Blog Action Day where bloggers of the world unite to discuss a single topic and spark debate about issues of global importance. This year’s topic is Climate Change.

6 big benefits to working tidy

The world is happily divided on working tidy.

Many people are proudly disorganised. I spoke to one such contented individual the other evening. “You wouldn’t be able to find a thing in my office”, he boasted, “but I can find everything!” I had a mental image of what his desk might look like, and wasn’t entirely convinced by the argument. There was clearly no point in debating the point; maybe he is extremely creative/efficient/happy with his working style. He probably is.

After having some success in working tidier on all my projects, however, I think there are some real benefits to working tidy. Agree or disagree, here is my two-pence-worth:

1. Focus. Tidying, filing and clearing allow focus on what’s important, rather than what’s on top on top of the pile. Using email or a postal in-box as a “to do” list does not encourage active planning. Working to a plan ensures the important, as well as the urgent stuff gets done.
2. Calm. Seeing papers, emails or other clutter around constantly pulls the mind away from the task in hand. It’s like having a little voice constantly saying “isn’t this more important?” “why don’t you work on this?” “have you forgotten that?” A clear desk and empty in-box stops the voices and helps concentration.
3. Prioritise. Clutter is just a pile of stuff that hasn’t yet had decisions made about it. By taking time to file and tidy things away decisions are made: whether the decision is to bin it, act on it, deal with it later or file it for reference. The alternative is just a big pile of work waiting to be done. Sorting enables priorities to be established, planned, and acted on in a timely way.
4. Meet deadlines. What I really mean is don’t miss deadlines, because that’s what happens when things don’t go in the right place. Things get missed because they are not on the top of the pile. Not always, but it happens.
5. Make decisions in the here and now. Some decisions benefit from settling time or waiting for more information. Some decisions are just not important enough to deal with at all. But sometimes things get left in the clutter because they are too difficult or it has become default behaviour. Working tidy enables decisions to be made when the job is current, which means the work gets done faster and better.
6. Finding things. This is purposely last on the list rather than first. Although I have occasionally lost something and spent time looking for it, it doesn't happen very often. In my experience many messy people do know where things are – they have secret systems for which pile said item has been placed. So although finding things quickly is a benefit, I don’t rate it as highly as others on this subject, such as Giles Morris writing in The Guardian a few months’ ago.

I have no option but to keep my project work tidy and filed in systems that are designed to ensure important work doesn’t go astray. But not everything is project work, and for me at least being tidier with all my work is paying dividends – big time.

Are you a creative its-somewhere-over-there type who is productive and happy? Or are you obsessively tidy, and reap abundant rewards from your discipline?

Worthwhile problems

The worthwhile problems are the ones you can really solve or help solve, the ones you can really contribute something to – Richard Feynman.

We are faced with problems all the time – big ones, little ones, important ones and not-so-important ones. Some we ignore, some we get mad at, and some we don’t even recognise as problems. There are some things that we just live with – either consciously or unconsciously – because at some level we believe things “just are as they are.”

The Richard Feynman quotation is interesting – as a professional problem solver (more grandly known as a physicist) he had to choose where to direct his time and energy. There were many problems he could tackle, but perhaps only a few where he could really contribute something of value.

So it is with all of us, there are many possibilities for how to spend our time or where to direct our talents, but perhaps only a handful of areas where we can really make a worthwhile contribution.

Feynman’s quotation is really about choices – either proactive or reactive. What we choose to do with our days, weeks, months and years.

How we choose to make a contribution. Or not.