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Business Rule 11: Apples and Oranges

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A List Is a List

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Betsy, a second-year editor was working a series of Dinosaur books. The books were for second graders. That’s when kids get crazy for dinosaurs. So, the details had to be precise. Second graders know dinosaurs better than their teachers do.

The schedule was pushed tight. To kick up the pitch one more notch. When the books were done, we’d be using them to build online and CD-Rom products. Those new products relied on the books being complete on time. To raise the bar exponentially, we were working with a developer, that added time in transport and in communication.

At one point Betsy came to me, requesting help. She was a planner and a good project manager. She could see that with only one of her that the schedule was in jeopardy. We looked over the remaining tasks to see what parts she might delegate. A time-consuming and discrete part was writing the art specs.

Another editor, Susannah — of “Oh Susannah” fame — loved anything science. Her husband also taught at the university. One of us suggested that Susannah might write the art specs for the dinosaur books. We discussed the pros and cons of the idea.

“Susannah likes to go deep on everything,” I said. “You’ll have to manage her time, or each art spec will end up a book-long narrative.”

Betsy explained to Suzannah the time frame and the help that was needed. She asked Susannah for the specs as two lists for each book page -– a list of the animals and a list of the plants -– with references where possible. She encouraged Susannah to collaborate with the professor of paleobotany that Susannah was friends with, telling her we would pay him a stipend. The two editors agreed on a date when the first specs were due.

Betsy concentrated on the books in progress, while Susannah prepared the next art specs so that they would be ready when the artists were.

When the first art specs were delivered, Betsy brought them to me. She plopped in my visitor’s chair and bemoaned what she saw.

“I told her a list,” was all that she said, as she handed me three single-spaced, covered pages of text.

I looked at them. I looked at Betsy. I looked at the pages again. I thought for a minute about Betsy’s fine communications skills, and then I said what had to be true.

“This must be Susannah’s definition of a list.” We talked a bit. Then I sent Betsy back to artfully find out if Susannah had her own idea of what a list was.

Yep.

We use the same words, but don’t be surprised when they mean different things.

I don’t know why Suzannah thought what she wrote was a list. I don’t know who taught her that nor did I try to find out. I only know that this same kind of thing happens frequently, and it’s easily avoided by defining terms before people start work.

Five minutes of showing an art spec list already completed might have saved a bunch of time and some exhausted feelings. I wish I’d thought of suggesting that then.

Of course, some business lessons you just have to learn. And if you’re me, you have to learn them over and over, and over, and over again.

–Me “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

SOBCON 07
Starts this FRIDAY!!

Related
Business Rule 10: Is Their Urgency Real?
Business Rule 9: What’s the Value of Money?
Business Rule 8: What Are Your Square Periods?
Business Rule 7: Sound Bytes, Stories, and Analogies
Business Rule 6: Who Dropped the Paddle?

Business Rule 10: Is Their Urgency Real?

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Set Your Urgency Level on Facts

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My title was Director of Project Managment. My job was to make sure that the client’s needs were met as product was built. I was also responsible for strategy, budget, schedule, and all project issues.

My production manager was a bit of a pain. He was young. He was focused on personal recognition. He wanted to be KING.
I was no piece of cake either. I was young. I had no aspirations for territory, but I was focused on being SUPER MANAGER, DOER OF THE IMPOSSIBLE.

One day the production manager, Larry, stopped by my office. He said that he needed a particular something by 2 p.m. tomorrow, because it was due to the printer. I had about 800,972 other priorities that were equally urgent, but being SUPER MANAGER, DOER OF THE IMPOSSIBLE, I agreed to the deadline. I could find a few minutes between 2 and 3 a.m. when I might fit in reviewing it. Then I would have to send it over to be corrected and proofed. Then I would get it back again in time to check it before I handed it off to Larry. It could be done, but it would take keeping a close eye on.

I made it happen. In fact, I got it to Larry’s desk at 1p.m. He wasn’t there. I asked the woman at the next desk when Larry was due back from lunch. She said, “Oh, he left at 11 and he’s not coming back until Monday. He’s on vacation–extra long weekend. Didn’t he tell you?”

I couldn’t believe it! He told me he desparately needed it by 2p.m., and then he was gone!. In that split second, I made my mind up never to blindly buy into someone else’s sense of urgency again.

What to Do When Someone Is Urgent

These days when someone says, “I need this by . . . ,” I follow a set 3-step routine.

  1. I pick up a pencil and prepare to write.
  2. Then I ask, “When will you actually be able to work on this again?” That always makes the person stop to consider the date I’ve just been given. The usual response is something like, “Well, now that you mention it, . . .”
  3. At the point a new date is offered, I write down that date, the project, and the person’s name in very large handwriting, so the person sees me doing it. No words are necessary.

Just three simple steps help me find where to place my own sense of urgency so that I know when I’m urgent I am urgently moving things that will keep on moving.

I don’t get frustrated anymore by a false sense of urgency. Oh yeah and I gave up trying to be SUPER MANAGER, DOER OF THE IMPOSSIBLE in favor of trying to be MANAGER WITH A HEART WHO BELIEVES IN QUALITY a year or two after that.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

Related
Business Rule 9: What’s the Value of Money?
Business Rule 8: What Are Your Square Periods?
Business Rule 7: Sound Bytes, Stories, and Analogies
Business Rule 6: Who Dropped the Paddle?

SOBCon 07: Prizes and Gifts from Generous Folks

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Fabulous Books and a Blog Design for Attendee Gifts

Wonderful people have arranged to be sending books and a special prize for attendees at SOBCon. I want to personally thank them for their generosity.

Prizes

Thank you to these generous folks who have offered at their own cost to donate these prizes to attendees at this years’s SOBCon event in Chicago on May 11-12.

The Blog Studio

Peter Flaschner, Creative Dictator, of The Blog Studio has come forward to present an offer of a $2,000 blog design as a door prize. Here’s a sample of what they’ve done in the last year. Click the design to visit their gallery.

Lisa Haneberg

Two Weeks to a Breakthrough

Lisa has donated multiple copies of her book, Two Weeks to a Breakthrough: How to Zoom Toward Your Goal in 14 Days or Less, and pens to go along with the book. Using Lisa Haneberg’s proven process will help you move beyond your fears and bad habits and help you make significant breakthroughs, even amid the overwhelming clutter of everyday life. Two Weeks to a Breakthrough uses both repetition and the gradual introduction of new techniques to increase your ability to discover and manifest new possibilities. Through a combination of step-by-step instructions, examples, exercises, and illustrations, you will learn how to clarify your goals, take steps to break through both internal and external obstacles, and discover how to transform your career and personal life into exactly what you’ve always wanted. from the Amazon review

Ted Demopoulos

Secrets of Successful Blogging

Ted has generously provided a pile of his book Secrets of Successful Blogging to the conference. This popular tome is has had rave reviews from everyone who has had a chance to use it. Amazon says: 101+ tips for blogging more efficiently, effectively, and profitably, gleamed from interviewing hundreds of people who concretely benefit from the blogosphere. from the Amazon review

And Gift Books Too!

Tim Johnson

GUST

Tim is bringing his hot-off-the-presses, new book, Gust: The “Tale” Wind of Office Politics. Office politics are a fact of life in every company, but no one has ever told us how to use them to our advantage until now. Timothy Johnson has written a compelling, entertaining and deeply practical guide to navigating through the often-treacherous winds of office dynamics. You can t avoid company politics any more than you can dodge air molecules, so you may as well learn how to thrive in the midst of it. This wonderful book will show you how. —Steve Farber, Author, The Radical Leap: A Personal Lesson in Extreme Leadership and The Radical Edge: Stoke Your Business, Amp Your Life and Change the World

Rumor has it that

LorelleOnWordpress

Rumor has it that the famous Lorelle, that’s right Lorelle VanFossen of Lorelle on WordPress and The Blog Herald, will not only be at SOBCon, but will also introduce her brand new book for bloggers and will be providing a copy to every attendee courtesy of The Blog Herald, a SOBCon 07 Sponsor. Until then, the book title and contents are a secret.

Thank you to all of these generous people. Aren’t they great? If you see one, please say I told you what a big deal we all think their support is.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
SOBCon 07 — Be part of the most interactive and attendee-focused experience in blogging history.

10 Great Traits to Look for in Managers and Clients

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What to Look for Before You Start

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So we meet for the first time, and we think we want this job or project. Sometimes we get so involved in proving ourselves worthy, we forget to look at the person we might be working with (or for) until after the project has started.

Whoa! If only we would slow down. A longer look before we jump into a relationship can often save so much heartache and time — yes even money — later. Just a longer look might change our mind about how much we want this job and the manager or client who comes with it.

10 Things to Look for in Managers and Clients

Managers and clients. They’re people too — human as we are — replete with our great qualities and our great . . . ahem . . . tiny . . . things that need working on. Every one of us has ’em. Some go better together than others, that’s all.

When it comes right down to it, we can spend more time with managers and clients than we do with our family and friends. Managers and clients have an impact on the quality of our lives. So it makes sense to make sure that they are the sort of people we work well with. Here are 10 great traits to look for in managers and clients when you’re deciding whether you want that job.

  1. They already know who they are. A great manager or client is self-aware. You can talk frankly about what you do, what’s going wrong and right, without needing to preface or sugarcoat what you have to say. They look at the work. They look at you. They look at the big picture, their boss, and the market without using that information to define who they are.
  2. They listen actively. When you speak, they hear what you say and what you mean. They ask questions to be sure that they understand. They are curious about your ideas and your view point, because they know listening is one of the most powerful tools available to them.
  3. They are “the guide on the side, not the sage on the stage “ When they model or teach, it’s by telling stories or by participating with authentic curiosity and willingness to share.
  4. They don’t add too much value. They know when it’s someone else’s turn. Sometimes they don’t attend a meeting or don’t lead a discussion because they know that they can douse a fire by adding too much fuel.
  5. They respect the intuitive detail of those who do the work. Great managers know that those who live the work on a daily basis take in information and perceptions at every level. Those managers and clients realize that there’s a wealth of experience to be tapped if the right questions are asked. They also know that sweeping general decision they might make can disregard something hidden in that intuitive detail.
  6. They stand outside the process as much as they can. Great managers know that if they participate in the thinking, then there is no one outside of it to serve as a check. They have learned to hold the bigger picture to balance the folks who have the intuitive detail.
  7. They offer new perspectives and paradigms. When the going gets rough, great managers know what to say to get things back on track. They restore the vision by re-aligning the perspective that may have gone off track. They offer new paradigms when folks get stuck in problem thinking.
  8. They hold folks accountable with both head and heart. Great managers hold us all accountable for our professional behavior — in process, communication, personal, and interpersonal skills. That is a promise of a team well led and a project done well.
  9. They understand the business they are in. This may sound obvious but, if they don’t understand the business they are in, those above don’t matter, because we’ll all run out of money and have to find other jobs.
  10. Great managers understand that all people including themselves can only do what is humanly possible. They know that as long we can say that no one is going to die and we’re still going to eat tomorrow we are indeed lucky.

So the next time we go in for that job or that project, we might review this list from the bottom to the top and jot a few questions of our own. After all, a good fit saves everyone time and heartache and lots of other things you can count on a spreadsheet, that on a sunny morning don’t seem to mean nearly as much.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

Are you coming to SOBCon 07?

Related
How Too Much Thinking Used to Screw Me Up
Business Rule 8: What Are Your Square Periods?
Business Rule 7: Sound Bytes, Stories, and Analogies
Business Rule 6: Who Dropped the Paddle?

WOMMA: What Gets People To Talk About You?

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What People Talk About

Word of Mouth Marketing Book

Andy Sernovitz knows what people talk about. He knows how to get people like me talking the way I’m talking to you about him right now. In fact, he wrote the book Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking.

If you want to get people tarking, Andy says in his book. You need to know what people talk about. People talk about three kinds of things.

  1. We talk about other people and their stuff. If you are interesting, we talk about you or the stuff you are selling. We talk about how the service you offer is grander or more remarkable than we expected or how you have done something that captured out imagination. We want a reason to talk about you. Good conversation makes our life more interesting too.
  2. We talk because it makes us feel smart, important, and helpful. We remember how you treat us and pass that along to our friends. Treat us exceptionally nice, and we become die-hard fans. Give us a product or service that amazes us, and we’ll become the experts on where to find you — making sure everyone knows you are the best in your field. Everyone likes to feel that they have the key to something special. We like to help our friends by showing them how to find a great deal. Keep your attention fresh and exciting, and you will keep us interested and talking about you.
  3. We want to feel part of a bigger group. When we share how we feel about a product or a service we have enjoyed, we feel connected to the experience and connected to the people we tell about it. The more times we tell the story, the more we identify with it as a part of us and our life. Offer something people want to be a part of and they’ll tell others about it.

Talking to each other is what we do — on the phone, at our desks, in the comment box, in the grocery, over the kitchen table. We fill up our life with stories about our experiences. Talking is how we share the experiences that we find interesting and defining.

People like to talk to people. What can you do to get people talking about what you do? What stories come to your mind when you read this? Are they all BIG and heroic or are some stories of regular size?

Thanks Andy. I can’t wait to hear you speak at SOBCon.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Hurry! The special rate rooms in the SOBCon Block at the OHare SOBCon 07 will be released back to the hotel on April 13th.

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WOMM: If You Hate Self Promotion, Get People to Talk about You!
Andy Sernovitz Is Speaking at SOBCon! Pass It On!

WOMM: If You Hate Self Promotion, Get People to Talk about You!

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Get People Talking

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Remember in Jr. High, the worst that could happen was to know that people were talking about you. Even if what you heard might be good, you couldn’t be sure. It was creepy.

Life is different now. Talk is how people share the news about interesting, fascinating, dangerous, marvelous, outrageous, remarkable, unique, and outstanding events, people, businesses — anything that isn’t BORING OR INVISIBLE.

If folks AREN’T TALKING about you and me, we virtually DON’T EXIST.

Don’t exist as in we are invisible. How does a business thrive if no one knows it’s there?

Some folks seem to have a knack for getting folks to talk about them. I’d name, but that would be redundant. The fact that they’re good at it means you already know who they are.

So what do they do that gets them talked about? Andy Sernovitz says they do four things. In his book, Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, Andy names four rules to follow if you want t6 be talked about.

  1. Be interesting. No one talks about boring. Give people a reason — an unexpected detail, a moment of something, a visual surprise, a unique feeling. People tell othere people about interesting things.
  2. Make people happy. Inspire your readers. Get them jazzed or move them to action. Energize them with positivity. Tim Sanders wrote a whole book in the Likeability Factor. Put it to work for you. We love to talk about people we like.
  3. Earn respect and trust. Know your truth and live your values. Keep your promises and make people proud to say they know you. Who doesn’t like to talk about their friends and family?
  4. Make it easy. Have a simple message and help folks share it. Put your message everywhere people look. Keep it in motion. Say it yourself whenever you talk.

Makes total sense doesn’t it? Four ways to spread the word gets people talking about you, me and our ideas.

Thanks Andy. Tomrrow, we’ll check out what folks talk about.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the SOBCon 07 blog

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Andy Sernovitz Is Speaking at SOBCon! Pass It On!