Don’t Forget to Stop … And Listen to The Music

This is the fourth in a series of VBlog’s produced by Another Cool Design.  Originally shared as a blog post almost a year ago, this is an example of how we miss great opportunities when we aren’t paying attention.

Roundpeg Video Blog #4 – Joshua Bell from Another Cool Design on Vimeo.

Want to see the entire Joshua Bell video?

Insert Clever Title Here

Something very, very bad happened today. I got writer’s block.

For someone who earns her living, and genuinely enjoys the process of writing, this is a bad thing. For me, it isn’t necessarily a total lack of ideas, but a lack of good ideas. I saw a thousand roads before me, all leading absolutely nowhere.

For a while, I sat and fumed at my computer. I did some research, thinking it might help unclog my brain. It didn’t. Finally I got desperate enough to Google “how to beat writer’s block.” I came across this excellent page of suggestions, and slowly but surely, the block began to thaw. I started doing some mindmapping, an activity which in the past I’ve always found useless, but in this case, visually organizing my thoughts helped tremendously.

Lorraine came along and we stood on our patio, discussing other possible approaches to take. I switched the project from third person to first, and gave myself permission to write badly. I sat down and began to bang out copy. As I did, I realized  overcoming writer’s block isn’t about coming up with a brilliant and revolutionary new idea. Sometimes it’s as simple as sitting your butt in the chair and getting something on paper.

Do I like what I wrote? Not really. But I’m proud  I could at least unblock myself enough to get a starting point. Tomorrow I intend to come in and demolish the piece, hopefully coming up with something  I do love. But now I’ll be prepared when writer’s block strikes again without warning.

Don’t Design in a Vacuum

All too often small business owners fall in love with their ideas.  They spend so much time thinking about their new business concept, they lose perspective.  Sometimes it is important to step back, and look at the concept from a distance, or to get feedback from someone else.

In a recent post on Web Design Depot, the author talks about the four people you should ask for feedback about your website.  I would expand this, and ask these same people for feedback on your business idea in general.   He says:

• Ask Your Mom ( Or Better Yet your Grandmother)
• Ask a Big Name
• Ask Yourself
• Ask Your Community

The key is to ASK others for input, to help you see what you can’t see on your own.!

Kill Any Creative Idea Before It Takes Hold`

or 14 things you can do to insure no creative idea will survive.

I found this video on the Harvard Business Review website.  There, nestled in between sound ideas, and smart articles, was this delightful, tongue-in-cheek, anti creativity checklist.

As you watch the short video, pay close attention to the signs you might be working against creative thinking in your small business.

My Anti-Creativity Checklist from Youngme Moon on Vimeo.

Episode 6 – More Than a Few Words – Inbox Zero

I had a chance to sit down with Michael Reynolds, owner of Spin Web recently.  We talked about a number of things including Inbox Zero.  If you are not familiar with the concept, it is a technique for managing your email instead of letting it manage you.

The goal of Inbox Zero is to clear your “inbox” every time you sit down to address email.  It sounds impossible, especially for someone like me who receives hundreds of emails, but it works.  At the core of Inbox Zero are four folders:

• Action Required
• Someday Maybe
• Waiting For
• Archive

Making the switch from multiple folders for projects, customers and employees to just four was difficult at first. As I have used the system, I discover it is faster to find what I am looking for then it was when I had lots of folders.

Want to learn more about Inbox Zero?  Listen to today’s podcast, check out Michael’s blog, or even one of his seminars and you can become an email Ninja too!

Make Your Life

Every now and then I get one of “those” emails.   Most of the time, I browse and delete, but every now and then I like it well enough to share.   This is one I wanted to share, but didn’t want to add to the clutter in everyone’s email box, so I thought I would post it here.

It is an excerpt from a poem by Maya Angelou. While she is not writing just for business owners, I think her comments are dead on.  She says:

‘I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

I’ve learned that “making a living” is not the same thing as “making a life”.

I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back!

I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

So here is my thought for today – Before you end your day,  do something to MAKE YOUR LIFE: Learn something, give something or do something to make someone else feel special.  After all, isn’t that why we went into business?

Hope Always Finds a Way!

For a change of pace, I watch Video’s from the annual TED event.  The range from interesting, thought provoking, and funny to completely over my head or simply inspirational.

I found this one today, and and was inspired by the story of Becky Blanton.  She was a writer, photographer and former journalist who planned to live in her van for a year and see the country.  Instead when her freelance job ended, her camping trip turned into homelessness.

In this short seven minute video, she describes her experiences, and the path back to mainstream society.  Her closing words, Hope Always Finds A Way rang in my ears long after the video had ended.

How to Innovate

Written by Melinda Cooper

Jennifer Alsever presents a step-by-step guide to fostering business creativity in the October 2009 Fortune Small Business.  Her process includes suggestions and comments from authors, entrepreneurs and consultants:

Step 1: Look Behind You

Steve McKee, author of When Growth Stalls, sums this step up best when he says – “It’s like trying to catch a baseball….you’re in a better place if you know where the ball has been. Then study the needs of your customers. Where are their frustration points? Where is their productivity being hampered?”

(side note: Really? When does history not repeat itself? People are wearing LEGGINGS of all things again!)

Step 2: Lose The Routine

Robin Chase,  CEO and founder of Zipcar and GoLoco, says , “Time wasting in an excellent source of innovation… Make time to read widely, and cultivate a variety of friends and online groups who send you wacky articles.”

(side note: I long to be a master of this. Ha. Let me know if you want some wacky articles.)

Step 3: Use The Brains You Hired

Thomas Koulopoulos, author of “The Innovation Zone” says, “You need to give people the license to take risks and to fail often enough to realize that they will not be punished for doing the right thing even though the outcome might not be what they expected…Small failures encourage big success.”

(side note: Devil’s advocate: So… hire people to fail for you and then after they do trial and error… you use this information and come out victorious? Sounds good to me, just make sure to give credit where it is due.)

Step 4: Get Cozy with Customers

David Fields, managing director of Ascendant Consulting says “You can’t be too close to your customers… Your customers are your lifeblood. The heart of innovation is understanding what problems they have that you can solve.”

(side note: This seems obvious to me. And David should maybe talk to his HR department because… you can sometimes be too close to your customers.)

Step 5: Share The Load

Getting outside feedback doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. Dig into your Rolodex and find a partner or vendor who might be interested in sharing time and/or money. Travis Hollman, a serial entrepreneur in Dallas, Texas encourages business leaders to find student interns who work for credits.  Why? Because they will tell you the truth when it comes to market research since “they don’t work for you, so they’re not afraid to tell you something is dumb.”

(side note: Unpaid interns will also tell you when something sucks. E-mail me. I’ll tell you.)

Step 6: Try to Fail Quickly

If you have a good idea, move on it rather than sit around on it. Sometimes moving from brainstorming to action can be tough. Set goals and benchmarks – time or money – for your idea so you know when to quit. And Kirk, the CEO of Path Forward International warns, pf getting trapped in “shiny-penny hell” where you become enamored of too many great ideas at once.

(side note: At least be optimistic about it and try to MAKE MONEY quickly rather than fail…)

Eureka!

Written by Melinda Cooper

I’m reading this article today in the October 2009 edition of Fortune Small Business which featured this interesting statistic:

In a July poll of small business owners conducted by Zogby International for FSB – six in 10 respondents said they have had a “eureka moment” – a sudden, blinding flash of inspiration that led them to offer a new product or start a new company.

Have you had an eureka moment? If so, please comment. I would like to read it

Oh and just for fun … 25 years of ‘eureka’ moments

And if you would like help converting your Eureka moment into a business concept, consider taking advantage of our FREE ” How to Write a Business Plan in Ten Weeks Program”

Sometimes it is Brawn over Brains

Entrepreneur Andrew Chen has written a great post about building your initial team, after you receive your first round of funding. The advice is great for any small business ready to start hiring people. He suggests:

• Hiring T-shaped people versus specialists
• Try to get doers
• More candidate flow solves a lot of problems
• Interview for the actual work you’ll be doing, not skill set trivia
• Raw intelligence is just one factor – don’t overestimate it

I thought all five suggestions were valid, but the one which stuck out the most for me was # 5 – Don’t overestimate raw intelligence.

Years ago, I had a choice between two candidates. Karen was clearly smarter than Julie. But there was something about Julie I liked.

Against my better judgment, I let others convince me to hire the smarter candidate, Karen. I soon discovered the problem.  Everything had always come easy to Karen, and she was lazy.

About six months later, I had a chance to offer the Julie a job. While it took her longer to catch on, she knew how to ask for help and work until the project was done. Given a choice, I would hire Julie again.

Some projects require raw intelligence; others require muscle and work ethic. Be sure you know what you need most.

Follow the  link to read the rest of Andrew’s article

Next Page »