Was just told about a real estate agent who regularly dumps files on their admin, without any explanation or discussion, because they’re “so busy”. They’ll just figure it out. Ugh! If you’re “so busy”, then you really need to take the minute or two it takes to give an explanation of the file, or task you’ve dropped onto your staff. Expecting folks to just “figure it out” is a near guarantee for re-doing/un-doing work, which is duplicative and wasteful (which should be obvious). Reminds me of one of my father’s adages: “you might think you’re too busy to do it right, but you won’t be too busy to do it again”. Slow down, folks; take the time to set your staff, and, thus, yourself, up for success.
Month: April 2015
Data, Bulk Emails and, Well, Data
I just received an email with the following request: “if you service the following states, NY, NJ, PA, OH, MD, VT, MI, ME, CT and NH…”. I immediately closed and deleted the email, for I’m in Washington. But then I started thinking, “why did the sender blast this out to the entire country?” Today, right now, with pretty much every CRM tool, you can refine your targets. With a few minutes of work, the sender of this email could’ve culled a few words from their message as well as targeted her message. Too many irrelevant emails and you find yourself in the spam box.
This ability to customize your message makes it significantly more relevant to your customers, to your audience. It makes you look more professional, and more knowledgeable. Powerful traits if you’re trying to build an audience, or come across as an influencer. Or, if you simply don’t want to waste your customer’s time. Which is good thing to desire.
So, the data is (or should be) there. Use it! Make yourself look smart, talented, professional and engaged. Unless you’re hoping to create more spam fodder.
To just be me
It’s so easy to succumb to this desire: be something, something important, impactful, powerful. Chasing after an ideal “should be”, losing sight of who you are; cruel phantoms. So easily we get pulled into career/family/cultural expectations, that when we lose sight of ourselves, we don’t easily see the path back. That’s assuming there is a path “back”. I expect, for many of us, this is a path forward; new direction, new experience. Often, the path of self-discovery and self-acceptance is a journey of deep creativity; true exploration. A journey not started in youth, rather born out of regret and emptiness.
Paper Notebooks vs Smartphones?
As I love smartphones AND Moleskine notebooks, so this video is perfect for me. I do love it so.
Coffee: A Love Story
Glorious blackness
Trickling cup-wards; Ah, life!
Coffee, my dear friend
Social Media Success
One common element to successful social media campaigns: fun. Seems quite simple, yet it’s everything. Simply trying to make money, or gaining popularity, shows. That’s trite and pathetic behavior offline, too. But delighting in human interaction, in these discussions and conversations; connections get made. All those “success metrics” build out from there. Genuineness: social media’s gold standard.
Social Media Success
One common element to successful social media campaigns: fun. Seems quite simple, yet it’s everything. Simply trying to make money, or gaining popularity, shows. That’s trite and pathetic behavior offline, too. But delighting in human interaction, in these discussions and conversations; connections get made. All those “success metrics” build out from there. Genuineness: social media’s gold standard.
Starlight
Stars are flickering
Beneath the weight of my dreams
Darkness chills the winds
Change
Gentle wind climbs down
From sun bleached, rock strewn hillsides
Inevitably
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Teaser #2
I’m more excited than I should be. This awakens the 10 year old within me, the one whose life forever changed the moment the Star Destroyer flew over Tatooine chasing the Tantive IV. Star Wars has forever dominated my path. Seeing that this is in Imax, I intend to see it at the Pacific Science Center come December.