blind spots

One of the more rewarding things I do is bridge the gap between our company's President and CEO and my marketing team.

Most of what I do is manage our campaigns based on the information I get from my team and my bosses. Sometimes what I have on my hands is a disconnect between members of my team and what my bosses are looking for. It happens everywhere.

Ever found yourself wedged between two sides?

My advice is to listen to everyone before assessing the situation. Start with the person who has the most responsibility and then talk to everyone else. Ask them questions about how they perceive things and let them talk.

The person with the most responsibility should be able to give you the guidelines for the situation. Look for that person's expectations and actions. Compare their actions with everyone else's experiences. What are the possible problems in this situation? Not just one, look for as many as you can. What's not working here?Read more

We live in our own reality. Each of us has this one area we dwell in, and to us it's reality. End of discussion.

Everyone trying to sell to you should want to understand that reality, or a reality similar to yours, so they can position their products and services in a way that makes you want to buy them. They should understand you are bright enough to make solid decisions. Should. Key word there, should.

That's not always the case.

To quote Drucker (from The Essential Drucker):

Manufacturers are wont to talk of the "irrational customer." But there are no "irrational customers." As an old saying has it, There are only lazy manufacturers. The customer has to be assumed to be rational. His or her reality, however, is usually quite different from that of the manufacturer.

This is the difference between success and failure, or success and market dominance. It's what takes an organization to the level they are trying to achieve.

Understand who you are targeting.Read more

No matter how big, powerful, and invincible you think you are, there is always something out there which could ruin the party real quick. Be curious, not cocky.

Note: the above transcript is false. It's actually an updated version of an old Navy joke. Hope you laughed!

This is a fundamental piece of my personal philosophy, one I hope you'll embrace yourself.

Ask questions. Ask more questions. Ask deeper questions. Ask hard questions. Ask "why" a lot. Ask "how" a lot. When you're done, ask one more tough question and see if you still think you're done.

I could give you answers all day. The problem? All I'm giving you are my answers to my life. This is another fundamental piece of my personal philosophy: find your own way. Let me explain.

Ever try to follow in someone's footsteps and do what they did, only to not have it work out the same? That's because you're removing yourself from the equation. It worked for them, not you. Some of what they did will work or you, and some of it won't. If you had questioned each of their steps for yourself you would have discovered your own way.Read more

Has something unexpected ever oh-so rudely interrupted your life and caused you to fall behind on less important tasks?

Last Tuesday I stayed home from work with a cold. I’ve noticed a lot people have been sick already this year, and I tend to catch something when it starts to get cold in November and December. Today is the first day I’m feeling around 100% again. I have energy, I am smiling, I feel focused… and I am way behind on e-mail, reading blogs, going through mail, and doing all the little things I tend to stay on top of.

I have a hunch you’ve been there yourself.

What happened? My balanced life got tipped over in a way. I go through most of my e-mail and blog subscriptions in the morning and when I take mental breaks during the work day. I take part of an evening every week to stay on top of mail. On top of that it was my birthday so friends and family wanted to see me. Making sure I’m on top of work and cooking dinner are much higher priorities, so that’s what I focus on.Read more

As TechCrunch’s TC50 conference wrapped up the buzz was about how weak this year’s group of companies were. The judges, the writers, and everyone in attendance was wondering, “Where were the earth changing companies?”

TechCrunch made post after post asking this very question. Top to bottom, they wrote about how unimpressed their panel of judges were over this year’s crop.

Which leads me to ask TechCrunch one thing: uh, why didn’t you pick better companies?

There’s nothing respectable about pointing out how bored the judges were over your fifty chosen finalists. You picked them, remember? You’re the reason they were on stage strutting their stuff. Every step of the way you stomped on them. Were you hoping people would forget YOU are the sole reason these particular 50 companies were on stage presenting?Read more

Having a core set of beliefs, a personal philosophy, is crucial if any of us want to have a direction in life.

The problem is that many people stop once they have the philosophy.

This conversation came up with one of my friends on the topic of money. We were taught fundamental ideas on money, a simple philosophy for what we earned. Spend less than you earn, save, invest as early as possible, take your employer up on their 401(k) match, and all will turn out well. It’s excellent advice.

It also lacks the details.

In college I had a course on personal finance and accounting. While it expanded on the fundamental ideas my parents taught me, we did not learn about how to start a Roth IRA with as little as $50 per month or how to negotiate fees with banks and lenders. The professor did not warn us to stay away from people who live a lifestyle we could not afford, because odds are we’d get start spending more as well. Heck, no one really went over how to properly manage the money we earned.Read more

One of the biggest problems I’ve encountered working in small businesses and start-ups are the devastating effect blind spots have.

You might be thinking, “Hey, isn’t that important to every person, every business, and every conscious living thing?” Yes, it’s important across the board. I’m talking about the realm where blind spots can crush everything around them. One end of the spectrum feels the impact far more than the rest: smaller groups and individuals.

Why is this?

One word: resources.

The larger the group, the more resources the group has. While not all groups are equal, having many more people means there is a higher chance someone in the group can handle a certain task at any given time. If any task can be handled by finding the right person to do it, blind spots are less of an issue.Read more