Why don't taxi drivers ask you what kind of music you would like to listen to?

In my years of living in New York City and traveling to dozens of cities across the country and the world, I can't recall an instance in which a taxi driver asked me what kind of music I would like to listen to, or whether I would like to travel with the radio off.

I have a hypothesis that by giving riders control over the music, taxi drivers could differentiate the experience and increase their tips.

And with technology today, it would be an easy thing to do, of course.

At the simplest end of the spectrum, a taxi driver could get satellite radio and ask the passenger what station they would like to listen to. (I'd reference the monthly cost of Sirius satellite radio here, but after a few minutes on their site I can't find the monthly price - they don't make it obvious. Let's assume $10 per month.)

At a more sophisticated level, the driver could have an iPhone loaded up with podcasts, Pandora, and Stitcher, and give the rider almost unlimited choice. Cost of this option: ~$120 per month minus what the driver already pays for his or (rarely) her cellphone bill.

How much extra would you tip a driver who asks you at the beginning of the ride, "I've got Pandora and a selection of podcasts. Would you like to listen to music? What kind of music would you like to listen to? Anything at all. Or would you rather travel with the radio off?"

This is one element of rethinking the taxi experience. Another way a taxi driver could add value: get educated on some aspect of the city and offer to give me a lesson during the ride.

The driver could learn the history of all the street names in the city, or learn about architecture, or give a running commentary on where taxi drivers eat lunch, or decipher graffiti, or know where the celebrities live. There ought to be plenty of time to study while waiting in the line at La Guardia.

Driving a cab seems at face value a classic example of the commodity job, but by rethinking the service offering, my hypothesis is that at very little cost, a driver could increase income by at least 10% if not more. And make the job more fun. Wouldn't it be more interesting to find out the musical preference of each of your fares?

Of course, my hypothesis could be wrong. Maybe some drivers have tried this, and the tips didn't go up, so they quit and went back to listening to the station that they prefer. I'd be curious if any readers have personal experience or have insight on this from a conversation with a driver.

Pandora for podcasts

I'm waiting for someone to create the Pandora for podcasts.

Some of my favorite podcasts include:
TED Talks
Freakanomics
The Moth
This American Life
The Writers' Almanac

I'm sure there are hundred of other podcasts that I'd also enjoy.

Is there a Pandora for podcasts? Where I could rate each podcast as I listen to it, and then I would get suggestions for other ones based on my preferences?

Does this exist already? If so, please tell me.

As soon as someone creates this, let me know. I'll be an early adopter.

Message to Delta Airlines management

On the 6 a.m. flight last Monday, it was great that the pilot, in his initial announcement, told us that he would be refraining from any unnecessary announcements during the flight. None of the "we are now passing over Ithaca and getting ready to take a left..."

When he told the passengers that "we recognize that many of you will be trying to catch up on some sleep or get some work done, so we'll refrain from any unnecessary announcements," I figured that we'd have some peace and quiet in the back.

So it was a little surprising when the flight attendants, halfway through the flight, made an announcement that they had snacks for sale and in honor of breast cancer awareness month were offering pink martinis for $7. Pink martinis at 7 a.m. on the one-hour flight from New York to Detroit? How many of those have you sold? Was it worth making up 50 passengers every morning to make that sale?

Why do we enter city and state in web forms?

Why do we need to enter city and state in web forms? Once we enter our zip code, why don't city and state get populated?

With just a little more thought in the design of web forms, how much effort could have been saved?

If 100 million people in the US are regular active web users, and they fill in their name and address once every two weeks, and this takes 5 seconds, the total time cost per year is

100,000,000 * 25 episodes per year * 5 seconds per episode * 1 hour / 3600 seconds =

3.5 million person-hours per year

If we value that time at just $10 per hour, that is $35 million per year. Will a programmer please redesign the web form, to ask for the zip first and then perform a lookup for the city and state fields?

Thanks!

If you want to be contacted, include your phone number

I've had this happen many times in the past and experienced it again this week. Someone who wanted to speak to me sent me three or four emails asking me when would be a good time to talk. He wrote, "let me know a good time, and I'll call you."

But he never included his own cellphone number.

I was at the airport Thursday night with my flight delayed, and tried to reach out to him. But when I looked through all the emails he had sent me, no phone number.

Either set up an automatic signature that includes your phone number, or be sure to include your phone number in any communication to clients or other people you hope will get in touch with you.

And while you are creating your email signature, include your email address. Sure, your email address is in the "from" line, but if someone wants to copy and paste your contact info into their contact management software, it certainly makes it easier if they don't have to copy and paste from two places.

Carry stamps and some envelopes in your laptop bag

In the day of email, social networks, twitter, and text messages, nothing stands out like a handwritten letter. Whether it is a letter of gratitude, encouragement, or just saying hello, it will brighten the recipient's day, and it feels great to send one.

If you are frequently on the road, a perfect time to knock out a quick letter is the time between "turn off all electronic devices" and the order to "place your seats and tray tables in the upright position."

Thank the housekeeping staff at the hotel were you just stayed, or the education director of the museum where you took your kid for an event over the weekend, or the author of a book you just read. Or write three sentences to your kids, your spouse, your parents. Or encourage a friend who is going through a rough spot.

The key to enable this all is having some stamps and envelopes in your laptop bag. If you have the stamps and the envelope, you can put the letter in the mail on your way home or on the way to the office.

And the easiest way to buy stamps now, of course, is online at www.usps.com. Instead of waiting in line at the post office, you can get any stamps you want with a two-day delivery time.

How do I find a good electromechanical technician?

I'm working to help one of my clients hire an electromechanical technician. An ideal candidate would be an electrician or electronics technician, E-6 or above, with six years or more military experience. Military experience isn't required, but the client is looking for someone who can both do hands-on corrective and preventive maintenance as well as manage a preventive maintenance schedule, research and order parts, research new equipment, document processes.

We'd love introductions to military recruiters who specialize in placing candidates E-6 or above who are electricians or electronics technicians.

Here are the job responsibilities. The position is in the New York metro area. If you know anyone who might be a good fit, or could help us find a good candidate, please leave a comment.

Responsibilities –

Perform electrical and mechanical corrective maintenance for Production

Draft quarterly and weekly preventive maintenance schedule

Perform daily and routine preventive maintenance activities

Update preventive maintenance plan when new equipment is purchased

Identify and develop mechanical process improvements

Sourcing replacement parts and equipment

Documenting equipment repairs and preventive maintenance activities

Diagnosis and repair of plant production equipment such as liquid vial fillers, cappers and labelers, etc.

Design, implement, maintain and improve electrical equipment and facilities

Candidate must have excellent mechanical skills, verbal and written communication skills

Prepare specifications for purchase of parts, materials, and equipment

Compile data and write reports regarding existing and potential engineering projects

Work to improve the safety, quality, and performance of production

The power of the default choice

Seth Godin had a post over the weekend on the importance of buttons, defaults, and cues (with the example of credit cards on taxis in NYC, where the lowest default tip is $2.)

I encountered another example today when I was ordering some new checks from Deluxe.

The rep asked me, "Would you like two boxes, or would you like to save money on shipping by ordering four boxes?"

Me: "Is two boxes the minimum order?" I asked?

Deluxe: "No, you can order one box."

Me: "Do I get a volume discount by buying two boxes instead of one?"

Deluxe: "No."

Me: "How many checks come in a box?"

Deluxe: "150"

Me: "OK, that's about a three year supply. I'll take one box."

And then the default style of check I was offered cost $10 more than plain checks, which are perfectly fine with me. And I'm comfortable with non-expedited shipping. So a $120 order became a $35 order.

Next step: ask my bank to absorb this fee since I'm such a good customer. (They did last time I asked.)

What default choices do you offer your customers?

The only way to have is to give

“The only way to have is to give, the only way to keep is to share, the only thing worth finding is opportunity.” - George Booth

I first heard the above quote in a commencement speech delivered by Walt Person at Potomac College in 2008, and the phrase has stuck with me.

The wisdom is perhaps even more relevant today than when it was first uttered. (George Booth was a publisher and philanthropist who lived from 1864-1949)

The only way to have a talent is to use that talent to give a gift. A talented musician who doesn't play for others can hardly be called a musician.

The only way to have knowledge is to give that knowledge away, because it is the giving of knowledge that affirms the fact of its possession.

The only way to keep a memory is to share it with others, or that memory degrades and is lost. The act of sharing the memory is what allows it to be retained through reinforcement.

The only thing worth finding is opportunity. One could say that money is worth finding, but what is money but a sort of crystallized or distilled form of opportunity?

How would your business operate differently if you governed every interaction by this philosophy?

If you want to learn marketing, do marketing

In a blog post this month, Seth Godin writes:

If you want to learn to do marketing... then do marketing.

You can learn finance and accounting and media buying from a book. But the best way to truly learn how to do marketing is to market.

There is nothing like putting theory to practice. The past couple years I've been putting my ideas to the test while trying to rent out a family property. Some things have worked, and many ideas haven't.

I started by just listing the house on Craigslist, but didn't get real traction through that avenue until I also build a website for the house. The website was worth the time investment - it seems to give people confidence that we are legitimate.

That has been about the only success I've had so far; most of our rentals have come through Craigslist.

I tried listing the house through various vacation rental sites. While they promise millions of visitors to their site, it didn't result in any inquiries that panned out.

I tried search engine marketing, with paid Google ads. I got a few hits this way, but no rentals, and mainly succeeded in making Google just a little bit richer. One mistake I made was allowing my paid ads to get put on websites as well as show up on the right hand side of organic search. I think there must have been some click fraud, because the organic search ads at least resulted in some inquiries, but with the ads that appeared on other websites, my budget always got used up but no inquiries even came through.

I tried advertising in the local newspaper. This was expensive and resulted in exactly zero inquiries.

I tried printing up a thousand business cards and putting them on windshields during a football game (my target audience.) I thought surely, these are people who will probably come back this fall and normally stay in a hotel. Perhaps they haven't thought of renting a house instead of a hotel room, so they don't even see my ads on Craigslist. After $100 of cards, and three hours walking up and down the rows of cars parked in a cow field, no inquiries.

I've kept the contact info of every person that expresses an interest in our place, and then sent out an email newsletter via Constant Contact. I thought, surely people that have been interested enough in the past to submit an inquiry on my very own website will be a great resource. But so far, even though I've built up a list of 100 names, none of those that expressed an interest in the past have expressed an interest this year when I reached out to them.

Still, Craigslist keeps working. I've learned that I need to keep reposting the house regularly, because many others have discovered that Craigslist works well, so it is a bit of an arms race. Last year, in State College, PA, there were perhaps 5 houses listed per day as available for Penn State game weekends. This year there could be 20 or more listings per day. If you aren't in the most recent 20 or so listings, I've found, potential renters won't reach out to you.

This is all very valuable learning for a consultant. It is one thing to recommend obvious solutions. It is a different thing to find solutions that actually work.

As an aside, I'd suggest that you can't actually learn finance or accounting from a book either. Yes, of course you can learn the rules of accounting in class, but learning to apply those principles in the messy real world requires mentorship and practice just as marketing does. In the Navy we called it "time on the pond."

The essential point of Seth's post is that you don't need to wait to get a job to start professional training. Seth suggests, if you want to do marketing, then sell some books or concert tickets.

As a corollary, I'd add, "If you want to do consulting... then start doing consulting."

If you want to be a management consultant, then find someone who will accept your advice for free. Find a local restaurant owner and help her staff more efficiently or reduce her purchasing costs. Help a doctor improve the patient experience by streamlining the number of forms patients fill out. Develop a list of target customers for the small business of a relative.

What's your name?

The actress Amy Ryan ("Gone Baby, Gone" [Oscar nomination], "Changeling," "Green Zone") was interviewed on stage for an hour last night at a screening of "Jack Goes Boating" sponsored by the Museum of the Moving Image.

She told this story, which I paraphrase from memory:

Before the Oscars, Miramax graciously put me up in the Four Seasons for a couple weeks, and every day it was,
"Good morning, Miss Ryan,"
"Would you like something to eat, Miss Ryan?"
"Can we get you anything, Miss Ryan?"

Then, the day after the Oscars, I was downstairs with my luggage, waiting in line for a taxi (no limo to the airport!). It was early in the morning - Tilda Swinton was probably still drinking champagne, and I was exhausted, catching an early flight to the East Coast. The bellman whistled a cab for me and as he was helping me with my luggage he asked, "And what's your name?"

At first I was pissed! What's my name? Didn't you see the Oscars?

And then I cooled off, and I thought, that's right. Fly back East, go back to your family and your friends, get out of this crazy city, go back and do what you love. It's not about having everyone on the street know your name, and that bellman did me a big favor by reminding me of that, and I'm grateful to him for it.

Thanks to Amy Ryan for sharing this story of how a humbling moment helped her gain some healthy perspective.

Timing of a mailing

I just got a mailing from my 401K plan informing me that I'll need to make my annual allocation decision.

This is a two-minute task, one that I'd like to knock out right away and then be done with it.

Unfortunately, the window in which I can make my allocation decision doesn't start for another two weeks. So I need to keep the mailer in my "to-do" folder, and the 401K administrator will need to email me 2-3 times to remind me.

Maybe next year they can time the mailing so that when it arrives I can do the task immediately.

Make it easy on your customers. If you are going to ask them to do something, let them do it.

Should your child be a lawyer? (Circa 1953)

How do you respond?

Emily works at a garden nursery. A customer walks up to Emily and asks, "Do you have any rosemary plants? I've looked through all the herbs in the section up front and can't find any."

Emily has a few possible options on how to respond:
A. "We have a big section of herbs way in the back. Let me take you there and let's see if we can find some for you."

B. "We have a big section of herbs way in the back. It's in the far right corner, back there past the marigolds. Do you see it? You might be able to find some back there."

C. "We must be sold out. The woman who takes care of the herbs just went through and refilled the stock up front, so if you don't see any there, we don't have it."

If you are Emily, how do you respond?

If Emily works for you, how do you want her to respond? Have you given Emily permission to be remarkable?

Book summary: The Power of Less

The The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential...in Business and in Life by Leo Babauta

The Power of Less has some powerful, counter-intuitive ideas that could lead to a significant change in your productivity, and a reasonable volume of fluff that will be helpful to very few.

For examples of fluff, you could review the "20 ideas to help you maintain your motivation." A few examples are "think of the benefits" and "get excited again." Some of the author's own simplicity principles could have been profitably applied to chapters such as this one.

The powerful ideas, however, justify the purchase price and will yield significant productivity improvements if you can implement them. For example, Babauta suggests that you pick three projects that are most important to you, and complete all three before you work on any other project. This may sound extreme, but Babauta's own personal example suggests the power in the approach. (He has lost weight, quit smoking, become a world-famous blogger, etc, etc, following his own principles.)

What follows is a summary of the book with most of the key points. This ought to help you decide if the book is worth your time:

Introduction:
The Power of Less Principles:
1. Set limitations
2. Choose the essential
3. Simplify
4. Focus
5. Create habits
6. Start small
Simplicity can be powerful
Achieve goals one at a time

Part 1: The Principles

Chapter 1: Why less is powerful
Principle 1: By setting limitations, we must choose the essential. So in everything you do, learn to set limitations.
Principle 2: By choosing the essential, we create great impact with minimal resources. Always choose the essential to maximize your time and energy.
How to choose the tasks that have the most impact? Two options:
1. Examine your task list and ask yourself the following questions:
a. Will this have an impact that will last beyond this week or this year?
b. How will this change my career, my life?
c. How will this further a long term goal of mine?
2. Start with your goals: plan tasks each day that will lead to accomplishing the goals.
What are the things one can apply limits to? Any aspect of your life. E.g.,
The number of possessions that I have
The information that I receive
The number of emails I respond to per day
The number of times I check email per day

Chapter 2: The art of Setting Limits
What to set limits on:
Email, daily tasks, number of projects, number of blogs you subscribe to, amount of time spent reading on the Internet
How to set limits:
1. Analyze current usage levels, pick a lower level limit
2. Test it for a week
3. If it doesn't work, adjust and test again
4. Continue to adjust and then make it a habit

Chapter 3: Choosing the Essential, and Simplifying
Questions to help determine what is essential
* What are your values?
* What are your goals?
* What do you love?
* What is important to you?
* What has the biggest impact?
* What has the most long-term impact?
* Needs vs. wants
* Eliminate the non-essential
* Continual editing process
Ways to apply the questions about essentials:
Life commitments
Yearly goals
Work projects and tasks
E-mails
Finances
Clutter
Regular review
Principle 3 - Simplifying - Eliminating the Nonessential.
Learn to say "No."

Chapter 4 - Simple focus
Principle 4: Focus is your most important tool in becoming more effective
How to use focus to improve your life
Focus on a goal
Focus on now
Focus on the task at hand. Single-tasking is more efficient than multi-tasking because you don't waste time switching gears.
Focus on the positive
How to single-task:
1. First thing in the morning, focus on the Most Important Task
2. Turn off all other distractions while working on the Most Important Task
3. If tempted to check email, pause, breathe deeply, and resist the urge
4. If other things come in, make a note of them, and keep focusing
5. Process email and inbox at regular intervals
6. Take breaks, stretch, move, get outside
How to focus on the present:
1. When you eat, just eat. Experience the food, the taste. Really experience it.
2. Be aware.
3. Be gentle. Don't beat yourself up if you start thinking about past or future.
4. Exercise. Focus on your body, breathing, etc while exercising, not the MP3 player.
5. Daily routines. When you walk, focus on walking.
6. Put up reminders to focus on the present
7. There is no failure
8. Keep practicing

Chapter 5 - Create New Habits, and the Power of Less Challenge
Principle 5 - Create new habits to make long-lasting improvements
1. Select one habit for the challenge
2. Write down your plan
3. Post your goal publicly
4. Report on progress daily
5. Celebrate your new habit
Why it works
* Commitment
* Accountability
* Encouragement
* Inspiration
The Rules
* Do only one habit at a time
* Choose an easy goal
* Choose something measurable
* Be consistent
* Report daily
* Keep a positive attitude
12 Key Habits to Start with
1. Set your 3 Most Important Tasks each morning
2. Single task
3. Process your in-box to empty
4. Check email just twice a day
5. Exercise five to ten minutes a day
6. Work while disconnected, with no distractions
7. Follow a morning routine
8. Eat more fruits and veggies every day
9. Keep your desk decluttered
10. Say no to commitments and requests that aren't on your Short List
11. Declutter your house for fifteen minutes every day
12. Stick to a five-sentence limit for emails

Chapter 6 - Start Small
Principle 6 - Start new habits in small increments to ensure success
Why starting small works
It narrows your focus
It keeps your energy and enthusiasm going for longer
It's easier to handle
You ensure success
Gradual change is longer-lasting
How to apply starting small
Exercise - start with 5-10 minutes per day
Waking early - start by waking 15 minutes earlier
Productivity - Start by focusing on task at hand for 15 minutes at a time
Email effectiveness - start by reducing the frequency of checking email to fewer times per day but not all the way to 2 or 3 times per day
Healthy eating - start with just one change to the diet
Decluttering - start with just one drawer
Part Two - In Practice

Chapter 7 - Simple Goals and Projects
The "One Goal System" - focus on one goal at a time
1. Choose a goal
2. Break it down to a sub-goal
3. Weekly goal
4. Daily action
The Simple Projects List
Make a list of all the projects going on in your life. Anything that takes a day or more to complete.
Now choose just three projects from the list. This list of three is the Simple Projects List. Everything else is on hold until you complete the three projects that you've chosen. You don't get to work on other projects until all three projects are completed. Then you add three new projects to the Simple Projects List.
Tips to focus on completion:
* Have an outcome in mind - what will the project look like when you are done?
* Move from projects to tasks - list all the tasks required to achieve the outcome
* Each day, choose a task to move you toward completion
* Reassess your progress

Chapter 8 - Simple Tasks
Choose only three Most Important Tasks that will be the focus of your day. No matter what else, make sure you get the three MITs done each day. At least one of the MITs should be related to your goals.
Set these MITs the first thing in the morning. Focus on accomplishing these above everything else. Do them early in the day, before distractions. Break things down into small tasks.

Chapter 9 - Simple Time Management.
Batch processing - group together similar tasks

Chapter 10 - Simple E-mail
Limit the number of inboxes - list all the ways you receive information, evaluate each to see if it gives you value, and find ways to combine or eliminate in-boxes
Limit your time with email: Limit the number of times per day you check email; don't check email first thing in the morning, turn off email notifications
Reduce your incoming stream: Create filters to send notifications directly to a folder outside the Inbox; stop the flow of joke emails
Process to empty: Temporary folder of to be filed; have an external to-do system; process quickly; Delete key; Process to done; write less

Chapter 11 - Simple Internet
Awareness - track your usage:
www.toggl.com
www.nbtech.com/yatimer
www.tickspot.com
Consciousness: Make a Plan
Set limits and have a purpose to your usage
Focus: Learning to work while disconnected - disconnect from the Internet when you want to focus and get something done.
Set a timer and focus on the task at hand.
When you think of something you need to do on the Internet, write it down and do it later.
Discipline: How to stay away from distractions

Chapter 12 - Simple Filing
1. Reduce before organizaing
2. Simple filing - alphabetical; manila folders,
3. File immediately
4. Have materials on hand
5. Reduce your needs over time
a. Store reference material on line
b. Reduce incoming paper
c. Stop printing stuff
Home paperwork tips
1. Create one mail center in your home for dealing with your mail and incoming paperwork
2. Home in-box - all incoming papers
3. Pay bills immediately
4. Enter stuff into your to-do lists or calendar
5. File immediately

Chapter 13 - Simple Commitments
Take inventory of commitments: work, side work (freelance assignments), family, kids, civic, religious, hobbies, home, online
Make a short list: Does this give my life value? How would it affect my life if I dropped out? Cut down your list to 4 or 5 things
Begin eliminating the nonessential
1. Start with something small
2. Call or email to send your regrets
3. Eliminate the commitment from your appointment
4. Repeat
Learn to say no
Making the time for what we love
1. Make a list of what you truly love to do
2. Eliminate as much of the other stuff from your life as possible
3. Schedule free time so that you're doing the things on your short list
Tips for simplifying your personal life
* What's important?
* Examine your commitments
* Do less during your days
* Leave space between tasks and appointments
* Eliminate as much as possible from your to-do list
* Slow down and enjoy every task
* Single-task
* Eliminate stress
* Create time for solitude
* Do nothing
* Sprinkle simple pleasures throughout your day
* Practice being present
* Free up time

Chapter 14 - Simple Daily Routine
Helps prepare for your day, time to set goals, get exercise, do something enjoyable
Choose 4-6 activities for a morning routine, e.g.
Have coffee, watch the sunrise, exercise, shower, do yoga, meditate, write, read, review goals, write the Most Important Tasks
Evening routine:
Prepare for the next day, unwind, review day, keep house clean, calm yourself, write, exercise
1. Focus on the routines
2. Make them rewarding
3. Log your progress

Chapter 15 - Declutter your work space
Benefits: allows you to focus; provides sense of calm
1. Set aside time
2. Take all the paperwork off your desk and put in a big pile
3. Clear everything off desk except computer, phone
4. Start with pile of papers
Getting down to the essentials
What do you really need to do your job?
Get rid of distracting knickknacks, posters, etc.
Empty entire shelf or drawer at a time
Be ruthless with papers
Keep things decluttered:
1. Keep an in-box for incoming papers
2. Once per day, process the in-box to empty
3. Have a place for each item and type of paper
A simple home: less stressful, more appealing, easier to clean
Thirty-day list: anytime you want to buy something, put it on the list with the date you added it

Chapter 16 - Slow Down
Slow attention:
Pick a simple task to start with
Practice this method throughout the day
Try meditation
Slow working
1. Choose work you love
2. Choose an important task
3. Make sure it's challenging, but not too hard
4. Find your quiet, peak time
5. Clear away distractions, and focus
6. Enjoy yourself
7. Keep practicing
8. Reap the rewards
Slow eating
Take smaller bites, chew each bite longer, enjoy the meal longer.
It takes twenty minutes for our brains to register that we are full.
1. Lose weight
2. Enjoy food
3. Better digestion
4. Less stress
5. Rebel against fast food and fast life
Slow driving
Benefits
1. Save gas
2. Save lives
3. Save time
4. Save your sanity
5. Simplify your life

Chapter 17 - Simple Health and Fitness
Step 1 - forming the exercise habit: Start light. Just 5-10 minutes per day at first. Schedule workout time. Don't allow yourself to miss a day. Don't give up. Get a partner if you can. Be accountable to others. Keep a strict workout and eating log, and make it public. Let the light shine. Enjoy yourself.
Step 2 - Making gradual healthy diet changes
Eat when you are lightly hungry, not ravenous. Eat light foods. Create meal plans with healthy foods. Eat slowly. Eat until lightly full, not stuffed.
Step 3 - Continuation, short-term goals, and accountability.
Continue to gradually increase exercise, adding variety. Continue to eat healthier. Set short-term goals. Hold yourself accountable - log eating and exercise daily.

Chapter 18 - On Motivation
8 ways to motivate yourself from the beginning:
1. Start small
2. One goal
3. Examine your motivation - know your reasons, write them down
4. Really, really want it - must be something you are passionate about
5. Commit publicly
6. Get excited - visualize what it will be like to be successful
7. Build anticipation
8. Print it out, post it up. Make the goal just a few words long.
Ways to sustain motivation when you're struggling
* Hold yourself back at first
* Just start - get the running shoes on and go outside
* Stay accountable - report back daily
* Replace negative thoughts with positive ones
* Think about the benefits
* Get excited again
* Read about it
* Find like-minded friends
* Read inspiring stories
* Build on your successes
* Just get through the low points
* Get help
* Chart your progress
* Reward yourself often
* Go for mini-goals
* Get a coach or take a class
* Never skip two days in a row
* Use visualization
* Be aware of your urges to quit, and overcome them
* Find pleasure again

Learn to read a P&L

One of my clients is in the process of interviewing candidates for a director-level business process improvement role. He spoke to one candidate who had a history of leading successful projects and asked him, "Are you comfortable reading an income statement?"

The candidate said, "No," and lost the job. At least he was honest.

Anyone who works for a company, or wants to work for one, ought to be able to read an income statement, a balance sheet, and a cash flow statement. You don't need to go to business school to learn this.

If you have never really understood financial statements, or you once were a pro and need a refresher, there are plenty good books out there that you can use to teach yourself. One book that is very readable (and even amusing) is Analysis for Financial Management by Robert Higgins.

Derric is an artist

Derric is an artist. As far as I know, he doesn't paint, or sculpt, or draw with charcoal, but he is an artist as Seth Godin defines the term:

"Artists are people with a genius for finding a new answer, a new connection, or a new way of getting things done." - From Linchpin

Derric is a security guard in a building where I work. He has a genius for making connections with the people that work in the building. Some security guards do the absolute minimum, "ID please?" They wear the required uniform and show up on time, but they leave their best selves at home.

Not Derric. He learns your name, and greets you by name. He doesn't get paid extra for this. He gives you a big smile when you arrive. And he takes action to fix things, even when that isn't his job.

I was having trouble getting entered into the security system at this particular building, so every day I had to take a minute and show my ID and get a temporary pass. Derric took action to fix this. He went to the president of the real estate company that rents me an office, proposed a solution, got approval, and fixed the issue. So now I save a couple minutes a day. This isn't Derric's job, but he does it because he likes to see things run smoothly.

Derric and I had coffee the other day, and he shared some fascinating insight into the work of security guards. Such as, with a bit of overtime, one can earn over $100,000 per year. And there are a dozen or more different certifications that you can study for and get paid extra for having. Certifications related to fire safety, crowd control, maintenance, evacuations, and so on.

Derric is a wealth of information on how much different building management companies pay, what the different courses are, how much extra you can get paid with each different certification, the best strategy on when to jump from one company to another, and so forth. I suggested that he establish himself as an authority on the topic by starting a blog and interviewing building managers. How many good blogs are out there on the intricacies of building security in New York City? Derric could position himself as the expert. Give seminars on how to navigate this world. Teach graduates how to position themselves for a career in security. Do audits of building security. I'm looking forward to following how Derric manages his career.

Tip: Your email signature

This tip sounds like a no-brainer, but I often get work emails that don't have one:

If you want people to be able to get back to you easily, include an email signature in your outgoing messages.

Include in the signature all the ways you want people to be able to contact you. Your desk, fax, mobile phone numbers, your Skype address if you use Skype, and yes, your email address.

Why should you include your email address when your email address is right there in the "sent" line of your emails? Because some people are going to copy and paste your signature into their contacts in Outlook. And if your email is not included, it will take an extra step. Save them the trouble.

"I'm interested in consulting and was looking for some advice."

I occasionally have folks reach out to me asking for advice about a career in consulting, and I'm happy to answer their questions. In some cases, the inquiry I receive is very specific and shows that the person has already done the research that can be done online. Those are the cases where I can be most helpful.

In other cases, the inquiry is more generic: "I'm interested in consulting and would like to get your advice." I'll make time for a call, but I'm not going to be as helpful if the person hasn't done some research first.

A starting point for this research would include:

+ Vault Guide to the Top 50 Management and Strategy Consulting Firms

+ WetFeet guides on management consulting industry

+ Websites and wikipedia entries of the consulting firms they are interested in

+ Consulting Magazine

A good first step would be to figure out what type of consulting is of interest. Management consulting? Technology consulting? Supply chain management consulting? If you've done the research and you are trying to decide, that's fine. But you don't want to ask, "What are the different types of consulting?" If you aren't the type of person who will research that online first, you probably aren't the type of person who will enjoy consulting.

The same goes for any kind of "informational interview." It isn't helpful to ask questions during an informational interview that could be answered by Wikipedia or the annual report. Do the homework first. And then demonstrate that you've done your homework when you reach out.

Marketing Genius

"Fresh College Grad / Need Job / Hire this marketing genius" said the sign of the woman standing in Times Square.

I asked her, "Do you have a website with a portfolio of your work?" "No."

"Do you maintain a blog with your observations on the world of marketing?" "No."

"Do you have a business card?" "No."

"Okay, well, good luck."

As Seth Godin writes, if you don't have something more than a resume, what leads you to believe that you are remarkable?

 

Read Chris Guillebeau's Guide to World Domination

This online manifesto is free and could change your life.

Subtitle of the manifesto is "How to Live a Remarkable Life in a Conventional World."

Become indispensable and transform your life today

Here is the review of Seth Godin's Linchpin that I just posted on Amazon:

Linchpin is the most personal work by Seth Godin and his most passionate and compelling call to action yet. When you are done you'll want every person in your organization to read this book. Few of the messages here are new, but the combination of ideas and the clarity of the writing makes this book, like Godin himself, indispensable. In short, his message is: The world is changing. Obeying the rules doesn't cut it anymore. To have an extraordinary life, you must be remarkable. And you can start now, in your current job, without waiting for permission.

I'll include here a short synopsis of the book, a list of all his recommended reading, and then a series of quotes that I wanted to re-read myself.

Synopsis by chapter:

The New World of Work: The industrial revolution demanded workers who follow instructions. The world has now changed, and there aren't any more good jobs where you get rewarded well for obeying the rules. What the world now demands is people who are remarkable and make a difference, people who don't need to be told what to do.

Thinking About Your Choice: Everyone can choose to become indispensable. You can start now, in your current job.
Indoctrination: How We Hot Here: School indoctrinates us to obey authority and doesn't have much to do with becoming educated. Draws heavily on John Taylor Gatto.

Becoming the Linchpin: Become an expert in your field. Do emotional labor - be willing to make a connection and be remarkable. You'll need to work without a map. Avoid jobs where there is a standard of perfection, because there is no profit once you start up the asymptote. Instead, find a job where there is no upper limit on performance. Instead of a resume, have a portfolio, a set of recommendations, a blog, a reputation for being remarkable. In skiing, the one who leans the most wins the race. A linchpin leans into the task.

Is It Possible to Do Hard Work in a Cubicle? Defining art - in the sense that has nothing to do with a paintbrush. Art defined as anything that's creative, passionate, and personal; as a personal act of courage, something that produces change in another person.
The Resistance: This chapter draws heavily on The War of Art. Artists ship. Tips on overcoming the resistance. Signs that the lizard brain is at work. Quoting a Bre Pettis blog post on the "cult of done." You ship by not doing things that want to distract you. Take a news vacation. Take an Internet diet. Shenpa - Tibetan for scratching the itch. Avoid checking your email - learn to live with the itch and don't scratch it.

The Powerful Culture of Gifts: Gifts make you indispensable. Give gifts without any expectation of a payback. Gifts signal to the world that you have plenty more to spare. Gifts make a tribe.
There is no map: Prajna: a life without attachment and stress. Don't take it personally - don't try to teach fire a lesson when it burns you. Learn to navigate disruptions and inconveniences in stride. Don't get attached to outcomes. "Lab assistants do what they're told. Scientists figure out what to do next." "Art is an act of navigating without a map."

Making the Choice: Burn your copy of Candyland. Don't teach your children or employees to be map readers and rule followers. "More cowbell." A bigger badge isn't going to help you get things done. Don't wait to be given authority. Make it happen with what you have now. Fill in the following sentence: "I could be more creative if only..."
The Culture of Connection: Give genuine gifts.

The Seven Abilities of the Linchpin:
1) Providing a unique interface between members of the organization
2) Delivering unique creativity
3) managing a situation or organization of great complexity
4) Leading customers
5) Inspiring staff
6) Providing deep domain knowledge
7) Possessing a unique talent
"We can't profitably get more average"

Suggested reading:
On Gifts and Art:
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
The Gift, by Lewis Hyde
The Gift, by Marcel Mauss
Art is Work, by Milton Glaser
Man on Wire, by Philippe Petit
True and False, by David Mamet

On Sociology and Economics
The Lonely Crowd, by David Riesman, with Nathan Glazer and Reuel Denney
From the American System to Mass Production, 1800-1932, by David Hounshell
The Power Elite, by C. Wright Mills
The American Myth of Success: From Horatio Alger to Norman Vincent Peale, by Richard Weiss
The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling, by Arlie Russell Hochschild
Stone Age Economics, by Marshall Sahlins
Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take it Back, by Douglas Rushkoff
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, by Max Weber
The Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith
The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart, by Bill Bishop
The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life, by Richard Florida
The Trap: Selling Out to Stay Afloat in Winner-Take-All America, by Daniel Brook

On Education
Weapons of Mass Instruction, by John Taylor Gatto
Schooling in Capitalist America, by Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis
Learning to Labor: How Working-Class Kids Get Working-Class Jobs, by Paul Willis

On Programming and Productivity
The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering, by Frederick P. Brooks, Jr
Software Project Survival Guide, by Steve McConnell
Joel on Software, by Joel Spolsky
Zen Habits, by Leo Babauta

On Science, Evolution, and the Brain
Ever Since Darwin: Reflections on Natural History, by Stephen Jay Gould
Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World, by Alex (Sandy) Pentland
Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently, by Gregory Berns
How We Decide, by Jonah Lehrer

On Wisdom
Don't Bit the Hook: Finding Freedom from Anger, Resentment, and Other Destructive Emotions, by Pema Chodron
Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World, by Lama Surya Das
Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity, by Hugh McLeod
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, by Thich Nhat Hanh

On Overcoming Resistance and Getting Creative
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity, by David Allen
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery, by Garr Reynolds
A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative, by Garr Reynolds


Quotes:

Stop asking what's in it for you and start giving gifts that change people.

The compliant masses don't help so much when you don't know what to do next.

Artists are people with a genius for finding a new answer, a new connection, or a new way of getting things done.

There are no longer any great jobs where someone tells you precisely what to do.

It's easy to buy a cookbook (filled with instructions to follow), but really hard to find a chef book.

The Hierarchy of Value: Lift / Hunt / Grow / Produce / Sell / Connect / Create and invent

The only way to get what you're worth is to stand out, to exert emotional labor, to be seen as indispensable, and to produce interactions that organizations and people care deeply about.

If you want a job where it's okay to follow the rules, don't be surprised if you get a job where following the rules is all you get to do.

Take a risk that you might make someone upset with your initiative, innovation, and insight - it turns out that you'll probably delight them instead.

Would your career advance if you could figure out a way to do an even better job of following your boss's instructions?

We train the factory workers of tomorrow. Our graduates are very good at following instructions. And we teach the power of consumption as an aid for social approval.

It's almost impossible to imagine a school with a sign that said:

"We teach people to take initiative and become remarkable artists, to question the status quo, and to interact with transparency. And our graduates understand that consumption is not the answer to social problems."
Being good at school is a fine skill if you intend to do school forever. For the rest of us, being good at school is a little like being good at Frisbee. It's nice, but it's not relevant unless your career involves homework assignments, looking through textbooks for answers that are already known to your supervisors, complying with instructions and then, in high-pressure settings, regurgitating those facts with limited processing on your part."

What they should teach in school: 1. Solve interesting problems. 2. Lead.

Your job is a platform for generosity, for expression, for art.

If you don't have more than a resume, you've been brainwashed into compliance.

Art is anything that's creative, passionate, and personal.

Art is a personal act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another.

Art is the product of emotional labor. If it's easy and risk-free, it's unlikely that it's art.

Art is any original idea that can be a gift.

The greatest shortage in our society is an instinct to produce.

Artists think along the edges of the box, because that's where things get done.

It's not an accident that successful people read more books.

It's interesting to say it out loud, `I'm doing this because of the resistance.' When you say it out loud, the lizard brain retreats in shame.

Giving a gift makes you indispensable.

`Teamwork' is the word bosses and coaches and teachers use when they actually mean, "Do as I say.'
Gifts not only satisfy our needs as artists, they also signal to the world that we have plenty more to share.

An artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity, and boldness to challenge the status quo.
The difference between "If" and "And"

Starting your own consulting practice

Fairly regularly people who are thinking about starting out as independent consultants ask me about my experience and for any advice. Here's my first round of thoughts on this. I expect to return to the topic.

1. The question that is usually asked first is, "How do you get clients?" The answer is that there is no secret sauce. To paraphrase E. B. White, if you want to be an independent consultant, you have to be willing to be lucky. It helps if you have spent the past 5-10 years building up a reputation among a group of people who would be in a position to hire you.

2. Clients aren't going to find you on the web, probably. The people most likely to hire you, especially when you are starting out, are people who know you personally, or people who get referred to you by someone who knows you personally.

3. If you are going to do it, commit. Announce (to yourself, if no one else) that you have started your own consulting firm. This sounds like a more definitive move than, "I'm freelancing."

4. If you are going to start your own consulting firm, it will need a name.

5. If your firm has a name, it should have a branded email address. If you've never registered a domain name before, don't sweat. It costs $11 on www.godaddy.com for a domain and then $50 per year per user to get private-label Gmail via Google Apps.

6. Now that your firm has a name and a branded email address, you'll want some sharp looking business cards. You'll need a title, too.

7. If you've got the time, it would be nice to also build a website for your firm that lays out your experience and service offering.

8. If you qualify, you may want to sign up with one or more of the staffing firms recently started that specialize in placing management consultants into short-term projects.

9. If you haven't already, begin building your reputation via the wide array of online opportunities to make yourself known. Blog about your area of expertise. Offer to speak at a local college or business school. Help organize a conference, or speak at one. Podcast yourself. Make Youtube videos of yourself explaining some concept. Write a white paper and post it on your website. Review books on Amazon relevant to your expertise.

10. Be generous. Put yourself on the list of alumni of your school willing to speak with current students or recent graduates. Coaching younger people can help you identify interesting trends early on.

11. Let folks in your network know what you are doing, but don't ask for leads. If they know of a potential project, they'll let you know.

12. Polish your profile on LinkedIn. Take time now to describe the projects you've worked on. Send invitations to connect to the folks in your network. Learn how to use LinkedIn Groups.

13. Better yet, start your own group - create your tribe. Read Tribes by Seth Godin for some inspiration here.

14. Be willing to invest some time free up front. If you don't have a brand yet, clients don't know what to expect. Lower the barrier to bringing you in by offering to do a free 3 to 5 day diagnostic. Blow them away with your insights and suggestions on next steps. Try to do this even before you have a discussion on pricing. After a project, don't nickel and dime your client when there are a few hours of follow-up required.

15. Practice the pricing discussion with a friend before you have the discussion with a client. Having some comfort discussing pricing when you are selling your own time is challenging the first few hundred times you do it.

16. It helps if you are passionate about helping other people be successful and the money is not the motivating factor.

17. Keep in mind the trust equation, (from The Trusted Advisor by David Maister)

T = C + R + I / S, where T = Trust, C = Credibility, R = Reliability, I = Intimacy,
and S = Self-orientation

Unmet needs

Great essay posted in April by Paul Graham on how to find a good idea for a startup. His essays are indispensable for anyone thinking about starting a startup. He writes:

There's nothing more valuable than an unmet need that is just becoming fixable.

The same thinking that Graham applies to startups also applies to taking the initiative within your own company. What unmet needs in your own company can you identify and do something to address?

The Struggle: Which one are you?

Are you the one pushing the rock up the hill?  Or the naysayer, the doubter, the hole-poker, the one saying "we've tried that before," "that will never work here," "that's already a very crowded market," "this industry is different"?

A tiny percent of us are the ones pushing the rock up.

A larger percentage are blocking progress.

But most of us play both roles at the same time.  We come up with creative ideas that could transform our lives or our business, and then we make excuses.  "They" won't approve it.  I don't have time.  It isn't in the budget.  If this idea was so good, someone would have thought of it already.

This sculpture, which I saw at a corporate office, is titled "The Struggle."  

The biggest struggle we face is against our own internal resistance.  Fight that resistance.  Seth Godin's recent book Linchpin is a manifesto for those who are fighting that fight.

Your career, your chariot

Etymology pointers based on a post at The Word Detective:

If you are thinking of your career as a carefully plotted out series of steps, increasing levels of responsibility with promotions every two years, it is worth at least considering the implication of danger, even of recklessness, inherent in the word's history.

Career comes from the Latin carrus, or wheeled vehicle. Think not of a wagon filled with hay pulled by a reluctant donkey in a muddy Roman field, but of a wheeled chariot racing into battle, the horses with nostrils flaring, the driver standing and holding a spear.

In Middle French a derivative of carrus came to mean "racecourse" and from that the metaphor of a "course of life" brought the modern sense of "chosen occupation."

But the word still retains a sense of daring and adventure. Career can be used as a verb meaning "to rush ahead at full speed."

Is your career a chariot? Crack the whip. Embrace the adventure buried in the word's origin.

Be persistently polite and politely persistent

Be persistently polite: Your career is a multi-round game. Don't think of any transaction as one-off. Assume that everyone your interact with might be your boss or the decision maker at your customer some day. Treat them that way. This is perhaps too obvious to mention by itself in a blog post. Only worth noting as a pair to the inverted form:

Be politely persistent: Just because you emailed the hiring director/boss/acquaintance once with your request for an interview/permission/favor, don't assume that she is still thinking about it and just trying to reach a decision before getting back to you. Odds are, your email has been lost in the shuffle.

Maybe she meant to respond, and is still meaning to respond, but now your email is buried several hundred emails deep and she can't overcome the activation energy required to search for your email in order to get back to you.

Do both of you a favor - reach out again, politely. Forward your last email with a "Just wanted to follow up on my email from a week ago; when would be a good time to discuss?"

I can think of numerous examples where I've been helping a client fill an open position where a bit more persistence might have been a deciding factor. "Just wanted to follow up on my inquiry from a week ago. I remain very interested in the opportunity you are seeking to fill and would love to have a chance to discuss my qualifications..."

The worst that can happen is that you'll be told that you aren't in the running for the position.

Best case - you might be hired.

I know one VP of Sales who, after interviewing candidates for a sales role, doesn't hire anyone unless they attempt to follow up with him six times. In his industry, it takes on average six attempts to reach a customer before making a sale, and he isn't interested in hiring anyone who will give up on the fifth attempt.

Exercise: Apply for your own job

Let's say you are about to interview for a new job which you are very excited about and think would be a great next step in your career.

You'd probably research the company and its competitors, read the annual reports, read any analyst reports you can get your hands on. You'd prepare for the typical questions such as:

What relevant experience do you bring to this role?

What would you hope to accomplish in your first three months?

How will you measure your success?

What opportunities for improvement do you see for own company/department and how will you help us capture them?

Try this exercise: Apply for your own job. Do the industry research that you'd do if you were really applying. Think through your answers to questions like the ones above. Imagine the entire conversation you would have with your current boss if you were applying for your own position.

Well, you're hired. Now go do those things you just said you would do.

Getting started on the job

This advice was passed around in an email when I was in business school, and I like to reread it at least once a year:

Getting Started On The Job

By Robert J. Callander, Former Executive-in-Residence

• In past years, a number of students stopped by my office to tell me about the job they landed. Good stuff, but after a few happy words I find that along with the anticipation of beginning a career there is a certain amount of anxiety revolving around questions such as, "What do I do when I arrive?" "How do I act?" "Is there anything I can do in advance to get ready?" "What is important as I build a foundation?"

• There are many answers to these questions because every corporation and every individual is different. But maybe, just maybe, there are a few things to think about and a few disciplines you might find helpful.

• It is annual report season. Get a copy of your company's report and its proxy. Read them over. Do not memorize the financials. Just get a sense of what the company does, where it does it, what is unique, who the top people are, what the board of directors is like. And while you are at it, why not do likewise for your two leading competitors as well. In short, know where you are.

• Get through The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Financial Times before you get to your PC at the office. If your boss reads these papers you better know the morning items he/she is talking about. If he/she doesn't, you have an edge.

• Having done the above, do not "showboat" your knowledge. Let it out like toothpaste-gradually. Don't attack-counterpunch. Have them asking, "how did he/she know that?"

• Never eat lunch alone. If you are in the marketplace be with a client. You'll never find one sitting in your in-box. If you are not on the client side, seek out peers in your area or get to know other areas. Conversation and knowledge flow easily over a meal. You'll be surprised what you learn.

• Do small things well. Management notices thoroughness. You will have plenty of chances to focus on the intergalactic stuff later on.

• Focus on the people below you. It is they who will make or break you. Simple human decency and a chat over a cup of coffee go a long way. They will tell you what is really going on.

• Ask questions and listen. No one likes or needs a pontificator.

• When you have a success, use "we." In failure, use "I." Don't get this backwards!

• Identify opportunities-everyone can point to problems. Avoid starting sentences with "I'm concerned about..." People want solutions.

• Take the issues, not yourself, seriously. Self-deprecating humor is your best gyroscope.

• Keep physically fit. It's a long race. You can't be anxious and out of breath at the same time. Physiologically impossible.

• Saying and writing "thanks" to clients and people in the company goes a long way. Most people spend their days getting bashed about what they did wrong. They get few compliments.

• Lastly, always "be there." Reliability is a scarce commodity these days.

Your choice

Would you rather be a factory worker or a factory owner?

If you are a knowledge worker in the new economy, you can choose to own the means of production.

What is holding you back?

Master the tools of your trade

Would you call yourself an expert in Microsoft Excel? Or Word? Or Visio? Or Photoshop? Or whatever applications dominate in your industry?

Well, if not, why not?

Have you invested the extra time to buy the manual and learn all the short-cuts, what all those extra features on the menu bar do that most people in the office never touch?

It is a shockingly good investment and amazing how few people do it.

If you know how to do Pivot Tables in Excel, you can do analyses in 5 minutes that could take anywhere from an hour to all week or up without the Pivot Table tool. And a shocking number of people in the business world never bother to learn Pivot Tables, or if they do, they have only the most basic familiarity with them.

Learning to use the tool opens up opportunities that would not even occur to you if you didn't know the tool exists. Rather than seeking out just what I think I need to know, my approach with a new application is to learn what every function, every button, every menu drop-down item does. When I get a new tool, I don't know what I don't know. I don't know what function might come in handy some day.

But most people don't take the initiative to teach themselves a tool beyond the bare minimum of what it takes to get by day-to-day. This includes MBA students. In a lot of situations, I'd rather have someone on my team who is an absolute master in Excel than someone with an MBA from a top business school. The MBA costs $100K or more and two years of your life, while mastering Excel takes about 40-80 hours and $35 for a good manual.

In just about any business environment, mastering Excel will give you an advantage over most people in the office. Mastering Word will also help. Most business environments will have specific applications where mastery will give you a further edge.

Resources available at website of noted career coach

The website of Ellis Chase, a noted executive coach and career coach, has an excellent set of resources. Visit:

http://www.ellischase.com/resources.php