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One Duck at a Time

By on October 24, 2012 in Brain Stew, Marketing with 0 Comments

One DuckDucks in a Row vs. Ducks in a Bunch. I’ve talked about this before.

For most of us, getting your ducks lined up before you start something can be disabling. It’s like waiting for all the lights to turn green before you leave the house.

While some folks need to move from Ducks in a Row to Ducks in a Bunch to get going, there are many others that need to take things One Duck at a Time.

Maybe that’s you. If you’re having a tough time getting started, stop trying to herd ducks – just attend to one duck at a time.

That’s what we’re doing at Small Biz Tracks – one track at a time.

photo credit: Ben124. via photopin cc

Click Open Your Bible App and Swipe to …

By on October 15, 2012 in Brain Stew, Mobile & Local with 1 Comment

I forgot my Bible yesterday. The book, not the app.

YouVersion Bible AppThe group of folks we gather with on Sunday mornings are all over the map demographically, and pretty much everyone is there for worship and some form of inspiration, invitation, or instruction. 

We gather in a large building in a strip mall. Looks like it could’ve been a grocery store at one point. There are rows of chairs near the stage area and folding tables well behind those rows.  I like to sit at one of the tables so during the message, I can spread out my book and paper to capture thoughts.

As soon as we got in the car yesterday, I realized I left my notepad and Bible on my desk. But I knew I was covered. I always have YouVersion in my pocket. I’m not the only one.

Maybe it’s because I was relying on my mobile yesterday, but I noticed a lot of devices being used. A visitor from Illinois snapped a picture on the way in (he was “checking in”). During worship, one person used an app to find out the name of the song being sung. When the message started, I saw laptops, tablets, and handhelds clicking and swiping to the passage being read.

By using the app, I was able to highlight, take notes, and cross-reference easily. I shared some of what I gleaned with family using social apps.

The use of mobile devices, whether you use one or not, is becoming more pervasive in all areas of life. Shopping. Health. Connecting. And churching.

In recognizing this spread, we can better prepare to serve the use of these devices. Are you recognizing these growing opportunities?

 

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Stepping Up

By on May 10, 2012 in Brain Stew with 0 Comments

Maybe it’s no longer about Catching Up or Keeping Up – but about Stepping Up. Are you Up for change?

more here

Creating and Combining Content Components [Breakfast]

By on May 1, 2012 in Blog Coach, Brain Stew with 0 Comments

As I was preparing breakfast the other day, I noticed how I gather the parts before making the whole.

At our house, there are some staples we have with almost every meal (if the foods combine well): Spinach, Green Onions, Black Olives, Tomatoes, Brown Rice. We might prepare or present them in different ways, but they’re part of most every meal.

For a recent breakfast, I brought out a few additional vegetables and sauteed them under some eggs and scrambled them together. We put that over the rice and – delicious!

Content Components (Breakfast)

The image on the left shows the parts gathered (Content Components). The image on the right shows how the parts came together (Content Completed).

It gets me thinking how we might put together other content, such as blog posts, videos, and speaking gigs. How important is gathering the components before combining them into a completed work? Do you storyboard or outline as an initial step? Do you gather outbound links and images (or at least have them in mind) before your fingers hit the keyboard?

Note: As I was writing this post, I realized how my thinking was ignited by Content Modelling: A Master Skill on A List Apart.

 

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Eventually, the Internet Will Discover You

By on April 29, 2012 in Brain Stew with 1 Comment

Keep creating awesome stuff. Eventually, the Internet will discover you.

Nosebleed Seats at AT&T from Trey Ratcliff

Photo by Trey Ratcliff

The photo above is from high-up and behind home plate of a recent San Francisco Giants game is shared by Trey Ratcliff. It’s part of Trey Ratcliff’s practice of sharing one of his photos daily.

The idea above is shared in a right brain drift that Trey Ratcliff talks about in a talk at Google last year. Trey shares a lot of his work. The way he shares is foreign to a lot of folks, especially those over 5 years old.

One of my favorite posts from Trey is his Hans Zimmer post. He takes us into Zimmer’s studio with shared awe and wonder. I’m a big fan of Zimmer’s work on films like Gladiator, The Holiday, and Pirates of the Caribbean (especially this piece with Rodrigo y Gabriela).

In his Google Talk (video below), Trey offers quite a few tidbits to taste and turn into practice for your own work:

  • Stop trying to impress people in your “bubble” (or industry, profession, peer group).
  • Things (on the web) are just getting started
  • The 5-year old inside of us likes to share
  • Creative Commons is a godsend
  • Keep Making Mistakes
  • People search on Google because “they want something”
So often we try to keep our work so close to the vest, not wanting to share it afraid it might get “stolen” – we end up squeezing life out of our ideas and promise out of our potential. At the 22-minute mark, Trey share a few ideas on vulnerability that I encourage you to wrestle with:

I’ve seen restaurateurs seemingly dance across their work space and lawyers preparing a brief as if they were composing a symphony. We’re all artists. You’re an artist (if you love what you do).

Extend Your Work

Perfect Expectations of We (and Them) and Ourselves

By on March 28, 2012 in Brain Stew with 1 Comment

Are diamonds perfect?The voice of ridicule can be deafening at times.

We, as a collective people, seem to have obtained such a great wealth of knowledge and experience that we point at this or that (and often everything) with an unwavering stance of disdain. All too often for some.

If you’ve read somewhere that controversy sells, consider the inventory you’re going to market with … and write about that (or the benefits thereof). If you’re blogging (or tweeting, etc) to build your business, avoid the pointing of fingers demanding perfection.

And realize that such criticism could be manifest of an expectation you’ve placed upon yourself.

Ay, there’s the rub.

For while the fear of criticism from others is possibly the most damaging fear, it is our own desire for perfection that can prove deadly.

Recognize criticism from others as learning opportunities.

Redefine your criticism for others by finding the positives.

Realize that perfection, while honorable, is impossible.

“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.” ~Confucius

 

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PayPal Here: Changing How We Do Business – SoLoMo

By on March 20, 2012 in Brain Stew, Cool Tools, Mobile & Local with 0 Comments

Accepting Mobile Credit Card PaymentsThe launch of PayPal Here, a new app allowing merchants and consultants to accept multiple forms of payment anywhere, puts additional importance to recognizing the changing face of where and how we do business – especially using mobile devices.

While several devices have been around, including the Square App, the PayPal Here app promises to accept more payment types (including checks).

The landscape of how we do business continues to change, especially in the ranks of small and independent businesses. Now, a solopreneur can take a payment anywhere and a small business owner can do business outside of their office or retail space.

While tools like these assist in the “local” and “mobile” part of the SoLoMo movement, how long before the “social” becomes more a part of the mobile payment process? Does the check-in become a moving target? Is there a benefit for “merchants” that accept mobile payments to “check-in” at an established location (non-competitive of course)?

 

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The Firehose of Change is Not Your Enemy

By on March 19, 2012 in Brain Stew, Conversations with 1 Comment

The “good old days” are more old than good – though they were good back then.

The “way we’ve always done it” shouldn’t be the way we’ll always do it.

Change happens.

Don’t stand in the middle of indecision as the swinging door of progress knocks you on your apathy.

Change is an Opportunity, not an Alarm

If you don’t embrace change as an opportunity, you might drown.

photo credit: ohhector via photopin cc

Invisible Children and the KONY2012 Campaign

By on March 13, 2012 in Brain Stew, Conversations with 0 Comments

KONY 2012.

The viral video that is still on the minds, tongues, and keyboards of many has been followed up with a video message from CEO Ben Keesey, offering an explanation of Invisible Children‘s unique development model and the philosophy behind the allocation of its money.

The fighting spirit that is within the hearts of Invisible Children has been burning for many years. It’s not an overnight sensation.

I’m fortunate to be able to watch up close with awe and amazement how one local citizen and teacher leads a group of students in this fight. Each year they organize multiple events and meet weekly as a team to heighten awareness. Weekly.

Some, once active in Invisible Children as students, remain active as adults. They are passionately invested. They’ve talked with, met with, and broke bread with people from Africa that have been helped by Invisible Children.

This “movement” has been criticized, often as if its a fly-by-night movement. Habitual critics are an amazing breed. They bounce from criticizing one thing to another with amazing tenacity, leaving emotions and gossip trails in the wake and dust of their contagion.

To those who are hurting because of the critics, I offer cheer and this post about the Zone of Mediocrity in which the author offers these words:

Creating passionate users is NOT about finding ways to make everyone like you. It’s about finding ways to use your own passion to inspire passion in others, and anything with that much power is bound to piss off plenty of status-quo/who-moved-my-cheese people. Bring it on.

Something worth noting on this campaign: Invisible Children has been working hard (HARD!) at it for almost a decade. The KONY 2012 video isn’t their first (and probably won’t be their last). The followup to the criticisms have been exemplary and transparent. You can tweet questions to @invisible with the hashtag #AskICAnything.

The critics?  Many have already moved on to their next attack.

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A Favorite Business Book

By on March 1, 2012 in Books, Brain Stew with 0 Comments

One of my favorite business books ever is “Oh! The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss (right beside “Ish” by Peter Reynolds)

Keep your chin up
and your dawber from getting down
have a look at this
and flip that frown
around

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