GreyMatterIdeas

I am re-reading “ReWork” by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson of 37signals, at the moment and it is, hands down, the BEST book on business I have read in a very long time. This is the fourth time I have read it, and I get inspired every single time. This book challenges the very notion of what business is in the modern world of today. I wish that this book were required reading for EVERY high school student. Life changing. (WARNING: These guys are very down to Earth and, as such, do occasionally use some four letter words. That aside, you won’t be disappointed…)

Another book (that IS required reading, at FSU School of Business) is “Raving Fans” by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. I originally read this book when I was employed as the National Technical Advisor (pretty fancy title, huh??) of EPI, which turned into Bomida, Inc. It was a Business Opportunity Company that was transitioning into a Franchisor Company. The owners of the company decided to make everyone read that book, since EVERYONE was dealing with our customers. Another eye-opening book, yet deceptively simple to read. I have re-read this book numerous times throughout my career and it helps to reinforce the importance of superior customer service; to create “Raving Fans” of your company.

By the way, fans of ANY of the Guerrilla Marketing books will recognize that this word of mouth advertising is far superior to anything you could purchase. The amazing thing is, this was back in 1993, 2 years before the commercial Internet would get popular and almost two decades before social media became all the rage. The funny thing is, it still rings true.

A very notable mention is called “The E-Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber. The core focus of this book is that you devise systems to help you, and that you design ALL of the jobs roles from the start, hiring people to fill each role as you get more successful. This idea is also echoed in both “Raving Fans” and in “ReWork”. If you plan your company around you and YOUR reputation, then YOU will never, ever get more than a day or two off, without your business falling to pieces.

Lastly, for the techno-elite, who don’t read dead-tree-material (aka “books”), I have THIS recommendation.

Two Words. Chris Brogan

I have read his blog since late 2009 and watched as his focus has shifted from being the “Social Media” guy to being an all around good resource for business, and how you can get more of it coming your way. I finally put my money where my mouth is (aside from buying two of his books), and subscribed to his “How to Blog for Business” newsletter (for a fee) to help me develop some additional income. It’s been really good so far.

Check it out. You won’t be sorry. He helps you realize that the current crop of Social Media tools are just that, another tool to use in marketing your business. Once upon a time, e-mail was heralded as the be-all, end-all marketing tool. Oddly enough, no one got jobs as an “E-Mail Marketer”, unlike today, where people are employed as a “Social Media” or “Internet Marketer”. It’s not about the tools. Never was. No one ever wondered what size or type brush Vincent Van Gogh used. They just marvel at the work that he produced.

This is the list so far of influences on how I think about business. Let me know if I missed anything in the comments…

I need a job…maybe….Maybe what I really need is a gig. So what’s the difference?

Quite a bit, actually. With a job, you trade your time for money. With a gig, you trade your time for money.

Wait a minute…Isn’t that the same thing? Not exactly. A gig is a negotiated transfer of a set amount of money for a set task or tasks, on a time limited basis that is also negotiated. A job is …well, these days…a job is on a time limited basis as well. The rest of the description is also true. It used to be that a job was some measure of security.

Not anymore. There are NO guarantees in the work place anymore. The issue with this is that, when you have a gig, you KNOW that you need to be looking for the next gig. When you have a job, you forget how to negotiate for what you want.

It’s the wolf and the dog syndrome. They both look the same, but they’re not. A wolf wants to hunt. He doesn’t want to be fed. A dog wants to be fed, and will wait until you, the master, arrive home from a long day of soul crushing work, to feed him. Birds of a feather…

(Before I incur the wrath of all animal lovers, who are actively looking for rocks to throw through my windows, let me state for the record that I have 2 fantastic Jack Russell’s and 12 chickens and love every one of them. I’m just pointing out the difference between 2 very similar animals.) Which one do YOU see yourself as?

The tricky part of this job thing is, we don’t really recognize the syndrome until we go on interviews for another job. The main issue with it is that our negotiating and selling skills are incredibly rusty. The last time I went through this process was over three years ago….and I’m GOOD at interviewing. Some people would rather face a firing squad than have to talk to total strangers and tell them how cool they are and how they are the right fit for the job. Imagine some people who have been at the same job/place for the last 17 years or so. What a culture shock!?

I plan on fixing this issue, even after I get another “job”. I found a site or two that lets people bid on certain projects and hone those negotiating/selling skills to a razor’s edge. The other benefit of this will be the additional income and the variety of the projects. Who knows? Maybe I can turn these “gigs” into a business model and get out of the rat race all together. (Of course, the money would have to be fairly consistent for a while in order to talk my wife into that.) Even if it fails, I can always go and get another job.

The best part of this? If I fail at the venture, it will be because of my own ignorance/laziness/lack of skill etc. ….Not some total stranger high up in an executive office who mismanaged millions of dollars and now hard-working, honest people are out of a job and on the streets. Been there, done that…living the nightmare now…

Here’s my biggest concern. We are telling our children that in order to be a success, they have to go to school, get and education and get a job. (Ok, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad…) The part that they missed is the “making their own way and making their
OWN opportunities” section. Not that a job is a bad thing to have.

A longtime friend of mine worked for 3 days in a fast food place and HATED every minute of it. He quit and then proceeded to support himself (on HIS terms) with gigs for YEARS.
Life on his terms, not some faceless corporate suit dictating the color of the pants that you will wear today…

My point is, where is the negotiating section and the “how to turn an idea into money” in our child’s education plan? They certainly aren’t getting it in the school system. And with their parents spending their entire working lives being a wage slave, they aren’t getting it at home either.

And so the cycle continues…

Do they need to get an education? Sure. But perhaps we should revisit what TYPE of education they are getting, before they have families of their own to support and have no other choices.
Because this idea is definitely easier to do when they’re young and single.

What do most people check online when they wake up? Especially on a weekend day? I would venture to say that five or even ten years ago, it was a news page. Maybe cnn.com, or yahoo.com…perhaps even AP, going straight to the source.

Today, it’s Facebook….or it’s new contender, Google+. We used to care about what went on in the world around us. Now, we just care what’s happening in our own social circles. In the Pre- Internet days, (say 1960′s) we knew who our neighbors were. We had social functions with the people in our schools and churches. With our community.

Today, our neighbors (30 feet away) are complete strangers, but our best friend is 145 miles away. Or perhaps 3000 miles away. The national news? It doesn’t even come on our radar unless it’s on Facebook or some other social media platform. Case in point: There’s a new South Sudan, in Africa as of July 9th, 2011. That’s a whole other country, with policies, athletes vying for Olympic Gold, alliances and currency and everything. All the trappings that go with it. Ten years ago, we might have known more about the development of that.

Today, it’s a blip on the radar…and now it’s gone. I only found out about it due to scanning the headlines at Yahoo. Didn’t even read the story. You know why? Because I don’t live in Sudan. I don’t know anyone who does. I can’t speak or read the language. Ergo, I don’t care. Yes, I realize that we are a global society and that if a butterfly flaps its wings in China, we have rain in Florida..yada yada yada. Big whoop. It STILL doesn’t affect me. Not the tiniest bit.

I still don’t care. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy that they got their independence ( I think…still didn’t read the article.) It just doesn’t enter into my world. And that’s where the social media platforms have taken over. They DO cover my world. My friends live in it. Whether they’re next door or on the next continent. I care about what happens to them. Is there a growing movement to use these platforms to further political causes? Sure, but I can choose to ignore it if I want. Or ignore the poster of those opinions.

Some might say that I’m self centered. Yeah, maybe a little bit. But here’s the thing… These countries in Africa and the Middle East have been fighting each other for hundreds or thousands of years. There’s nothing that I can do to stop that. They will continue on. In the meantime, I’ve only got one me. And I have to take care of that first. Then I can worry about other people. My family and friends are next in the priority list.

Are political ideas and ideals important? Sure they are. I have my own ideas, just like everyone else. No, I won’t share them here (3 things to NEVER discuss in company: Religion, Politics and the Great Pumpkin). But suffice to say that I care more about MY world than THE world. All of my friends live in MY world.

Father’s Day was this past Sunday and many of us took it easy that day. I had to postpone my weekend of doing nothing, due to fatherly duties. My boy was up at the shop, working on his truck with the mechanic. That meant that we needed to run errands for the mechanic. It pretty much ate up the entire Saturday. Sunday was for doing other chores that we didn’t get to on Saturday. Therefore, this weekend is my weekend of doing whatever I want.

Unfortunately, it’s marked by a loss. One of our guys at work has been ill over the last year, with several trips in and out of the hospital. The doctors biggest concern was that he wasn’t sleeping at all. For something like 8 months. And they couldn’t figure out why, either. His most recent episode was a fall and a serious head wound, serious enough to warrant an emergency room visit, with an extended stay in Intensive Care.

He passed away today. His name was Nick Voorhees and he was a good man. I didn’t know too much about him, other than he was into classic rock and guitars, and was a fan of anything Pittsburgh. Watching the Penguins play hockey isn’t going to be the same anymore. I would always mention the game to him. He didn’t always catch it, but it made for pleasant conversation.

What brings tears to my eyes, especially in light of Father’s day, was how proud he was of his son. He would always come into our office (right across the hall from ours) and brag on how his kid got an A in Chemistry in college, or how his kid finally got a job. You could just see the pride beaming through his eyes, talking about his kid. His whole face lit up whenever the conversation turned to Nick jr. While he was an exceptionally good videographer, his family was why he got up in the morning. I never did hear anything about the mother. Guess it doesn’t matter a whole lot.

Hopefully, for Nicholas II’s sake, he still has a mother. 22 is too young to not have any parents at all. I don’t envy his drive from Orlando at all. I imagine he’s pulled over off the road a few times, heading back up here to make arrangements. I had to pull over twice just picking my wife, and had to let her drive the rest of the way.

I’m gonna miss you, Nick. I’ll have to double up on my hockey watching, since Pittsburgh has one less fan. Maybe now you can finally get some sleep..

back hunched over
starting to get sore
3 more beds to go

sweat drips down my brow, striking the loose soil
water for the crops…small pittance, though
gnats flitting around my head
damn gnats

my fingers shake loose precious soil
soil my crops need for life
I fling my hand sideways, towards the fence
weeding…I hate weeding
damn weeds
damn gnats

2 more beds to go
damn weeds
damn gnats

1 more bed to go
in the pool, to cool off
damn gnats, they followed me

When last we spoke, I had missed 2 days out of the first month. That became the theme for the next 2 months, which bothered me just a little. April was fantastic (didn’t miss a single day) and got halfway through May before missing a day.

The days that I missed? Work was crazy and I never got any time to do anything there, and when I got home, the time was usually filled with household chores- all in all, a sucky time. If you average the days out, however; you get at least 31 things a month. Not too shabby.

Most of the creative things seemed to revolve around music (either in playing or producing it). The rest seem to fluctuate between code and writing. The code portions (PHP, C#, web design and batch files) tend to be done at work and the writing (editing a novel, editing a technical book, blog posts etc.) is both at work and at home.

There was a short stint with video. I created some vlogs during C’s week of Intensives and I also ingested the video footage from the old camcorder that grew legs and walked away. I find that I don’t have the patience for maintaining video production, so that will not become a major focus. The writing and the music? Definitely.

I also noticed that the code portions (web design and programming) seem forced. That is, I only do it when I have to. It’s not something that I particularly enjoy, although it’s cool to see something finally work. This is troubling because, I haven’t been all that happy with the type of work that I do. I don’t have periods where I can schedule what it is I do. It’s a potentially constant source of interruptions. Unfortunately, that is the nature of the job. I was hoping that I could transition into another portion of the IT field. I was hoping for more web design and coding and less “fix my PC cuz I got it infected…again”. However, since those activities seem to be such a chore, I’m not so sure anymore.

Perhaps this is why this year of creativity is so important to me. I may not have found my niche; my wife says that novel writing (while I can do it), isn’t it, but I’m willing to keep looking for what it is. If I could get paid for that niche as well? That would be the icing on the cake.

The current obsession? Writing comic scripts…Seems a little easier than writing a screenplay, which I also tried my hand at (did not succeed). Less formalized structure with comic scripts, while still maintaining the visual aspects of movie making.

Will this be the niche? I don’t know. If nothing else, it will be something else that I know I don’t want to do, and that’s certainly not a waste of time. This philosophy worked for Edison, works for me…

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have creative things to do today…and hey, this blog post counts.

Screaming Me
A self portrait
(Oct 3,1995)

I had an idea for how to generate more story ideas (for yet another project that I’m starting.) If you go to flickr.com, you will get a random image that comes up. I thought that if I ignore the caption, what do I see out of it? How did we arrive at that image? What’s happening of to the left or right of the camera? Maybe it’s more interesting than what was shot.

It’s basically the “what if” game. The first image that came up didn’t speak to me, so I refreshed the page and got this instead. It’s a very striking photo, with green grass and the red, polka dot shoes in the foreground. The level of detail on the blades of grass is excellent. All in all, that’s a photo worthy of hanging on a wall. Very tranquil and peaceful. I can almost picture it in a dentists office somewhere (not knocking Office Art…just saying: it’s something that I could see selling to someone.)

However. What if…

My idea was that a girl left her office early to get away and be by herself, due to some troubling phone calls. She goes to this field to gather her thoughts and make a plan, when she stumbles across some guys just over the hill. She apologizes for her intrusion, then stops, recognizing them, but not knowing where from. They are escaped convicts, armed and dangerous and were featured on the news last night. It doesn’t end well for our heroine and her red shoes in the grass are the last thing that she sees.

Now I know from the caption that this was the last thing on the photographer’s mind when they took it. And that’s ok…You tell your story, and I’ll tell mine. The funny thing is, I can see several other possibilities for the same picture, explaining why there are red shoes in the grass. I may write them all down in short story form. Or a poem. That may inspire a song by myself later on or maybe even by someone else. That would be ideal, because then the cycle continues. And perhaps that song or poem inspires someone else to come up with a story or a short film. Who knows? The possibilities are potentially endless.

Art begets art. Isn’t it grand?

I have lost four friends over my lifetime, three of whom I cried for. The first, Howard Yee, was a guy that served in the Army with me and he went a little crazy while I was on tour and was shot in Utah by a highway patrolman. I saw the report on the news in Utah. Suicide by cop.

The second, Jay Young of Velvet Melon, was an inspiration to me. He is the reason that I became a musician. He made it seem like so much fun. I was just 22 years old. He was only 24 when he passed away unexpectedly. The funeral was standing room only. He would’ve liked that.

The third was my father-in-law, Charles W. Cook. I had just graduated from being “that boy” to having a name. He was a very good man, who worked hard his entire life to provide for his family. I think that he started to see those same qualities in me. Maybe that’s why he started referring to me by my name. He passed away three years ago.

The last one, Blind Mike Danger, I tried to confirm, because he is the sort of guy who would add his name to a memorial list of musicians, just for the hell of it. (By the way, I played bass, recorded and mixed the song “Busted”. He was an interesting guy to work with.)

I don’t handle death well, even though I know that it’s all a part of life. My grandparents (91 and 93) casually talk about their arrangements all the time, as if they were talking about the weather. I tear up just thinking about it.

An Ally McBeal (Episode 3.12) titled “In Search of Pygmies” had me snotting all over myself. One of the guest characters was in a nursing home and wound up in the hospital, where one of the supporting cast had to make the decision to pull the plug. Commence with the snotting. This is typical of me. Any movie where a character that I have gotten to know dies, and the waterworks start. My wife makes fun of me all the time.

The thing is, even though I know that it’s all a part of the circle of life; even though I know that people in hospitals will be in a better place, it still affects me. Yet on TV and in my limited experiences with real life, the people who are nearest the end of their time seem to be less affected, as if they know that there’s nothing that they can do. Or is it that the stereotype is true? That they are just marking time, waiting to die, their life’s work effectively over with (for better or for worse).

I don’t know. I’m forty and halfway through my journey. In spite of my busy life, I feel that I still haven’t accomplished all that I am capable of. Planning for the next forty-plus years looks to be just as busy. I’ve only had two or three funerals that I’ve attended (as a guest). People say that you know you’re getting old when you attend more funerals than weddings. I can see the truth in that. Maybe that’s why older people (in their 70′s and 80′s), are less affected by it. Maybe their hearts have gotten harder, with each passing of a friend or acquaintance. Or maybe they’ve just gotten a little more comfortable with the idea of death.

I haven’t. At least not yet. Pass the tissues, please.

So we went to a beach house in between Carrabelle and Eastpoint, FL for about a week. The lady who owns the beach house said that there was no Internet available. She also told my wife that the neighbors had a wireless router. I had hoped that they were the careless type who didn’t secure their wireless Internet. I was wrong. My wife said that there was a library, where there would be Internet available. I brought 2 cables, 1 short and 1 long, just in case I had to use them. Turns out, the library branch wasn’t a short walk away; it was a bit of a drive away.

I was used to Cedar Key, where it’s a quiet little community and everything is within walking or biking distance. I was not prepared for having to get out on Bloody 98 and going 7 miles back into town. Consequently, no Internet. Now, for a few days, this wasn’t really an issue. It was actually kind of nice to get away and unplug. However, for a family that spends approximately 16 hours a day online, this was roughing it. My wife had her work cell phone which had broadband wireless Internet on it, so she basically cheated, although she said that the service was a bit spotty at times. The boy and I were left out in the cold. He finally cracked last night. I would laugh at him, except that I was not too far from that point myself. Only the knowledge that we were leaving today to come back home saved MY sanity. Still, it was pretty rough.

Everyone DID have a good time, though, and that’s all that really matters. The boys got their project done, with a video diary every day (something that I did as well…experimenting with Vblog posts), and we caught crabs. ( the good kind…tsk tsk). We used the crabs traps that were at the house and stuffed chicken in the food portion. We wound up (by the end of the week) with a total of 9 Blue crab, but three of them were very pregnant females and the law (and sportsmen-like conduct) dictates that you release them to continue the population. We did our part. The boys also found a section of the beach where the crabs (both blue crab and ghost crab) were coming out on the shore to feed. We caught them with a net and a shovel. They went back out a second time and only returned with about half of what we caught the previous night (and half the size too.) Safe to say that we ate well. By the way, we had eaten at a restaurant down the street and they had soft shell crab for 11 dollars. We all passed on that. Why pay for crab when you can catch it in a hour?

I went fishing in the Gulf as well. Didn’t catch anything, except some rays. I am officially burnt, but only my top half. I was standing in the water casting for the three times I was out there. It was still a lot of fun. One of those times, I was out in the boat and it was very serene and quiet. I think that I understand the appeal of it all just a little bit better now. I’m not running out and buying $400 worth of fishing gear and a bass boat, but still…I get it.

The work on the book didn’t go as well as expected, but I still got to decompress and unwind (didn’t think about work once) and relax. I also got to do some things that I don’t normally do. I will be buying some crab traps of my own though, and we’ll probably do this beach house again, if we can. Just not for as long. I miss my Internet too much…