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No Radio? No Worries

I've been living in a sensory deprivation tank for six weeks.   My car radio is still busted, despite 3 replaced fuses.   My first two days of commuting in silence, without NPR News, audiobooks or station-switching, were long and painful.   I was fidgety and restless without my morning information and multi-tasking fix.   

By day three, I was out of withdrawal and actually felt more focused.    I was more in control of my own thoughts and direction for the day, instead of letting a 3rd-party do the thinking for me.   I was ready to tackle the day -- on my own terms.

I will eventually get the radio fixed -- I can't live without news and weather forever -- but it's nice to know that I can create my own forecast, my own state of mind, and the ability to create without clutter.   

Create While You Wait -- tinkering as a process

You just completed a creative project.  And now you must wait for feedback from:  the portfolio review, the audition, the interview, the spiral-bound proposal.    So you're pacing the floor/biting your nails/watching the clock/indulging in junk food or junky TV.    Your usual motivation has gone missing!

But if you truly have time to waste and nothing to lose, why not use the time to tinker?   Let those"dead times" yield interesting ideas instead of pure anxiety. 

Here are some of my favorite ways to tinker: 

1. Go to Home Depot/Lowes/Hardware Supercenter and look at the plumbing & electrical fittings section -- spend $20 on unusual fittings/wires/fasteners and turn them into quirky sculpture (or just arrange and re-arrange them to get the neurons firing).

2. Raid a youngster's toy chest for Lego bricks/Knex/Tinkertoys (there are so many parts, they'll never miss a few) and build something with your hands.   My 9-yr old son regularly does this after homework to relieve stress and I can't believe I didn't think of it before.

3. Doodle -- in a book that you can close to curious eyes -- or be brave and doodle on a huge sheet of paper -- even if it's several sheets of regular paper taped together

4. Take a sketch pad to a busy place and start sketching -- the busier the place, the less conspicuous you'll feel.   

Interior designer Alexandra Stoddard calls her process "puttering".  She rearranges things around the house, fluffs pillows...  For me, art and interior design do not go hand in hand (and she would not have anything to re-arrange or fluff in my home -- extreme makeover is more like it).  But she has a process to inspire her.

Choeographer Twyla Tharp uses movement as her process and methodically works through a series of moves as part of her process.

I used to dread supervising my son's playdates (I enjoyed watching him have a good time, but would make an awful lifeguard or security guard, because it's hard for me to stay alert if I'm sitting still).   I took along my sketch book and tiny watercolor kit along, and ended up with sketches for a series of paintings that I'm still working on, four years later.  Who knew?

Why I'm Ditching My Resume (Again)

I have the resume I dreamed of having 20 years ago.  And I hate it.   It's perfect for finding the last job I had, but it limits me from finding my next adventure.   

Successful people are both defined and limited by past achievements.  Short story masters get published, but they don't get book deals to write novels.   Successful artists are discouraged from switching their medium or subject matter.   V and C-level executives have no where to go but up:   better to take months without pay looking for the next level job than to move laterally, and have to explain later why you "took a step down".

I have written and re-written my resume a half dozen-times since January, following classic advice to put my executive experience front and center.  I only just realized why I'm constantly revising it: a title-laden resume is a poor representation of my true capabilities.  It may actually limit my opportunities by implying "too expensive", "too specialized", "too high-level to get things done".   

I didn't jump on the executive track for the prestige or the perks.  I wanted to make a difference, and rationalized that I could make a bigger impact the higher up I was in the organization.   So I'm going to continue my focus on making a difference, and leave myself open to new possibilities.   

And if I get questioned why I "didn't strive for more", I'll come up with a good answer -- which is something all creatives should be able to do anyway.

Starting from Zero, Got Nothing To Lose (and everything to gain)

To build on Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" lyrics, the boldest ideas come from those who have nothing to lose.     For those of us with established careers, or at "established ages" it's harder to think bold.     Rebellious streaks nonwithstanding, our lives are more hard-wired than we think.    Our skills, CV, career networks, personal networks, industry knowledge all serve to keep us on the same track.    Any effort we exert helps us go faster and farther in the same direction.   

But what if we want to switch tracks?    We often lack the infrastructure to make the change.   

In Working Identity -- Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career, Herminia Ibarra addresses the obstacles that success can create -- barriers that discourage us from thinking more broadly about our lives.  This is sage advice for business leaders, not just career changers, given the fact that success discourages change.   After all, reinventing ourselves could be the most difficult re-positioning exercise of all, since we can't keep ourselves at arms length.

We don't have to start from zero, but we can visualize the process of doing so.   Visualizing a "fresh start" could yield a bounty of fresh ideas.   

Integrity Redefined: Resilience in Times of Change

If only this book had been published ten years ago...   I would have avoided some regrettable hiring decisions, and one-sided friendships as well.    It's the fairweather friend or colleague that trips us up -- the sunny disposition that turns surly when the forecast turns foul. 

In Integrity -- The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality, Dr. Henry Cloud does an admirable job of defining the elements of character that either enable people to rise to the occasion -- or go down in flames. 

Change changes everything:  a stellar candidate becomes an underachiever (or a destructive force) in a crisis.   Down-to-earth becomes Diva in the face of success.  How do you gauge a person's capacity for change?   Dr. Cloud illuminates how we can misjudge character:  we see admirable traits (trust, concern for the greater good) as absolutes, when they may be conditional or situational.   

By deconstructing our "gut instincts", Cloud has created a useful formula for evaluating relationships with potential employees, colleagues, friends -- even future mates.  Although it is geared towards human behavior in the business world, Integrity's blueprint extends to human relationships in all aspects of life.

Chris Rock, Business Strategist

Multi-tasking in front of the TV, I read a book on corporate strategy while watching an Inside the Actor's Studio Interview with Chris Rock.  Chris Rock's business advice was far more useful. 

It shouldn't surprise us that comedians have serious advice.  Comedy might easily be the toughest creative profession.  Few businesses require the same levels of idea generation, product delivery, stamina and nerve.

Comedic success can be painfully short-lived.  Chris Rock emphasizes that, with the exception of a dozen luminaries in Hollywood (Spielberg, Geffen, et al.), everyone is auditioning.   

He believes that if you accept the fact that you're always auditioning, you see the world differently.  You keep your skills honed.  You constantly evaluate and differentiate your personal brand.  You see each human interaction as a chance to connect with others.  You understand your unique talents and look for different ways to demonstrate your value, so you don't get typecast.

As a comedian, you create original material by drawing upon your own experiences.  And you constantly test your material in the outside world to make sure your product is authentic.

Sounds like relevant business strategy and career strategy for the rest of us. 

Black Coffee for Starbucks from an Artist and Marketer: Focus on Community

The buzz on Starbucks these days is about getting back to their core business:  Coffee.  Through the Customer Experience lens, their other other core business is Community -- and it's conspicuously absent.   In an attempt to process large quantities of hand-crafted lattes in robotic fashion, most Starbucks locations lack the "personal touch". 

I discovered one exception when hanging an art show at a Starbucks in the center of Lexington, Massachusetts.   This particular location was as close to a corner coffee shop or local pub as one could get. Regular customers were recognized and their coffee preferences embedded in the baristas' brains. Newbies and tourists were greeted like old friends. Artists like me (I'm a CMO the rest of the time) were welcomed to show their work, borrow hanging tools and talk with customers. Despite the winter weather, it was a warm place, indeed.

Customer-centric Marketers, including Paul Paetz of the Anti-Marketer and Marketing Profs have served up some black coffee for Starbucks' team to ponder.  Let's hope it wakes them up to the fact that even with exponential growth, the little things still count.

The Impact of Inconspicuous Consumption: Marketers Take Note

Conspicuous Consumption is Conspicuous.   Does it distract us from what's really going on in the market?   In her Marketing Profs article last Tuesday, The Devil May Wear Prada, But Everyone Else Wears Isaac Mizrahi, Marti Barletta cautions marketers to look beyond trend hype to what people really buy.   In a larger context, we may be missing the forest for the ornamental trees.

So how do we track Inconspicuous Consumption?   In their book The Influentials, Ed Keller and Jon Berry go where The Tipping Point's Mavens and Connectors leave off.   The book's subtitle is:  "one American in ten tells the other nine how to vote, where to eat, and what to buy".  According to Keller and Berry, Influentials are information-hungry, outgoing, and suprisingly pragmatic.   They don't seek to influence, but others trust their judgement.   What does this mean to marketers?   

We need to seriously consider who our real brand ambassadors are -- but not mistake Word of Mouth Marketing with orchestrating buzz through stealth spokespeople.   

Worth adding to your news feed: the Influence 2.0 blog, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association Womnibus Blog.  A Great Primer for Marketers on Social Media: Brand Marketers, Meet Social Networks: Building Communities Without Jeopardizing Your Brand, by Joe Lichtenberg of Marketing Profs.

Making CRM Live Up to its Promise: Tips for Marketers

Despite CRM's vision of "Knowing Thy Customer", CRM for most companies has not evolved beyond Sales Force Automation.  As a Marketing VP, I've been on the hook for customer experience, outreach and acquistion, and had little more than stone-age CRM tools to work with.  To help other Marketers avoid the same tool-related injuries, I've been writing a series of articles Lies, Damn Lies and Dashboards for Marketing Profs both to share cautionary tales and to provide action plans for making CRM projects work.

Here are my tips for Marketers to take control of the CRM lead machine:

1.      Get Marketing on the CRM Steering Committee – if it’s not already.  Most CRM deployment projects are driven by the sales team.  Marketers need to be involved up-front to define the systems, project plan and measurement criteria.

2.      Become a CRM Expert – Get Your Hands Dirty!  When your programs are under scrutiny, the last thing you need is another action item -- but understanding how your CRM system works is critical to your success as a marketer.  Take advantage of online training and webcasts.  Make your administrator your IM buddy (I did, and all I had to do was ask).  Focus specifically on the data fields and reports in the campaign management function of the system so you can quickly get your hands on the data you need.  Or deputize an ambitious, tech-savvy member of your team to do the digging for you and keep the whole group informed.

3.      Don’t Expect a Solution Out of the Box -- Allocate Budget for Marketing Automation Tools Most CRM systems are not designed for campaign management (despite what they claim).  To track lead to revenue (which this is about, after all), to consolidate leads from all sources (web leads, search engines, outbound campaigns), and to nurture leads over time, you will need Marketing Automation tools to supplement your CRM system.   I know a few marketing departments that assign a person to import leads from other systems and export data to Excel™ to create custom reports – but it’s not anyone’s favorite job. 

4.      Don’t Stop Learning – Keep Evaluating and Tuning the System. No one gets it right out of the gate.  Be prepared to evaluate your progress monthly – not just when you have a reporting deadline.    Challenge yourself and your team to find new ways to measure your progress – and to find holes in the process that could hinder you moving forward.  Have a working lunch with the sales team (and offer to buy the pizza) to test your reporting metrics and question your assumptions.

5.       Be Proactive -- Set Realistic Expectations for Upper Management. Just because you can access reports instantly, doesn’t mean you’ll instantly impact the revenue line.   If you have a six-month sales cycle, a real-time dashboard won’t close the deals any faster. Expect to proactively walk through the lead nurturing process and the lead-to-sale process with your management team.

The Economic Impact of Creativity: Globally and Locally

In The Rise of the Creative Class, The Flight of the Creative Class, and www.creativeclass.org,  Richard Florida investigates what makes world regions creative, productive and competitive, as a result.  Looking beyond traditional economic productivity indices, he characterizes the “3 T’s of Economic Development”: Technology, Talent and Tolerance.  Creative capital drives growth in an idea-driven economy.     

How do we apply this global premise locally?  This week the Ewing Marion Kaufmann Foundation released a report on state competitiveness, looking at several factors.   My state, Massachusetts, landed on top of the list.  I recently investigated relocating a corporate HQ in Boston for a high-growth software company.  It was challenging to choose a location with proximity to affordable housing, universities, suburban bedroom communities and a vibrant town center. Despite the #1 ranking, we're still far from creating a creative renaissance in Massachusetts–- high housing rates discourage newcomers, management training programs are rare and start-up executives

seldom find the time to mentor young talent. 

We can all have an impact on our region’s economic growth, and could do worse than to apply macro principles to our daily practice of attracting, hiring and developing talent in our organizations.    

Creativity Isn't Restricted to the Creative Department

As both a technology executive and artist, I continue to get unsolicited career advice on combining my two vocations, including "you should be in advertising" or "you should design greeting cards"...   I don't mean to disparage well-meaning career counsel, but if creativity just lives in the creative department, then say good-by to innovation.   

Creative thinking is required for every corporate function (creative accounting excluded).  Stuart Jackson's article in today's Wall Street Journal Finding Tomorrow's Winners Today -- Try Firms with Fresh Perspectives suggests investing in companies with a creative twist on their market space -- and there's not an ad agency in sight.   

Thankfully, there's no shortage of creative thinkers, and they don't have to pack a travel easel to be inventive.  But how do you find them in your organization?    IDEO,  the industrial design firm, has come up with a process for characterizing innovators and nurturing their entrepreneurial instincts.    Their 2005 book, The Ten Faces of Innovation will help you see ingenuity beyond the creative department and dig deeper into the product development process, regardless of the market space you're in.    You might find yourself in one or more of the "faces", whether you're coming up with the concept, corralling the forces in your organization to deliver the product or putting the final product into your customers' hands.   I initially identified myself as a "cross-pollinator" and "hurdler", but have since been characterized as an "anthropologist" and "storyteller".   Regardless of the label, I'll keep the book as a reference to encourage everyone in the organization to contribute new ideas.   

Sorry, Sun Tzu -- The History of Military Strategy is History

No offense intended.  I have several copies of The Art of War -- all given to me by former bosses.  Could it be that our current generation of CEOs feel compelled to quote military analogies because they never served in the military?

Conventional military strategy is not the path to victory in the 21st century.  And it has lost its effectiveness on the corporate battlefield as well.   Head to head competition doesn't build shareholder value -- it ravages it with inconsistent earnings and lower margins.

So what's the alternative?   Fortunately, there are several fresh opinions on the subject.  I'll start with one and post more ideas over the next couple of weeks:

 

A strategy guide I refer to often is Blue Ocean Strategy, which turns conventional strategic thinking on its head by offering paths to finding "uncontested market space" where you can build value for customers without getting battered by competitors first.   Quite often, creating value is about what you DON'T offer the customer -- why spend time and money to offer customers what they don't want, just because your competitors do?   

Thoughts on the software industry (my own industry):  application software is well-known for piling on more and more features in each release, but not building significant value as a result.  I use PowerPoint daily -- but 85% of the time I use features from release 3.0  (which was released over 10 years ago!).  Are more features adding more value, or more frustration?   I resent the extra space the new version takes up on my laptop.

Perhaps less really is more.   Or perhaps it's all about listening to the customer.  Which is what we should all be doing in the first place.

Taking Bias out of Brainstorming

Successful teams have strong personalities -- when brainstorming, these personalities can become caricatures:  the naysayer, the vulcan fact-checker, the polyanna, the emotional chest-pounder, etc.  Bias squelches creativity.   Good ideas, cloaked in emotion, never see the light. 

One way to take bias out of brainstorming is a methodical approach.   There are many structured brainstorming processes designed for long, complex product development cycles, but small processes and small companies can get bogged down with all the details.   

An approach that's worked for me over the years is the one of "thinking hats" where everyone on the team has to take on different roles (or "hats") to think through the situation from multiple angles.   The red hat is the emotional hat, the black hat is the devil's advocate, the white hat is fact-based, the yellow hat is the sunny optimist, the green is the creative hat and the blue hat is the integrator that brings them all together.   The method is 40+ years old, but it still feels fresh.  The book is short, once you skip the overly congratulatory introduction by the author.  Add a Post-it Note easel pad, place the six points of view around your conference room, and make everyone try each role at least once -- you'll have a more balanced view of your situation -- and a better end product as a result.   

Who wants to be labeled "doom & gloom naysayer" or "naive optimist" anyhow?

Checkers Checking Checklists -- Being Busy and Getting Nowhere

Doing is fast.  Thinking is slow.    I feel more productive when I check off one little task on my to-do list, no matter how tiny.    Then I feel anxious because I haven't started my bigger project -- the one that really needs "think time" to be successful.   

The reality is -- most to-do items ARE tiny!  Those of us who love to be busy (or hate to forget details) tack on small tasks like "schedule oil change" along with "develop the concept for the next white paper series" or "brainstorm next-gen product line".   These items are not equal -- but with long lists and busy days, they just become part of the same list.   Although the"list-driven" life feels busy, it stop us from moving forward.

I've started to track my bigger projects in blocks of time in my calendar -- I need to commit to the effort it takes to build something of substance.   When your calendar is viewable, or shared by others, blocking off project time is a necessity -- because others will schedule your time before you can!   I have used the same acroynm for project time for years:  GSD (aka Get Stuff Done).   I once had an admin that thought The GSD Corporation was my most important client, and I never told her otherwise.    It preserved my project time without making me feel guilty or indulgent.   Come up with your own acronym (looks like I'll have to change mine now!).   

No worries.  I'll still remember to get my oil changed once in a while.

Business Inspiration from the Art World

Art has the power to inspire us.  The real creative inspiration, however, may come from artists themselves.   They need to think differently every day - so they know how to get through creative logjams.

Great Resources for all of us, Artist (or Not):

Books:

Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit, is one of the best tomes on the creative process.  Her creative challenge as a choreographer is multi-dimensional, since she needs to bring together movement, music and the visual arts.  I keep her "exercises" close by as a constant reference, and her autobiographical notes add a human touch to her hard-driving persona.

Wolf Kahn's America is popping with color -- but it's not just eye candy.  Kahn is matter-of-fact when talking about his work and the creative process. He doesn't get swept up into flowery artist statments.    He's just doing his job. 

Alison Stanfield provides business backbone for the artistic spirit.  Art schools offer little support on "how to build a business".  Her ArtBiz Blog offers daily encouragement, expert advice for navigating a world of subjective opinions (and constant rejection) and a community of others.

Artists need to think like businesspeople to support themselves.   We need to think like artists to stretch ourselves.      

Starting a New Project by Thinking like an Artist

   Like a blank piece of paper or a blank document, a blank canvas is frightening, only bigger.

I generally paint large:  on a 30 x 40" or 24 x 24" canvas, with big hardware store brushes.   So how will I possibly fill up the space?     By the time I get started, I have the opposite problem, and have to edit the composition to get it all in.

So what gets me going on a new painting?    Like a musician playing a few familiar chords before starting to riff, I need to start with a process.   In other words, I need to build the springboard before I can jump.

Starting with Random Thoughts:  Most artists "tone" a canvas before they start painting -- covering the entire surface with a middle value tone to use as a baseline for what comes next.    I once ran out of paint when on location and toned a canvas with the remnants of my palette.   I had 5 wet colors left on the palette and the result of my "toning"  was splotchy and random.    But it had a life of its own, and started the direction of the painting for me.

Sketching out the planes, skipping the details:  After toning a canvas, I'll take a big stick of charcoal and draw large, messy planes of perspective -- they usually look like huge "X"s and determine where the focus and tension will be.  I never outline the shapes of what I'm going to paint.  Once I draw too much, it will skew my vision and I'll never paint the big picture.

Destroying for the Sake of the Greater Good:   If a part of my painting is great, but doesn't work with the overall concept, I will paint over it.   It hurts, but paintings don't work unless the whole is much more than the sum of its parts.

Turn Everything Upside Down:   I turn my paintings constantly as I paint -- that's the only way not to get stuck in the details and know if the composition is working as a whole.   

Let it Rest:   Although most of my works have 40-50 layers of paint, I'm not going to get an A for effort.    If my mind is blocked and I can't think anymore (painting is decision-making on steroids:  a decision every 30-45 seconds, everytime I mix a color or lay down a stroke)  I have to turn the easel around and walk away.    I'll think differently when my mind is clearer.

Hitting the Restart Button After a Long Project

I do my best work when I get passionate about a project.   The project dominates my thoughts during my waking (and non-waking hours).   I'm not obsessing over it, but always thinking about how to do things differently, how to do them better.

The flip side about being passionate is how to wind down and restart once the project is over.    A week later, my workspace is still littered with notes from the finished project.    Why?

I suspect that it's that I'm still mentally hanging on after the "relationship is over".  My relationship with the project, that is.   

If it was a success, I want to hold on that positive vibe.  If I have mixed feelings about what I learned, I hope the pile of papers will motivate me to to analyze what I did -- and to better my performance next time.   It feels like the denial at the end of a personal relationship.  I'm restless and eager to move on to the next one, whether the project is a good fit for me, or not!    

I'm acting like a jilted lover on the rebound -- and this is all about work...

So when to hit that restart button?   

I've yet to figure it all out, but here's my plan:  set a reminder in my calendar to hit "restart" 3 business days after the project is complete.   No more.   Then I'll clear up the paperwork, clear my mind (with a walk, a trip to the library or other mental un-blocker), do my project post-mortem, and move on.   And I'll be less likely to look for projects that don't fit (on the rebound).

Getting Unstuck -- Taking Cues from the Creative World

You're prepping for a strategy meeting but have no fresh thoughts to add to what's already been done.  An impromptu brainstorming session makes you feel like a newbie comedian at the improv.   We can all get stuck in an idea rut.    Fortunately, having "idea block" in business is not the same calamity as it is for "creative" professions.

Artists, writers and musicians must tap the well of creativity for a living.   What do they do when the well is dry?    There are hundreds of books on the subject.  And they're useful resources for all thinkers -- Michelangelo or not.

Written for writers, useful for the rest of us:   

Natalie Goldberg originated the concept of "timed writing" as a daily practice, which is helpful when you're staring at that blank page.  Her recipe:  set your watch or kitchen timer to 10 minutes each day and write whatever comes to mind (I think her words are "feel free to write the worst junk on earth").   Some days are junk days, period.  But one must consistently work through the junk to find that treasure of an idea.  My favorite of hers is Thunder and Lightning -- I have worn out the audio version attempting to inspire creativity during long commutes.

I'm not a fan of the horror genre, but Stephen King has done an admirable job of deconstructing the creative process.  His book On Writing is thankfully free of fluff, pep talk, and life-affirming statements.   So of course, he's inspiring, because he's not trying to be.

Taking cues from creatives makes sense.   They're under a heck of a lot more pressure than most of us to come up with something new.

A Whiteboarding Accident

A less geeky person might have had a wakeboarding/snowboarding/surfboarding/skateboarding accident.    My aggressive whiteboarding resulted in a broken window.   

Of course, the whiteboard was professional-grade:  six feet long, with a thick metal ledge for markers.   And I am a compulsive whiteboarder.   But the whiteboard was not properly anchored into the wall (great board, bad bindings).

While I was drawing a particularly aggressive diagram, the whiteboard swung off one corner and the corner of the metal ledge crashed into my office window.    We kept brainstorming until it got too cold and I noticed that I was sitting on broken glass.

I think I scared everyone.  Especially when they wrapped caution tape around the door while the window was being fixed.

Thankfully, the most difficult part of whiteboarding isn't broken windows.   It's making ideas work.