business – Page 4 – Work Should Be Fun!

Start Here

Photo of sock puppet — Photo copyright ©2017 David J Crone. All rights reserved.

Do you have a vague concept of something rattling around in your brain? You don’t have all the details figured out, but you feel there might be something there. How do you determine whether it is worth pursuing? Where do you start?

Simple. Start here. Right here. Wherever you are right now. With whatever you have on hand at the moment.

You’re probably familiar with the term, “proof of concept”. Or, maybe you prefer the term “working prototype”. These are generally good things. But, when you are doing something really new (to you), there are many unknowns. You might not even be able to fully define what it is you are contemplating. In those cases, these methods ask for too much up front. Too much time, too much money, or both.

Here are two examples.

I had this idea for a new character in my act. It was to be a man who by day is a typical office worker, probably an accountant or some other data-focused desk-sitting cubicle worker. A guy who most people in the office ignore. He comes to work, does his 9-5, then goes home. Nobody in the office has any idea, or interest, in what he does outside of work. This is where it gets fun. What he does in the evenings and on weekends is take to the stage as a female impersonator. And not just some shmucky horrible impersonator, but a full-on diva singing voice, holy cow that’s amazing female impersonator.

I decide that to fully pursue the idea, I needed to have the physical character in hand. I purchased a relatively expensive “dummy”, played around with the character, had his daytime voice and personality down, figured out the basic logistics of how to have him go through the transition to nightclub singer, picked out some songs I thought would work, took voice lessons… And discovered that I do not (yet) have the vocal chops to pull it off the way I wanted. I invested a lot of time and money into the project. I couldn’t do it. In the end, I decided to sell the puppet and put the idea on a shelf. (I still like the idea and hope to be able to do it someday…)

By contrast, I have another character in my act that started out as a sock puppet – literally. His voice popped out one day, and I thought, hmmm, I wonder what I can do with this? His first appearance was at a campout with my youngest daughter. (See photo at the top of this post.) After that campout, I continued to play around with the voice and develop the character over the span of several months, making sure there was something there. Once I was pretty sure it was going to work, I made the final puppet. (Side note: This the only puppet in my act that I have physically constructed myself.) That character has played out extremely well and is still a mainstay of the act 12 years later.

In hindsight, I wish I had taken the “let’s see how this might work” approach with my female impersonator character concept. I didn’t need a puppet to try singing and to develop the voice. I didn’t need to make that monetary investment. Fortunately, I was able to sell the puppet (also called “figure” in the ventriloquist business) and recoup most of that financial outlay. But, that isn’t always the case when we jump into something whole hog before testing a few basic things first.

I’m sure you’ve been there. You’ve bought expensive tools, components, etc., only to later find out that the original concept was horribly flawed. Money down the drain. Notice I only say money down the drain. Time spent exploring new ideas and concepts is always time well spent. Even if you end up going a completely different direction or abandoning the idea, you’ve still learned something.

My preferred approach to wild and crazy ideas is the “mock up”. A mock up is a drastically pared down version of a proof of concept or working prototype. It doesn’t have to be fully functional. It doesn’t have to look like what the final product might look like. It might be a simple sock puppet. All it needs to do is allow you to go further into the concept. Explore. Test.

It is so easy to become bogged down in the process of creating the prototype that we lose sight of the original idea. Or, we give up because there are pieces we can’t figure out how to model. Don’t worry about it. In the early stages, it’s just an idea. Give the idea room to grow and develop. Let it go where it wants to go.

Start with what you have. Start now.

Intelligent Disobedience

Photo of dog giving a raspberry — Photo copyright ©2017 David J Crone. All rights reserved.

Do you know when to say, “No!”?

Have you ever seen a blind person with a guide dog? I am fascinated by helper dogs, and guide dogs in particular. Columbus is the home to Pilot Dogs, a training facility for these four legged partners.

I heard a presentation by Pilot Dogs at a recent meeting of the Lions Club to which I belong. We heard a brief overview of the intense training regimen involved in taking a dog from birth through full employment as a Pilot Dog. One thing in particular jumped out at me – the concept of intelligent disobedience.

Our presenter explained that the dogs are trained to say “no” to the person they are guiding when the situation warrants it.

Imagine a blind person with a guide dog standing at a street corner. The person wants to go and starts to step off the curb. Meanwhile, the dog sees a dangerous situation and resists. Despite the person urging the dog to go, the dog refuses. They disobey. The person might become frustrated, but also must trust the dog.

Our presenter indicated that this has become an increasingly important behavior due to the increase in all-electric vehicles that do not provide the audible engine noise clues of traditional gasoline vehicles.

Does your company culture support intelligent disobedience? Does your boss allow you to say “no” when you know that what you are being asked to do is wrong? Maybe it is unsafe. Maybe it is simply stupid. Maybe the results of doing what you are being asked to do will be counter to the objective.

Being willing to stand up and say “no” to something you have been asked to do is a valuable skill. It requires confidence, courage, tact and a strong working relationship with the person you are saying “no” to. It also requires a culture that makes this behavior acceptable.

As a leader, fostering a culture that allows intelligent disobedience requires effort. It is not a natural behavior. It is critical to avoiding costly and even dangerous mistakes. And it is totally worth the effort.

Learn to say “no” when the situation calls for it – and be ready to explain why. Learn to accept “no” when you have asked someone to do something – and be open to a discussion about why.

Practice intelligent disobedience.

Creative Collaboration

Photo copyright ©2004 David J Crone. All rights reserved.

When you think of a creative person, do you immediately think, “artist”?

When you think of an artist, do you imagine them holed up, all alone in their studio?

We often associate “creativity” with “artist”. It is natural, then, to think being creative means being individualistic and working alone.

We rarely associate creativity with collaboration, which is all about working with other people. On the surface, these two concepts seem at odds with each other.

Collaboration implies practicality and goal orientation toward a shared objective.

Creativity implies artistry and individualism toward a personal vision.

Intense artistic creativity taps into our most deeply held beliefs, dreams, visions and even fears.

Sharing that creativity involves baring our soul. It leaves us exposed. It makes us vulnerable. Fearing this vulnerability, many people hide their creativity. They either resist creating altogether, or they never share their creations with anyone else.

Collaboration is all about sharing. It requires us to be open to feedback – both positive and negative.

Collaboration requires that we share our creativity, and thus forces us to make ourselves vulnerable.

So, how can these two words go together?

Let’s start by looking at the words themselves.

Creativity:

“the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.” – Google Dictionary

Collaboration:

“the action of working with someone to produce or create something.” – Google Dictionary

See what just happened there? The Google Dictionary definition used the word “create” in its description of collaboration. We might be onto something here.

Creativity cannot happen in a vacuum. Creativity is fueled by our environment and by sensory input. We observe. We watch. We listen. We absorb. Then we mix it all together and create something new.

Collaboration increases that sensory input. It adds to our environment. It provides alternate points of view, additional ideas. It fuels additional creativity.

When Collaboration and Creativity combine, we get what I call Applied Creativity – applying creativity to reach an objective, or to solve a problem. For me, that’s when things really get to be fun.

When we can work collaboratively, encouraging and fueling each others’ creativity, our own creativity increases, we get much better solutions and we have more fun doing it.

Go find a creative soulmate and collaborate. It’s fun!

Getting Ahead

Photo of kids running football — Photo copyright ©2017 David J Crone. All rights reserved.

When you hear the term, “Getting ahead”, what is your first thought? Do you immediately compare your current situation to that of other people?

Don’t worry if you do. That would make you completely normal. And wrong.

Life is not a race. Neither is a career.

In a race, everything is relative to the others in the race. There are clear winners and non-winners (OK, losers).

I have nothing against competitive sports and the concept of winners and losers in that context. But, I have a big issue with viewing everything in life and work through the same lens. It’s not necessary.

If you have good things happen in your life, I am happy for you. Your success does not define my failure. Some people struggle with this concept.

What if we viewed the term, “Getting ahead” as purely a personal reflection? What happens to our general outlook if we define “ahead” in terms of our own history instead of some skewed view of a random person down the street or in the cubicle across the hall?

While I was never a golf fanatic, there was a time in my life when I played on a fairly regular basis. I played with many different people of wildly different skill levels. Regardless of skill level, I find golfers fall into two categories: those who compare their score against those they are playing with – winning is everything – and those who compare their score against their own scores on previous rounds. I have always found those in the latter category much more fun to be around.

The “comparing to myself” players who were better golfers than me (usually the case) took the time to coach me and help me with my abilities. They wanted me to be a better player. They realized it is more fun to be around golfers of higher skill levels, so if they could help me improve, future outings would be more fun for all.

Meanwhile, the “comparing my score to this foursome” players, regardless of skill level, were far more likely to cheat to improve their score and complain if I, in my efforts to simply learn the mechanics of the game and keep things moving, nudged my ball into a slightly better position. (What? Cheat? Me? Nah…)

When we treat “Getting ahead” as purely a personal assessment, we are more apt to reach out and help others around us. We realize life is not a zero sum game. Others do not need to lose in order for us to win. It’s a heck of a lot more fun to hang around others who are good at their game. If we can help others around us improve, it’s more fun for us to play together and everyone wins.

Go on, get ahead.

Roll the Credits

Photo of kids celebrating — Photo copyright ©2004 David J Crone. All rights reserved

There are two types of movie goers: those who sit through the credits at the end and those who don’t.

Which one are you?

My wife and I are credit sitterthroughers. (That’s a real word. Look it up.) We are often the last ones out of the theater, sometimes soliciting glares from the cleaning staff waiting to do their jobs.

Some movies include fun things mixed into the credits, e.g. bloopers, outtakes, or teaser clips for future movies. Also, the occasional made-up title or name thrown in just for fun. Pay attention to the credits of a Monty Python movie, for instance.

While those are fun, that’s not why we stay.

I am fascinated by the long litany of roles listed at the end of major motion pictures. Hair stylists. Assistant to Mr. Clooney. Caterers. Mustache wrangler.

My wife is fascinated by the names. As a writer, she finds the credits to be a great source of names for characters to use in her own writing.

When I watch the list scroll past I am struck by many thoughts. What constitutes enough contribution to be included in the credits? Who keeps track of them all? Which of those people was the credit roll list keeper? Is that an official movie making job title? How much does it pay? What is a “best boy“?

One of my most arduous tasks in the corporate world was to create the list of all who contributed to a project so that they could be recognized upon successful completion. This came easily for some projects. Others were so complex, spanning so many departments, over so many months, that we would miss a few people. I used to joke that creating the list of all who contributed was harder than the project itself.

And yet… It is so vitally important. Not to that project. To the next one. It’s always about the next one.

The point of the credit roll at the end of a successful project is to plant the seeds of enthusiasm for participating in the next project. The anticipation of being recognized is far more powerful than the recognition itself. Conversely, the negative impact of missing someone as part of the recognition at the end of a project is far more damaging than the positive impact to those you remembered. Getting that list right is arduous, but worth it.

Starting a big project? Start your list NOW. Pay attention. Keep track. No contribution is too small.

This isn’t about “everyone gets a trophy.” It’s about giving people their moment in the spotlight, letting them know that you noticed them. Be generous in your recognition and praise.

Roll the credits.

Admiration or Jealousy?

Photo of kid in Superman costome — Photo copyright ©1970 John R Crone. All rights reserved.

Who are your heroes?

As a kid, my favorite superhero was Superman. I loved the original TV show starring George Reeves. I also loved the Batman series with Adam West. But, for pure hero worship, it was always Superman.

It’s good to have heroes. It’s good to have people we respect and admire, people who inspire us to be better than we are.

Who do you look up to with honor and respect? That’s admiration.

Who do you look at and think, “Why do they get to be there? I could do that. That should be me.” That’s jealousy.

It is easy for these two aspects to cross over, for one to become the other.

I think a key difference is that when we admire someone, we recognize the work they put in to achieve their place. We recognize that we are not there (yet) because we have not (yet) applied the same amount of effort.

Or, as in the case of my love of Superman, we simply admire them for who they are with the full realization we’ll never be that awesome, no matter how cool we look in a cape and boots.

When we are jealous of someone’s accomplishments, what we are really doing is seeking shortcuts and excuses. We think they got there by some stroke of luck. We think they got something we deserved.

Admiration is a good thing. It can drive us to work harder, or differently.

Jealousy is a killer. It causes us to feel hopeless. It justifies endless hours on the couch watching “reality” shows. It justifies eating that big bowl of ice cream and caramel corn in an attempt to numb our fears and self doubts. It keeps us from getting the exercise that would make us feel a whole lot better than cramming pointless calories into our mouths. It keeps us from expending that little bit more effort toward achieving our goal.

Admiration gives us energy. Jealousy sucks the energy out of us.

Jealousy is a zero sum approach to life; a sense that there is only so much to go around and we’re not getting our fair share.

Admiration embraces a life of abundance. It’s the Doritos approach: “Crunch all you want, we’ll make more.”

Identify your heroes. Admire the hard work and effort they put in to get what they have earned. Use that as motivation to get what you desire.

Beware allowing that admiration to become jealousy. When the work gets hard, it’s not time to throw up our hands and declare it can’t be done. No. It’s time to double down. Do one more push up. Write one more line of code. Write one more paragraph in your book. Make one more phone call to a prospective client. You’ve come this far. Keep going.

Be worthy of admiration.

Pain

Photo of kid holding a tooth — Photo copyright ©1998 David J Crone. All rights reserved.

Change can be painful. So can maintaining the status quo.

Do you still have your wisdom teeth? I still have mine. Every dentist I have been to as an adult has suggested that I have them removed. “Why? They’re perfectly good teeth.”, I would ask them. “Because it’s hard for us to clean back there.”, was always the answer. In other words, they wanted me to have my wisdom teeth removed for their benefit, not mine.

My standard response to their pleas has always been, “I’ll have my wisdom teeth removed when they are more of a problem for me than for you.”

Guess what? We’re there. As I type this, I am in immense pain from an issue with my wisdom teeth. I am slated to go see my dentist later today and I can’t wait. I am ready to say, “Yank those suckers out of there! Whatever! Just make the pain stop. Please!”

Why have I put this off for so long? Let me tell you a little story.

Like many people, I had braces as a kid. Unlike most people, my orthodontist created a plan to make room for my wisdom teeth to come in rather than set the expectation of having them removed later. To do this, he removed 4 teeth in the front portion of my mouth and moved everything forward. These were my eyeteeth on top and corresponding teeth on the bottom. That sounds strange looking back, but it made sense at the time. One of the eyeteeth was impacted and needed to come out anyway.

The result of this procedure 40 years ago is that I still have my wisdom teeth. The process of having those other 4 teeth removed and years of orthodontia to close the gap to make room for the wisdom teeth to come in was such an ordeal, I have been stubborn about any suggestion to have those wisdom teeth removed. Plus, they haven’t bothered me before.

To have my wisdom teeth removed would be to suggest it was a mistake to have gone about this in the way it was done originally. Admit a mistake? Not me!

Where in your life or career are you making this same kind of choice? Where are you resisting making a change because to do so would feel like you are admitting to a mistake? Where are you resisting a change because of how much effort you put forth to get to where you are right now? Is someone you know suggesting you make a change and you resist because that change is more for their benefit than yours?

Which is more painful, staying in your current situation or making a change?

For most of us, the pain of continuing the current behavior exceeds the pain we anticipate encountering in making the change.

The reality is, having the dental procedure I did when I was a kid was the right choice AT THAT TIME. The choices you have made that have you in the situation you are in right now were likely the right choices AT THAT TIME.

Each day we need to revisit the situation and decide whether staying where we are is still the right choice AT THIS TIME.

For me, that means more dental work, as soon as possible. I am ready to make that change. What does it mean for you? What’s your pain level? Is it time to make a change?

Skills Gap

Image of lobster cages — Photo copyright ©2017 David J Crone. All rights reserved.

Are you having trouble finding people with the right skills for your posted job openings? You’re not alone.

I continue to read article after article about companies and hiring managers complaining about their challenges in finding “qualified candidates” for open positions.

Here’s a thought. Maybe you’re not qualified to be a hiring manager.

Yes, I just said that.

Look at your own career. Give it a good serious look. How many different positions have you held? If you’re reading this blog, I’m guessing it’s been more than one. Make a list. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Don’t just count different companies. Include changes within a company when you had a significant change in job responsibilities. You can skip promotions within the same job family (adding “senior” to your title, or changing the classification from “I” to “II”). But, do include significant changes in responsibilities, such as Manager to Director or VP, and moving divisions where the fundamental aspects of the job are significantly different.

Got it? Good. Now, using a 5-point scale, beside each position, give yourself a TRUE ranking of how qualified you were for that position on DAY ONE. Not a year later. Day one, when you walked in the door to start that job. Be honest.

Scale: 1=Not qualified, what the heck were they thinking? 2=No experience in this specific area, but have other skills that can apply with a bit of training. 3=Some specific experience, understanding of general concepts, need help with specifics of this job/company/department. 4=Confident. Hit the ground running with some room for growth. 5=Subject matter expert, same job new place.

How’d you fare? How many 5’s did you get? Any 1’s? Just a guess, but I’ll bet you had mostly 2’s, a couple 3’s, and maybe even a 4.

My career has been full of 2’s and 3’s. I had one 4. And that 4? I walked in the door thinking I was a 5. I was wrong.

When I read these articles it is clear that these hiring managers are complaining because they only want to hire 5’s. And yet how many of these people rate a 5 themselves? None. Not a single one of them. I say that with complete confidence. Because if they were truly a 5 as a hiring manager, they wouldn’t be whining about a lack of qualified candidates – they’d be CREATING their own pool of qualified candidates.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again (and again, and again…) When it comes to finding qualified candidates, hire for ATTITUDE and APTITUDE. Train for everything else.

Now go out there and find yourself some great 2’s and 3’s.

Building Castles

Photo of the Great Hall at Stirling Castle — Photo copyright ©2017 David J Crone. All rights reserved.

I just returned from a trip to the UK. While there, we toured a number of castles. One of those was Stirling Castle in Scotland. The photo above is the Great Hall.

The main stories we heard during our visit to Stirling Castle were about King James VI of Scotland, who later became King James I of England.

What struck me in the stories was how much effort King James put into validating his right to rule. Much of the architecture and decorative elements of the castle were intended specifically to demonstrate that he was the rightful ruler.

How much time and energy do you devote to validating your right to lead?

I have certainly worked for people who spent an inordinate amount of time justifying their right to be in the position they were in. These are often the people who get tied up in titles, seating charts at meetings, and other trivialities that distract from doing the real work at hand.

I get it. If you are a King who came to power by conquering, you probably do need to expend some amount of energy telling people you belong there. You really do need to worry about people who would like to cut off your head.

How many of you can honestly say that your life is in danger if people do not accept you as their leader? How much time are you wasting to make yourself feel safe?

Here’s a thought. Instead of working to ensure your own safety and well-being, try working to ensure the safety and well-being of those you lead. Do that and you will be the beloved king who others willingly rally around to defend.

Money for Nothing

One of my all-time favorite songs is Dire Straits, “Money For Nothing” from their Brothers In Arms album. In case you need a reminder, here’s the full song in the officially uploaded version on YouTube.

According to published interviews, Mark Knopfler wrote the song after overhearing a guy working in an appliance store make comments about videos playing on the display TVs that were tuned to MTV. From that guy’s perspective, being a rock star was easy money. You just stand there, play guitar, prance around the stage, etc.

This song came to mind lately with a series of quotes coming out of the White House. Stick with me. I am not going political on you.

Here are a few of them:

1. “This is more work than in my previous life.”
2. “I thought it would be easier.”
3. “I’m disappointed that it doesn’t go quicker.”
4. “It’s an unbelievably complex subject. Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.”

Have we not all at some point looked at what someone else was doing and thought to ourselves how easy that job would be? And have we not had the experience of getting that job or that project and finding out that it was much more difficult than we expected?

I recently told a group of people that what I am doing now is the hardest thing I have ever done. They were shocked. How could being a speaker and entertainer be more difficult than managing major data center networks on a global scale? I’m not complaining. It’s worth it. Every single day. But, it’s incredibly hard work. Sure, being on stage looks easy. And, frankly, once the lights come up, that is the easy part – thanks to countless hours of practice and preparation. Getting there is the hard part.

In the corporate world, I know many people who think that the job gets easier the higher up the company ladder you climb. All they see are the perks. They see people in those jobs who make it look easy. Having been on that ladder myself, I can tell you that while each rung brings a better view, it also comes with a price.

Only you can determine whether the perks are worth the effort. Banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee can be fun and those just might be Hawaiian noises. But, you won’t get money for nothing. It is definitely work. You might as well make it fun.